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Beagling 12-09-07From BroadviewRanch.com
Rockbridge Hunt Beagling with Octorara BeaglesSunday, March 11th, 2007 Larry Bright and his wife Debbie brought the Octorara Beagles from Floyd County for a joint meet with The Rockbridge Hunt. The weather was perfect for a December day, warm and beautiful. The first draw was the up the creek behind the log lodge. It took a bit to get started but then wow!. After running a few circles through the brush along the creek, Mr. Bunny decided to make a break for it and headed across the field (in full sight of everyone) and straight through the front yard and into the berry patch next to the horse pasture. Thinking he had fooled the hounds he laid low in there a while before trying to sneak out the back door(again in full sight of the field), through the vegetable garden, across the driveway and back down along the creek where he started. The hounds were hot on his trail, making beautiful music. Around and around they went in the brush along the creek. At one point the field watched as the rabbit slowly crept along the fence and hid. Hounds were everywhere around him and still he held until Belle jumped him up and they were off again. This run finally ended (after several more sightings) about an hour after it started when the well exercised bunny went to ground under the garden shed. The beagles were then lifted and hunted several more bunnies around the Upper Barn and brush piles there. At one point the hunted rabbit ran right through the field of spectators. The last bunny of the day cleverly took us right back to the barn and went to ground under an old shed. After a fine day of hunting the field gather for some storytelling and a potluck dinner in the log lodge.
Beagling with Octorara Beagling is an excellent complement to foxhunting and is often used as an introduction to foxhunting. Horses are not used! We will follow the beagles on foot. This is a perfect opportunity for non-riding family and friends to experience hunting. Please remember to dress appropriately for the weather. We will out for several hours. Beagles are scent hounds, just like foxhounds. The way that they hunt and the way the quarry eludes the pack is very similar to foxhunting. Both the hounds (beagles instead of foxhounds) and the quarry (rabbits instead of fox or coyote) are smaller than in foxhunting so the territory they cover is smaller. Generally, you can see more of the hunting because you can get closer to the action and you're not worried about dealing with the horses.
Similar EventsCheck out the wonderful slideshow of pictures of the Octarara Beagles when they came to hunt last March.
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