| RESULTS - OCTOBER 13 & 14, 2007 |
The Southern Gents were met at the U.S. Canadian border on Thursday afternoon by Dan
Kane, and after a brief inspection by the border control folks, all made their way to Dan’s
house to map out the plans for the weekend. Six men and 25 dogs from the U.S. had sojourned
1300 miles to attend the first ever International Beagle in Fox Trial, to be held in Nappanee,
Ontario, Canada. Among the travelers were Darrell Summerall, Terry Sinner, Rusty Avins, Alvin
Avins, Brooky Evans, and Andy Hodge – all very successful fox beaglers from the south –
all bringing very tough competition. We were honored and glad to have them in our company for
this trial.
Kane, and after a brief inspection by the border control folks, all made their way to Dan’s
house to map out the plans for the weekend. Six men and 25 dogs from the U.S. had sojourned
1300 miles to attend the first ever International Beagle in Fox Trial, to be held in Nappanee,
Ontario, Canada. Among the travelers were Darrell Summerall, Terry Sinner, Rusty Avins, Alvin
Avins, Brooky Evans, and Andy Hodge – all very successful fox beaglers from the south –
all bringing very tough competition. We were honored and glad to have them in our company for
this trial.
Thursday night we settled them in at
Roy Mays’ hunt camp with good â
€œspiritsâ€� and a big pot of hot fish
chowder. Friday, the Southerners
headed for the town of Nappanee to
grab a motel room and see some sights.
This was the first trip to Canada for the
lot of them, and they wanted to have a
look around. Friday evening we all met
back at Roy’s hunt camp for a
supper of baked ham, sticky-sweet
baked beans, cole slaw, and all the
trimmin’s. Everyone enjoyed good
fellowship as dogs from both sides of
the border were registered and painted,
and the entries for Saturday morning
would total 49 pre-qualified, bonified,
fox-honkin’ dogs! We were ready
to go.
Saturday morning found most of us
putting on a few extra layers of clothing.
Frost was on the ground and the air was
crisp. There was a threat of rain, but no
serious downpours occurred. At
daylight the hounds were cast and
judging partners decided – each pair
consisting of one American and one
Canadian. The dogs immediately got a
start and the running at Delmer Sealeâ
€™s pen didn’t stop until the dogs
were caught up at 11:25 am – four
hours after they had begun. Game was
plentiful, with an abundance of red fox
only in that pen, and Roy Mays stated
he and his judging partner scored ten
crossings in the first hour.
Roy Mays’ hunt camp with good â
€œspiritsâ€� and a big pot of hot fish
chowder. Friday, the Southerners
headed for the town of Nappanee to
grab a motel room and see some sights.
This was the first trip to Canada for the
lot of them, and they wanted to have a
look around. Friday evening we all met
back at Roy’s hunt camp for a
supper of baked ham, sticky-sweet
baked beans, cole slaw, and all the
trimmin’s. Everyone enjoyed good
fellowship as dogs from both sides of
the border were registered and painted,
and the entries for Saturday morning
would total 49 pre-qualified, bonified,
fox-honkin’ dogs! We were ready
to go.
Saturday morning found most of us
putting on a few extra layers of clothing.
Frost was on the ground and the air was
crisp. There was a threat of rain, but no
serious downpours occurred. At
daylight the hounds were cast and
judging partners decided – each pair
consisting of one American and one
Canadian. The dogs immediately got a
start and the running at Delmer Sealeâ
€™s pen didn’t stop until the dogs
were caught up at 11:25 am – four
hours after they had begun. Game was
plentiful, with an abundance of red fox
only in that pen, and Roy Mays stated
he and his judging partner scored ten
crossings in the first hour.
A lot of speculation about whether or not the hounds from the
north and south would be evenly matched and evenly talented
was voiced, but by the end of the first day, it was apparent we
were all running a similar dog. Sure, there were splits – with
that many dogs and that many foxes, but they had some
awesome packs of 20 – 30 hounds that at times were
running together. These dogs don’t seem to know their
citizenship, nor did they care. All they wanted to do was catch
that red, bushy-tailed sucker, and much to our delight, they
tried their best as a group to make that happen.
north and south would be evenly matched and evenly talented
was voiced, but by the end of the first day, it was apparent we
were all running a similar dog. Sure, there were splits – with
that many dogs and that many foxes, but they had some
awesome packs of 20 – 30 hounds that at times were
running together. These dogs don’t seem to know their
citizenship, nor did they care. All they wanted to do was catch
that red, bushy-tailed sucker, and much to our delight, they
tried their best as a group to make that happen.
Above: Harold (the Fox) enjoys the
tailgate lunch provided by Linda and Tom
Alldread on Saturday. Linda (below) did
all the cooking, of course!
tailgate lunch provided by Linda and Tom
Alldread on Saturday. Linda (below) did
all the cooking, of course!
