::fox and hounds::

No, I'm not talking about a cheesy, local corner pub (there's really a cheesy, local corner pub in Dupont Circle with that name). The image you should be picturing is rolling hills, gentile folks decked out in impeccable riding dress and velvet riding hats, and a pack of hounds running alongside them. Oh yeah, don't forget the horses!

Next Saturday (June 2nd), the Radnor Hunt Club in Malvern, PA (near Bryn Mawr) will again be hosting the annual Bryn Mawr Hound Show. It is a tradition that was started 93 years ago. It is the only complete outdoor hound show in the country, meaning it showcases almost every type of working pack hound you can imagine. English, American, Cross-Bred and Penn-Marydel Foxhounds, BEAGLES, bassets and harriers. Almost every hound entered in the show is an entered hound (in official stud books) and belongs in a recognized hound pack.

Our good friends, Mandy and Billy Bobbitt, have been participants for a long time. Both Bobbitts are heavily involved in the beagle community--Billy is the current National Beagle Club president, and Mandy is the assistant secretary. They each own a beagle pack--Mandy has mostly 13" hounds (Bedlam), while Billy has mostly 15" hounds (Glenbarr). Mandy's hounds not only hunt, but some of them are also AKC show champions. It is quite an achievement to be able to breed and train dual-purpose hounds. In fact, she is the owner of Renzo's litter brother, Talkback (Ch. Whiskey Creek's Talkback), and the breeder of his get, Bedlam's Mt. Dew and Bedlam's Madhatter.

O has already been to her first official beagle event, the Triple Challenge, held every year at the National Beagle Club grounds in Aldie, Virginia. However, this will be even more exciting because it will be her first long day trip and she will get to see hundreds of hounds in one place. The setting is beautiful and the hounds are lovely...my favorite hound event of the year!

Wait, no, not this year. The beagle national specialty is coming back to Aldie after 5 years...that will be my favorite this year. The last time the show was held in Aldie, I was fortunate enough to work with Mandy and Billy on designing the logo for the show. Till this day, many beagle folks I meet from around the country are still wearing shirts and hats with my logo on them! This year, I am donating kennel leashes from my Noseprint line as trophies. How exciting!