November, 2025
Andy Shield welcomes DRHC huntsman John Harrison to Opening Meet at Fullstream Farm. Photo by Bill Sigafoos
President's Report
-Col. Frank Huber
Kitty Shield serves up the stirrup cup in style. Photos- Bill Sigafoos
Marsh Davis, MFH, at Opening Meet with a few friends.
Fellow Club members and fox hunters, what a great start we have had to our season this year! For those of you who were able to attend Opening Meet or our Fall Festival, you joined us in celebrating John Harrison’s fortieth season of hunting and the beginning of a very promising season. The Fall Festival was an innovative change from what had traditionally been the opening hunt support, transforming it into an event that was welcoming and inclusive for all Club members. If you weren’t able to attend, you truly missed out on a wonderful event and the excellent company of your fellow Club members.
Deep Run Hunt Club, Inc. remains a Club built by and for its members. Your dues and contributions are the most critical factor enabling us to continue offering both exceptional sporting experiences and the outstanding facilities and events that we all enjoy. To those who have already responded to requests for Club contributions, thank you for your continued commitment to supporting our operations in a manner that we all value. For members who have not yet made their commitment for the current Club year, I encourage you to reflect on all the activities that our Club supports and the necessity of properly funding them. Whether or not you are able to ride this season, our hounds and horses still require care and feeding, equipment must be kept in working order, and salaries, taxes, and utilities must be paid. Your financial support is essential to maintaining the level of excellence for which our club is known.
Lani Tigchelaar
Over the past year, a dedicated search committee has been working diligently to identify the right person for our next Club Manager. We believe we have found that individual in Lani Tigchelaar, who joined us on November 10, 2025. The position involves diverse responsibilities and many demands on her time. Please be patient and supportive as she settles into her new role. We are confident that she will excel in the position and help move our Club forward. Lani, a graduate of George Mason University, is an accomplished dressage rider and trainer (and former Pony Club member!) Once office hours are established, I encourage you to stop by and meet her in person—you will likely find her as engaging and skilled as the selection committee did. The position involves diverse responsibilities and many demands on her time. Please be patient and supportive as she settles into her new role. We are confident that she will excel in the position and help move our Club forward. Once office hours are established, I encourage you to stop by and meet her in person—you will likely find her as engaging and skilled as the selection committee did.
We are also continuing our efforts to rehabilitate the Hunter Trials field. Currently, the field operates on a “first come, first served” basis during daylight hours, unless there is a previously scheduled Club activity. This provides an excellent opportunity for your riding and training enjoyment. If you bring a guest, please notify the Club Manager by email and ensure your guest has signed a liability waiver, which is available on our website. You are responsible for your guest’s conduct and for ensuring that all riding is conducted safely and responsibly. When using the field, please enter at the gate by the club house. Do not use the double gate by the Pinecrest facility, and do not park or ride into the Pinecrest area unless you are a boarder there or participating in a coordinated Club activity. I hope you share my belief that access to the Hunter Trials field is one of the many treasures of Deep Run Hunt Club membership, and I encourage you to take full advantage of it.
I look forward to seeing you out in the hunt field this season and at our many social events.
It’s a family affair: Kitty Shield with daughter Stephanie and granddaughters Kit and Simone.
Deep Run Hunt Club Opens 138th Season at Fullstream Farm
- Marshie Davis, MFH
The 138th year of hunting at Deep Run Hunt Club began in late October in grand style at Fullstream Farm, home of the Shield family. It was a truly beautiful morning, highlighted by the fourth generation of Shields joining the field. Simone and Kit Roy joined their mother, Stephanie Shield Roy, continuing a cherished family tradition that has long been a part of Deep Run’s history.
The long fence line was a happy gathering of members and friends, on hand to see off the riders. The stirrup cup, hosted by club secretary, Joy Robinson, set a festive and welcoming tone. The Reverend Emily Donovan of Grace Episcopal Church offered a blessing of the hounds before joining the field herself to hunt behind them—a special and memorable touch.
This season marks an important milestone: John Harrison’s 40th season in hunt service, and his ninth with Deep Run (more below.) Riding alongside him were Micah Lisi, serving as whipper-in, and Mandi Walker, our kennel staff and road whip, both contributing greatly to the day’s success. The flights were led by Polly Bance, MFH, Steve Thurston, MFH, Megan Proffitt, and Bennett Camp-Crowder, each guiding their groups skillfully through the countryside. The morning was filled with tradition, camaraderie, and enthusiasm—a perfect way to celebrate Deep Run Hunt Club’s proud legacy and to usher in another great season.
A Hunting Life
-Caroline Eichler, MFH
Deep Run is pleased to recognize our huntsman, John Harrison, on this, his 40th year in professional hunt service. John is in ninth season with Deep Run, but his time with hunting and hounds started at an early age near his parent’s farm Dowthwaite Head in Dockray in the county of Cumberland in Cumbria in the UK, where he hunted with the Ullswater and Blencathra packs. John began his career in hunt service with the Cattistock Hunt and went on to serve with the Taunton Vale, the Vine and Craven, the Easton Harriers before moving to Canada to hunt the Toronto and North Yorks Foxhounds in 1991. He returned to England in 1996 to take over as huntsman for the Ullswater Foxhounds, a Fell pack that dates to 1873 and is in the Lake District of northwest England. The terrain is challenging with steep hills, rocky slopes, and bracken. The pack is a storied and deep-rooted tradition in the local history and the country is so difficult that horses cannot be used. For those that read fox hunting literature you will know it is full of accounts of the punishing days with this famous pack, climbing and crisscrossing rocky crags and snow filled gullies. John spent 18 years as the huntsman of this celebrated pack and anyone who has followed John on foot behind the Deep Run pack on a snowy day will now understand why he is so hard to keep up with– it’s in his blood!
John was active in the effort to preserve fox hunting in England before the ban in 2004. He continued to hunt the Ullswater for several years after the ban and then returned to the Toronto and North York Hunt in Canada in 2014. Deep Run welcomed John in 2017 and he has since made Cumberland County, VA his home (seems fitting given he grew up in the county of Cumberland in Cumbria in England!)
His long professional career has included breeding championship hounds, both at performance trials and in the ring, and introducing some very successful Fell hound lines into packs here in the U.S. For those of you that have been lucky enough to hear John talk about what makes a good hound at DRHC’s annual fox hunting camp, you will understand the caliber that he has fostered in the breeding program at DRHC.
John’s time at Deep Run, like hunting everywhere, is full of challenges. From saving the pack from a near tragic kennel fire to watching the encroaching development in the most rural parts of our hunt country. In collaboration with the Masters, he continues to work with our landowners to manage shrinking open space and to keep coverts and trails open to allow our well-respected pack to hunt across more than three counties. Deep Run is fortunate to have John’s lifelong passion for hunting and quality foxhounds as part of our Club’s hunting tradition. We congratulate John on 40 years of hunt service, and a lifetime of preserving the tradition of hunting with hounds. They say that every hunter has a story and it’s woven into the fabric of their being. We are pleased for Deep Run Hunt Club to be a small part of that fabric.
Welcome New Members
Please extend a hearty DRHC welcome to these folks!
Rusty and Logan Campbell - sponsored by Megan Winfield
David and Cindy Chewning - sponsored Emily & Max Heyworth
Emily Hoffman - Associate Member
Jessica Jones - sponsored by Gretel Mangigian
Betsy Kapsak - sponsored by Ronnie Thornton
Angela & Mohammed Quader - sponsored by Jon & Winnie Angus
Anna & Matthew Richardson - sponsored by Ronnie Thorton
Beth Shivak - sponsored by Joe Elkadiki
Harper Walker - sponsor by Helen Walker
Sharon and Mark Whiting - sponsored by Laura Fields
Nandine Wilson - Associate Member
Come one, come all to the fun of a fall fox hunting tailgate. Sign up to host below!
Two DRHC Riders head to 2025 Field Hunter Championships
-Polly Bance, MFH
Courtney Cohen has been working hard to represent our Club this fall at both the nationwide Field Hunter Championships as well as at the Warrenton Horse Show Hunt Night competition.
At the Theodora A. Randolph Field Hunter Championship, Courtenay and her 7-year-old Fresian sport horse, R & D’s Harlan Maxwell (Max), were part of a 32 competitor field riding with Keswick, Bull Run, Orange County, and Loudoun Fairfax hounds over four days. In the finals, competitors rode a short mock hunt, and then completed an individual course of coops and natural obstacles in a large, open field.
In late August, Courtenay and Max also represented Deep Run in the Fox Hunter Over Fences (ages 31-45) class at the Warrenton Horse Show Hunt Night - Max’s first time showing over a hunter course. Courtenay also received Best Turned Out honors at the DRHC Hunter Trials last fall. We salute Courtenay’s talent, dedication and horsemanship. Congratulations to her, as well as to up-and-coming junior rider, Layla Heyworth.
Layla and her lovely pony Elf have qualified for the Junior North American Field Hunter Championships, hosted this year at the Moore County Hounds in Southern Pines, NC on November 14 and 15. (She and her mount Peppers won the Second Flight, 10 & Under division last year.) Layla and Elf will compete this year in First Flight, 13 & Under. On Friday, juniors will ride in a judged hunt aiming to be chosen for the individual test. Those chosen will go on to the next round on Saturday - a test consisting of a jump course as well as many challenges one might encounter in the hunt field: hand gallop, hold hard, tally ho, pony another horse, open a gate, lower a jump rail, or dismount and walk a hound. Ninety-seven juniors from 31 U.S. hunts, plus three in Canada, have qualified for the event. If you’d like to follow the competition, more information can be found here.
Entertainment Committee Needs
Your Participation
-Stacy Wimmer
We’re inviting Club members who enjoy creativity, collaboration and community to join Deep Run’s Entertainment Committee. This committee plays an important role in planning social activities, celebrations, seasonal events, and other opportunities for our club to come together and have fun! As a part of this committee, you will help choose the type of events and activities that we host, as well as pitch in with event setup or coordination when you’re available. Especially for new members, it’s a terrific way to meet new people and use your interests, creativity and ideas in a meaningful way.
We would love to have you on our team! Email Stacy at foxhornfarms@aol.com.
Set It & Forget - Pay Your DRHC Bill from Your Computer
Did you know you can now make a payment to the Club from the comfort of your home? ACH payments (Automatic Clearing House) are a secure electronic transfer of funds from one bank account to another. ACHs, a convenient alternative to mailing in a check, are often used for recurring payment like club dues. So how can you make this work for you?
Email the Club’s accounts manager Barbara Ruqus at barbara@deeprunhuntclub.com and request a link for either a monthly direct transfer (1% processing fee) or a credit card (2.99% fee). Going forward, your checking account or credit card will be charged on whatever date you specify. You’ll get a monthly email confirming the payment has been made.
Easy!
Pony Tails
- Robin Traywick Williams
When our daughter said she and her husband were expecting a baby, my first thought was, We need a pony! Horse people will understand that. I’m not really a baby person,o I skipped over the infant part and had immediate visions of leading the grandchild around on a backyard pony with a western saddle. It was annoying to have to wait through gestation, birth, and growth of the baby to an age where he could sit up by himself, but there was nothing I could do about that. It was sort of like when ourdaughter was born and my husband, Cricket, looked at the swaddled infant in thebassinet and said, “How long before she can muck a stall?”
As it turned out, it took several years to find a pony anyway. My go-to source, Pam Ottley, who has trained every child on every pony in Goochland for the past 40 yearsand who promised she would have a hand-me-down pony identified when I was ready, failed me. “Hmm. No good ponies available right now,” she said.
So, while the grandchild was learning to sit up and walk and say “whinny” when he saw a horse, I was asking everybody I saw, in the hunt field, at the feed store, the hay delivery man, my hairdresser, about ponies. When networking failed to turn up a suitable pony, I turned to the internet, where I was shocked to find that 18-year-old ponies with Cushings and founder go for $20,000. Ponies that aren’t even broke start at $5,000 or $6,000. Truly, I live in a bubble. I was looking for the ads that say, “Shetland pony, $100, saddle included.”
Actually, we already had the saddle, so I really only needed the pony. Passed down through the family was a small western saddle that my father had ridden in as a child in the 1920s. It’s 100 years old. There are pictures of me as a four-year-old sitting in that saddle on a 15.2 hand Tennessee Walking Horse. My daughter rode in it, too. Over the years, it has been oiled occasionally, and the cinch straps have been replaced as a safety precaution. It was in the tack room, on the top saddle rack, awaiting the grandchild and the pony, whichever came first.
After scrolling through the many, expensive possibilities in Virginia and Maryland, I finally typed, “pony for sale anywhere in America.” This produced a raft of minis as well as endless western-broke ponies in Texas. But eventually an adorable Welsh-gypsy vanner cross showed up, 11.2 hands with a pony face to die for. He was in Kentucky—not next door, but not Texas, either. The write-up said broke to drive and to work cattle—neither of which we needed a pony to do. However, videos showed him standing stoically while a small child heaved a big western saddle on his back, and I was sold. He cost more than my initial $100 budget, but that was okay, since we already had the saddle.
A shipper delivered him to the Exxon station at the Oilville exit on I-64 one night. The little guy backed off the trailer and walked up the ramp to our trailer, where he promptly ducked under the breast bar to reach the hay net. It was the first of many lessons in learning how small 11.2 hands is. We have solid board fencing that we keep in good repair, chain latches on the gates and a well thought-out arrangement of paddocks. Nevertheless, the pony has gotten out of and into more places than I would have imagined. It has taken me months to realize that an 11.2 hand pony is not the same as a 16.2 hand horse.
Grandson JC gives Mosby a brushing
