2013 Middleton Place Hounds in Santee Delta

Hunt staff bring the hounds to the forest

GLORIOUS setting to water the hounds

MPH riders on the hunt and on the hoof

The social aspect of the fox hunt

The Middleton Place Hounds of Charleston keep a fixture card of 'home and away' for hunts, and the first weekend in February took them to the Santee Delta. A cold but sunny day with windy conditions made for ideal horseback fox hunting for the field. The hounds 'opened' their cry right on cue and only the MPC members know what they saw down in those woods, as those that came to support them waited at likely spots like open fields, watering holes and the site of the informal picnic. The formal hunt saw the hunt masters in their pink coats, while the hunt staff of whippers in kept the hounds on the move without going off the course set by Bill Green. A 'breakfast' of smoked venison, shrimp dip, fried flounder and red rice fed everyone after the hunt. Fox hunting on the land managed by White Oak Forestry is just one portion of the outdoor traditions that are upheld in the Santee Delta.

Caroline Von Asten on horse Fire and Flames

To view past blog entries about the Middleton Place Hounds in the Santee Delta click here.