The Super Bowl of Fox Hunting
by Park Ranger Artie Hoff

Not being a fox hunter, I realized that I had some research to do before writing this article. Now for those of you faint at heart the first thing I want to say is that fox hunters tell me that the object of fox hunting is not to catch the fox, but just for the dogs to chase the fox and see which "fella" has the best and fastest dog (this is the part where bragging rights come into play).

My first impressions of fox hunting are of those guys and gals dressed in the fancy white britches, red jackets, and black beanie caps, blowing a bugle, and riding over the hills and dales on their horses chasing the hounds that are chasing the fox.

Come to find out that's the way they do it in England, but fox hunting on this side of the pond is quite a bit different. it appears that fox hunting in the United States (or at least in Mississippi) is a little more down to earth and came about asa a matter necessity rather than just a plain desire to hunt fox.

By the turn of the century (not this one but the one before) the deer, bear, turkey, and other game animals had either just about hunted out or couldn't adapt to the clearing and farming practices of the day. However the red and gray fox populations flourished under these conditions.

I guess either man's natural instinct to hunt or woman's natural desire to get the man out of the house coupled with a dramatic increase in the fox population naturally led to an explosion in fox hunting. Apparently men are easily entertained, because according to fox hunters, not much compares to the camaraderie and fellowship they get sitting around a campfire and listening to the dogs run (by the way this called the "race").

From the turn of the century up until about 1970 the rural setting of Mississippi, along with much of the nation, provided ideal fox hunting opportunities. During this period of time most of our folks were still country folks and didn't mind other folks' dogs running across their land, especially since what the dogs were after was probably the same fox that got in their chicken house the night before.

Fox hunters said that it was about this time that they started seeing posted signs. Landowners and hunting clubs didn't want the fox hounds on their land anymore. This, coupled with the increase in the number of roads (cars and dogs don't mix) and the decrease in the large rural areas that we once had, led to the decline in the number of fox hunters.

However, the the beautiful rural area at the east end of Grenada Lake, with few roads and little traffic, makes it the ideal location and probably the reason the National Fox Hunters Association selected Grenada Lake to conduct their "National Field Trials".

As one of our local fox hunters, Mr. Henry Dean Gray, put it "this is the super bowl of fox hunting"