|
Jared
accompanied Angela on her trip to Red Rock in March. He watched
his wife proudly as she galloped over the hunter pace course, then
donned his dress uniform to honor us at our annual Hunt Ball.
Jared and Angela tore up the dance floor, throwing their combined
energy into the moment - as if there was no other place to be but
there and then. Jared and Angela Norrell and their three
children represent everything that is good in America. Far be it
for us to pretend to understand the strength of a relationship
that is always in peril. I think of Jared Norrell in Iraq every
day: I see his dancing eyes and his daredevil grin and I pray for
his safe return to the vivacious, powerful and sensuous Angela,
who hunts with the absolute joy that is only experienced when one
truly understands the precious and precarious nature of life.
Foxhunting means more than following hounds. It
represents a philosophy, and it gives us more than sport. One of
the gifts hunting brings to us are the people who hunt. People
like Jared & Angela Norrell.
A Cultural Exchange Story
Sometime last year,
in the countryside of southern France, a documentary film maker
was looking for a new project. Having just completed a film on
French stag hunting, she remembered overhearing an absurd
conversation about Americans hunting coyotes with hounds in the
desert. "Impossible," had been her immediate response, but somehow
the concept had captured her imagination. She decided to
investigate this fantastic report. A year later, with the blessing
of France’s Societe de Venerie, as well as the Masters of
Foxhounds Association of America, director Virginie Saclier and
her film crew (Hugh Phily, cameraman and Celine Gay, sound and
light) were on their way to the American West. Virginie had
successfully pitched her idea to Seasons, a French hunting and
fishing television station, and was under contract to complete a
50 minute film documenting the experience of a prestigious French
staghunter as he joined Master and Huntsman Lynn Lloyd and the Red
Rock Hounds chasing coyotes around the desert. In this role,
Virginie was accompanied by Pierre de Boisguilbert, Secretary
General of the Societe de Venerie, and his wife Isabelle.
Dennis Foster, Executive Director of the MFHA, was our liaison
for this quasi-fantasy production. Dennis was on the phone
relaying plans back and forth across the Atlantic over the weeks
preceding the event. He wore the hats of hound hunting expert,
cultural attache, interpreter, diplomat and logistical impresario
with equal ease and effectiveness. With plans finally in place, we
all breathed a sigh of relief when Dennis promised to fly out and
serve as our ambassador in person throughout the filming
experience. And so the stage was set; we took our marks, and the
cameras rolled |
Two weeks later, we showered
our new friends with tearful goodbyes as they departed for France,
adorned in their brand new cowboy shirts, cowboy hats, cowboy
belts & buckles, cowboy boots, and cowboy jeans. We had hunted
together for ten out of their fourteen day stay. We had shared a
hunt breakfast in a redneck bar complete with two mules tied to
the hitching post outside and drunken (but friendly) vaqueros
within. We had dined together at a three course french dinner
prepared and served by the film crew, Virginie, Hugh, and Celine,
in Edie Erickson‘s home. We had worked and played side by side
intensely for 14 days to produce a film for Virginie to take home
to France and show to her countrymen. Throughout the two weeks the
exchange of ideas and experiences was continuous. We learned as
much about hunting stag, boar, and roe deer in France as our
guests did about our American sport. Perhaps the most remarkable
aspect of this Red Rock meets France adventure was the seemingly
endless energy and enthusiasm of every participant. Our hunt
members pulled out the stops, showing up day after day in formal
attire, and accommodating the camera crew with endless patience.
For their part, the film personnel were efficient and workmanlike;
forever expressing concern for disrupting the flow of the hunt to
capture shots and always appreciative of our cooperation.
As for the hunting, it was excellent. Weather conditions were
favorable, and we had lots of game. There was one frustrating
factor for the film crew: the scope and speed of our country made
it very difficult to obtain actual footage of the coyote. Finally,
Hugh came up with the idea of hiring an ultra-light plane to fly
him over the hunt. The pilot flew up from Carson City, picked up
Hugh, and proceeded out to Bedell Flats where we awaited. The
ultra-light is a tiny, relatively quiet two person aircraft - akin
to a glorified kite with a lawn mower engine attached. Neither
hounds nor horses showed any concern at its presence, and we had
several views on the day of its attendance. One especially wiley
coyote took a line down off the Dogskin foothills heading east.
Whipper-In Cathy Bodner watched the coyote head directly for a
large herd of antelope, with hounds in full cry at his heels. The
coyote ducked into the antelope and ran with the startled herd for
several hundred yards before veering east again, no doubt
confident that he had foiled the hounds’ pursuit with this clever
manoeuver. Much to his dismay, the entire pack never wavered in
their concentration, following flawlessly as he entered, joined
and left the antelope herd. Hugh and the ultra-light made several
passes during this bit of excellent hound work, and we are hopeful
that he was able to capture it on film.
Throughout the hunting days, Pierre rode a lovely bay mare,
appropriately named Cover Girl. In France, both staff and field
favor Standardbreds for their hunt horses. Always the diplomat,
Lynn produced Cover Girl for Pierre - that’s right, she is a
pacing Standardbred, with a beautiful head and compact, athletic
conformation. Despite the unfamiliar and frequently challenging
terrain, Pierre and Cover Girl were prominent participants in
every line, and we all were delighted that Pierre saw some of our
most excellent Nevadan style sport during his visit. In addition
to the excellent hunting and the really special day at Bedell when
our hounds performed brilliantly on a coyote viewed initially by
Pierre himself, he was thrilled by the frequent sighting of
mustang, antelope, mule deer, as well as golden eagles and red
tailed hawks that populate our territory.
|
