The veterinarians concluded the following: "The ranchers took pride in their animals, and Wyeth-Ayerst showed a commitment to continuing to improve the standards of equine welfare on the farms. Based on our inspections, the allegations of inhumane treatment of horses involved in PMU ranching are unfounded. Generally, the horses are very well-cared for. The ranchers and the company have responded in a progressive and proactive manner to both professional and public interst. Observations for improvement have been taken seriously and continue to be acted upon by Wyeth-Ayerst and the PMU ranchers. The public should be assured that the care and welfare of the horses involved in the production of an estrogen replacement medication is good, and is closely monitored." Come see the PMU foals. Don't forget your check book. They won't last long! FYI You may be interested in learning more about the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, formerly the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America. They are working with the MFHA to protect the rights of our Red Rock Hounds to hunt. U.S. Sportmen's Alliance 801 Kingsmill Parkway Columbus, Ohio 43229-1137 Phone 624 888 4868 Fax 614 888 0326 E-Mail: info@ussportsmen.org Log On: http://www.ussportsmen.org Hound News We have LOTS of puppies and juvenile hounds this year. To be specific, Red Rock Smithy is raising her 11 five week old "P" puppies by Red Rock Davis under the care of Beverly in Doyle. There are 17 puppies under 4 months of age in the kennel, the "N" and "O" litters. Also in the kennel are the juvenile "K"(7) "L"(10) and "M"(6) litters, all between 5 and 10 months of age. Guess what? You got it - we need names! For a mere one hundred dollars you can choose a nomicker for one of these adorable devils. Recent favorite name choices have included "Mooqui", PopEye, Olive Oil, and O Love (thanks to Tamara's mother, Chris Aguilera, and Chrysann). Got a name? Call Liza Cotter at 530-550-0962.

Voices of our Future Several remarkable young people passed through our hunt barn this year. Since they are the future of our sport, I thought it would be valuable to hear from them. I asked each contributor to describe their first impressions of hunting with Red Rock. I would like to thank them for their effort. Emily Smith The thirteen year old niece of our huntsman Lynn, Emily lives in Desert Hot Springs, California with her parents Carol and Harry. Her interest in horses and hunting has just blossomed in the past two years. Emily chose to recall her experience hunting with the joint meet (Lynn Lloyd's Red Rock Hounds, John Auborn's Kingsbury Harrier's and Suzie Stevenson's Paradise Valley Beagles) held in Ridgecrest, California in February, 2002. Emily's horse Nikko sustained a serious injury to his stifle shortly after Emily wrote this story. He was turned out to pasture but began to lose weight because he has no incisors and only a few molars left in his mouth. Considering his advanced age and the severity of the injury, Emily decided that Nikko's quality of life was not what he deserved. Emily gave Nikko to the hounds at the end of the summer and dedicates her hunting story and her hunting future in loving memory of her first and most wonderful hunt horse, Nikko. OK, I'm far from an expert on hunting. I've hunted all of twice, but I loved every minute of it. Well OK, not every minute of it. I didn't like having to get off and drag my 30+ year old horse Nikko up the hill and I didn't like having to quit early after we didn't make it up the hill. Otherwise, Oh My God, it was amazing! Being outside with a whole bunch of really cool people, who, like me, ride really fast. Except for that stupid hill it was better than Disneyland (sorry Mickey Mouse, as much fun as Space Mountain is, it doesn't even come close). When we rode back to the trailers there was food (thank God) and water for both horses and people. After I took care of Nikko I sat on someone's tailgate and ate. On my 2nd or 3rd helping I watched as the field (that is, everybody who had horses that could get up that hill) led by Lynn come galloping in. If you've ever seen those hunting pictures in the club room you get a pretty good idea of what I saw. In fact those pictures give you a good idea of what hunting is like. They're packed with adrenaline, excitement, joy, fear, sage brush and hounds, lots of hounds.