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Photos courtesy of Pam LeHew Larry LeHew saddled up for a morning of foxhunting in the Rappahannock countryside.
a sprawling stretch of land that extends from Ben Venue on the Aaron Mountain side of 729, across Eldon farms, down highway 231 to Slate Mills on 707.
“We have the second largest hunt territory of any club in the country,” he says.
Bill Fletcher says he does not ride with the hunt anymore because of a motorcycle accident. LeHew jokes that Fletcher lacks balance on either a horse or motor cycle.
“Bill Fletcher would get on one side of the horse and fall off the other,” he says.
Riding is indeed dangerous for LeHew broke two ribs just this year as well as his collarbone.
Fletcher explains LeHew’s role in the hunt.
“Larry and Jeff LeHew, Larry’s son, are joint masters of Thornton Hill hounds. The huntmaster is head of the field. He is in charge of the entire operation.”
Contrast that with the huntsman, Bill Dodson, who is charge of the hunting hounds.
“Larry has been fox hunting at least 30 years,” says Fletcher. “He is a much better husband of the land than any other fox hunter I know. He is dedicated to the sport.. He is respectful of the landowners’ rights.”
By that he means that the riders are careful not to ride over crops or tear up wet fields. The hunters alert the landowners to trespassers, sick livestock or anything else amiss and are careful to close gates.
LeHew says that fox hunting is good for real estate property values. “People always put in their ads located in the Virginia Hunt County.’ Even the people who want to keep you off the land.”
Although the LeHew family at one time owned much of the land which includes modern Front Royal, LeHew inherited not
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