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Melvin Poe, dean of Virginia huntsmen, is my nominee for best huntsman in the world. Perhaps my claim is brash since in my 50-plus years of foxhunting (how did I get to be so old?), I’ve only hunted in the U.S.
Though others concur with my high opinion of Poe, he is not in the Huntsman’s Hall of Fame at Morven Park, and doesn’t expect to see the day. Poe explained: “Tb qualify, you have to be dead for 10 years, or retired for 20. Since I’m 86 and still hunting I don’t have much of a chance.” He grinned.
A native of the tiny hamlet of Hume in northwestern Fauquier, Poe grew up hunting, first on his own, later as huntsman to two of the region’s bestknown subscription packs. His story is beautifully recorded by Middleburg author Peter Winants in “Foxhunting with Melvin Poe.” Poe’s 16 years as huntsman for the Old Dominion Hounds, kenneled in Orlean, preceded an unprecedented 27 years at the Orange County Hunt, kenneled near The Plains.
I knew of the Poe legend when I moved to Middleburg from Tennessee in 1990. I was fortunate to hunt behind him several times as a guest in the exquisite Orange County territory. Far more often, however, I
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