The 1971 Chase Futurity The name of the game –Foxhunting The date—November 8, 1971 The place—Somewhere between Laurinburg, N.C. and Rockingham, S.C. The time—Daybreak The stake—The 51st Chase Futurity Having been awakened at 3:30 a.m. on this cold morning we were pretty drowsy when we reached the casting ground.  Edmond and Frank had stopped by the kennel to pick up their Futurity hound, after we had gone to the stable for the horses.  The kennels were always on the way to the casting ground which certainly made it handy for the hunters. We fastened our coats and moved up to the check line to see the finish of the hounds going through.   Everything seemed to be in order and on time.  As the sky turned red and daylight peeped through we turned on our tape recorder and recorded the following: A mixture of voices, laughter, talking and hounds whimpering a little, wanting to go.  The Master of Hounds, Forrest Peninger, was calling loud and clear – “Hound 257, Hound 258.  Appreciated all you people bringing these hounds out—the judges are going to do their best to look at them—see what they are doing in the field.  Remember now all you spectators, mounted riders, the fox goes first, the judges, then the hounds.  I don’t want to have to ask anyone to leave the hunt on account of holding up the judge.  Watch the bean fields on horses and the cotton patches.  Everybody got their leads off?  Everybody look pretty cause you’ re going to have your picture made.”  From the line of hunters comes the hound voice.  “Tell us what time it is.” “The hunt will be called off 25 minutes till twelve o’clock.”  Again the voice booms out “The time now, Mr. Master.”  And the Master of Hounds answers “Twenty-five minutes til seven,” and the voice answers back “Alright good—let’s go.”  Again the mast says “Is everybody ready?  Move your horses back –Let them go.” This was the quietest cast you could ever expect to hear—hardly a sound as the hounds moved through the brush on this cool, crisp morning.  We stood around the casting grounds a little while, visiting with the different hunters.  Met Mr. Lynn Morris from Alpine, Ala., for the very first time, although we have dealt with him ever since I have been connected with the Chase.  It seemed as though everyone had come out for this first beautiful cast. We unhitched the horse trailer and moved out to find the running as the hounds could be heard running in the distance.  It didn’t take too long to come up on this road where the action was.  The hounds were running down in a swamp and they were really “tearing up jack.”  I wish I had the superlatives to describe a race—all we can say is that it was sweet music to our ears.   The thrill of a fox race is a lot like the chill you get up your spine when you hear the National Anthem and view old glory waving in the breeze.  Once you have heard a race you are addicted to it and so long as you live you will thrill to the sounds of it. This morning you could see people in cars trying to get to the race, riders on horses trying to get into the swamps and yet others even up a tree as witnessed here.  Tape recorders were in evidence, as well as, movie cameras and many a sweet sound will be heard in years to come by those fortunate to get these races on tape. The hounds would sound like they were coming out of the swamp, then double back, back out and back in until finally the man in the tree yelled “Here they come” and right to the roadway they were headed only to be turned back by the spectators running down the road to get a closer view.  We were so disappointed because we did not get to see them cross.   Now the race continues on the other side of the road.  The judges seem to be everywhere, but it is almost impossible for them to get into the swamps.  The hounds crossed back through the casting ground about 20 minutes after the cast, according to Fred Ellis, and most of the gallery got to see the fox  The hounds are moving in for the kill now as you can tell by their frenzied barking they have their prey cornered. Soon this race is over.  Riders and judges come out to see if they can pick them up again somewhere. By 10:00 the wind is cold and brisk, even though the sun is shining.  The hounds cannot pick up a scent, so they start running up and down the road.  We know the fox are there as the hunters tell of seeing two or three at a time with no hounds in evidence.  Had these been seasoned hounds they could not have done any better with scenting conditions as they were and so we went back to the casting grounds about 11:00 to await the calling off of the hunt.  The scratch pen was full and again we say, this was not the fault of the hound, but the weather.  It had turned into a cold day. Our riders came in about 1:00 and they had seen several foxes, getting in on some good races down at the edge of the swamps. Getting back to the beginning of the race this day, the hounds tried to double back, but were caught in a huge field and couldn’t get over the fence, nor could they get under.  Some of the hunters tried to lift the fence so they could get through, but they had to double back and take another route. The hunters were very disappointed when the wind became so high and the conditions so bad for scenting.  Many found their hounds easily when the day’s hunt was called. Many went back to the motel, some took naps (Jo and I never had a nap all week at the motel).  However, I was caught napping on the hunting ground one a.m.  Others started looking for lost hounds.  Frank spent the afternoon looking for their entry, but as of this day she has never been found.  They had to leave her hunting the grey fox in the swamps of North Carolina. When the score sheet was posted this first night it looked sick.  One hundred and thirteen hounds had been scratched, 100 for loafing, 6 for Babbling, 2 Failed to answer roll call, 1 was crated by owner, 1 Running covered track, 1 Rabbiting and 2 Howling, leaving a field of 152 to start the second day of this coveted event. The first day found hound No. 167, owned by Hubert Clemons in first place with 145 points.  This was Clemon’s Marge. In second place with 130 points was hound No. 159, Yazoo Yellow Rose, owned by Yazoo Foxhound Kennels of Vaughan, Miss. In third place with 75 points was No. 158, Yazoo Yellow Jacket, also owned by A.N. Nichols.   In fourth place with 65 points was Lewis Garner’s No 194, Garner’s Claybank. Following with 60 points was Hubert Clemons No. 165 Clemon’s Sharon, Mike Miller’s #125, June Carter Cash, Cherry Grove Kennels #106 Cherry Grove Trooper and Woodrow Blalock #119 Dodie Simmons were tied with 50 points each. Tuesday Morning This was a cold gloomy morning, not a fit morning for man or beast.  The wind was still blowing and you could tell that it would be almost impossible to hear any running.  However, the hounds did strike a fox right soon after being cast and there was reports of quite a bit of running by the people who could get to the hounds and down the side sand roads. When the hunters and riders began coming back to the casting ground the reports of foxes seen and races were told and retold. Lots of people chose this day to sleep in. The hunt was called at approximately the same time as the day before and hunters who had answered lost that day knew they had to find their hounds to make the roll call on Wednesday or lose all chances in this Futurity. When the sheets were posted Tuesday evening – 11  hounds had been scratched for Babbling, 1 Withdrawn, 1 Howling, 1 killed, 25 Loafing, making a total of 39 scratched this second day. The high hounds for this day only were No. 55 Little Lou, owned by Hensley & Leber of Lexington and Junction City, Ky., and No 215 Hunter’s Larry, owned by Jack Hunter of Matthews, N.C., with 85 points each. Tied for second with 80 points each were No. 140 Bunn’s Graylady Meggs, owned by Wm. Mitchell of Montpelier, Va. And No. 244 Mattaponi Jester, owned by Granville W. Mundy, Woodford, Va. Four hounds tied for third place on this day, namely, No 63 Ocmulgee Windy Lou, owned by E. M. Cannon, Abbeville, Ga.; No 77 Jo Jo Pickett Mc owned by Mr. and Mrs. E. H. McDonald, Alma, Ga; No. 158 Yazoo Yellow Jacket owned by Yazoo Foxhound kennels and No 165 Clemon’s Sharon owned by Hubert Clemon’s, Tabor City, N.C. Wednesday Morning Wednesday morning dawned clear and our spirits lifted a little, thinking perhaps today the hounds would have a better chance with old Reynard.  This was to be true as the hounds were soon running after the cast was made.  There was almost continuous running all morning, although the judges had difficulty getting into some of the swampy area to score them.  They had to wait until the fox was brought out.  Again our boys were in on many races and rode until about 10:30 when we had to have them bring their horses in as this was the day we had to go in early. They reported being in on one race where the hounds brought the fox right out in front of them and I believe they said hound No. 157 was leading the pack at that time. Larry Dale told of this fox coming out and starting to turn to the left, ran right into the hounds, so he turned back to the right and wham right into them again on that side, finally he just went straight back. You could tell the hounds were out for blood on this final day of the Chase Futurity. The hunt was called after five hours and hunters began looking for their hounds and waiting in anticipation for the final sheets to be posted. We polished up our silver, put green table cloths on the table and got everything in readiness for the awarding of the trophies.  We do not post our Futurity sheet until it is check and double checked and finally it was the time for posting. Imagine the surprise of everyone to see the Yazoo Foxhound Kennels had taken first and second place in the Futurity.  You would think that Mr. Nichols would finally get over the thrill that comes from winning, but it is exciting to watch him as he is just as happy over this win as the first one he ever got—it has never gotten to where it is just an accepted thing with him.  Of course, this year I’m sure he was probably happier than ever because the winning hound was really owned by Sonny Boy and you now how we parents love to see our children win—Mr. Nichols hound came in second.  You now he told us that his best two hounds, the ones they thought would be in the winning, were scratched.  Someone made the remark to me that if you had a good back-up crew it didn’t matter if your best was scratched and he certainly has a good back- up on his hounds. The second place winner was Yazoo Bumblebee, that had the same sire as the number one hound Yazoo Kelly’s Stinger, but a different dam.  We will not go into the breeding as we are running the whole 5 generation pedigree on each of the Futurity winners. The third place hound was Mattaponi Jester, owned by a newcomer to the Futurity, Granville W. Mundy of Woodford, Va.  As we stated above, the winners were very happy.  You can imagine attending your first Chase Futurity and coming home in third place or anywhere in the top ten—that is a feat. Darell Matthews’ Junior Matthews took 4th place in the Futurity.  Of course, Darell is no newcomer, but he and his gang seemed pleased as you will note from the picture. In fifth place was Joe Stutts and he had one happy son, Steve.  He was really excited about this hound winning, Baby Bonnie S. was the name. Some more newcomers took sixth place, Turner and Quinn of Oxford, Mass.  Unfortunately they lost their hound and we could not make the picture that night, and when they found the hound we had ran out of film, consequently unless they send us a photo of the hound we will only be able to show you the happy twosome.  The hound, Eric-the-Hun. Old standby Percy Flowers (who is usually on the board), took 7th place.  Unfortunately Percy was not there for the awarding of the trophies this night as he had only gotten out of the hospital on Sunday night.   However, his daughter Becky drove him up to the hunt on Wednesday night and he was there bright and early Thursday morning helping cast their All-Age hounds.  I can’t see how he could have jostled over that ground having just gotten out of the hospital, but it didn’t seem to bother him, his only complaint being he was still a little weak.  He had gallbladder surgery.  The name of Percy’s hound was Sudie Bell F. In eighth place were Mr. and Mrs. E. H. McDonald of Alma, Ga.  I believe this was their first Futurity also.   Their hound Mullis Buck proved he knew what it was all about.  Unfortunately, Thursday morning these fine people received word that his father was in intensive care and they were trying to arrange a way they could stay for the All-Age and have a hot line to the casting ground in case they were needed.  We were sorry to hear of this because they seemed to be enjoying themselves so much. In ninth place was another newcomer Ralph N. Bivens of Wingate, N.C. , with his hound, Bivens’ Tammy.   Bub Wilson told us here was one happy fellow and you can see this from the photograph. In tenth place was another Virginian, William E. Mitchell of Montpelier, with his hound Bunn’s Blackeye Meggs and here was another happy Virginian. We would like to congratulate all of those who placed hounds on the Futurity board, the ones who attended for the first time and our old standbys whom we can count on year after year. One of the most classic remarks heard concerning the Futurity was made by G. W. Blalock.  His hounds were scratched and he was telling me that he knew they were not outstanding hounds when he entered them, but had he not had hounds, wife Mary wouldn’t have come, Quint would have been able to handle their hounds alone, and where for a $45.00 fee can you enjoy the companionship and fun that you have at the National.  You know—he’s right.  That’s what keeps hunters nominating and entering hounds—they know that someday they may be the top one and while they are hoping and trying they will have so much enjoyment. We cannot say this was an outstanding Futurity because the weather was definitely against us, but who controls the weather conditions!  This can happen any time, anywhere – so we trust you will be back another year to try your luck again.  In the meantime, here is the full report on the Futurity for 1971.