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A Brief History . . .
A Hunt of Foxhounds
Established 1969
MFHA Registered 1973
MFHA Recognized 1987
Out of an eastern-bred love of foxhunting, the Santa Fe Hunt was
first conceived and founded in 1969 as a "paper chase." The
founders were a small group of San Diego residents led by Dr. Sol
Roy Rosenthal of Rancho Santa Fe and including Augie and Ruth Handley,
Tom Slattery, Tom Krai, Dennis Dale, and Santa Fe's first Master
of Foxhounds, Hugh Dale.
Following the acquisition of four "foundation" hounds,
Mr. James Norment became the first professional huntsman. Growing
participation in the hunt built to its Registration by the Masters
of Foxhounds Association of America in 1973. In that same year,
the first SFH Hunt Ball was held at the Westgate Hotel in San Diego
to great social acclaim.
During the early years, SFH hunt country was located
entirely within San Diego County and included much of the open
areas of Rancho Santa Fe as well as Rancho Bernardo, Poway and
Penasquitos Canyon. As encroaching development reduced open country
in the early 1980's, there was a brief period of relative inactivity
for the hunt, until its reorganization and incorporation in 1984.
This rejuvenation, spearheaded by past-Master Alex Pisciotta and
the late MFH Augie Handley, resulted in the hunt's expansion into
Riverside County and its Recognition by the Masters of Foxhounds
Association in 1987. During this period, hunt country included
Camp Pendleton and the Naval Weapons Station, as well as areas
of Temecula, Rancho California and the Santa Rosa Plateau.
Today, the hunt kennels are located in Riverside
County, professionally managed by a professional kennelman and
overseen by Master and Huntsman Terrel E. Paine. We hunt Crossbred
hounds and English hounds under the auspices of Huntsman Paine,
over country variously located within Riverside and San Diego Counties.
While many people have the impression that foxhunting
is an elitist sport, nothing is further from truth. Our
members are geographically dispersed and represent a cross-section
of Southern California lifestyles and professions, including physicians,
lawyers, teachers, artists, veterinarians, military officers, pilots,
entrepreneurs, business people, and individuals in the travel and
the entertainment industries, racehorse breeding and training,
horse trainers, and amateur competitive riders.
Our formal hunt season begins in November and typically ends in April, with hounds going out twice a week during that period, on Thursdays and Sundays. Hound exercise ("roading") and training ("cub hunting") fill the calendar for the balance of each year.
The heart of all SFH activity is the care, breeding, exercise and training of our select pack of MFHA-registered foxhounds.
The social gatherings and competitive riding events throughout each year include the Hunt Ball, Hound Show, Christmas Party, Puppy "Auction", camping trips, riding clinics and California Steeplechase Association Race Meets. We work in conjunction with area Pony Clubs to foster horsemanship and to enhance community participation in English cross-country riding and traditional fox hunting.
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