60 SIDELINES JANUARY 2014
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
e
Foxhunting
Rita Mae
Brown:
By Doris Degner-Foster
R
ita Mae Brown is well known for the entertaining novels
she writes where household pets and other animals
take an active part in solving the murder mystery. She
is also an advocate for equal rights and an Emmy nominated
screenwriter and poet. But before any of those accomplishments,
Rita Mae rode horses. She says, “My mother would throw me on
old farm horses. She was a good person, but she wasn’t going to
baby me at all.”
It seems that Rita Mae learned some things about life when
she learned about riding. She explains, “In order to really build
a partnership with a horse you have to completely change your
way of thinking. You have to meet them half way or it really isn’t
going to work. Riding changes your mind and your spirit and you
become much more grateful for other forms of life.”
Rita Mae’s early heroes were accomplished riders. “I would
go to horse shows but what I really liked were the people in the
foxhunt field. When I was little, there were some ladies who rode
sidesaddle and they would take their fences in style. I don’t think
I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful.”
Not surprisingly, that little girl grew up to be Master of Foxhounds
and Huntsman of the Oak Ridge Hunt club near Charlottesville,
Virginia. As Master, Rita Mae is the head of the foxhunt club,
deciding the plan for the day’s hunting and overseeing all aspects
of the hunt club. While also acting as huntsman, she is responsible
for hunting the hounds, or deciding where and how the hounds will
hunt on each outing. When the hounds are on the scent line of
the fox, the horses and riders move off quickly to keep up with the
action to watch the hounds work. Rita Mae emphasizes that in the
U.S. foxes are chased but not killed. It is common for the quarry
to outrun the hounds or duck into their dens, which is referred to
as “going to ground.”
She hunts from her farm in Virginia that she has named Tea
Time Farm. She explains that her family line originated in Britain,
and although her ancestors left Britain in 1622, they still kept
British customs alive. She says, “When I was a kid we always
stopped at 4 o’clock for tea. It was a nice way to sit for 15 minutes
and then go back out and do what you had to do.” Although friends
have joked that it should be called Coca Cola Farm for Rita Mae’s
fondness for the beverage.
Rita Mae’s lifestyle of riding and hunting is one that she says
allows her to spend time in what she refers to as, “This incredible
creation all around me.” She elaborates about the effect her
lifestyle has on her when she says, “In many ways riding and
Rita Mae, cub
hunting from
a fixture, or
location, of Oak
Ridge Hunt.
Photo by Barbara
Bower,
www.
barbarasvisions.com
Continued on page 62
Books,
Breakfast
and the
Bravery
of the
Foxhunt!
