Barrington Horse Country
Puppy Love
On Sunday, August 6, Barrington Hills Farm and HARPS (Hooved Animal Rescue & Protection Society) hosted the Midwest Fox Hound Puppy Show and Family Dog Competition which welcomed a lively crowd of all ages and their canine companions. The event was sponsored by the Fox River Valley Hound Heritage Foundation, a new nonprofit designed to preserve heritage while educating the community about land stewardship, as well as outdoor activities.
Guests were surrounded by 50 acres of brilliant sunflowers as they set up their tailgate style tents and offered a menu of items for fellow guests to graze on and judge for the Taste of Fox River Valley. Family dog competitions included best small, medium, and large breed awards, best rescue dog, best dog trick, and best owner/dog look-alike awards. The afternoon event opened with a Hound Judging Competition with help from Tony Leahy and Cathy Miller.
To top off the afternoon Puppy Show, guests and dogs moved to the water’s edge for some retrieving exercises. Dogs dove in to fetch items tossed into the water for the final event of the fun-filled day.
The Fox River Valley Hound Heritage Foundation has been created to preserve the historical tradition of riding to hounds in America. The FRVHHF fulfills its mission through educational programs, lectures, and historical reenactments including Hound Exercises. The exercises simulate the fox hunting tradition that began in Barrington Hills in 1940, and help to promote the enjoyment of outdoor activities and preserve open lands and natural habitat for native wildlife including mammals and birds. The focus of FRVHHF stewardship efforts will be to support prairie restoration, wetland, and woodland management in cooperation with the forest preserve districts and conservation organizations along with citizens and land owners of the Fox River Valley. The horse and hound exercises will be run in conjunction with regional hound masters and packs. Eight to 10 reenactments will take place between August and December (after bird nesting season) on regional countryside including Horizon Farms and Barrington Hills Farm. Other educational events include the annual Midwest Fox Hound Puppy Show and lectures that focus on riding to hounds in Barrington, as well as North America. To learn more or to donate, visit www.houndheritage.org.