Competing at Foxcroft

Out Hunting with the Piedmont Foxhounds

       If we are to believe the stories,, "Ozzie" reputedly won the prestigious Punchestown Three-Day as a six year old and represented Ireland in their eventing team.  He was then sold for quite a lot of money to the United States.  He promptly ran off with his new rider at Radnor (allegedly it took four miles to stop him), put several people in the hospital (one fell off when Ozzie jumped a 5 bar gate from a standstill), did a year long stint with Rodney Jenkins as an Open Jumper, and finally was send to the Piedmont Foxhound kennel as either a staff horse if they could use him, or as hound food.  It is there that I met Ozzie.

     I was working at the kennels at the time, exercising the hunt horses and hunting the green horses. Thankfully, no one told me of Ozzie’s history and I just loved riding that horse. Yes, he pulled so hard my arms ached but there wasn’t anything he couldn’t jump. Initially, I had my share of scares…Ozzie once thought I wanted to jump a car, but he knew so much I just always tried to leave him alone and let him do his thing. I suppose that’s why we got along so well. He might have been a bear before and after a fence, but when it was a big fence, you never, ever worried about him getting over it.

    I hunted him for seven wonderful seasons with Piedmont and then retired him to our farm where he lived out his life baby sitting and giving us an occasional quiet trail ride. Ozzie was an important part of my life for 15 years until his death in 2002 at the age of 27.

Head Study: Virginia

Natalie with Good Intentions & Oscar at Christmas. Good Intentions has been sold to Jessica Ransehousen

The Kilkelly Crew at Upperville

 
Frosty and Lindsey

Linda on Hennesey and Lindsey on Frosty at the Orange County Hunt Team Chase