Father Russell of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church in Butte, MT (center) prepares to bless the hounds prior to a foxhunt. The young lady on the right may have been distracted by the release of the hounds (photo courtesy Dr. John Xanthopoulos/University of Montana Western equestrian team).

THE BLESSING OF THE HOUNDS

When you think of foxhunting in the United States, an Eastern state such as Virginia or Maryland is probably one of the first locations to pop into your head. Nevertheless, one IHSA coach has worked hard to establish his Hunt Club in a seemingly unlikely place. Dr. John Xanthopoulos, head coach of the University of Montana Western Equestrian Team (found in IHSA Zone 8, Region 3 - Editor) bases his Treasure State Hunt (TSH) out of his barn in Dillon, Montana. Dr. Xanthopoulos is a 1977 graduate of CW Post College where he was co-founder and captain of their IHSA team. He has also been involved in foxhunting for over 30 years. He had tried several times to establish a hunt in his area until recently when his latest attempt took off. TSH had their first season in 2009 beginning with several pre-season hunts in the Spring. However, before any official hunting season begins there is always a "Blessing of the Hounds" ceremony. To kick off their first official season, TSH's ceremony took place on October 3rd in the indoor arena of Dr. Xanthopolous' barn, J&S Sporthorses.

The Blessing of the Hounds ceremony is thought to have begun over a thousand years ago when a hunter had a spiritual enlightenment during one of his hunts, causing him to devote his life to God. This one event started the Blessing of the Hounds tradition at the beginning of every hunting season. English foxhunters brought the custom to the American colonies. According to Dr. Xanthopoulos, "The Catholics have their own Saint Hubert, and the Orthodox have Saint George as the protector of the animals." The Blessing happens only once a year and the pack of hounds get blessed as a whole. Dr. Xanthopoulos says his pack consists of 19 hounds, including five puppies. All of the hounds hunt with him on a regular basis except for the puppies, injured dogs, or females in heat. He states that his pack will grow to no more than 30 dogs. Neither the horses nor the people are blessed during this ceremony, but that did not stop about 30 people from all over Montana and even as far as Salt Lake City, Utah, from traveling to J&S Sporthorses for the event.

The hounds are released! According to Montana Western head coach Dr. John Xanthopoulos' facebook page, one of the hounds was so excited to be blessed by Father Russell that he decided to "bless him right back!" (photo courtesy Dr. John Xanthopoulos/University of Montana Western equestrian team)

TSH hunts both coyote and fox, depending on which animal's scent the hounds pick up. Since the weather in Montana can be unpredictable, TSH goes hunting as much as they possibly can. However it seems that the weather is one of the only drawbacks to hunting in Montana. Dr. Xanthopoulos says that hunting in the East vs. the West is like "comparing day and night." He states that in the East land is at a premium which makes hunts very limited in terms of time spent hunting and also how much ground gets covered. "In the West we have literally hundreds of thousands of acres of open space that we can use, and do," he said. Xanthopoulos was also quick to point out that both East coast and West coast hunting have their own distinctive challenges.

J&S Sporthorses is not only the headquarters of TSH, it is also the home barn of the UMW Equestrian Team. There are 25 members on the IHSA team and five of these members ride and hunt regularly with Dr. Xanthopoulos. This year team members were even a part of a parade of TSH hounds at the University of Montana Western's 7th annual open hunter-jumper horse show. As far as Dr. Xanthopoulos knows, the UMW IHSA team is the only team that has access to foxhunting through their head coach. He even supplies members of the team with use of his own foxhunters. Not just anyone on the team gets to saddle up and ride with the hunt though. Because you have to ride over very uneven terrain at high speeds, only the intermediate and advanced riders are allowed to ride with TSH.

From left to right are Dr. John Xanthopoulos, Montana Western riders Amanda Gelderman, Alex Evans, Amanda Stephenson, Carissa Callison, Kristen Bredl, Sarah Tiffany and Father Russell. Dr. Xanthopoulos allows the more advanced Montana Western team members to ride along on his foxhunts. Dr. Xanthopoulos provides use of his own horses for these riders because as he says, "It could be dangerous if you join the hunt and your horse has never seen hounds." (photo courtesy Dr. John Xanthopoulos/University of Montana Western equestrian team)

The UMW IHSA riders may foxhunt just for the fun of it, but what they (and others) may not know is that foxhunting is probably helping their performance in the show ring! A prime example of this is Amanda Gelderman, who rides regularly with the hunt, currently leading the hunter seat open rider standings for their region. Dr. Xanthopoulos says, "Because the show hunters and the forward seat came out of the foxhunters and foxhunting, it absolutely benefits the IHSA riders to ride with the hunt. It also improves your balance and coordination when you are riding in uneven mountainous terrain." Although IHSA riders from an area other than Zone 8 Region 3 have yet to ride in a hunt with Dr. Xanthopoulos, he says that he has recieved many inquiries. He encourages people across the country to join their nearest foxhunt. Who knows, it just might help you place higher at your next show!

--Kristie Heitmann