For many across the country, the morning of the fourth Thursday of November means the aroma of roasted turkey wafting from the kitchen, the sounds of a football game coming from the living room and the embrace of family and friends at the door.
But for the roughly 250 people who congregated at Grace Episcopal Church in the village of Keswick just east of Charlottesville, the hallmarks of Thanksgiving are different.
The sound of an organ playing in the chapel meets the blasts of the huntsman’s horn outside, then the clop of horses’ hooves and the thud of foxhound paws on the ground.
Whether it’s one’s first or 30th time witnessing the spectacle, the annual Keswick Hunt Club’s blessing of the hounds is a sight to behold — a red letter day in Central Virginia marking the beginning of the holiday season.
“It’s quite a spectacle,” Rev. Miles Smith, rector of Grace Episcopal, told The Daily Progress. “Quite an experience that’s outside of most people’s experience, including mine. I’ve never experienced anything like this.”
Typically, the blessing of the hounds draws a crowd of more than 1,000, but the rain Thursday deterred many who had planned on participating in the morning of hymns, prayers and blessings for the hounds, the horses, the riders and, most of all, the foxes who waited in the countryside for the hunt to begin.
It made for soggy spectating, but the weather provided “pretty excellent hunting conditions” for those heading out on the hunt after the ceremony, said Murdoch Matheson, Keswick’s master of the hounds.
The fox hunting tradition dates back to the 16th century in England, originally intended as a solution to the problem of fox overpopulation. In America, the sport rarely involves killing the quarry; it’s more of a chase than a hunt. A successful hunt results in the fox surrounded but not killed by the hounds. Foxes will often jump into a burrow or other hole, where they will be fetched and then released, alive, for another chase on another day.
Thankfully, the skies cleared by the time the hounds were unleashed to roam the patch of grass in front of Grace Episcopal. The pack was greeted by a pack of children eager to show some affection.
Smith has officiated the service more than 10 times at this point, a Thanksgiving Day tradition that has occurred every year in Keswick for the past 96 years. The service was first held in 1929, established by the Rev. Frank Leslie Robinson, who served as the church’s rector from 1910 to 1942.
“It is a Thanksgiving service in the Christian tradition, as well as this opportunity to give a blessing to the Keswick Hunt Club riders as they go out on their Thanksgiving hunt,” said Smith.
Considered “one of the oldest and most prestigious fox hunting clubs,” Keswick Hunt Club was founded in 1896, almost 150 years after the congregation of Grace Episcopal.
The congregation dates back to 1745, one of the first six churches in the Virginia colony back when the Church of England was the official state-sanctioned religion.
That rich history is partly responsible for the longevity of the practice, Smith said, particularly given the deep appreciation of history that is evident in the Charlottesville area, which is home to the estates of many the country’s Founding Fathers, huntsmen themselves.
“It’s that mix of history, spectacle, family, tradition and charitable giving,” said Smith.
That charitable giving was on display when halfway through the ceremony, checks and wads of cash were collected in red buckets, tweed caps and equestrian helmets.
Some of the contributions this year benefitted the University of Virginia Women’s Health Clinic — Heart Health, which focuses on cardiovascular care and wellness for women.
Other contributions went to Houses of Wood & Straw, a Charlottesville-based nonprofit group created in 2008 with the goal of providing shelter and resources for outside dogs.
Raising as much money as possible will be especially beneficial to the volunteer-based organization as it approaches the height of its busy season, which is October through March, said Janine Kaestner, a Houses of Wood & Straw board member.
“This is going to help with getting materials to build more houses,” she told The Daily Progress. “We put pine and straw in our homes. So being able to grab those funds and go into this busy winter season to be able to make sure all our dogs are nice and safe and warm.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com