The Master of Foxhounds
The Huntsman
The Whipper-In
The Staff
The Field Master
The First Flight
The Hilltoppers
The Pack
The Fox

The Master of Foxhounds: The Master is the person in charge --- of the kennels, the hounds, the relationships with landowners, the day's of hunting, etc. A hunt may have one Master or several Joint-Masters. This year Farmington's Masters are Jill Summers, Pat Butterfield, and Carol Easter.

The Huntsman: The Huntsman actually hunts the hounds. The huntsman may be the Master or one of the Masters, or the Huntsman may be a professional hired for the job. Farmington's Huntsman, Darren Beeney, is a professional.

The Whipper-In: A "Whip" helps the huntsman control the hounds and often rides to the side so he can see where the hounds are going and tell the Huntsman what is happening ahead of him. Some hunts have only one Whip. Farmington's territory is very tight, so we have many Whips to keep the hounds from running out onto a road, or running into territory where the horses may not follow.

The Staff: The MFH, the Huntsman, and the Whips are referred to as the Staff.

The Field Master: The Field Master is in charge of all of us who ride with a hunt. It is the Field Master's job to make sure that everyone keeps up and has fun, but at the same time behaves in a safe manner and doesn't interfere with the hounds. The MFH may be the Field Master, but in Farmington's case our MFH rides as a Whip, so she appoints Field Masters.

The First Flight: These are the people who are well mounted, capable riders, who can move along at the pace set by the hounds, jumping whatever obstacles they meet. Generally, members with their colors ride at the front, and deference is accorded to any long-time members who wish to be at the very front. Any visitor, who is competent and suitably mounted, is invited to ride in the front, and members are asked to be careful to let them go first. Green horses, and upset ones, belong at the rear. Juniors who ride with the First Flight are accompanied by an adult. By custom, they ride at the back -- but here at Farmington, Juniors who are able to keep up and are well-mounted may ride toward the front. (Be careful - that my not be the case if you visit another Hunt!).

The Hilltoppers: Hilltopping is different at every Hunt. In some places it literally means sitting on the tops of hills and watching the hunt. At others, it means keeping up, but without jumping and, depending on the group, going at a slower pace than the first flight. At Farmington, the Hilltoppers usually have to move right along, because in our small country they must follow the same path as the First Flight, and if they get too far behind they risk turning a circling fox back into the Pack.

The Pack: There are several types of foxhounds (always "hounds," never "dogs"): English Hounds, American Hounds, Penn-Marydel Hounds, and other Crossbred Hounds. At Farmington, the hounds are American Hounds, which means they are slightly finer and faster than some other types and give "tongue" or "voice" in a distinctive manner. They are usually tri-color (white, black, and tan) or lemon and white, but can be almost solid white or mostly red, etc.

The Fox: The fox may be a grey, in which case he usually runs in a large circle, or a red, who will usably run in a straighter line. Some greys are "red-sided" and look like a red to the inexperienced eye, so it is really the way hounds run and the tricks the fox uses which tell you whether the hunted fox is a red or a grey.