History 3

The Second World War caused a hiatus in the affairs and activities of the Hunt. After the War, Major Roller had already retired as Master, and the Glenmore entered a period when its major focus was the Glenmore Horse Show, held in Staunton's Gypsy Hill Park, which attracted many skilled riders from throughout the country. The efforts of dedicated fox-hunters like Malcolm ("Mack") Crosby, Master in the late 1950's and still active with the Hunt in 2002, nonetheless kept the torch of fox-hunting burning during the years when social functions and horse activities were so heavily emphasized.

The expansion of Staunton removed the Glenmore's hunting country bit by bit. A relocation to the Jollivue area south of the growing city helped for a time. That area was soon under pressure, however, and, in the 1960's, horseback riding and showing in Staunton's Gypsy Hill Park ended, as the City's priorities changed. The Glenmore Horse Show as never so successful or prominent at Jollivue, and, eventually, it lapsed altogether. Interest declined, and, for a time, the Hunt floated on an ebb tide.

At this low-water mark, a great champion of Middlebrook fox-hunting emerged in the person of a distinguished, retired Naval officer, Mr. J. Ray Swanbeck. Together with his wife, Babe, also a keen fox-hunter, Ray Swanbeck engineered a removal of the Glenmore from its increasingly constricted site near Staunton to the open territory of its origins in the undeveloped Dutch Hollow country south of Middlebrook village. Having secured promising land for hunting, Mr. Swanbeck then sought to attract an outstanding huntsman and to develop a staunch, hard-hunting pack. He found both in the person of Fred Getty of Long Island with his unique pack of blue-ticked Penn-Marydels.

Frederick G. Getty descended from an Irish family prominent in both fox-hunting and horse-showing in the Emerald Isle. His uncle, Frederick Ahearn, served as captain of Ireland's national equestrian team. Fred Getty began hunting with the Smithtown on Long Island. After whipping-in for several seasons to Harry Delayer, Mr. Getty succeeded him as Hon. Huntsman in 1976.