History 4

In 1980, Mr. Getty, his wife, Mary Ann, and several of their friends organized the Suffolk County Hounds, which he then served as Master and Hon. Huntsman through 1986. For the new hunt, the Gettys chose to breed a pack of Penn-Marydels, well-suited to the extensive woodlands and sandy soils of Long Island, deep-voiced and hard hunting. It was Fred Getty's special desire, moreover, to make this pack of Penn-Marydels unique in that all would be blue-ticked. The heritage of the blue-ticked, or "mottled," hound was both distinguished and of long standing, descending from the Gascon hounds of medieval France to the Old Southern Hound of England to the hounds imported by Maryland planters to the Eastern Shore in the early eighteenth century and finally to the Penn-Marydels of the present day. Expert breeders and masters of the ancient science of venery will dispute among themselves as to whether color is an attribute of any great importance in a hound. Yet, the records of hunting history, from Gaston Phoebus to the present, frequently attest the prowess of the "mottled" hound. Fred Getty's blue-ticks, at any rate, soon became well-noted for biddability, nose, and marvelous cry. Many were the marvelous runs and great was the sport that they showed under the guidance of the Master and huntsman.

By the mid-1980's, however, the onrush of development on Long Island was threatening even fox-hunting territories located, like the Suffolk County's, at the eastern end of the island. The Gettys began to consider relocation and began a search that led them to the Old Dominion and, by happy chance, to Ray Swanbeck and the Middlebrook country. The Swanbeck family had built a new home, Bold Hill Farm, and hoped intensely that their former home, Bold Stream Farm, would be occupied by some devoted fox-hunter who might bring new energy to the Glenmore Hunt and carry it to ever greater heights. Fred Getty, with his pack of blue-ticked Penn-Marydels, proved the answer to their dream.

The Gettys relocated to Bold Stream in 1986, established hunt kennels there, and Fred began to serve the Glenmore as its Hon. Huntsman. His skill, knowledge of venery, and the excellence of his pack proved a revelation. In 1987, he became Master, soon thereafter reinforced by Ray Swanbeck as Joint Master. A tremendous burst of hunting activity followed. The hunt country was extended throughout the Dutch Hollow area, paneling was vastly improved, and excellent sport became the order of the day. The tide had turned from ebb to surge. Marvelous sport was shown, under the Glenmore name, in a series of brilliant seasons, from the late Eighties through 1995.