Deep Run Hunt Pony Club (DRHPC) is a registered club of the United States Pony Clubs, Inc.
DRHPC has always been closely tied to the Hunt Club from which it gets its name. We continue to benefit from the generous hospitality of the Hunt Club with the use of Deep Run Hunt Club's grounds and facilities.
Historically, the "Pony Club Ring" at Deep Run Hunt has been maintained and equipped by the DRHPC, and we have shared in the costs of building and maintaining the cross country jumps.
The former beagle kennels located behind the Pony Club Ring are used by the DRHPC for storage.
The Deep Run Horse Trials (not to be confused with the Hunter Trials, which are held by the Hunt Club), a combined training event held in April of each year, is the major fund-raising activity of the club.
Pony Club is an expanding organization. In 1993, the Genito Creek Pony Club was formed to provide more Pony Club opportunities in the Richmond area, and the two clubs shared a relationship with the Hunt Club and often collaborated on rallies and clinics. However, in 2001, the Genito Creek Pony Club was dissolved and most members joined the DRHPC.
(USPC) divides the country into regions for organizational and administrative purposes. DRHPC is one of fourteen clubs in the Virginia region, which encompasses northern Virginia and the Richmond area. The Old Dominion Region covers the southern part of Virginia from the mountains to the Virginia Beach area and currently has thirteen clubs. The Regional Supervisor (RS), Vice RS, and other regional officers are valuable resources to our club. The Region sponsors rallies in most of the Pony Club disciplines and sends teams made up of individuals from different clubs to National Championships. The Region also sponsors upper level prep clinics and ratings from the C3 to A levels.
Deep Run Hunt Club History
Fox-hunting as we know it became popular in England in the 1600's and in North America, William Keppel, Earl of Albemarle and governor of Virginia, established a foxhunting pack in 1742. The early colonists enjoyed foxhunting on a regular basis and George Washington is said to have been an avid foxhunter.
Hunting season lasts from October until the end of March, when scenting conditions are best. The ingredients of a successful hunt are not very different than they were in colonial times; horses, hounds and riders following the call of hunting horns everywhere across the Virginia countryside.
Deep Run Hunt Club began in 1887. The name Deep Run was taken from a stream of that name which runs through the western part of Henrico County into Tuckahoe Creek. Hounds were kept at Chantilly, three miles west of Richmond on the Deep Run Turnpike, now called Broad Street. The club moved to Rosedale Lodge in 1896, near the Hill Monument in Ginter Park. The club moved a total of five times, each time due to rapid development and expansion of the city of Richmond. In 1923, an old farm house on Broad Street (currently the site of Richmond Ford on Broad Street and Westmoreland Avenue) was turned into a clubhouse and hunting flourished there until 1932, when the club purchased land in Goochland County where the clubhouse is located today.
In the eastern part of Goochland County hunting has become increasingly difficult as bulldozers and developers continue to build more roads and houses. In 1996, the hunt club purchased land in Cumberland County and moved the kennels, stables, hunt staff and much of the hunting activity further west. Hunting will continue in the home country of eastern Goochland for as long as possible and there are no current plans to move the clubhouse in the foreseeable future.
Today's fox-hunter is very concerned about preserving open space and conservation of wildlife. The decrease in open space may be one of the greatest challenges to the sport of foxhunting in the 21st century.
If there is a motto for fox-hunters, it might well be this: Of all the recreations with which mortal man is blessed, Go where he will, fox-hunting still is pleasantest and best.