Bill Text: VA HR85 | 2024 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Commending the Old Dominion Hounds hunting club.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-12 - Stricken from House calendar [HR85 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HR85-Introduced.html
WHEREAS, the Old Dominion Hounds hunting club, a distinguished foxhunting club based in Marshall, celebrates the organization's 100th anniversary in 2024; and
WHEREAS, the origins of the Old Dominion Hounds (ODH) date to 1924, when Sterling Larrabee, ODH's first master of the foxhounds (MFH), rented a property in Flint Hill after being persuaded to try hunting in Rappahannock County and northern Fauquier County; and
WHEREAS, in 1925, after its second season, Sterling Larrabee's hunt club, which at the time was operated as Mr. Larrabee's Hounds, was granted recognition by the Masters of Foxhounds Association of North America; and
WHEREAS, after operating privately through the 1920s, Mr. Larrabee's Hounds began accepting subscriptions in 1931 and was renamed the Old Dominion Hounds to reflect the organization's growing membership; and
WHEREAS, in 1941, Sterling Larrabee sold ODH's hounds and the rights to its country to Albert Hinckley, who then immediately sold them to ODH, Inc., for a dollar; six years later, after serving during World War II, Colonel Albert Hinckley embarked upon a long and honorable term as the club's MFH; and
WHEREAS, numerous successive MFHs and huntsmen have been integral to ODH's growth and development over the years, contributing greatly to the preservation of foxhunting in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, today, ODH territory spans approximately 100 square miles of Fauquier and Rappahannock Counties through the bucolic foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, offering its riders both thrilling sport and enchanting vistas; and
WHEREAS, ODH is dedicated to ensuring the future of foxhunting both by caring for and sustaining the land and wildlife on the club's property and by supporting new riders who represent the next generation of the sport; and
WHEREAS, through its commitment to upholding the sporting traditions of the Commonwealth and to fostering a welcoming and inclusive community for those who wish to foxhunt, ODH stands at its centennial poised for another century of success; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Old Dominion Hounds hunting club hereby be commended on the occasion of the organization's 100th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Old Dominion Hounds hunting club as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the organization's history and its service to the Commonwealth.
