Carson City, NV – August 16, 2011 – The 2011 $25,000 Franktown Meadows USHJA International Hunter Derby will take place at the Franktown Meadows Equestrian Facility in Carson City, Nevada on September 5, 2011. As spectators admire the beautiful hunter derby course set upon the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range they will be treated to a display of the sport of fox hunting by Lynn Lloyd of Red Rock Hounds from Reno, NV. Following the fox hunting presentation, the Franktown Meadows Hunter Derby will showcase the best horse and rider combinations in the country as they compete for the winning title.
Lynn Lloyd will demonstrate and explain the excitement of fox hunting, the hounds, and the tradition of this wonderful sport. This event will take place at 12:00 p.m. with the derby beginning at 1:00 p.m. Lloyd and her team at Red Rock Hounds will be parading 80 of her fabulous American bred Walker Hounds around the hunter derby course on horseback. Lloyd is excited to gallop around and show off her prized hunting dogs as she enjoys sharing her passion with the public.
“I think it is good exposure for the hounds. It is part of the hunter derby,” noted Lloyd. “The derby came because of field hunting. All of the hunters came from the field or that’s how it all started so this is kind of presenting its roots. I think that they begin to understand that this is where hunters in the show ring began and that hunting in America is still available and we hope it stays available. I want people to understand the freedom and being in nature. I think it grounds people and I want them to remember the fun of horses. Sometimes I think they forget that.”
Lloyd began hunting in England where she became captivated with fox hunting. She explained, “The first time I heard the call of a hound something inside me came alive. I have not stopped hunting since. I feel as though I am the luckiest person on the face of the earth. We have so much land to hunt on in Nevada that you cannot believe it. You never have to stop the hounds or the horses and it is the best way to see nature and the beautiful state of Nevada.”