Sedgefield Hunt History

logo The Sedgefield Hunt

Background

Early History
Established in 1927 by brothers Jim and Charlie Hendrix and Col. Frank Page, the Sedgefield Hunt is the third oldest hunt in North Carolina. Although the Sedgefield Hunt was not officially recognized until 1941, the Hendrix family had enjoyed foxhunting since before the Civil War.

Because foxes were uncommon in the area, Jim Hendrix imported fox weanlings from west of the Mississippi and kept them in the trunk of a giant oak tree in what is now Greensboro’s Irving Park West neighborhood. He raised the fox cubs on dog food and chicken until they were old enough to capture their own prey. Then, Hendrix turned the cubs loose to spend a year establishing their territories before they were hunted.

Thus, Jim Hendrix was the first huntsman of the Sedgefield Hunt, and Col. Frank Page was its first master. For the 1934-1935 season, the hunt employed its first professional huntsman, George Thomas. Johnny Rochelle of High Point was the Sedgefield Hunt’s first formal Master of Foxhounds.

Territories

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From 1939 to the 1950s, the Sedgefield Hunt hunted out of Sedgefield Stables and what is now the Sedgefield Show Grounds. Development forced the hunt to search for new territories farther out of town. Today, generous landowners have granted the Sedgefield Hunt permission to hunt on their land in Guilford, Rockingham and Caswell Counties in North Carolina, as well as in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.

Hounds

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At the hunt’s inception, the Sedgefield pack consisted of English foxhounds that Jim Hendrix assembled and trained himself. The Sedgefield Hunt incorporated crossbred foxhounds into the pack until recently, when the hunt shifted to Penn Mary Del foxhounds. Currently, Sedgefield hunts 22 ½ couple of primarily Penn Mary Del hounds.

Sedgefield Horse Show
In the midst of the Depression, the Sedgefield Hunt organized the first Sedgefield Horse Show to benefit the Guilford County Tuberculosis Sanitarium. While the Sedgefield Horse Show has always focused on hunters and jumpers, before 1965 it also included classes for Walking Horses, Gaited Horses, Parade Horses and Harness Horses. Today, the Sedgefield Horse Show is solely for hunter/jumpers and is one of only a few “A” rated shows in the Triad.