Whippers-in Bok Summers (left) with his parents Jill and Paul Summers and Farmington hounds, 1991.

Photo by Cathy Summers (www.cathysummers.com)

By Lauren R. Giannini

Tradition and family are key elements at Farmington Hunt near Charlottesville (VA). Bok Summers grew up the youngest of three children on a farm in a very horsey household. His parents both whipped in. Paul D. Summers Jr enjoyed playing polo, bird hunting and trout fishing. He’s 81 and still road-whips whenever hounds go out. Bok’s mother, Jill Faulkner Summers, one of the longest-serving, active lady masters of foxhounds in North America, whipped in until she suffered a massive stroke in 2006 and passed away two years later.
Jill’s legacy lives on in the Farmington hounds, countryside (one family farm is in easement and another in process), and her offspring – both human and equine.

Bok graduated from Westminster School and earned his BS in Urban Studies and Political Science at Jacksonville University (FL). He spent Thanksgivings during his undergraduate years with Marty and Daphne Wood, hunting with their Live Oak hounds. Married in 1991, Bok and Ellie have two children, Stewart, 16, and Burks, 13. After years of working in an office, Bok returned to his roots and now manages two farms in Albemarle County.

Farmington’s joint-masters Carol Easter and Patrick Butterfield appointed two new masters: honorary whippers-in Joy Crompton and Bok Summers, a bonafide chip off the old block.

Sidelines: How did such enthusiasm and passion influence your life?
ABS: It was amazing. I got introduced to hunting at an early age and I was hunting on ponies when I was seven or eight. It gave me a love of the country also.
I stopped hunting, went to college and was doing other things. I came back and opened a restaurant and brewery with my brother Paul. That’s when I started hunting again. I started whipping in about 1989. We sold the restaurant about 10 years ago. It was fun at times – the restaurant was a lot of work, and I didn’t spend as much time with my children as I would have liked, but it was good for hunting because I got Tuesdays off. Now, it’s just weekend hunting on Saturday.

Sidelines: How did your mother stamp you, to borrow a breeding term?
ABS: I love whipping in, I love working with hounds. I think I definitely got that from her. I don’t know if it was so much stamped – it was also learned. I saw what she loved. I watched her. It was children and foxhunting. Her overriding goal in life was working with hounds. She was master for 47 years – probably led the field her first 10, but she was always more interested in whipping in. She enjoyed that much more, because she loved the hounds.

Sidelines: Do you have any favorite horses from your years of hunting?
ABS: Oh yeah! I rode a horse named Buck, a Secretariat grand-son – oh my God, he was a fantastic horse. I loved that horse more than anything. I got him from Paul Cronin at Sweet Briar – he got him from Butch Gray [whipper-in and huntsman]. I rode Buck for 10 years, until 2000. He was great whipping in. He was a big, strong chestnut like Secretariat, one of those super-keen hunting horses. His ears were always pricked, following hounds. My wife Ellie hunted Buck in the field and got run away with once in a while. She’d pass the field master, saying ‘Whoa, Whoa!’ He’d say, ‘No problem, we’ll see you in a minute!’

Sidelines: What advice do you have for newcomers? For wannabe whippers-in?
ABS: Don’t be afraid to come out and try it! We try to be an approachable hunt – we’re formal, but we like to have fun. I think some people who ride are almost afraid of it. It’s like they’re intimidated by hunting, and I think it’s the most fun thing you can do on horseback. You absolutely have to have the right horse with the right temperament – and your horse has to be ready to go hunting.
Learn your hounds – do not whip in unless you know all your hounds’ names. When you can, watch a good whipper-in. See how they do their job quietly with the least amount of fuss.

Sidelines: What does foxhunting mean to you in the big scheme of things?
ABS: It means getting out on cool mornings and being in the country and seeing everything on horseback, listening to hounds run and watching the foxes. I love seeing how smart the foxes are and how they fool the hounds every time.

Subscribe for just $29.95 or $10 for online viewing!