Danny Kerr, Camargo huntman

      Danny Kerr has carried the horn since 1989 at Camargo Hunt whose country straddles the line between Ohio and Kentucky. Hunting's been part of his family for three generations. Born on Long Island, NY, to Elizabeth and George, Jr., Kerr was four when he started hunting on Brownie. Later he hunted Buck (who didn't) and Lydia, his fancy show pony. His father and grandfather whipped in for Smithtown Hunt. In fact, the legendary Harry deLeyer had been huntsman, and Kerr grew up his sons. He now claims that the most famous thing he ever did was to ride Snowman, retired from show jumping - inducted in 1992 into the Hall of Fame and a 2005 Breyer horse.
      Kerr was 10 when his family was one of the 11 families who moved to Tryon, NC from Smithtown "to get to the south and to do some hunting." They joined Tryon Hounds, and his father and other members of the Long Island transplants helped to build the kennels and the clubhouse. His mother still lives in Tryon where his brother runs Crossroads CafE9 where all the horse people congregate.

Sidelines: How did you get started hunting hounds?
DK: I always loved hounds. It was always there. My father had a beagle pack and as kids we ran rabbits. My brothers and I whipped in to Greenville County and Tryon. I was a kid when I started, and we rode with both hunts through my teens. I finished my schooling in Tryon and went on the horse show circuit for a few years, riding hunters and jumpers.
I had whipped in, but never hunted hounds. I decided to try it. I went to Sedgefield Hunt in Greensboro in 1979 - I lived with Ian Milne for a month before he went to Fairfax [VA]. Mr. Ian taught me a lot, especially about bloodlines. He was into the Portman Saladin line, a stallion hound he brought over. We acquired him when Ian left and bred a lot of bitches to him.
Sedgefield was my first employed job with hunt staff. I was 18 - one of the youngest huntsmen in the country at the time - and I was with Sedgefield for eight years. I loved it.
I took a little break for a year after that. I went back to showing horses and met my wife - I'd taught her riding - and we had an offer from the masters up here in Cincinnati in '89. I've been here at Camargo ever since.

Sidelines: Who has influenced you the most?
DK: Tot Goodwin [huntsman for Green Creek/Greenville County Hounds] - he learned a lot from Ben Hardaway. I learned a lot of woods sense from Tot - you gotta think like a fox sometimes so you can help your hounds. When I was at Sedgefield, Ben Hardaway taught me a lot about hunting skills, breeding, bloodlines and so forth. Gerald Pack who was with Greenville County helped me with business stuff. We're both horse-oriented.

Sidelines: Do you have a preferred bloodline? Do you have any hounds you really rely on out hunting?
DK: A lot of the old bloodlines went back to Piedmont with a lot of Bywater. I have American, Crossbred and English. We have some Midland in the pack. We've got several different bloodlines we're using right now. When Greenville County shut down, I acquired some hounds from there and we've been breeding some of those American hounds into our Crossbreds, experimenting to see if it's going to be a good cross.
I have a hound named Farmer that goes back to Hardaway bloodlines [Midland]. I acquired him as a puppy from Woodford Hounds in Versailles [KY] - he's very athletic, very smart, very keen, very sharp and absolutely pretty well deer-proof.
I have another old hound, Nickel - he's been one of the best hounds. I've used him a lot for stud. He's absolutely deer-proof and probably one of the best jump hounds to find a line. He may not be the fastest, but he'll be there and be right. Nickel's an American hound, goes back to old Piedmont blood when Randy Waterman was there. Gerald Pack gave him to me as a puppy and I raised him.

Sidelines: Have you had any horses that really stand out as field hunters?
DK: Rocket Man, a Thoroughbred. My wife had hunted him in Carolina and I just took him on as a staff horse when I came to Camargo. Rocket was a dream to hunt. You could watch him and he'd tell you what was going on. You didn't have to pick up the reins. He knew what to do - all you had to do was point him and go. He was wonderful and very hound-smart.
I had one other horse in my time who was that way. Zeus was wonderful and probably as smart as Rocket, but very much more athletic. We showed him in the jumpers, plus we did him in the foxhunting and in the steeplechase. In one week we went to a horse show - my wife rode him and Zeus was champion. Patrick Murphy hunted Iroquois' hounds for 32 years, and on Friday that same week I hunted Zeus on Patrick's last hunt. On Saturday I took him to a point-to-point and won the flat race by 21 lengths. All in one week. Zeus was really cool.

Sidelines: Do you have any goals left, showing or hunting?
DK: I have three children - one's 22, he's up and gone. Trena and I have two children, Griffin, eight, and Matthew, four - he's showing an interest in riding. A goal is to be able to hunt with Matthew. I hope to do hunting as long as I can. When I can't, I hope to take Matthew out and hunt with him somewhere. I'll probably always have a pack of hounds, just to play with, foxhounds or beagles.