Today, in my riding, I honored my
father Saturday, October 9th, 1999. I started
the day at 5:30am, by driving out towards Flint Hill,
Virginia. Arriving at a beautiful horse farm up against the
mountains, I was met by Justin Wiley and his girlfriend,
Nancy. Along with the master of the Old Dominion Hunt, Gus
Forbush, we loaded up four horses and drove off to the first
hunt meet that I have ridden in since I rode with my father
on Thanksgiving Day of last year. I drove in the van with
Gus and we spent the drive to the meet speaking about dad.
Before we set out, Gus brought the field
together. Standing in his stirrup with the hounds all around
his horse, he welcomed all out on this beautiful fall
morning. Then he turned towards me, some thirty yards away
and introduced me to the field. I will remember his words
for years to come. "We are joined this morning by a young
gentlemen who has not been out in the hunt field for a few
months now. Many of you knew his father, the renowned Master
of the Piedmont Fox Hounds, Erskine Bedford. As most of you
know we lost Erskine to a hunting accident in December, and
Dean informed me on the drive over here that this is his
first time out since his father's passing. Thus I want to
welcome him as our guest, tell him how much we all miss his
father and express how honored the Old Dominion Hunt is to
have him in our field today." As my father's son, I stood up
in the saddle and removed my helmet. Tipping it towards the
master, I gave a simply reply of, "Thank you Sir, it is my
honor to be here!" I was very fortunate to have Justin on my
left and Nancy on my right, for as you can imagine, I was a
bit emotional. The hunt was wonderful. During the morning,
as we galloped around the beautiful Virginia countryside,
almost to a person, ever member of the field made their way
up to introduce themselves. Many reveled in how much fun
they had had out hunting with dad. Stating how gracious he
was and how he always wore that big devious grin. Most ended
by simply saying how much they miss him. Again, I can't say
enough about having Justin there. He made sure at ever turn
that I was all right. After returning the horses to the farm a
few hours later, I jumped in the car to return to
Charlottesville. A quick stop at the house to pick up my
white pants, and I was off to the Keswick Polo club to play
in a USPA sponsored '0 to 4' Goal game. Being a little sore
from the hunting in the morning did not stop me from closing
down the Georgetown Polo team's best player. During all four
chukkers, I simply did as our pro instructed, I took my pony
and drove their best player away from the play. After the
game the gentlemen I was marking made a very nice
compliment. He stated how much I really frustrated him
because every time he tried to get to the ball, I hooked his
stick or rode him off. A very nice compliment, indeed. The
best part of this little story is that I also scored two of
our ten goals. My first 'big time' game, USPA sponsored, a
victory, all complimented by two wonderful goals and a big
silver plate. Saturday, October 9th was a wonderful
day. Life of late has been tough, with the emotions of dad
passing weighing on me heavily. My day started early, it was
emotional and long. During the day I rode five different
horses. I jumped, I galloped, I stopped hard and I turn
sharply while going full speed. All the while not having to
consider the actual riding of the horse. It simply came
naturally to me. My father was a wonderful horseman, and
yesterday I was able to honor his memory in my riding. As
much as I am writing this cathartic note with tears in my
eyes, I am writing this as the proudest of sons. 'Somewhere
up there, my father is proud and smiling that devious grin
'.
By Dean Bedford