
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 23, 1994                   TAG: 9408170009
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: SHIPMAN                                 LENGTH: Medium

AUTHOR WILL LEAD FIRST FOX HUNT IN 80 YEARS, RENEWING TRADITION

Author Rita Mae Brown will ride as Master of Fox Hounds as the Oak Ridge estate in Nelson County revives a tradition that began at the turn of the century.

Brown will lead the first fox hunt in nearly 80 years on Oct. 23.

The hunt renews a tradition that Oak Ridge's most famous owner, Wall Street tycoon Thomas F. Ryan, began shortly after buying the 4,900-acre estate. Ryan began fox hunting on the estate in 1910 and spent $80,000 on fences, jumps, and stables and quarters for his horses and hounds, estate historian Lee Marmon said. The last hunt took place in 1915, he said.

Marmon said the estate's current owner, Suffolk garbage magnate John C. Holland Jr., wants to revive the sport at Oak Ridge as part of his plan to restore the estate to its former grandeur.

``We've been interested in trying to revive all the traditions that were going on here in the early 20th century,'' Marmon said. ``But none of us are fox hunters.''

Brown will head up a group of invited riders under the name of the Oak Ridge Hunt Club, said Gordon Reistrup, horseshow manager at Old Blue Equestrian Center of Afton, which is owned by Brown.

Brown, whose best-selling novels include ``Rubyfruit Jungle'' and ``Southern Discomfort,'' is an accomplished horsewoman and hunts foxes on her 420-acre farm near Afton, Reistrup said.

Marmon said the first hunt will be open to spectators.

``There won't be any guns,'' Marmon said. ``The goal is not for the riders or the hounds to kill the fox, but only to chase it.''

``We're not out there to blow up little farm animals with shotguns,'' Reistrup said. ``We're out there for the thrill of the chase.''

Reistrup said the club hopes to hunt foxes on the estate Fridays and Sundays after the Oct. 23 public event.

``The opening meet is really a pageant,'' he said. ``You've got the blessing of the hounds, the horses are braided, and everybody's in their formal clothes.''

Holland bought the estate for $7 million in 1989 from Ryan's great-grandson. It features a 31-bedroom, 11-bathroom, 14,275-square-foot antebellum mansion and dozens of other buildings.

Holland is renovating the horse racetrack that Ryan built in 1909 and plans to hold thoroughbred races - complete with pari-mutuel betting - next spring, Marmon said.

by CNB