Welcome to Bear Creek Hounds of Moreland, GA
.
The mainstay of the Bear Creek
pack can be traced back to Midland Secret 1991 who was widely regarded as being one of the “greats”. From her, Master Hal Barry
received Shine ‘98 as well as a dog hound Flash ‘00 whose father was Bicester with Whaddon Chase Faraday ‘95. What is of interest
in this particular case is evident in Faraday’s breeding. Faraday’s father, Cottesmore Hardaway, as the name suggests, came
from Midland and was sent to the U.K. From there he sired many great hounds and his blood is now infused into many of
the top English hunts as well as those who use crossbred hounds in the U.S. One of those migrant hounds, of course, was Faraday
who found his way into the Midland Kennel in Georgia, so it would seem that the wheel has turned full circle!
Shine and Flash
produced two litters whose hunting traits have proved desirable here at Bear Creek. They have also demonstrated their prowess
among their counterparts by successfully competing in MFHA Sanctioned Performance Trials. Smokey, who entered in 2003, did extremely
well taking 4th place overall out of some 35 hounds in the winter trial of 2005 held at the Belle Meade hunt in Thomson GA.
The offspring have a loyalty and drive that is a joy to be a part of and are a pleasure to be around in the kennel.
Of
course one is always looking to improve upon what is already established and a number of breedings have been undertaken within the
kennel and some have been outcrosses. The results have already seen a substantial success by winning a championship and reserve grand
championship at Virginia in 2005. The fun part is watching the new prospects find their place in the kennel and witnessing their development.
As
well as the “Secret” lines there are a number of others that exist in the pack. Some of these can be traced back to hunts such
as the Fox River Valley, Green Spring Valley , Hillsboro and Rappahannock to name but a few. Interestingly over 90% of these
lines have Midland blood somewhere in the lineage.
From a very humble beginning the Bear Creek Hounds have grown and evolved
into a respectable pack capable of showing some great sport whether they are in the trappy and sometimes difficult country in their
native Coweta County or in the wide open flatlands of Dooly or Sumter Counties in the South, which speaks volumes for their versatility
and tenacity.
The Bear Creek Hounds bloodlines are based on a draft that were generously donated from Mr. Ben Hardaway, III MFH of the
Midland Foxhounds, Georgia. (Immortalized in his autobiography “Never Outfoxed” and later in the companion documentary “In Full Cry”). Mr. Hardaway is known and revered the world over for his efforts in breeding a crossbred hound that has the ability to show great
sport in the rugged and dry terrain that exists in the South Eastern United States while at the same time possessing enough “biddability”
to be controllable among the multitude of white tailed deer that are now prevalent in this part of the world. Mr. Hardaway saw
Hal Barry as “a true dog man” and realizing what Hal can due to further the sport has supported our efforts in breeding hounds for
the Bear Creek Hound kennel.
