FOXHUNTING IN NORTH AMERICA

Riding to hounds was brought to the North American continent in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. George Washington was among the Virginia plantation owners who kept packs of hounds and followed them on horseback; his Mount Vernon diaries contain vivid notes on his hunting. From Virginia and other states along the Eastern seaboard, hunting has spread as far west as California, Texas, Colorado, and Arizona where coyotes are the quarry. There are now over 173 member hunts (including both registered and recognized) in the U.S.A., 18 of them in North and South Carolina.