Don McVay Sr. Memorial Beagle Hunt coming up
COSHOCTON — Beagles will be returning to Coshocton this month for the Don McVay Sr. Memorial Beagle Hunt sponsored by the Coshocton County Beagle Club and the McVay Family which will take place Thursday through Sunday, Sept. 10-13, at Schumaker Farms in West Lafayette. Spectator admission and parking are free. Dave McVay is the event chairman.
“Don McVay Sr. was an avid beagler and was respected by so many beaglers,” said Dave. “We will see hunters here from all over the country at this event since it has become one of the most prestigious events to win. In recent years we have had between 150 to over 200 dogs in the hunt. This year we expect over 1,000 people in attendance.”
McVay says the hunt draws participants from across Ohio as well as from several states including – Louisiana, Virginia, New Mexico, Missouri, Indiana, Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Michigan, Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, and Iowa. Most of them stay in the Coshocton or Newcomerstown area.
“The beaglers really like coming to Coshocton County,” McVay said. “With the UKC Nationals here each April, the beaglers have become very familiar with Coshocton and the running grounds that the Coshocton County Beagle Club have are some of the best in the country.”
McVay explains that for the event the beagler participants will be organized into teams for this year’s event.
“They are released into the field in areas of permission throughout the county,” he said. “The dogs are to hunt to find a rabbit without assistance from a handler. They are judged by how quickly they find a rabbit and once the rabbit is seen they are judged on how they cross an imaginary line drawn where the rabbit is seen. There are no guns allowed. The dog teams are scored by pencil and scorecard.”
There is also a bench show on Saturday at 6 p.m. where the dogs are scored based on the confirmation and movement of each hound. Conformation is the requirements of the breed standard as set by each kennel club. A children’s puppy show will take place immediately after the bench show. The general public is welcome and encouraged to attend these events and there is no cost to watch the shows.
“Children in the audience are welcome to participate in this fun event,” added McVay. “We will have plenty of puppies available for them to use for the show.”
McVay says visitors can show up and go out on a cast as a spectator on Friday or Saturday mornings. Spectators also can take advantage of the raffle of items (totaling over $35,000) on Saturday evening, beginning after the bench show, so sometime shortly after 6:45 p.m. Tickets are sold the day of the event for $1.00 each or six for $5.
“We hope local residents in the area will come out for this raffle,” McVay said. “You don’t have to have a dog in the event to buy raffle tickets. We have so many items this year including guns, bows, gun safes, tree stands, GoPro Cameras, Garmin Virb Cameras, dog items, hunting trips and more. Many of the items are hunting related – and not specifically dog related. What makes our raffle unique is that we let the winning ticket holder pick the raffle prize they want.”
This event is sponsored by the Coshocton County Beagle Club and several other sponsors.
“We have had tremendous local and regional support for this event each year, and this year is no exception,” McVay said. “We had raffle items donated as well as a large number of items from local businesses and organizations to go into the 300 welcome bags for the beagler participants coming in for the weekend, and we are so grateful for this support.”
The Don McVay Sr. Memorial Hunt will take place at Schumaker Farms located at 52441 County Road 16 in West Lafayette. Admission is free for spectators and there is plenty of free parking.
“One thing we like to let people know is that this is a family friendly event, so there is no alcohol permitted at the event,” McVay said. “Food will be served by Schumakers and several vendors will be there as well.”
For information about the Don McVay Sr. Memorial Hunt, visit their Facebook page (Don McVay Sr. Memorial Hunt) or contact Dave McVay at 740-502-3953.
Category: Clubs & Organizations
