Page 266 - Showsight April 2013

THE WALKER HOUND
By Mrs. Robert D. Smith It was in Madison County, Ken-
tucky that three strains of Fox-
hounds had the foundations
for this breeds’ development:
Goodman, Trigg and Walker.
In April 1894, seven men drew
up the first American Foxhound Standard,
among them were W.S. Walker, W.C.
Goodman and Col. Haiden C. Trigg.
It all began in Henrico County, Virgin-
ia when Asaph Walker married a Watkins
and moved to Madison County, Kentucky
in 1785. His son John had four sons: W.
Stephen, Edwin H.J., Wade and Arch
K. In the fall of 1857, another son, Wil-
liam had a son, Jason who imported two
hounds, Rifler and Marth. Jason’s son—
Col. Charles, and his nephew, William
Walker Watts (Buck) took the first Walker
foxhounds into Texas soon after the end
of the war. The 3rd son, James, married
and had 2 daughters. After James’ death,
the girls were raised by their guardian a
well-known hound man. The girls married
brothers, Mary to George Washington
Maupin and Nancy to his brother Dan-
iel. It is this family, Maupin and Walker
who blended all of the hounds they raised,
imported and bought into what is today
called the Walker hound. Daniel Maupin
came from Virginia to Kentucky in 1784.
Both men, Asaph, and Daniel brought
with them their Virginia hounds, long
eared, deep voiced, narrow chested. Their
colors were black-tan, red pied, black pied
and blue speckled.
When the red fox first crossed into
Madison County, it required the fox hunt-
ers to look for new blood for crosses. On
a November morning in 1852 Tom Har-
ris caught a black-tan hound out of a deer
chase in Tennessee. He knew there was
a ready market for hounds with speed in
Madison County, Kentucky. Wash Mau-
pin on November 20, bought the hound,
and Tennessee Lead became the first
hound to run a red fox to earth in Madison
County. He became one of the foundation
sires of Maupin, Walker, Goodman and
Trigg hounds.
Wash Maupin could not read or
write, so he kept no records of his
hounds, that task was left to the Walk-
ers. Wash was a great business man, and
at his death was worth over $100,000
and owned broad acres of bluegrass, and
much land in the South.
Neither the Walker’s nor Uncle Wash
ever got to breed Lead to the imported
hounds of ’57. Then the Civil War broke
out and no records were kept and few
hounds bred during this dark period.
Three of Wash Maupin’s nephews—Neil
Gooch, W.C. Terrill and his brother, Dan,
as well his niece’s husband Arch Kavana-
ugh were crossing Tennessee Lead and
English daughters on the Ben Robinson’s
Maryland stock. This added more speed.
Neil Gooch’s Spotted Top was by Couch-
man a Maryland- English hound of Uncle
Wash. Col. Trigg also bought no fewer
than 20 hounds from Wash Maupin to
cross on the Birdsongs from Georgia.
After the War hound breeding picked
up with the Walker brothers of Garret
county buying Spotted Top. In 1867, we
begin to see a split of the 2 strains. Match
races began, and in 1867, Uncle Wash and
Ben Robinson met at Oil Springs in Clark
County, Kentucky.
Side bets and envy produced preju-
dice that drew the line of breeding. Wil-
lis Goodman moved to Bourbon County
to add the speed of the Maryland hounds,
while the Walkers over in Garrard stayed
with Uncle Wash and the English cross.
In 1891, the Walker’s knew they had
to outcross and Col. Chinn was able to
borrow or smuggle out of England three
hounds through the Pinkerton Agency.
These hounds came to Harrodsburg, Ken-
tukcy and the Walker brothers. The three
hounds were Imp. Striver, Relish, and
Clara. They did not improve the hunting
qualities but certainly improved com-
formation. Conformation was becom-
ing important because of the addition of
bench show classes to field trails.
The Walker hounds have more speed
than any other breed of Foxhounds.
Two men can be held responsible for the
modern Walker hound Edwin H. Walker
(1843-1910) and Sam Wooldridge (1879-
1946) both from Kentucky.
“In April 1894,
sEvEN mEN DREW Up THE fiRsT
AmERicAN fOxHOUND sTANDARD,
among them were W.S. Walker,
W.C. Goodman and Col. Haiden C. Trigg.”
“The Walker hounds
have more speed than
any other breed of
Foxhounds.”
266 • ShowSight Magazine, April 2013