Covertside Magazine
ABOUT COVERTSIDE: The Magazine of Mounted Foxhunting
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History
The first issue of Covertside made its appearance in June, 1994. It was mailed to about four thousand recipients (the total combined lists of the Virginia Foxhound Club, the Museum of Hounds and Hunting, and the MFHA!).
Recalling this first issue, Jimmy Young wrote in the Fifth Anniversary issue of Covertside, July, 1999:
“The arrival of this formative issue was greeted with overwhelming praise and congratulation. It obviously filled a void in the continent’s foxhunting appetite. The paper was slick, the production values excellent, the pictures befitting….
“This still-fledgling journal continues to provide more foxhunting substance per column inch than any other continental sporting publication. By dint of its success and demands for even more information, Covertside doubled its size to sixteen pages. It is quoted by individuals and institutions around the world and is a respected voice for a way of life under attack. For that success, a foxhunting engineer named Norman Fine, a foxhunting leader named Marty Wood, and the foxhunting leadership named the Board of Directors of the Masters of Foxhounds Association should take great pride. I know I do.”
The Mission
In the first column on the first page of the first issue (Covertside, May, 1994) we said: “Covertside is a newsletter for foxhunters published by the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America in the belief that improved communication cannot but help to strengthen the unity of our foxhunting community. Through these pages the MFHA wishes to reach all who love foxhunting – Masters, staff and field members alike. We will bring you NEWS of Recognized and Registered hunts; INFORMATION about foxhunting – practice, management, tradition, history, literature, art – that we hope will delight both newcomers and old-timers; and important ISSUES that bear upon the well-being of our sport.”
To the extent we have fulfilled these objectives over the course of our first ten years, we are gratified. If we have brought you closer and involved you more personally in the conduct and happenings of our sport, foxhunting has benefited. Whether you are a new enthusiast or an experienced foxhunter, if we have deepened your enjoyment of hunting by providing useful information about hounds, hunting, sporting literature or art, we are exceedingly gratified. And if we have encouraged one individual to help in the preservation of our precious open space, or given you reason to be proud to count yourself in the fraternity of foxhunters – conservationists, protectors of wildlife, good citizens – foxhunting has greatly benefited.
The New Covertside
Over the years, Covertside has transformed from newsletter, to award-winning print magazine. In 2009 MFHA added e-covertside, and this year we’ve added this website. This family of products offers timely communication, a beautiful magazine for readers and a better vehicle for advertisers.
Covertside has a lot to offer advertisers: While Covertside has a current circulation of about 8000, it reaches serious foxhunting members and supporters of MFHA-Registered and Recognized hunt clubs across the United States and Canada. Our readers are affluent enthusiasts who love horses and hounds as well as travel and the foxhunting lifestyle.
Reader demographics, as determined by a survey conducted by the University of Maryland, are impressive. Ask one of our sales representatives for a copy of readership demographics.
Subscribe to Covertside:
If you’d like to subscribe to Covertside but are not an MFHA member, please contact the MFHA office for information.
Contribute to Covertside:
Your letters and comments are important to us. We relish your kind words, but we cherish your reactions, your thoughtful comments, your ideas and suggestions. If Covertside makes a worthwhile contribution to your foxhunting experience, please help us do better for foxhunting by sharing your wisdom with our readers.
Submissions should be directed to “editor-at-covertside.net.” You can email us for writers guidelines. Some sections seek regular contributions from the hunts or foxhunters individually:
Covertside at Breakfast
After the hunt horn sounds its final melodious call and riders must sadly turn homeward, there is the hunt breakfast to look forward to — where fox hunters gather to tell tales and relive the day’s ride — sure sustenance for body and soul. Breaking bread together helps bring the group closer, and breakfasts are an important way for hunters to pass on their love of hunting and the lore of the sport to the next generation. In this way, many hunts become like family over the years.
Each month, Covertside will highlight this rich custom in Covertside at Breakfast. This column will feature a hunt profile, traditions, photos and – most importantly – the recipes that bring readers the cheer born of these legendary occasions.
Covertside at Breakfast will visit various hunts around North America to capture the “flavor of the hunt” through a look at favorite dishes, drinks and traditions. Authors are Martha A. Woodham and Julie Bryant Fisher, riders and fox hunters who enjoy eating and cooking, and are affiliated with Midland Fox Hounds and Bear Creek Hounds. Both are writers and editors for newspapers and magazines in Atlanta, Ga.
Share the traditions and recipes of breakfasts at your hunt. Contact Martha, martha.woodham@att.net or 404.992.6112, or Julie, jbryant@bizjournals.com or 678.522.8470.
Last Run of the Day
Submit a great photo for the back page. Please make sure it is large format, and 300 dpi.
Essays and Opinions
If you’re inspired, send us an opinion piece or essay about foxhunting today.
If you have suggestions, ideas, or articles for publication, contact the editor through the MFHA office or by e-mail.
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