OUR HUNTSMAN
Claire Buchy-Anderson
Claire Buchy-Anderson was a child born in the hustle and rush of inner city Paris, a far cry from where her true passions would lead her. From her earliest days she had a fascination with all things horse and riding, a pursuit that was sadly unavailable to her in the urban environment. So like many small girls, she would dream of and read everything about the equestrian life, and in particular, for Claire, her love of Native American cultures and their horses. By the time she was 10, as if a prayer answered, her family relocated to the rural and mountainous Haute Savoie region of Eastern France. Soon finding a hotel riding center, Claire spent many hours trading farm chores for the opportunity to be around and to ride the center's mounts. This experience deepened her love for the horse and developed her skills.
By the time she was in her early 20s, she was an accomplished equestrian, spending as much time in the saddle as possible, often leading mountain trail rides and over-nights, and traveling to foreign countries to ride. She was now living out her earliest childhood dreams.
Through all of this, Claire had cultured a new passion for dogs, sight hounds in particular, and to this end in the early 90s she established her SHALLOW RIVERS, kennels dedicated to breeding and showing the Afghan Hound. After some success and a few heartbreaks, she turned her attention to showing the Australian Shepherd, where after five years of travel, breeding, and showing worldwide, her effort culminated in SHALLOW RIVERS dominating five classes at the European Championship show, and to this day SHALLOW RIVERS' Aussies are still winning across Europe and the US.
In the year 2006, introduced by mutual dog-horse friends, Claire met Professional Huntsman Chip Anderson.
OUR KENNEL HUNTSMAN
Chip Anderson
Chip grew up in New England with an all consuming love for nature, hunting , fishing, falconry, horses, dogs and an insatiable wanderlust that has taken him to the reaches of the Arctic to the pampas of Patagonia, and from the moors of Scotland to the jungles of Africa in pursuit of game and adventure.
Chip entered professional hunt service in 1989, whipping-in to several packs in the Midwest before being hired as professional huntsman to North Carolina's Tryon hounds in 1993, where he hunted hounds for 14 seasons. In this time Chip started writing down some of his experiences and found that he was actually good at it. His work has appeared in many national publications from SAFARI JOURNAL, SHOOTING SPORTSMAN, CHRONICLE OF THE HORSE, UPLAND JOURNAL, SPORTING CLASSICS to COVERTSIDE. Along with many newspapers pieces, Chip was also a co-author of the Si Friedman book, THE HUNT IN AMERICA, published in 1999.
After meeting Claire, where they found out they shared so many interests from riding, dogs, travel, a love for many eclectic pursuits from falconry to bull fighting, they seemed a great match. With this in mind they set off on a new adventure in 2007 to live abroad working as hosts and guides for a safari-travel company residing in Bolivia then Argentina, Italy, Portugal, Morocco and Senegal. They enjoyed experiencing all that the world had to offer. Upon their return to the U.S in early 2008, they were offered the opportunity to come on board at SYVH. Jumping at the chance to work again with horse and hound, they believe they offer the best possible team for SYVH, with Claire carrying the horn as huntsman and Chip assisting as kennel huntsman. They are using their considerable talents to manage the day to day hunt duties, provide days of exciting sport for the members, and are developing a first class pack of hounds that you can be proud to ride behind.
OUR PROFESSIONAL WHIPPER-IN
Miranda Mayfield
Miranda Mayfield is the newest member of the SYVH professional staff. New to California but hardly new to the world of horse and hound, she has quickly become an asset to our club. Born in the deep south of Simpsonville, South Carolina in 1982, she spent her formative years on her parents' cattle farm learning how to ride at an early age. In her teens, like many young girls, she became involved with the local pony club furthering her technical equestrian skills. By the time she was 14 years of age she was an accomplished rider. With a streak of daring not usually encountered in someone her age, she was a natural for foxhunting. At her first foxhunt at the Tryon Hounds in North Carolina, she immediately caught the attention of then huntsman Chip Anderson. Her skills and enthusiasm were great assets to the hunt. Miranda whipped-in for Chip at Tryon for the next several seasons, helping out in the kennels on her days off from school and walking the hounds in the summer.
After graduating from school, she went to work with Steeple Chase horses, riding and training. Her work took her to Pennsylvania and around the East. Settling in Camden, SC, she continued to work with Steeple Chase horses and to train difficult animals for clients. By early '08, Miranda was ready for a change and a chance to be involved again with one of her passions - Mounted Foxhunting. Arriving here in mid July '08, she immediately began to apply her talents and is of great assistance to Claire Buchy-Anderson and the Masters in providing great days of sport for the members.
OUR PROFESSIONAL WHIPPER-IN
Diana "Moscow" Walsworth
Diana moved from Moscow, Russia at age six. She was given the option to come to California with her Mom to live with her and her now stepfather, Jeff. She started riding around age eight when stepfather Jeff suggested she take horseback riding lessons after seeing numerous drawings of stick figure horses.
She started to ride with Mickey Hayden Stables in San Juan Capistrano for several years. Then Diana moved to Santa Barbara, where she rode in Carpinteria.
During a hiatus from riding she picked up skateboarding, then snowboarding, then surfing. Eventually Diana met Pete Conway at the Santa Barbara Skate Park who mentioned that his father, Tom Conway, was looking for a rider, which got Diana back into riding. Tom and Molly took her hunting with SYVH.
When a part-time position as professional Whipper-In became available, Diana applied and was hired. The 2009-2010 Season is her first as an enthusiastic member of the staff. She is currently a student at Santa Barbara City College.
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