52 SIDELINES NOVEMBER 2011
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
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By Lauren R. Giannini
Robert Taylor serves as joint-Master/huntsman
at Goshen Hounds and also hunts the Newmarket-
Middletown Valley Hounds. Robert and his wife Kathy
operate Taylormade Stables (Mt. Airy, MD) where they
train horses, teach riders and stand a stallion who
made his reputation as the huntsman’s horse. Robert
is a third-generation huntsman, born in Ireland, stamped
by his father and his legendary grandfather. Robert
started hunting at four, was show jumping at 10, and at
14 represented Ireland as a junior and continued into
open international competition. There isn’t room for
all the fascinating details and, of course, he’s a terrifc
storyteller. www.taylormadestables.com
Sidelines:
Who was your greatest infuence?
RT:
My father was most instrumental in me getting
involved with horses. I still have a photograph of hunting
on my own for the frst time: I was four and terrifed,
riding a little pony called Blackie. The family has been
in hunting for generations. According to them, I’m more
like my grandfather Tommy Taylor. He had hunted
various packs in Ireland and of his 13 children, six boys
hunted hounds professionally. My father Jack was one
of them. He did his apprenticeship in England before the
war and returned to Ireland to the Kildare Foxhounds as
frst whipper-in.
Sidelines:
How did you end up in Australia, then in the
US?
RT:
My mother wanted me to have an education. I
fnished high school in England, went to the University of
Liverpool, and worked as a schoolteacher for three years
before going to Australia in ’74. Bit by bit over the years,
horses crept back into my life. I became heavily involved
in Pony Club and judging at shows. Pony Club brought
me to the USA in ’92 when I brought over a Mounted
Games team. I hunted [with just about every pack in
Maryland and Virginia]. Bay Cockburn was huntsman
of Goshen and Loudoun West, but he decided he was
only going to hunt one pack and put my name forward
as huntsman of Goshen. I got my green card and had
to decide whether to stay or return to Australia. Goshen
Master Rick Jones’s daughter was the American coach
of the Mounted Games teams. Kathy was the reason
why I came over in ’92. We got together, married and
she’s the reason why I’m here.
Sidelines:
Which breed of foxhound do you prefer?
RT:
That’s a good question, because when I came here,
I only knew English hounds and Irish hounds. This is
an American pack at Goshen. I enjoy the cut and thrust
of the American pack and I like the malleability of the
mixed pack. They tend to get together a bit more. The
Crossbred can be a bit more steady.
Sidelines:
How do you fnd your hunt horses?
RT:
I used to buy, train and sell and break in horses. I don’t
really buy and sell anymore, but people often ask me to fnd
one for them. My horses come through word of mouth and
contacts; maybe a horse hasn’t worked out for somebody
else. I retrain horses and I fnd that horses who don’t work for
other people, work for me. I love the Thoroughbred, the way
I love the American pack. I suppose only one of my horses
is a Thoroughbred. My main hunting horse is a Hanoverian-
Thoroughbred. I have a good spectrum of horses.
Sidelines:
Who is your all-time favorite feld hunter?
RT:
My Morgan stallion, DJJJ Ebony Gold. He’s a wonderful
old man, he’s in his mid 20s and I have several of his offspring
on the farm. That guy I hunted, I evented, I dressaged, I show-
jumped, I did distance riding. I could take him to displays
like the Maryland Million with my hounds. He did everything.
He was my buddy. He’s still black as the Ace of Spades, still
breeding. He’s the man.
Robert Taylor, MFH & huntsman
Photo by Alan Ledbetter
Five Questions for Robert
Taylor, MFH & Huntsman