Our Contributors



	On this page you will find > Writers > Photographers Writers J. Harris Anderson, known simply as “John” to his friends, serves as the newspaper’s copy editor. A member of the Fairfax Hunt, he is a native of Washington, DC, but has lived in Virginia for more than 50 years. John attended the University of Virginia as an undergraduate and earned an MBA from George Mason University. A former marketing director, consultant, and adjunct college professor, John now works as a freelance writer and editor from his home in Prince William County, on the outskirts of Catharpin. An avid horseman and foxhunter, he brings both an enthusiast’s spirit and an editor’s eye to his work for In & Around Horse Country. In addition to his editing services, John also contributes the occasional article to the paper.
Photograph by Janet Hitchen	Robert Ashcom, a Former Master and huntsman, is the author of Lost Hound, a nonfiction collection from Derrydale — the first title in their contemporary series of foxhunting books — and Winter Run, a novel in stories from Algonquin which won the New Writing Award for Fiction from the Fellowship of Southern Writers in 2002. Many of the stories in Lost Hound first appeared in the pages of Horse Country’s newspaper. This is his forty-seventh hunting season.
	Mark Deane, a director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA) since 1990, is currently a member of the Virginia Breeders’ Fund Task Force Committee and is employed by the VTA as the Field Director of the Virginia Breeders Fund. In that capacity he is responsible for administering the Fund and has spearheaded numerous projects to promote and grow Virginia’s breeding program. Mark has also served as the Executive Director of the Virginia Affiliate of the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, as a representative to the Virginia Horse Council Board, and as a member of a wide variety of VTA committees. From his farm, the Home Place, Mark breeds his own race prospects as well as breaks and trains horses for his clients and himself. In addition, he holds both owner’s and trainer’s licenses. A freelance writer whose work appears in a wide variety of equine publications, he works diligently to educate breeders and owners on all aspects of horse management. Mark also works for The Stallion Company, an organization that represents horses, promoting the stallions Black Tie Affair, Housebuster and Hay Halo.
	Lauren Giannini lives her childhood dream to 'write and ride - not necessarily in that order" in the heart of horse country. In addition to writing book reviews, features, etc. for In & Around Horse Country and PR for the Museum of Hounds and Hunting, Lauren provides Magic Touch rejuvenating bodywork for horses, small animals and humans. Some day she hopes to write fiction in the spirit of K.M. Peyton and Dick Francis, her favorite British authors. Thoroughly at home with horses, Lauren dreams of a farm where she helps thoroughbreds off the track to find their true calling in life - preferably as field hunters, steeplechase prospects and jumpers.
	Rupert Isaacson was born in London in 1967 to Southern African parents. A true mongrel, he was brought up partly in the middle of the city, partly in the middle of horse country (Leicestershire). A product of both the hippie generation and age-old tradition, he spent his childhood between Britain and Africa. Rupert has hunted and ridden his whole life. Now a full-time book writer and journalist, he is best known for his work with the Bushman hunters of Southern Africa's Kalahari Desert. He might also be spotted out hunting in Virginia or Britain, lecturing at National Geographic, or enjoying a bit of socializing at most any establishment that passes for a pub. He lives in Austin Texas (where, yes, they do hunt, surprisingly) with his psychologist professor wife Kristin and their young son Rowan. Rupert's books include The Healing Land - the Bushmen and the Kalahari, The Wild Host - History and Meaning of the Hunt, and numerous guidebook titles to Africa and India for the Cadogan series. His articles appear in such publications as Conde Nast Traveler, The Chronicle of the Horse, Esquire, National Geographic Traveler, The Explorers' Journal, and, of course, In & Around Horse Country.
Photograph by Douglas Lees	Tommy Lee Jones is a renowned horseman and writer. His articles have appeared in In & Around Horse Country, Loudoun Magazine, and various other publications. He has bred, raced, and trained thoroughbred race horses for both flat and steeplechase racing; hunters and jumpers for show rings; and foxhunters. In partnership with his mother, he runs and manages New Hope Farm in Warrenton, VA, preparing horses for sale, racing, and hunting. Tommy has served as huntsman of the Casanova Hunt since 1970. He is currently a member of the Virginia Point-to-Point Council and serves on the Rules Committee. Tommy also manages the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the Warrenton Pony Show, and the Warrenton Horse Show, and is a member of the Virginia Horse Shows Association Management Committee. He also serves as a Board member of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association.
Photograph by Janet Hitchen	Barclay Rives has been foxhunting for more than thirty years and, he reports, the sport still gives him new challenges, excitements, beauties, frustrations, and satisfactions. Barclay serves as an honorary whipper-in to the Bull Run and Keswick packs in central Virginia. After graduating from Harvard in 1976, he returned home with a new appreciation for his neighborhood sporting tradition and the special characters who take part in it. As a regular contributor to In & Around Horse Country since 1993, Barclay shares his adventures in the hunt field with our readers and provides profiles on notable equestrians and foxhunters. He has been a freelance writer for 20 years and has published two books including a centennial history of the Keswick Hunt Club.
	Cathy Moss is a freelance writer who contributes to Thoroughbred Times and In & Around Horse Country and is also a staff writer for the weekly newspaper The Fauquier Citizen. Cathy resides in Flint Hill, Virginia, and subscribes to the Old Dominion Hunt. She is an active and long time supporter of The Middleburg Humane Foundation and has adopted many rescued animals including five horses and numerous dogs and cats. (Current count: six dogs and seven cats.) She studied journalism and animal science in college and feels fortunate that she can combine her two passions—the written word and animals.
	Louisa Woodville, a regular contributor to In & Around Horse Country, also writes articles for several other publications, including The Washington Post, Loudoun and Elan magazines. In addition to reporting on horse events, she researches and writes about late antiquity and the Renaissance for academic publications. Louisa lives in Middleburg VA, the base of her enthusiastic eventing and foxhunting activities. She has a Masters degree in Renaissance Studies from the University of Virginia and an MBA from New York University. Having attended Foxcroft School in Middleburg, she feels she has come home to roost.
	Bill Yates, who covers the polo scene for us, is an international tax attorney in Washington, D.C. He rode hunters, jumpers and event horses for 25 years before taking up polo in 1989.
	Photographers Liz Callar Liz Callar’s father was an excellent photographer and encouraged her to pick up a camera 25 years ago. Horse people around the country know Liz from the horse show world where she has been showing and foxhunting since she was 10 years old. Today, Liz is a show pony agent and seems to be spending more time with her camera. She recently photographed the San Juan Capistrano Invitational Horse Show in California and was excited to be assigned shooting duties at the Winter Equestrian Festival, West Palm Beach, Florida, for In & Around Horse Country. Other recent photos have appeared in Loudoun Magazine, how-to books, and ads in The Chronicle of the Horse. Aside from show horses, Liz enjoys photographing country scenes, carriages, chickens, and children on ponies. Jake Carle
	Janet Hitchen combines work and play from her farm near Middleburg, Virginia, where she tends a number of horses, llamas, dogs, donkeys, goats and pigs. She produces award winning photographs of horses, hounds, horse people, children and brides. If you have enjoyed the covers of In & Around Horse Country, chances are good that they are Janet Hitchen photographs. In her travels around the countryside, both here and abroad, she has captured on film many special moments in time.
	Douglas Lees considers himself a weekend photographer. He focuses on racing and can be spotted at the occasional opening meet, framing images of horses and hounds. His "hobby" spans about 35 years, earning recognition in the sporting community and numerous awards, such as the prestigious Eclipse in 1978 for his photo of Master's Degree and Buzzy Hannum. More recently, his cover photo for In & Around Horse Country took first place in black & white from the American Horse Publications competition in 2002. Douglas, by day an insurance agent for Carr & Hyde, fills his weekends with racing whenever it is carded. He is quite skilled in darkroom photography, which allows him a finely honed control over the cropping and editing of his photographs. He used to ride to hounds, but now he chases racehorses. Douglas studied journalism in college and enjoys writing the occasional article, especially about his other real hobby, fly fishing.
	JIM MEADS, a.k.a. "the running photographer," has followed 465 hunts on his own two feet whilst wielding his camera, setting some kind of world record. Jim's four books of brilliant hunting photography bear witness to the camaraderie expressed around the world for this affable Welshman. In his ardent pursuit of ars venatica, Jim thinks like a fox and acts like a hound so that he ends up where the action is. Fit and trim for a young man in his 70s, Jim's health and rugged constitution support his personal philosophy "spirit willing - body trying!" His global jaunts bring him to the USA and Horse Country several times a year, including his recent book launch for "In Full Cry" and Memorial Day Weekend for the Virginia Foxhound Show. He combines business with pleasure and visits various packs, camera in hand. Jim Meads, we guarantee, is out there, somewhere, right now, running with the hounds.
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