A memorial tribute to Louise Hughston

Louise was a nurse by profession and her family had a horse farm in Spartanburg, SC. When Arthur Farwell retired as Master of the Tryon Hounds, Louise was tapped to become a joint Master. Louise and Bonnie were a team from the start. Louise instantly picked up Bonnie’s love of the hounds after Bonnie confided that the current kennel was full of “hounds gone wild.”

The first thing they did was to bring in Robert Ashton as their new Huntsman and with him came some of his American hounds. They rebuilt with an eye for breeding and soon had 15 Couples (or pairs).

The two women recognized each other’s strengths. Louise was a treasure trove of information on what a traditional hunt should be and she recognized that Bonnie had an uncanny sense of business and marketing skills and knew she would be the one who could reorganize the hunt. While Louise went after new members, Bonnie assembled a Board that was responsible for the financials, the buildings, and the social events with creative fundraising ideas including launching the Tryon Hounds Fall Steeplechase.

Ivey Sumrell first hunted with the Tryon Hounds in 1972 as a young college student. “Back then they rode road flat out,” Ivey recounted. “Louise was leading first flight. I had ridden before but had never hunted so I stuck close to Louise. We were on River Road near Carriage Row when Louise exploded into a gallop. We continued at full gallop 4 miles to Scrivens before we stopped. Louise turned to look behind her and I was the only one there. What a hoot!”

Dean McKinney, who would one day become a joint Master of the Tryon Hounds, was fond of saying “Louise Hughston could cuss you out with a smile on her face. Everybody loved her.”

Louise is missed by so many but we know she is still watching over her precious Tryon Hounds. You will be hearing more memories of Louise including how she got her nickname as “The Big Weezer.”