He loved his hounds. And his hounds loved him. So notes Mr. Jeffrey Blue, Middleburg Hunt's MFH, on the passing of their beloved huntsman Troy Taylor. What better epitaph could any huntsman want for himself? What greater compliment? Taylor, 39, died in a motorcycle accident on Thursday, September 8 on Foxcroft Road in Middleburg. He is survived by his wife Pamela Taylor, and two sons, Colt, 12 and Conner, 10.

It was the position of huntsman for the Middleburg Hunt that brought the Michigan-native here to Loudoun County in 1996. Taylor was a mere 29, with just a few years of hunting professionally under his belt, but Mr. Blue could tell almost instantly how gifted he was. "He was young. But he showed great sport – he was wonderful with the horn and at hunting with his voice."

Blue recalls the interview process during which they got to know Troy. "We put him on a horse and sent him up a hill and said basically, 'Okay, tell us what you do. Say we [Blue and his fellow Masters] are the field behind you. Now go and hunt.' And off he went. And he just started yelling like a banshee. The very hairs on the back of my neck stood on end."

The Masters decided to go with the young huntsman despite a plethora of applicants to choose from. They never once regretted the decision. "He was so enthusiastic, a great sportsman, and always ready to hunt one more covert on the way home," recalls Blue. "One of the hardest working people you ever met in your life. And he loved his job. He was not someone who felt he should be Master. He had plenty of confidence and selfworth, and respected the masters and what they did. But he was really comfortable and happy doing what he was doing, and doing it well."

Fellow MFH Penny Denegre agrees his enthusiasm for his job was remarkable. "He wanted everyone to have fun." Blue add, "He realized that that was the aim and object of this exercise."

When not tending his pack, Troy Taylor spent time coaching his son's local youth hockey leagues. He was also an avid hunter, and according to Blue, "He really enjoyed all of the outdoors of Loudoun County and what the outdoors used to mean to people."

Taylor was born and raised in Michigan, went to college for a few years, then headed out West to work as a cowboy. When his father became ill he returned to Michigan to help his family. It was then that his mother noticed an ad in the paper announcing a position at the local hunt kennels. She suggested to her son that since he liked horses and dogs he should apply. And so a career was born. Within two years they had him working as a huntsman.

In 1994 Taylor moved to Tennessee where he was huntsman for the Mells Hunt. Then in 1996 he came to Middleburg. "He arrived on a Wednesday," remembers Mr. Blue. "And he stopped by the kennels to meet the staff and the hounds. The plan was for him to officially start work that Saturday with a hound walk." By the time they met that Saturday Troy already knew each and every hound by name and sight. They had, at the time, close to 50 couple hounds. "That's a gift," recalls a still astonished Blue. "You can't learn that."

A memorial service will be held Friday, September 16 at 5:00 p.m. at the Goodstone Inn. Donations can be made to the Troy Taylor Memorial Fund, Middleburg Bank, P.O. Box 5, Middleburg, VA.