Pickup trucks pulling horse trailers kick up clouds of dust as they approach. Soon, riders prepare their saddles and adjust their distinctive red and black uniform coats—and then enjoy a traditional toast with Port wine.
After the preparation is complete, floppy-eared hound dogs are released to run alongside Raina Robrahn, the master of foxhounds and huntswoman, as she leads her team into the vast, wild countryside. Behind the group are Jeeps carrying everything from binoculars to ice-cold ale.
Sierra Nevada Hounds (SNH) is Northern Nevada’s newest fox-hunting group, with facilities north of Lemmon Valley. Fox hunts originated in England as a method of rural pest control, but today, SNH members meet regularly at various locations on Nevada’s public lands for a day of horseback riding, eating and off-roading.
“We have different positions in our hunt. We have the huntsman; that person is on a horse and in charge of all the hounds,” explained Tess Opferman, SNH’s board secretary.
Opferman is a “whip,” who ensures the hounds stay within range. As the field—the group of riders—and whip trail behind Robrahn, the group remains silent to avoid distracting the dogs as they focus on tracking a scent. When a coyote is spotted, “Tally-ho!” is called into the network of walkie-talkies. The chase has begun.
Hound dogs begin darting toward the coyote as it quickly slinks through boulders and shrubs. The horses gallop in chase, and the support vehicles accelerate as they drive across rocky, uneven terrain.
Opferman emphasized the distinction between the historic English fox hunt and what SNH does. “We chase coyotes in the traditional form of fox hunting. … It’s not a true hunt; we’re not killing anything,” Opferman said.
When a coyote is sighted, the hounds will begin chasing, and do so until the animal has hidden or escaped. Riders will then announce that the coyote has “gone to ground,” which marks the end of the pursuit. Roger Merriam, a former rider and SNH board member, said that Robrahn has meticulously trained the hounds to chase, but not attack.
Opferman said Northern Nevada’s arid environment makes it challenging for hounds to pick up a coyote’s scent, and not every hunt ends with a successful chase.
“We don’t need to catch the coyote to have a successful day,” she said.
Fox hunting in the American West differs from many East Coast hunts due to the use of sighthounds. In Eastern states, Opferman said, hunts are often held on private lands with dense, grown-out greenery, and therefore limited visibility, meaning only scent hounds are used. But in Nevada, with miles of vast, public lands, SNH can combine the strengths of both sight and scent hounds to track coyotes.
SNH’s sighthounds are crossbreeds of Salukis and Greyhounds, which are adept at looking across distances and scanning the horizon for movement. Running alongside the Saluki-Greyhounds are Walker, English and American foxhounds.
Gwendolyn Clancy is a SNH field rider (and Opferman’s mother). “It’s wonderful, open country,” Clancy said. “Back East, everything is overgrown, so you can’t see what’s happening. … (In Nevada), you get to see all this country you wouldn’t normally get to see on horseback. It’s just so much fun.”
Roger Merriam agreed that fox hunting in Northern Nevada is a special experience.
“We talk in miles; they talk in acres,” he said. “People from the East come over to hunt with us, and they just love it.”
Sierra Nevada Hounds was established in 2023, and since then, the group has fostered an ardent and tight-knit community of riders from various ages, backgrounds and experience levels.
“There’s love in this group. … There’s helpfulness; there’s whatever you need. I’d really like for people to know what a great community this is,” said Robin Keith, who serves on SNH’s advisory committee representing.
Keith used to be intimidated by horses, but started fox hunting after her daughter and granddaughter encouraged her to take weekly riding lessons. Hearing stories about her family’s hunts sparked a curiosity that motivated her to pursue English riding as a way to share a hobby with her family. She discovered her place within the SNH community.
“This is, to me, a model of intergenerational groups,” Keith said. “It’s powerful and wonderful.”
For more information about Sierra Nevada Hounds, visit www.sierranevadahounds.org.