Before you ever see them, you hear them. The sound of barking dogs and dust clouds signal that the hounds, horses, and riders are running through the piñon and cholla and almost at their destination. They’re heading for a remote spot with a jaw-dropping backdrop of the Jemez and Sangre de Christo mountains. Awaiting them are food and drink, set up for a mid-hunt gathering known as The Whoopie Wagon, an annual celebration for the final outing of the Caza Ladron hunt season.
Each celebration is themed, like ‘Spirit of the Buccaneer’ with tables laden with pirate décor, like treasure chests full of precious loot, skulls and gold dusted snickerdoodles meant to look like Spanish Doubloon coins. Selections of candied bananas, salted caramel glazed pork, elk sausage and Jarlsberg stacks, pineapple chunks, and cheesecake bites are arranged on platters with picks shaped as swords.
Caza Ladron Hunt Club’s “Whoopie Wagon”
Bottles of the rum-based Buccaneer specialty cocktail serve duty first as accent decorations before being pouring it into tiny beer mugs and serving it to riders who remain on horseback.
“It’s like an oasis amidst the cholla,” says Caza Ladron President and Joint Master of Foxhounds Nancy Ambrosiano, who adds that by the time the group arrives “your mouth is parched and full of dust.” She credits Garth Reader and Louis Shulte as the masterminds behind the Whoopie Wagon. “A big part of its evolution is due to Garth and Louis,” she says. We do all the quality control taste-testing ourselves, joked Louis’ wife Ruth, who loves to go all out with themed decorations.
A Hunt for Everyone
Most years Shulte features his homemade elk sausage, made from elk that he hunts with his black powder muzzleloader, then butchers, grinds, mixes it with spices, then smokes. “It’s not just any ole’ sausage,” Ambrosiano emphasized. The group is everyone from scientists, to attorneys, realtors, and horse trainers. It’s people that come together for the sport, Ambrosiano says. And while most fox hunt clubs (in this case, coyote) are in it for the thrill of the chase, ask anyone in Caza Ladron and they’ll say it’s equally, if not more, about the people, camaraderie, endurance riding, and tradition.
Founded in 1999, the no-kill club uses American crossbred hounds, known for their ability to smell in arid climates and respond to sound. “They’re amazing at their job and work so hard to find the coyote scent,” says Joint Master of Foxhounds Brian Gonzales. “Watching them work is my favorite part of the hunt.”
The season runs from early November until the end of March. And while the Whoopie Wagon is just once a year, the group gathers after each ride for a potluck brunch they call Nosh. “People really go all out,” says Ambrosiano who says a sort of collective unconscious happens. “One time everyone brought a shrimp dish and other times it’s all carbs or all proteins.” And for members who lack a culinary disposition, bagels, brownies, and booze are always welcome.
Story by Wendy Ilene Friendman
Photography by Tira Howard
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