Page 19 - The Hunt - Spring/Summer 2023

Foxhunting’s
Grand Maestro
Is Bruce Miller the region’s finest all-around horseman? His legacy speaks for itself.
BY J.F. PIRRO | PHOTOS BY JIM GRAHAM
It was a common scene in Cheshire Hunt country. Thanksgiving Day, 150 or so members had gathered in Unionville for the 11 a.m. foxhunt. Joe Davies and others had been there since 10:15 or earlier. But Davies’ father-in-law was still at home in Cochranville, three miles away at Fox Ferret Farm. F. Bruce Miller, the joint-master of Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds, was a crucial missing person.
Suddenly, at 10:56, Miller sprung into action like a hound on a fox’s scent, and raced to the site. By 10:59, he was ready to go. “He epitomizes everything great about foxhunting and shuns the silliness of worrying about who’s wearing what, gossiping, coffee-housing or any of that,” says Davies, the husband of Miller’s daughter, Blythe. “He’s never been caught up in the pomp and circumstance of wearing the scarlet coat. His job is to lead the field, show good sport and
sportsmanship—and he does so without barely ever saying a word.”
Now a decade removed from leading the hounds, Miller spent the height of his foxhunting career with Cheshire huntsman Ivan Dowling. When they’d smile at each other and get that glimmer in their eyes, there wasn’t anything they wouldn’t take on. And there hasn’t been much the 88-year-old Miller hasn’t taken on in his equestrian pursuits—though his health is failing to the point where he’s unable to chat these days. As a legendary trainer for 60 years, he produced 3,700 starters from a small stable of horses that never numbered more than 15. Over 560 were winners, producing $10 million-plus in earnings on the flat and over fences.
Miller made his mark in steeplechase, most notably in the 1990s with Hall of Fame horse Lonesome Glory, a five-time winner of the Eclipse Award that
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