THOMASVILLE- Attendees of all ages gathered at Pebble Hill Plantation on Sunday afternoon for a reading from Catherine Ledyard’s children’s book “Pageant’s Miraculous Journey.”

The book details the true story of a Live Oak hound named Pageant who escaped from the Veterinarian’s office in Thomasville, before traveling nearly 30 miles to his home in Jefferson County, Florida, arriving home on Easter Sunday.

Ledyard moved from Pennsylvania, where she and her husband were avid fox hunters, to Thomasville. There, she befriended Live Oak Hounds masters Daphne and Marty Wood.

During that time, Daphne informed her that her beloved hound, Pageant had gone missing.

“Over Easter weekend, we were all very scared of what would happen to Pageant, so I was thrilled when she called me on Easter Sunday and told me that Pageant had come home,” Ledyard said. “It was hard to imagine what this hound had gone through.”

Ledyard said she turned to her friend and suggested a children’s book could be written about it.

While Daphne wasn’t sure she was up for writing a children’s book, she encouraged Ledyard to pursue it.

Ledyard envisioned a story of Pageant using his nose to find his way back home, and encountering many animal friends who help him along the way, including unlikely heroes such as a crow, an alligator, a tortoise, and a snake.

The read-along featured hand-illustrated pictures by fellow fox hunter and talented artist Beth Secor.

Following the read-along, Ledyard invited Live Oak Hounds Huntsman Guy Allman and his fiancé Zara up to speak and educate the public on the different calls of a huntsman.

According to the presentation, Allman is the first foreign huntsman who has come to Live Oak and hails from England.

Allman has been hunting since he was 13 years old and has now been hunting for 38 years, finding a true passion in fox hunting.

Allman said he and Zara work together as a team.

“My position is to look after the hounds, feed them, exercise them, and medicate them,” he explained. “The general wellbeing of the hound comes down to me.”

Zara assists with the horses and looks after the barn, additionally helping on hunting days and when Allman is out in the field.

Allman said he and Zara try to let the hounds be as free as possible, but they also have to make sure the hounds know control and come when they are called.

“One of the main tools we use is a horn and we have various calls,” he said. “Some of them are short and sharp and we use those when we want to get their attention.”

Allman said joyous notes are when he and Zara want the hounds to know they have done something well.

“Some of the sounds on the horn aren’t for the hounds at all,” he said. “We use the horn in various ways; it’s our main form of communication.”

Allman then played three of the calls for one of the hounds, Escort, as Pageant is no longer with the pack.

The final call was the call played at the end of the day. Allman said it is a tribute to the hounds and the sport and is often played during a huntsman’s funeral, as it is their final call.

Following the explanations of the calls, Allman invited the listeners to meet Escort and partake in the day’s activities.