Do you tell people you are going Foxhunting?

[Trakehner]

“Finally, the problem in England is that they did nothing until it was too late.”

Well, England went down the tubes years ago…totally socialist with all the attitudes that go along with it…major class envy. The jerks in the cities looking down their noses at the “Toffs” in the country. The city people know what’s best…think New Yorkers and Los Angeles attitudes about “fly over country”. They hated the idea someone did something they themselves didn’t consider worthwhile.

I’ve got a foxhunting vanity plate on my sportscar and my 1 ton truck…I’ve had people ask me, “do you really foxhunt?” “Uh, yes I do…that’s why the tag”. I love it when I tell em’ I was blooded when I was 8 and explain the culture and the old behaviours in the field.

Way too many Bambi huggers and general over-feminized-wimps who don’t understand that red stuff covered in plastic in the grocery store used to be a cow.

[Hotspur]

Life Long Hunter

Yes, I do. My background is a life time of upland, waterfowl, and big game hunting. I put my leg over a sport horse for the first time at age 50.

When asked, I have found very positive responses to my honest answer from friends, hunters, and riders. When my game hunting friends digest the idea of going cross country at speed behind a screaming pack, the usually say something like “How exciting, but you must be nuts!”

[BEARCAT]

Thanks for the different perspectives.
I should have mentioned this was via email, so no chance for an immediate dialogue right then and there.
I have no problems talking about it in person.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=Trakehner;3855521]

Way too many Bambi huggers and general over-feminized-wimps who don’t understand that red stuff covered in plastic in the grocery store used to be a cow.[/QUOTE]

cough The deity of the hunt is a goddess, y’know.:winkgrin:

I don’t hunt, yet - when I finally get there I imagine I’ll be so proud of myself I’ll find a way to insert hunting into just about any conversation.:lol:

I did my office in hunting prints - for self-motivation - but I have yet to have anyone ask me if I hunt. I bet most people don’t realize there are foxhunters in this day and age.

[JSwan]

[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;3855803]

I don’t hunt, yet - when I finally get there I imagine I’ll be so proud of myself I’ll find a way to insert hunting into just about any conversation.:lol:

I did my office in hunting prints - for self-motivation - but I have yet to have anyone ask me if I hunt. I bet most people don’t realize there are foxhunters in this day and age.[/QUOTE]

You have an open invitation to be my guest if you get up to the Old Dominion - why not Hunt Week next year??? hint hint! You can hook up with Hunter’s Rest, stay at her place and hunt for an entire week. I’ll bring the booze and Advil.

You’ll have a blast. Promise.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=JSwan;3856065]
You have an open invitation to be my guest if you get up to the Old Dominion - why not Hunt Week next year??? hint hint! You can hook up with Hunter’s Rest, stay at her place and hunt for an entire week. I’ll bring the booze and Advil.

You’ll have a blast. Promise.[/QUOTE]

Next year? Hmmm. D’you suppose someone who’s balance is poo poo will be ready to hunt by next season? Maybe! :lol: This morning I managed to post nearly a full orbit of the indoor without my feet coming in front of me like a waterskier. So I’m feeling pretty accomplished right now.:winkgrin:

When is Hunt Week next year? I’d sooo love to do it, if I can learn enough not to be a hazard to all and sundry by then.

[JSwan]

[QUOTE=pAin’t_Misbehavin’;3856098]
Next year? Hmmm. D’you suppose someone who’s balance is poo poo will be ready to hunt by next season? Maybe! :lol: This morning I managed to post nearly a full orbit of the indoor without my feet coming in front of me like a waterskier. So I’m feeling pretty accomplished right now.:winkgrin:

When is Hunt Week next year? I’d sooo love to do it, if I can learn enough not to be a hazard to all and sundry by then.:)[/QUOTE]

You will see some of the best and worst riding in the hunt field. You’ll be fine. Besides - you’re in 2 point most of the time anyway. Head up, heels down, knees and elbows in. Don’t hit the horse in the back or mouth and don’t call the hounds, “dogs”. (Unless you’re Melvin Poe)

Hunt Week is… September sometime. And yes, I have no doubt you will be ready. Walk trot canter gallop in 2 point and we’ll hilltop and stay in the back.

Then you can go home and replace the motivational artwork with real photos of you foxhunting. It will take two weeks to wipe the grin off your face.

Really.

[pAin_t_Misbehavin]

[QUOTE=JSwan;3856122]

Hunt Week is… September sometime. And yes, I have no doubt you will be ready. Walk trot canter gallop in 2 point and we’ll hilltop and stay in the back.

Then you can go home and replace the motivational artwork with real photos of you foxhunting. It will take two weeks to wipe the grin off your face.

Really.[/QUOTE]

I believe you. Just thinking about it makes me break into a :D. So, I’ve got eight months. There’s some motivation!

[SPLAT]

I do

I went two weeks ago as a guest of our local hunt.

I got more interest from everyone, co-workers, friends, family than during any of the 12 yrs I’ve been riding. " Eventing?" Eyes glaze over… “Dressage?” - they run for the door -

"Foxhunting?- their eyes get big “really” - When they find out we chased coyotes - they can’t stop laughing.

Really… I can’t believe I finally found something horsey that non-horsey people find interesting.

And YES - My horse and I both smiled non-stop for a week after! It was SO SO SO much fun! I just have to figure out how to skip work for the Thursday ride… hmmm

[IrishRydr]

I hope you all read my first post, in which I stated how much I do talk about my foxhunting and how proud I am to be a part of the sport. I do, however, know there are some situations in which discussing the fact that animals get killed, would NOT go over well with some people. I hunt with one drag hunt and one regular hunt. I think it’s a matter of being sensitive to your audience, at least IMO. This is a HUGE part of my life that I want to be able to share with everyone I know, so I intentionally omit some details that could offend some people. There are things about other people’s lives that I don’t agree with, even though I like them, that I appreciate that they don’t constantly bring up, knowing that I don’t like it, or am not in to it, etc. I’m not into offending people and I did not intend my comments to be offensive in any way. My way of being a good ambassador for the sport is to provide accurate information without inflamitory information. I do not lie when asked a direct question, but primarily talk about my drag hunt to people who know nothing about hunting. I want good PR for hunting, as well as my friends to continue their interest in my passion.

[ceffyl]

[QUOTE=Trakehner;3855521]
“Finally, the problem in England is that they did nothing until it was too late.”

Well, England went down the tubes years ago…totally socialist with all the attitudes that go along with it…major class envy. .[/QUOTE]

:mad::no::mad: You clearly know nothing at all about “the problems in England”. The ban on hunting with dogs affects the WHOLE of the UK, not just England.

How dare you say nothing was done until it was too late. The hunting community had been battling the proposed ban for years and years. Myself and my husband were just two of the 10’s of thousands that took part in two Countryside marches in London. And that was not just people from the hunting community but all rural aspects of life, Lords and Ladies marched with farm workers, saddlers, bootmakers, teachers, et al. Thank goodness that now a repeal of the act is on the horizon. The ban has devasted many countryside lives, many not even connected to fox hunting.

England and the rest of the UK is NOT a socialist country. If you call a Labour governemt socialist then you could call the USA that too with the democrats in power. We have a home in the USA as well as the UK, my husband is American. I see far more snobbery and class envy in the US than the UK. I occassionaly hunt with a couple of Virginia packs and the snobbery there is horrendous. Unlike the UK packs where ALL including the butcher, baker and candlesitck maker are welcome to follow be it on foot or mounted.

[Painted_Wings]

I’m in the midwest

There are lots of deerhunters and hunters of other sorts. I regularly take off work to hunt and don’t hide what I’m off to do.

[CarrieK]

I don’t hunt ( :: crosses fingers :: yet…yet…) but I do express my interest.

Had a conversation a couple summers ago with my college friends. It had morphed into a discussion about a friend I’ve had since 4th grade, who is polar opposite of me on the socio-politial philosophy spectrum. One of my friends–who I’ve know now for coming on 30 years–asked how in the world can I still be friends with the other one since she’s so different? Well, I’ve known her forever, she has no changed in the least, I know what I’m dealing with–as does she–and we basically don’t talk about it. She doesn’t feel compelled to change me, I don’t feel compelled to change her.

The conversation moved on to folks who are totally different, couples or whatnot. And then out of the blue my friend said she could never be friends with someone who hunts (my friend, BTW, is moving towards veganism) and she listed the reasons.

I said, what’s going to become of us when I foxhunt? I have every intention of riding to the hounds at least once before I die. What happens, tho, if things finally go my way and I can become a hunt club member? Gonna throw 30 years down the drain?

She sat there for a moment; I don’t think she realized I was interested in foxhunting (she’s not horsey in the least). Then she listed her objections to foxhunting, and said it should be outlawed. I listened, told her that American hunting is more of a chase but no matter because a fox could be caught and killed. I told her I had no intention of discussing why her objection should trump my interest, and I told her I wasn’t seeking her approval; I know her opinion, she knows mine, and there it’s going to stay. But did she really think she couldn’t be friends with someone who hunts? Will hunting trump all the rest of our shared interests, out shared history?

Before she could answer our other friend jumped in and made some jokes and diverted the conversation. She never answered my question and we’ve never discussed it again.

The more interesting discussions I’ve had recently are at a crochet and knit community. But then, some of those folks who are anti-hunting and think I’m Satan in riding boots also think it’s inhumane to shear sheep, so their opinions don’t mean much to me.

[IrishRydr]

I hear you, CarrieK. I have a lot of animal-activists as friends as well as environmentional attorneys in Washington DC in my family, who are also protectors of animal rights, etc. I don’t hide the fact that I foxhunt at all - It’s my passion. But I do tend to focus on the drag hunt I’m involved with rather than the other one. Plus, again, you never know your audience and how a simple interest can potentially ruin a friendship, a business relationship, or whatever. Animals are killed - and some people don’t agree that we should do that for sport. That makes us murderers in their eyes. I’d rather not get into the debate with someone who’s going to tell me I’m a murderer. I talk about riding through the woods, sipping out of flasks in our fancy clothes on our beautiful horses, following the hounds, and finally cellebrating with a nice brunch at the end. About the fox? I either say there usually aren’t any to be found here or we chase a scent.

[LookinSouth]

@Ray;3855012

One reason that I try to spread the word is to promote land conservation. Many horse people that might not hunt [yet ? :)] DO want to ride outside of a ring. In New England, we are losing open space and farmland at an alarming rate.

Ditto. Whenever other horsepeople I meet ask about hunting I usually end up talking about land conservation as well. The two go hand in hand.

@SPLAT;3856460

"Foxhunting?- their eyes get big “really”
Really… I can’t believe I finally found something horsey that non-horsey people find interesting.

this has been my experience as well. Everyone from trainers, to colleagues to just trail riding friends are very interested to hear about foxhunting. It’s fun to educate people and if they ride I usually invite them to try it or at the least attend the clinic in the fall.
The misconceptions are rather humorous, I frequently have to explain that no, you don’t have to gallop for 5 hours and jump 4 ft coops, it’s not an elite “members only” sport and you don’t have to be an exceptionally skilled/brave rider to go out hunting, especially hilltopping . I try to squash the myths as much as possible since that’s what kept me away from it initially, all the misinformation.

[wateryglen]

jmhe!!

I’m up front with family/friends & my social circle of course. Sometimes you can’t shut me up! It’s the “workplace” where I’d experienced non-approval with my hunting and horsie habits. I’m just cautious that’s all. So far this healthy caution has served me well.
I agree with previous posters and use the same upbeat/positive emphasis when talking about it; can’t curb my enthusiasm. It’s just as I get older; I guess I’m getting more careful or skeptical about peoples motives about inquiries about my habits. Professional/workplace gossip can be a killer!! :yes:
C’est la vie!!

[Beverley]

Ceffyl-

I dare say that nothing was done in the UK until it was too late because that is exactly what all of my UK foxhunting friends tell me.

Those two marches in London were great, but too late.

That’s not a condemnation of the UK foxhunting community, just a political fact of life. It should serve as an illustration of how it can happen to anyone. Because foxhunting (and attention all horse owners, fill in the blank here with your favorite activity, dressage, eventing, reining, driving, etc) is NOT an inherently cruel activity, those who have been doing it all their lives think to themselves- when a few agitators start decrying the sport- oh, reasonable people will NEVER listen to those nuts, it is so clear to me that the sport is great, and humane, surely reasonable people will be on my side. But then, those few agitators hook up with some politicos with radical agendas, introduce some legislation, and persuade the majority of the legislative body that in supporting the legislation they are voting ‘for’ kindness to animals. What’s not to like about such a position- never bother to consider the fine print. And in parallel with that, what Nixon called the ‘silent majority’- in this case, the vast majority of ‘reasonable people’ who never give hunting a thought one way or another- well, it’s just not on their radar screen, so they don’t care whether the activity is banned or not.

So- political fact of life- in the US, horse owners are .6% of the population, and foxhunters are a fraction of that fraction of a percentage. We’re minorities. If you don’t like to talk about your sport because you wish to avoid confrontation- well, okay, sometimes that is a prudent and sensible approach. If you don’t like to talk about your sport because you are ashamed, or ‘people wouldn’t understand’ - well, I say you are copping out on representing the sport as the wonderful, and humane, activity that it is- even when the quarry gets killed by the pack. The woefully inaccurate image of foxhunters- the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible, the ‘rich toffs’ - gets perpetuated unless the general public sees that you, a foxhunter, are a regular guy or gal just like they are.

I’m editing to add a thought that just occurred to me. Not too long ago, an ABC news staffer contacted me looking for some foxhunting info. I gave her what I had and put her in touch with other foxhunters that could quickly get her the rest of what she needed. The last time I talked to her, when she called to thank me for my help, she said ‘gee, you foxhunters are such nice people.!’ As if, I suppose, she expected foxhunters to not be nice people. So- yeah- educate the public, one at a time, if that’s what it takes.

[ceffyl]

[QUOTE=Beverley;3857675]
Ceffyl-

I dare say that nothing was done in the UK until it was too late because that is exactly what all of my UK foxhunting friends tell me.

Those two marches in London were great, but too late.
QUOTE]

A few of the fox hunting community chose to believe the bill would never be passed. However those of us who are commited to the sport and all that countryside rights stand for did battle the proposals for years, since the early 90’s with great force. The bill to ban was put forward many times and the passing was delayed by various ways over the years. Various papers put forward in support of hunting. In the end it was fast tracked through in a rather underhand way by the labour government. Baroness Mallallieu kept the facts in the public eye brilliantly from the mid 1990’s and is now instrumental in trying to get the bill repealed.

So your fox hunting UK friends who say too little too late are not at the heart of the hunting community or have been in the minority who chose to sit back complacent. The London marches were certainly not too late, it was a further 2 yrs before the bill was passed. Too late would have been the months immediately before the ban.

[ceffyl]

Meant to add look how quickly the various states are getting dog laws passed now. How much are you battling to prevent your right to have a dog and keep it as you see fit? The way the laws are comming thick and fast you may be the next in line to have a law passed for compulsory spay / neuter. Remember being complacent can have a knock on effect after all you are involved in a sport that works hounds. What if the next set of laws make it so difficult for breeding new stock that the quality and depth of the American foxhound is lost? I have yet to see a completely spayed / neutered pack but that theoretically could be on the cards.

[iechris]

I am new to foxhunting, but I do breed and show dogs (a sighthound breed). My dog show friends know about the foxhunting and all have been supportive and some have said they are jealous. I’ve encouraged them to try to go to their local hunts as a car follower!

People at my work know and think it is interesting. The hot accessory of the year at my work is a concealed carry permit. At my mom’s work, there tend to be some more AR types, but they all know me. They may happen to be under the impression that it is a drag hunt. They think that sounds good, but the most AR (whose daughter evented and did dressage and who keeps goats and horses) did warn that foxhunters do a lot of drinking.

My yoga friends… not so much. They know about the dog breeding and I’m sure some don’t approve but no one has ever directly confronted me about it.

I’ve been kind of surprised to meet people in the hunting community who seem to think show breeders are all wackjobs. I’m also tired of show breeders who don’t see problems with arbitrary dog limits (ie. over 25 dogs and you are a hoarder) and can’t see beyond a narrow definition of what is acceptable care (living outside full time with access to shelter, food and water is abuse). The spay/neuter laws and dog limits are coming fast and furious and we really ALL need to work together. I think it will take compromise on both the side of the show breeders and working breeders, as some within each group seem to disapprove of the other, but we really need each other if we want to continue to be able to breed dogs.

Sorry for the long and slightly off-topic post.