Hello everyone! Planning a family visit in the Northern Virginia area this coming December, I was wondering if anyone here could point me towards hunts that allow guest foot followers? I did a forum search and also looked at individual clubs on the MFHA website but came up blank vis-a-vis foot following. My (adult) nieces and I would love to watch hounds work and see the timeless beauty of a hunt field in person.
TIA!
Rather discouraged at my hunt club --we hunt live with a pack of hounds. The fox might go any place, and the hounds will follow, and the huntsman, whips, masters and field hot on their heels. Should the fox cross paths with a few hikers, everyone else would too --and at speed.
If there are vehicles attached to the hunt, who follow to keep hounds safe on road crossings for example, perhaps ask if you could ride along?
Or look for a pack of Bassett hounds or Beagles.
Ooooh, a Bassett or Beagle pack would be great to watch hunt, too. Thank you very much for the recommendation!
There are the Middleburg-Orange County beagles in The Plains and the Ashland Bassets in Warrenton.
Both are very welcoming.
Many foxhound packs will allow visitors to ride with a road whip, but if you actually want to see hound work, I would recommend going out with a foot pack.
Thank you so much for those links! We definitely want to watch hound work.
Bassets are the best to see hound work up close and their cry is the best in the business. A wonderful sound.
I follow Bassets all winter so I’m highly biased.
I hope we’re able to put something together to make this happen. Again, thank you!
Hey,
I foot followed for years with Master’s permission in Alabama. Never had an issue with horses or hounds. No more than say if you were walking down the road and the game chose to run that way. Back when you could actually hunt in England there were foot followers (or so I read multiple places including the book by Willie Poole). I say message the secretary of the hunt and just ask. In this day of Google maps you could probably figure out where you were.
Regards,
Huntin’Fool
Wonderful idea – thank you for taking the time to respond!
Here’s a good resource for you; it will have contact info for the hunt secretaries.
Please report back and let us know how it goes; I have foxhunted mostly in VA and a little in SC and I have never seen foot followers, so I am curious.
Maybe a drag hunt restricted to a small area would be your best option. That is where I would start looking.
Thank you! I will definitely report the responses back to the thread.
I’m afraid this won’t help you in Virginia, @HoolieB, but it’s a nice read and it’s one reason i was so surprised (and disappointed) at some of the replies to your OP. I found it by Googling following the hunt on foot. I was surprised there weren’t more US links.
That is so cool - thank you for finding that wonderful article!
After the thoughtful responses so far, I chose to email a few hunt secretaries to ask if there was a way unmounted visitors might participate in or support a hunt. If it turns out our best option is to follow a Beagle or Bassett pack, we would be thrilled by that opportunity, too.
Depending on options offered, you could do all three, foxhounds, beagles and bassets, for a “compare and contrast” investigation of hunting with hounds. That would be enormous fun.
That sounds like fun. My dad’s barber, ages ago, kept a pack of beagles. We never went out with them, but it did sound cool to me.
Dear All,
Let me add I had a great time foot following! And never had a single issue with Masters or Huntsmen. It’s a cool way to see the countryside. AND yeah you’re not as fast as a horse, but there are more checks than horsemen imagine-speaking as someone who has done both-lol. Plus in the US there’s often a Hill toppers flight and they go a lot slower. I hung with them on occasion.
Regards,
Huntin’Fool
Huntin_Fool,
Do you mind me asking where that was?
I have never seen foot followers in the US with a pack that hunts live.
Where I hunt in VA, foot followers would not be allowed or be strongly discouraged because of the likelihood of them heading game or foiling scent, not to mention be an issue with landowners.
Also, it’s not uncommon for us to cover 15 miles in a day (a 7 mile point is not unheard of) with a straightnecked fox or a coyote, so I just don’t see how it would be possible.
I have seen foot followers at a drag pack, because someone can discreetly tell them exactly where to go and where to observe from and not interfere with sport.
But in VA, the great majority of the packs hunt live. ETA: I just did a quick scroll through the Hunt Roster, and EVERY pack listed in VA hunts live.
Hey,
I don’t mind at all-I’ll message you. At one I am a landowner-lol. We have easily 15 mile days and more. And sure you get left behind on the big runs, but so does the Hilltoppers flight and both of you usually catch back up. Re heading game, well it might happen, but so could a car follower, or the landowner taking a drive, or the guys coming to feed the cows, etc. etc. I personally think it’s just about impossible to head a coyote that wants to go somewhere-that’s what we hunt here. If the coyote cuts back or makes his big circle, they could easily go over the route taken by first flight in the first part of the run, car followers, etc…
Here the Hilltoppers usually cut a bit off the route of the hounds/huntsman/first flight and are pretty clever about taking a route that gets them there in the end. I am reasonably fit but not a marathoner. England and Ireland had tons of foot followers when they were live. I assure you it’s possible and lots of fun.
I think it’d be a cool way to increase the folk that enjoy a hunt.
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