Here are some Fox Hunting photos from yesterday’s ride. A bit chilly but we dodge the snow.
You are a glutton for punishment. While these group outings look like fun, let me show you what real hunt pictures look like. Note the presence of a huntsman, hunt staff and, most importantly, hounds. Also, note the riders turned out in proper hunt attire for cubbing season.
https://millerschoolofalbemarle.smugmug.com/Academic-Year-2018-19/Equestrian/i-MPxN4RH
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These outings look like an absolute blast, but I don’t see why you call them “fox hunting”? If there are no hounds and no foxes (coyotes, hares) isn’t it just a paper chase? Or call it the hash house harriers on horses?
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There once was a person that sounds
As if with them tradition abounds
Yet they’re blind to tradition
(Which is Foxhunt sedition)
You cannot Foxhunt without Hounds
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As my wife, a non-hunter said, you have to have a least two hounds to say you are a hunt.
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Oh my goodness you guys. Take a deep breath. We are not in the UK this is not to their standard. This is not the purpose of this post. No need to become keyboard ninjas.
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I love seeing your photos, and love that your group is having fun. And there’s some nice horses in the photos.
But I don’t know that you can properly call what you’re doing foxhunting though - maybe mock hunting? Mock hunts are a terrific way to prepare riders and horses for actual hunting. The local PC sponsored one every year; it was a paper chase, with one kid chosen to be the fox and several others chosen to be hounds.
PS - I am from Hunt Country in Virginia, and we take hunting very, very seriously. Probably more so than the UK, where they no longer hunt live fox. The color of one’s breeches or stock is a very serious matter, as is traditional versus safety headgear and if you still wish the Master “Good Morning” at an afternoon hunt. Tradition says yes, which is pretty silly. But if you don’t love and respect tradition, you’re probably not going to love fox hunting.
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This thread prompted me to do a quick browse through the MFHA’s hunt roster, and as I suspected there are a bunch of recognized hunts in Canada, most hunt live fox and coyote with hounds, I only found one that was listed as a drag hunt but they maintain a pack of hounds and have a huntsman and whipper in listed.
So maybe just forget about the UK standard and aspire to the Canadian standard?
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I think it’s us Canadians wishing we could be as fancy as the our UK riders. I think this is as close as Fox Hunting clubs get here in comparison, which honestly I think it’s fantastic. Anyone wanting to try to bring something so fun and historic over has my applause! it’s an absolute blast and definitely not for the faint of heart.
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It looks like a blast.
I just do not get the need to call it what it is not and then the need to call people names when they are just being telling you facts.
The same photos posted with out the attitude and the insistence that it is hunting would only get ‘wow that looks like fun’ comments.
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AKCH, this is the 4th thread you have started on the hunting forum, showing photos of you NOT foxhunting or following any of the traditions of foxhunting (or any other sort of hunting) while telling people that you are.
By now you must know that what you are doing is not foxhunting ,so what is the purpose in continuing the charade? You seem very invested in believing, and in trying to convince others, that you are “foxhunting”.
Perhaps you can get away with calling what you do a “foxhunt” on facebook or somewhere else. Somewhere there may be people who see someone hacking out in company, one wearing a red coat, and believe they are seeing “foxhunters”. They may not even notice the lack of hounds. Here, people notice. 
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And this is the 4th time that you keep coming back to repeat post the same response. Why are you vindictive?
THIS IS OUR HUNT CLUB and I am thrilled to share photos from it and share some of the fun that was in the club. This IS the hunt club for our province and I find it mesmerizing that you are so bothered by it that you keep coming back to repost the exact same negative post. Tally Ho skydy-I think you need to go practice your keyboard ninja skills somewhere else instead of attacking people.
More fox hunting posts WILL come as we go out every weekend. I think it’s best that you go venture somewhere else my friend.
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AKCH,
Maybe an analogy will help.
This is as if you posted a photo of an adorable pigtailed child on a pony, jumping a cross-rail in a short stirrup equitation class with a headline calling it Medal/Maclay. Not “hopeful”, not “future”, just “Big Eq” or “Medal/Maclay”
Pointing out that it is not, in fact, Big Eq or Medal/Maclay, is not criticizing the adorable child or the pony or the program that sent them into the ring. It is making a factual correction. Because somewhere, someone who was put in the work and time to get to the latter level is going to be annoyed that their achievement is misrepresented.
That you seem to struggle to understand the difference between this fun thing your riding club does and actual hunting, you know, with prey, hounds, a huntsman, a hunting horn, understanding scent and terrain (all the things that make Big Eq different from Short Stirrup) AND get defensive when it’s pointed out is why this conversation continues.
Best of luck to you and that lovely mare, keep posting your fun photos. But just as you shouldn’t label Short Stirrup as Big Eq, don’t call it fox hunting, because there’s no fox, no hounds and no hunting.
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I don’t have any struggles with any of the above posts.:encouragement: The point of this thread is to post really fun and beautiful pictures from our Hunt club and that is what they call it, and that is what I will call it I see what some of you feel about fox hunting clubs and thats fantastic. You have your opinions and I have mine. Not everyone has the same opinion and that’s perfectly ok. :yes:
Unfortunately you’ve all hicjaked the thread and those who would have had positive comments about the photos and the thread as a whole have done the smart but also unfortunate decision to not bother posting because a group of keyboard ninjas have decided to beat a dead horse with a stick-or is that actually beating a horse because there is no horse there
In looking at your posts on this forum, your two other posts with photos have zero comments, positive or otherwise, and a small number of views.
Maybe our “hijacking” is only the reason this thread is getting any attention at all? In that case, you’re welcome.
Does your club know about your misguided social media campaign?
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If I was invited to watch a 3 day event without cross country or show jumping, I would be confused, because clearly what you have invited me to is a dressage show. Which isn’t bad! But not a 3 day event.
Likewise I literally cannot comprehend why you would even market yourself as a fox hunting club when positively nothing is being hunted? How long has your riding club existed? What are the origins of the name? Again, it looks super fun, I just don’t get how it is hunting when there is not even a drag scent.
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Hi Pologirl, I will be honest the club has been running for much longer than I have been part of it and can’t answer for certain the questions you have 
Those are things that would have to be checked in with the original creators of the club(or actually probably the current hunt masters as they have been there for a long period of time). Thank you for your positive post-appreciated! Tally Ho!
I think if you bothered to check with them and mentioned that you went on a hunting forum claiming to be foxhunting with no hounds, that they would tell you that you are NOT foxhunting.
I can’t believe there are that many delusional people in one place. Educate yourself. It’s a good thing to do, so that you don’t appear foolish in public. Hack on!.:yes:
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When I first saw the posts about “Fox Hunting” and saw the pictures, I was a bit confused, as they looked like a cross country meet - not what I remembered as a true “Fox Hunt”. The first thing I noticed was the lack of hounds. Then I thought, well maybe I’m just so old that with animal rights and such, that this what “Fox Hunting” has become. Curious, I did a little research, and no, the hunt clubs here still have hounds, the one I hunted with long ago still have hounds… so I was curious, and looked it up.
Evidently, the Calgary Hunt Club (established 1908) doesn’t have hounds (and doesn’t appear they ever have). They construct the cross country jump courses and have a planned route in different locations for each meet. They refer to their activity on their website as both “cross-country” and “hunt”, but not “Fox Hunting”. More info below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgPdccafG34
I agree that what they are doing is not true “Fox Hunting”. I also agree it looks like a whole lot of fun and something I would enjoy doing myself. But this is a still just a group having fun doing cross country together, no matter what you try to call it.
I could try to explain the difference in this clubs meets and a real fox hunt to the OP, but won’t bother, since I think it would fall on deaf ears. But I will say if someone showed up in a sweater, or chaps, or with a bright turquoise saddle pad and polos, they wouldn’t be going out with the field (at least in the hunts I attended).
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Newspaper article says there are 100 jumps in the 2-hour course. I certainly hope no one horse is asked to jump them all, even if they are very small.
The club sounds like fun. For myself, the labelling and verbiage in general are puzzling, but it’s up to the club to define its own identity.
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