Apologies if this has already been posted, I did a search and didn’t find anything.
Three parts, each one is over 10min long.
Pt1… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_EUfrsZF7c
pt2… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1LdpDE-lFs
pt3… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvxlES8Pwv8
You gotta love the limestone fields of east Galway, wall after wall, after wall, after wall.
Another day out with the Blazers, weather on the soft side.
Wow, in the first set of videos-clip #2 did you see the pallet jump? Holy crap!
I thought there was going to be a small pile of broken down rock wall and then the camera pans down and… it’s a leg catching monster!:eek:
Beautiful footage, makes me wish I was hunting again. Best time ever spent on a horse. Thanks for posting.
Thank you! Well done.
Have not looked at these yet, but for sure i will. The first and only 4 times I fox hunted were in Ireland, with the Blazers. Went w/ friends, had done a fair amount of cross country type riding and some jumping. Had a GREAT time thanks to a wonderful horse provided by Willie Leahy, lots of friendly Irish riders and fortification from hot whiskey before we got started! It may be my favorite place in the world to ride horses.
Never had much desire to hunt here but I lived in an area w/ lousy footing and lots of work to get out to where the fixtures were.
I loved it. But those pallets, yuck!
I did enjoy seeing those lovely Irish staff horses with perfect turn-out. Does it seem sometimes that the hunt becomes more about the jumps and less about the hunting, though? Maybe just the perspective we get to watch it from.
I’ve got to learn those button braids. They look so easy compared to tight little show hunter braids. I might actually start braiding again with those!
Now I really want to breed my mare to an RID!
Similar experience to 2tempe - my first time foxhunting EVER was with the Blazers, some liquid courage at a pub just before we started, and I only survived thanks to a catty and brave connemara pony provided by Willie Leahy. Absolutely terrifying for the first 10 minutes and then the best time of my life.
LOL, I thought “Galway Blazers” must be a clothing company with a line of helm cams.
The first thing I noticed was that there seem to be a much larger percentage of male riders than over here. Second was, I can see perhaps why hunt sabs are over there but not here – you ride right thru towns, etc. No one at the Texas hunts I’ve been to would even be aware of them because they are out in the country on private land.
ooh, makes me want to go put the rocks knocked off back up on those walls 
(dated a drystone waller in high school - similar country)
Kind of reminds me of riding through Ft Sill Housing Area. Except when the hounds took off through the kids playground and than the golf course after Elk. Many swear words heard that day by whips and Huntsman!
[QUOTE=wanabe;5287957]
The first thing I noticed was that there seem to be a much larger percentage of male riders than over here. Second was, I can see perhaps why hunt sabs are over there but not here – you ride right thru towns, etc. No one at the Texas hunts I’ve been to would even be aware of them because they are out in the country on private land.[/QUOTE]
At 5min50sec into the first video they ride by a school yard and all the screaming excited kids come up to the wall to see the dogs.
Now, that’s PR.
And yeah, for a lot of people it is mostly about the galloping and jumping. Take out the all the walls, ditches, banks etc and I bet most Irish people would lose interest really fast. They generally don’t get as hung up on attire and etiquette either as they do in other parts of the globe… check out these helmet cam videos with the Clare Hunt… part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4. Pretty egalitarian, look at the jackets people are wearing and some even mounted in jeans, others turned out to the nines in immaculate attire. Everyone having a blast though, that’s what it’s all about.
the reason you see such variation in dress in the field is that the land owners whose fields are used, are permitted to ride w/ the hunt and dont need to be “dressed”. And yes, it is all about having a good time!!
One of the things that made it so pleasant is the nature of the Irish people - warm, friendly, not pretentious.
Wow - great videos! Magnificent countryside.
The pallet jump creeped me out a little - we have a pallet jump at one fixture (over wire). But it’s not spread out like that.
I’ve seen videos of some of your “ditches” which look like tank traps to me. :lol:
I’d love to get over there one day, before I become too decrepit.
And see I’ve been living here for 9 years and have managed to get out of hunting every time. Though I am slated to go in January. In last week’s Irish Field there was a picture of one hunt member coming over a hedge and landing on the road. As in with his horse. That creeps me out and yet it’s nothing to the hunters and horses.
This past fall I was getting some horses legged up for hunting which is miles upon miles of road work. We used to go by the school daily on 2 lots and the kids loved it. Mind you we were minus the dogs. Really hoping if I do go hunting I can ride the big 17 plus hand monster I was legging up. He was so cool and only 6. Somewhere there is a thread on here that has a picture I took from on top of an overpass. That’s Ireland for you.
Terri
thanks for posting!
It got my blood racing and me smiling again!
so you liked the my HD helmet cam…
I’m glad everyone enjoyed the helmet cam…
I created a separate external battery source so I could record the five-hour plus hunts
I saw my YouTube activty spike and thought it was odd. Then I traced it back to the chronicle and did a search on forums and there it was.
Here’s the full experience across the four hunts.
http://mvhunt.net/intl2010ireland.htm
8ft downjumps, 5ft walls, and wire over stone walls make it a memorable week…
Those two horses that kept refusing everything would make it no so fun:lol: Is there a preference for the more stout type of horse? I noticed some of the scopier jumpers looked more like Tb’s or crossbred and some of the heavier types were quite hair raising with their front ends over the bigger jumps.
Can’t wait to watch more. I have it on my bucket list of things to do before I die.
John,
Thanks so much for those vids!
They really were amazing and show just how much fun and good the people ate to hunt with. In case you haven’t noticed I am a wimp! Still I am kind of looking forward to finally going hunting!
Terri
[QUOTE=Jleegriffith;5293129]
Those two horses that kept refusing everything would make it no so fun:lol: Is there a preference for the more stout type of horse? I noticed some of the scopier jumpers looked more like Tb’s or crossbred and some of the heavier types were quite hair raising with their front ends over the bigger jumps.
Can’t wait to watch more. I have it on my bucket list of things to do before I die.[/QUOTE]
Heart and Courage won the day… beyond bloodline but if I had a choice between horses, my criteria would first be big over small… the huntsman’s favorite was a cross at 17 2…
So adicting watching those vids! I have a 17.2h RID who would fit right in and would LOVE to do that. I on the other hand am a bit timid for some of that, but my Jeffrey would carry me right over - those RIDs have the legendary “5th leg” when needed over rough country.
I had a video of some amazing hunt footage, but loaned it to someone and never got it returned. I can’t remember the exact name and have never been able to find it online, but those horses squeezed between trees that you’d never think they’d fit through, jumped canals and banks - one intrepid kid came off her pony a number of times and hopped right back on. Just amazing footage. Wish I could find that old video…
Thanks and keep filming!
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