What’s the highest jump your hunt has that the field can’t go around? My home hunt has no jumps you can’t go around, or didn’t, until recently, when a pine tree fell across one trail. I think that is about a 2’ 7" or 2’ 8" obstacle. But other places I’ve been to have required up to 3’3".
In NoVA, we don’t have go arounds unless there happens to be a gate located close by to the jump, and it should only be used as necessary. Hunt jumps are built into fencelines, either board fencing, split rail fencing, stone walls, or wire. In our territory, fences range from 2’6"-3’6", with most at 3’, except for one stone wall that is 3’11", and our jumps are usually coops, stone walls, or rails, with a few new uprights. The “rider” will usually be taken down off the jump prior to the field going over, but sometimes you will have to jump it if it is nailed on or some other reason (rarely, but it does happen). Two of the neighboring hunts (OCH, PFH) have a few stone walls that are approaching 4’, but most are in the 3’-3’6" range.
If you don’t want to, or can’t, jump the fences here, it is expected that one will be with the hilltoppers or non-jumping field(s), or that one will drop down from the first field to the non-jumping field if your horse gets tired, you get scared, etc. You should not be looking for a go-around and then continuing with the jumping group/first field.
I agree with SSR that there are not go arounds in Virginia for the most part. I’ve seen this down south in SC and Georgia. The hunts I have hunted with expect you to jump in the first flight. If you can’t/won’t then you need to go with the non-jumping groups.
The higher the better as far as I’m concerned. I’m just curious what heights people around the country face.
It really varies on height from hunt to hunt. I think the bigger issue is terrain. Would you rather jump 3’ 6" on a nice straight approach on level ground or jump 3’ coming down a mountain as is found in some places. A stone wall with a drop isn’t bad unless the stone wall is on a single track going through the woods.
That and I find heights of jumps get added to in the hunt field in the telling.
Actually, you are right. The scariest jumping efforts I’ve seen are really old rotted coops, or ‘new’ coops installed below 3 feet- horse doesn’t know whether to try to jump or step over and it can get ugly. It was certainly true of a horse I hunted for 20 years- below about 3’3" he just didn’t pay much attention, ‘childs play’ in his lexicon, the bigger the fence, the better he jumped because he focused on the effort- and he was a 15h2 quarter horse so a little guy relative to the average tb back in the day.
In the 70s and 80s we built coops to 3’6" and after a few years they settled to more like 3’3" or 3’ in some places. But we wanted them to stay viable for a long time. When you are building them in a farmer’s fence line, you want them to hold cattle (and so we also added riders over the top where necessary, when whipping in I didn’t bother to drop the rider unless I knew the field was close behind me).
But then, I was taught, in US and France, that a horse doesn’t really ‘have’ to start making any effort until about 3’6". And it’s true in my experience. I’ve jumped up to 4’ from a ‘near’ standstill to avoid penalties in a show jumping class.
I guess I am old school when it comes to jumping out hunting- you do so to stay with hounds. If I were hunting where there were ‘go arounds’ I wouldn’t bother to jump, preferring to save the horse for staying with hounds all day.
True. An honest 3’6" usually grows to 4’3" by hunt breakfast time.
[QUOTE=Beverley;6168752]
True. An honest 3’6" usually grows to 4’3" by hunt breakfast time.[/QUOTE]
I thought it was only men who had trouble with accurate measurement. 
