How far do most fox hunters travel for the weekly hunts?

[RTF]

I have really wanted to try hunting, but the hunt that is local to me is about 1 1/2 hours out. I think I could make once a week when the weather is good, but since I live in the northern area…I worry as to how many hunts I could actually go on.

How many hunts do you feel like you need to attend to make it worth the cost of your membership?

How far out do you travel to go to your local hunts?

Most importantly, will a horse become a good hunt horse on 12/14 sessions a year, or is it not a reasonable expectation?

I guess since I will be having more free time in the next few years, I am trying to decide if hunting would be a good off season sport instead of just trail riding.

[CindyCRNA]

Our hunt fees are $2200 so a dozen hunts a year isn’t worth it to me. My hunt is 35 min from my barn (my barn is 25 min from home). I frequently hunt twice a week or at least once a week. We start mounted hound walking in Aug and I usually go twice a week so really Aug to April so 8 months with a minimum of 6 hunts a month.

[The_Anonymous_Foxhun]

So many variables, and it depends whether you look at your hunt membership as a purely consumer transaction, or as a means to support an organization that brings you great pleasure.

Note: Yours Anonymously is not wearing her Judgy Pants regarding the consumer viewpoint (maybe I’m not wearing any pants at all just now).

Also Note: Whether this particular club brings you pleasure is an unknown until you get to know them a little better.

I travel 1hr to 1hr30 minutes three days a week to go out with a club with beautiful country, hardworking staff, friendly friendly friendly members, and which is a good community citizen (as an organization). While I am mindful of how much I “save” by joining, versus paying that many cap fees, I am also happy to help support the club. That is, if I were unable to hunt the rest of the season for some weird reason, I wouldn’t ask for my dues back. That would seem…crass and unsporting.

Also, some clubs only let a guest cap but so many times.

As for the horse – some are great after just a couple of times out. Some take to it just like a sweet little downy duckling to water. So 12-14 times certainly is possible.

Personally, I crank up a mix of jams for the mini road trip to and from, make some phone calls (still legal to hold the phone and talk here in the Undisclosed Location) and as long as gas stays below $2/gallon, I’m all right.

#AFH

[GrayMare]

I travel 50min to 1hr15min to hunt, weekly or twice a week. Yes, it’s a lot of gas. I know what AFH means about the capping fee, there’s a point where it is more than just adding up the cap fees vs. the membership fee, instead you are a member of an organization and the involvement often goes beyond just showing up to hunt twice a week.

Of course, I would guess that many hunts would be fine with a newcomer paying caps for the first year to see if they like it, especially if they are only hunting 5-10 times. It’s not realistic to think that someone is going to plunk down a few thousand dollars on a membership when their horse might become prove unsuitable after a few hunts. Every hunt has its own regulations about that kind of thing, but it is perfectly respectable to inquire politely.

Twelve to 14 hunts in a season is a perfectly respectable number. Some of us do have jobs and children and farms that interfere with hunting season and we make do. The main thing would be keeping your horse fit in between hunts, it would be a lot to ask of a horse to be a weekend warrior hunt horse.

[Feliz]

I highly recommend hunting – soooo much fun!

Not only do I love hunting but I love the people involved in it. There’s lots of fun outside of the hunt season – socialising with new friends, riding over member’s farms, plus actual organised activities. The seasons that I haven’t had a horse I’ve been lucky enough to be offered others to ride. Or I’ll go along on foot/car follow because that’s fun too.

Closest hunt = 30min, average = 45-1hr, some = 1-1.5hrs, guest hunts = 3hrs+

I’m very lucky that there are quite a few of us at the same farm or close by that hunt together so it’s generally a fun trip (though we’re never as on time as I’d like . . .). My first season I did entirely on my own (except for the 3hr+ ones) and that was fine – lots of good music or an audio book, caffeine for the drive home.

Our season is very short and I generally only hunt weekend hunts (annoying how work gets in the way!) So I feel like I’ve had a great season if we get to 12 hunts. I’ve introduced two greenies to the hunt field like this and they turned out fine.

Fitness wise – I’ve never had a problem with horse fitness only hunting once a week. I do interval training as a build up to opening hunt 3-4x week, then cut it back to 2-3 x week for the first half of the season, then maybe drop it altogether for the last half if there are no cancellations. However, our hunts are only 3-3.5hrs long and not what I’d call super fast/long. It’s also very easy to drop to the back or even go in if I think my horse has had enough.

Have fun!

[kcmel]

I hack about 0.1 mile . I am lucky in that not only our small farmer’s pack, but Cheshire and Radnor hunt the property just across the road from my little nano-farm. We even have land owner privileges with Cheshire which is pretty cool.

Our subscription is very cheap–our hunt only goes on Sundays. This year I have only hunted once, just because of family issues and horse-related conflicts (horse trials, paper chases, etc.). But like others have said, supporting the hunt is important to me. And now that the eventing season is over I will hunt most weeks, as long as the footing stays good.

Hopefully you will be able to cap and decide if you like it enough to join. Good luck!

[Belmont]

When I worked and hunted with Red Rock, we had people that drove a little over an hour multiple times per week for hunting. We also had people that moved in a living quarters trailer to the barn, and drove up 3hrs every weekend from California.

[Rohello]

I’ve been “struggling” with the same question: my closest hunt is 4 hours away (one way) so, so far, I’ve only capped once/month. Which means the baby pony still thinks cantering with others is “oh so fun!”. But 12 to 14 times sounds quite reasonable to tone that excitement a bit down.
Since I live in the tundra, I may not hunt as much once the roads start getting icy/snowy. Instead, I’ve been considering “relocating” to more “temporate climes” for a few months next year and take a membership there. I figured I am spending so much on gas already I may be able to swing a rental somewhere not too “exotic” if I stay put in one place. Now to tell my boss…
Have fun hunting!

[Foxglove]

I always lived about an hour from the closest hunt --and I hunt once a week Sept-April --when weather permits. Sometimes the roads are too dangerous with ice, sometimes the huntsman won’t take the hounds out due to footing. I keep a hunt diary so can tell you with certainty, I hunt on average 20 times a year. Our hunt dues are just under 1K -so you can see that’s about $50 per hunt --but that $50 gives me 2-4 hours of splendid riding each hunt, a cozy stall for my horse that is his whenever he wants it --not just for hunting – and a lovely meal after with good company. As a full member, I can also use the entire facility (indoor arena, outdoor rings, CC course, 1500 acres of trails when I want to all year long.

For the first 30 years I hunted, I hunted with a woman who lived near me – and she made a bit of a mistake with her dues. She was a bit short when it came time to pay her membership. She told me she was just going to pay capping --and since we went 20 times a year, the capping would equal the membership --she said, “They should be ok with that.” The problem was, she didn’t ask --I’m sure the club officers would have worked something out. Instead, she just kept showing up and paying her capping. Our club rules are that a person can only cap 3 times --then must join. And she kept coming.

I don’t know what the discussion was -I’m just a member --but bottom line they declined to give her colors or buttons. She was angry about it --I still don’t see her point --she stiffed them on dues.

So I don’t know what your club’s policy is on capping/dues but I’d find out.

Foxglove

[gypsymare]

With new baby in the house and hubby taking college classes on the weekends I’ve only gotten out 4 times this season. I hope to change that after Christmas! I’m now only 15-30 minutes from the fixtures, so so lucky!! Used to be 1 to 1 and a 1/2 hours away. With our capping fees so high and my price break for being under 40, I only have to make it out 10 times to make it worthwhile.

[SLW]

CindyCRNA and I are in the same hunt. I live 15 miles from the main fixture and get out twice a week unless weather or work is an issue. While our dues are at $2200 I bet I drop another $600+ on auction items, the Hunt Ball and other fund raisers throughout the year.

We have a reciprocal arrangement with another hunt that is 40 miles from my house and takes a little over an hour for me to drive to. They are very welcoming and I really should go up there more often but I get spoiled with my short drive.

My hunt started a trial membership option because the 3 cap limit wasn’t quite enough for some people to decide if they and/or their horse would take to hunting. It’s 10 hunts for $500 which is the basically the $50 capping fee extended to 10 hunts. This has resulted in 3 or 4 new members in the two years we have offered this option so it is providing the experience the Board wanted. In that same time we have had 2 or 3 people join as Full Members because they were hooked after a few caps.

Fully 1/2 of of our members live up in the city some 30 miles from the kennels. Their horses are stabled at various barns in the metro area. Bottom line, it takes them an hour plus to travel from the house to the barn then to the kennels. Most are within 20 miles of the kennels and there are a few hardy out of town members who live over 60 miles from the kennels and hunt throughout the season.

[Bogie]

Our hunts are 15 minutes to an hour and 15 minutes from my barn. Most are about 30 minutes away.

This year I’ve had a lot of family obligations so have hunted about once a week. Next year I intend to make up for it!

I’ve had three hunt horses. The first one fell in love with hunting the first time out. We hilltopped once then moved up to first flight and never took a bad step. My current OTTB took a bit more convincing that hunting was not a race, but he was fine after about 8 hunts. My up and coming draft X mare was terrible the first hunt but got better and better. Now she’s a bit too eager to go and need some reminders about her place in the field!

I don’t regret my membership because as a Steward, I know exactly how much it costs to keep the hunt going and it ain’t cheap! We generally allow people to cap as much as they’d like but it’s much better for the hunt if we get the support of members.

[jawa]

When I first started hunting, it was 1hr and 15 mins to the closest meet, 1hr and 45 mins to the farthest meet. I only hunted once a week. I would say I managed 12-15 hunts a season. A few years later and I was able to go twice a week and managed to hunt 20-30 hunts a season. One year I was able to go 3 times a week and managed 30+ hunts.

The club I am a member of now has meets that are as close has 15mins and as far as 50 minutes away. They hunt 3 days a week, but I hunt 1-2 days a week depending on obligations and weather. I’m hoping this year ::knocks on wood:: to be back in the 30ish hunts a season (family and horse need to stay healthy).

When I first joined the hunt I am a member of now, they offered a 15 hunts for $900 deal. I was a member (non-voting) for 2 years and then took the plunge for a full membership.

Each person has their own idea about how much per hunt is worth it to be a member.

As an added bonus for our club, we have hound walking, trail rides through 9 months of the year, lots of social things year round, clinics and nice facilities to use year round (although not as nice as an indoor and 1500 acres of trails to ride).

[RTF]

Ok, now I will need to check if they offer the capping fee, and how many sessions they allow for that. I really know nothing about the process. If I could make a couple of sessions yet this season, it would give me an idea if I could commit next year.

[ecileh]

My hunt is only an hour from my house, but getting there from the barn adds an extra hour of driving round-trip. It makes for some long days and, for me, cubbing is right out unless we are doing our “tea-time” afternoon hunts. (Getting up there for a 6:30a start would mean I’d have to leave my house at something like 3:30.) I am lucky enough to have hunt friends who will put up both me and my horse, for cubbing, but I only do that a couple of times a season, so as not to wear out the welcome.

This season I got out about 12 times (10 on my mare, 2 on a loaner). Quincy and I are new to the sport–this was our second season–and I think she is starting to get the concept. It would certainly go faster if we were closer and could hunt more, but it’s happening.

Our hunt has a few levels of membership and the one I subscribe to works nicely with the fact that I can’t hunt twice a week. Maybe check and see if yours does something similar? I agree that membership dues are not just a transaction, but there is also the reality of the time and money that it takes to get to fixtures for me. if we lived in the area, I would be a full member, no question–but the levels option really works for me in my current situation.

[Hunterkid]

It takes me three hours. Some years I’m a member, some years not. It mostly depends on my finances ! If you enjoy it enough you will make the drive !

[connemarafan]

We have two hunts within an hour here in FL.

One offers unlimited capping $50 cubbing/ all season for young adults, $100 regular after opening, regular dues are $1600 (and for me another big plus is them offering a young adult sub that is very reasonable if you plan on going 10+ times.)

The other restricts new members to 3x capping $50 cubbing / $100 regular after that you have to join in some capacity. They offer a social membership which includes 3 caps for $400, after that you have to join as a full member which is $1300 as well as committing to hosting breakfasts/volunteering time.

[Hinderella]

I’m about an hour from most fixtures, 1 1/2 from others. I haven’t yet joined my local hunt. Last year I was still felling out whether my pony would make it as a hunter (jury is still out) and this year I had a broken bone that kept me out of the saddle in the fall.
Hunt membership fees vary greatly, so you have to evaluate the cost for yourself. But I see it like buying a gym membership. You may not go all the time, but when you do go, you want the gym to have all of the equipment, in proper working order, and you want the gym clean and well staffed. Supporting the hunt with membership fees is the same idea…if you want them to be there for you to enjoy, even only 10 times a year, they need your support.

[Jaegermonster]

[QUOTE=connemarafan;8415562]
We have two hunts within an hour here in FL.

One offers unlimited capping $50 cubbing/ all season for young adults, $100 regular after opening, regular dues are $1600 (and for me another big plus is them offering a young adult sub that is very reasonable if you plan on going 10+ times.)

The other restricts new members to 3x capping $50 cubbing / $100 regular after that you have to join in some capacity. They offer a social membership which includes 3 caps for $400, after that you have to join as a full member which is $1300 as well as committing to hosting breakfasts/volunteering time.[/QUOTE]

The hunt I’m with in FL offers something similar to the second paragraph.
If you’re new to hunting you may have unlimited capping during cubbing. Once the formal season starts you may hunt max 3x @ $75 each. You may 3x per season thereafter if you don’t join with exception for closing and boxing day.
Our full membership is $1250 for an adult. Family,junior and student memberships are offered.
We also offer the supporting membership however that is non riding, and we offer half season memberships, either the first half or the second half.
We don’t require volunteering but it is strongly suggested and definitely appreciated. If you don’t want to be involved and just want to ride or don’t care about colors then don’t do it.

Other financial arrangements, payment plans etc are at the discretion of the Master

I neglected the original question. I travel 1.5 to 2 hours to hunt 2x a week.
I’m a whipper in so I also do 2x a week the rest of the year and sometimes more and have since 1999

[lesson_junkie]

I’m 3 miles from the kennel, and on average, 20 minutes from fixtures.