Hunting Newbie!

[Rel6]

Hey guys!

I’m at student in upstate NY and my equestrian team coach is very active in the local hunt club. Both her parents hunt four times a week, and as it is a long weekend here at school she invited me a friend to join her parents and daughter foxhunting. Needless to say I am very excited!

I wanted to post here and get some advice, basically what to do and more importantly what not to do! :lol:

I did read through the sticky post FAQ and the linked threads but the other URL was invalid. So any advice for an experienced hunter/jumper rider who knows absolutely nothing about fox-hunting would be appreciated!

Oh, and a little more info: I plan on wearing full show attire (my trainer said that would be suitable?) and I am not jumping. Thanks guys!

[Painted_Wings]

Listen to the person you are a guest of. Stick with them and do what they do.

Other than that, smile and greet everyone before the hunt. Don’t talk during the hunt. Be sure to thank the master and the huntsman after the hunt.

Not much other than that. Look around, do what other people are doing, stay quiet, and enjoy yourself.

[Ben_Dover]

Get your coach to tell you what’s what.

Find out the dress code and what you need to do and ask her to help you on the day

Have fun

[Ben_Dover]

Get your coach to help you with what’s what and the dress code

Have fun

[Equibrit]

Keep your eyes, ears and nose open, the mouth closed, immerse yourself in the experience and have a good time. You will learn a ton. Don’t worry one jot about how you look on the horse, the idea is to stay safe all day. If that means hanging on or grabbing something, then do it.

[jawa]

All great advice!! You are lucky to be going with someone and on a horse that has hunted.

All you need to do is enjoy.

Have fun, and please give us a report on the day!!

[Rel6]

[QUOTE=jawa;5885001]
All great advice!! You are lucky to be going with someone and on a horse that has hunted.

All you need to do is enjoy.

Have fun, and please give us a report on the day!![/QUOTE]

Horse has actually never hunted before, so it will be the first time for both of us! But he is a good boy, one of our beginner horses and great both in and out of the ring. I’m actually taking him to see how he is, so that if something happens to one of my coach’s parents horses they can ride him. So no jumping for me, but I’d much rather be on something where I can sit back and enjoy the ride my first time out.

And thank you everyone for the advice! I take it that the best thing I can do is be quiet and watch, which I’m glad I know ahead of time since I can be quite chatty. The mouth will definitely be on a tight rein for the hunt :lol:

[Beau_s_mom]

Read Wadsworth’s Hunting w/ Hounds in America. Lots of good info to guide you and, like others said, ask your host. Hope you have a good time. Please let us know how it went!

[Rel6]

OK I’m reporting back!

It went really well, I had such a blast. It was me, another college student, our barn manager (who rarely hunts), and our coach’s adult daughter (whose been hunting her whole life and knows the area.) Only our coach’s daughter’s mount has been out hunting before, the other three had never been. All of them were great and actually my beginner guy was the worst out of the group! :lol:

He did not want to have to stop and stand and would start pacing, jigging, and hopping. I kept circling him and about and hour in he started to settle. He was fine at the walk, trot, and canter (strong and pulling, but ratable for me.) There were a fair amount of horses acting up and riders making a big deal out of it so I just rode through it quietly and tried not to draw attention to myself. I don’t think we stuck out.

But at least now my coach knows not to put her parents on him! Anyways, as for the hunt itself it was so beautiful. We went through fields, woods, alongside corn fields, etc. Gorgeous weather! We stayed out for a little over two hours before calling it a day as none of the horses were super fit. I would definitely want to go again. Everyone was super nice, and we thanked them profusely for inviting the college students (us!)

And thanks to everyone here for all the suggestions…This has been a super successful foray out of hunter/jumper land!