[QUOTE=Painted Wings;3731016]
Ha, the most famous hunt is entirely fictitious. It is the “Jefferson” hunt in Virginia. Just ask Rita Mae,
One of our hunt members was asking about it the other day. He thought it was a real hunt.[/QUOTE]
Next you’re going to tell me that Santa’s not real.
I think “famous” also has to do with how public a hunt is or how much they stay out of the public eye. I grew up in NJ and had never heard of the Essex Hunt. Right before my wife and I moved to Virginia we lived out in the hunt country of NJ. One day we were riding along one of the back roads near Bedminster and had to wait for the hunt to cross the road. It was quite the sight. I couldn’t have told you that that was the Essex Hunt but it was.
The name recognition of hunts seems to come and go the same way the reputations of hunts changes over time. As someone mentioned above, some of the famous hunts are now gone. With all that said, when I moved to VA I had heard about Piedmont and Middleburg hunts but that was about it and I lived in Loudoun. I’d say for the general public the hunts are kind of invisible.
These are the ones I remember knowing about for a long time.
Myopoia
Genesee Valley
Millbrook
Chagrin Valley
Radnor
Mr Stewart’s Chesire
Warrenton
Middleburg
Arapahoe
These are the ones I remember knowing about for a LONG imeMyopia
Genesee Valey
Millbrook
Chagrin Vallley
Fairfield
Mr Stewart’s Cheshire
Radnor
Middleburg
Warreno
These are the ones I remember knowing about. But in some cases it is because of shows or HT they ran rather than the huntiung itself.
Genesee Valley
Chagrin Valley
Millbrook
Myopia
Fairfield
Radnor
Mr Stewart’s Cheshire
Arapahoe
Middleburg
Warrenton
I didn’t know Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis hunted (or even rode). Wikipedia says she was a life-long equestrian. Did she hunt all that time?
[QUOTE=wanabe;3733343]
I didn’t know Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis hunted (or even rode). Wikipedia says she was a life-long equestrian. Did she hunt all that time?[/QUOTE]
Can’t answer your question, but here is an interesting bit of trivia in light of Obama’s promise of a new puppy for his daughters.
Apparently “Macaroni” was the first (and I assume only) pony that lived at the White House. He was given to Caroline Kennedy as a gift from a family friend.
Yes, pretty much. She was a member of Piedmont, Orange County, and Essex and hunted around a bit too. She also competed in the pair races and the Orange County team event.
famous?!!
I’d have to ask …famous for what!!! So my answers are related to the different KINDS of famous a hunt can be. Like:
Oh I could go on & on but I have hunts around here that I’d nominate for some of these? And some of it is reputation and not truth. So my list would be quite varied.
[QUOTE=wanabe;3733343]
I didn’t know Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis hunted (or even rode). Wikipedia says she was a life-long equestrian. Did she hunt all that time?[/QUOTE]
I think so. I think I remember seeing pictures of her as a little kid in ratcatcher. Some folks on this BB hunted with her and could tell you more, I’m sure.
Lots of people in eventing and other horse sports grew up hunting. Everyone hunted in the winter, including farmers hunting on mules and draft horses. It was a normal part (and still is) of rural life - regardless of social class. The great event riders were great because they developed their seat and abilities in the hunt field. Top dressage riders hunted, and so did their mounts.
Becky Holder grew up hunting with Ft. Leavenworth Hunt and whipped in for years.
I doubt that Macaroni was the first, since pre-auto, the White House had stables (which I recall reading, burned during the Lincoln administration) and Teddy Roosevelt, for one, had lots of kids galloping around the place with lots of animals.
There’s a cute story about Roosevelt’s son, Archie- when he was sick in bed, either one of his brothers or a groom took Archie’s pony, Algonquin, up the White House elevator to visit him and cheer him up!
There’s a cool online exhibit on “White House Horses” here- http://www.whitehousehistory.org/02/subs_horses/01.html
Back to hunting though, I’d add West Hills Hunt in CA, purely because of who their members are 
[QUOTE=wanabe;3733343]
I didn’t know Jackie Bouvier Kennedy Onassis hunted (or even rode). Wikipedia says she was a life-long equestrian. Did she hunt all that time?[/QUOTE]
Yes. There is even a book on her life as an equestrienne.
Wateryglen - we’ll get to each of those in due time!
BTW, what does “trapiness” of their territory mean?
Let’s start with:
Famous for the pucker-factor in riding there.
Famous for their exclusiveness. (And can anyone cap at all hunts or are some members and guests only?)
Trappiness generally refers to- never mind the fences, the terrain is straight up and down and it can be sporting indeed to be getting lots of vertical as you gallop a serpentine trail in the woods. In Virginia, Rappahannock and parts of Old Dominion country come to mind. Guests from Florida might shriek in terror. Though after you have hunted in the Rocky Mountains they look pretty flat! However, when a little horse I hunted for 20 years would get to pulling too much, a day at Rappahannock would cure him for a couple of weeks. Pucker factor might be from the terrain, or the fences (though people do exaggerate there- I’ve jumped plenty of 3 foot to 3 foot 6 fences that magically grew to ‘way over 4 feet’ by the hunt breakfast!). Out west you might have different pucker factors, trotting a rocky spine with a dramatic slope on either side can be breathtaking. And then you do need to pay attention when you excuse yourself for a potty break, a Red Rock whipper-in chose what she thought was a lovely, secluded spot, only to have the cougar on the rock above start complaining as soon as she was, er, committed to the process. (It worked out fine though).
‘Exclusiveness’- very few. You can peruse the latest Hunt Roster and I can only think, offhand, of one case where you won’t read ‘visitors welcome to hunt.’ But I’ve hunted there so how exclusive can it really be?
[QUOTE=linquest;3733839]
There’s a cute story about Roosevelt’s son, Archie- when he was sick in bed, either one of his brothers or a groom took Archie’s pony, Algonquin, up the White House elevator to visit him and cheer him up!
There’s a cool online exhibit on “White House Horses” here- http://www.whitehousehistory.org/02/subs_horses/01.html
Back to hunting though, I’d add West Hills Hunt in CA, purely because of who their members are :D[/QUOTE]
thank you so much for posting that link, it was lovely.
[QUOTE=xeroxchick;3734274]
Yes. There is even a book on her life as an equestrienne.[/QUOTE]
There actually was a recent thread about her on the hunting forum that had a link to the book, which is wonderful
A google of Jackie brings up lot’s of her horse passion:
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=287
http://www.jfklibrary.org/NR/rdonlyres/AD42B9D9-8EEC-456C-8FD7-9C29F600B9E2/22762/JBKWhiteHouseYears.pdf see item #14
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4722514/
and there is tons more out there. I swear there exist a photo of Jackie & Caroline foxhunting in Virginia in the 1980’s.
:lol::lol::lol: Talk about pucker factor!
I’ll add to “trappiness” - bottomland. Foxgrape, galloping serpentines in woods with dense thickets, having to pick one’s way through what you think is just a bit of mud and finding out its hock deep… But Lordy Lordy is there a lot of fox.
Beverly - you should write a book. 
Thanks, that last article was especially interesting! Who knew that Jackie was a smoker – even a chain smoker? Did they keep that hidden from us or was I just too young to notice?
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