OP, you could do what we used to do when funds were tight and we wanted to go to a “Drive In” movie. Are there any of those left? Pack a few in the trunk and split the cost of 2 tickets. The only time we got caught was when we only had enough money for 1 ticket and they got suspicious. Can’t blame them who goes to a Drive In by them self.
Thanks for that clarification, gumtree!
[QUOTE=gumtree;7440539]
“Diana’s of the Chase” race. Educate me[/QUOTE]
Diana’s of the Chase is a side saddle race that was reconstituted in England last year, for the first time since the 1920s. It is run over Quorn country. I would LOVE to do it, and have been offered a horse, but still have to pay for the travel expenses, of course, so not feasible right now. Video and info here: http://dianas-of-the-chase.com/?page_id=97
I have to say, I am tempted to ride aside in a p2p here, if the winter would cooperate! Our horses have barely been ridden in 6 weeks, sigh, and are in no way racing fit.
Try living in a state without a real hunt & until moving here, having been going to point-to-points since you were a single-digit kid.
[QUOTE=SidesaddleRider;7440568]
Thanks for that clarification, gumtree!
Diana’s of the Chase is a side saddle race that was reconstituted in England last year, for the first time since the 1920s. It is run over Quorn country. I would LOVE to do it, and have been offered a horse, but still have to pay for the travel expenses, of course, so not feasible right now. Video and info here: http://dianas-of-the-chase.com/?page_id=97
I have to say, I am tempted to ride aside in a p2p here, if the winter would cooperate! Our horses have barely been ridden in 6 weeks, sigh, and are in no way racing fit.[/QUOTE]
Pretty cool. We have some women that hunt sidesaddle from time to time. Not something that men are “built for”
We should start a fund raiser, “lets send SSRider to England to represent the US”. We’ll kick in.
“Our horses have barely been ridden in 6 weeks, sigh, and are in no way racing fit”
I would say most of us are dealing with the same. Pretty much why I have nothing for the spring races. But, just about everybody’s horses will have the same “handicap”
We didn’t join our hunt this season. We decided to just cap around. Turned out to be the right decision for once.
Bit of advice for those that bet at the jump meets. Only bet on the trainer who’s horses were based down south for the winter.
Just got another hunts card and they are charging $20/car which includes 4 occupants. That’s more like it! Quite a range of charges: $20 vs. $55 for a car of 4. Sorry ya’ll…I’m just cheap!! And yes I DO appreciate how lucky we are in this area to even have ptp’s to go to/support. I look forward to it every year. A splendid way to spend the day ESPECIALLY if there’s a tailgate you can attend. I’ll go every chance I get. God bless the horses/trainers as this winter in Va. had been a bitch. Thank you in advance for entertaining us!
Ooooh, great! Can we talk about food now? :congratulatory:
Whatcha gonna make? I love making tail gate type food/appetizery type finger foods! Always looking to snag new ideas!
I’d love to know, too! Some of the dressage shows around here encourage us to bring food for welcoming parties. Tailgating food ideas would be great!
Well, it depends on how elaborate you want to be. 
Standard tailgate items include:
Fresh sliced roast beef, mustard, rolls
Fried chicken (tenders w/honey mustard or other dipping sauce, or legs/thighs)
Sliced ham
Chilled shrimp & cocktail sauce
Cheese & cracker assortment (especially a really good brie)
Pate and fresh sliced baguettes
Bruschetta and toasted sliced baguettes
Veggies (carrots, etc) w/ranch dip
Spinach artichoke dip w/chips or baguettes
Fresh shucked oysters (if you have someone coming in from MD)
Grapes, strawberries
Chips & dip
Brownies, other easy-to-eat desserts
LOTS of champagne and wine, alcohol w/mixers, soda, water. A “speciality” drink is always welcome, if someone makes something special. For instance, one tailgate we go to always offers freshly made mojitos. Yum!
If the weather is cold/rainy, a hearty soup or chili is always much appreciated.
This is a very different world from what I knew in the midwest. The etiquette is very different. We would have hospitality tables open to all exhibitors and guests at bigger shows, and individuals would bring their own goodies for snacking in their stalls or around their trailers, but you didn’t partake of an individual’s spread unless you were specifically invited. “Tailgating” was also specific to football games
What is the etiquette for an event like this? Who should bring goodies to share? At what point do you go from a newbie learning the ropes as a member’s guest to mooching/time to buy a membership/in serious danger of pissing off your generous and polite hosts?
Excellent suggestions, SSR! I was wondering specifically what the OP likes to bring for tailgating.
At our Estes park CDI, competitors are encouraged to “tailgate” the first night of the show. In return, we get a discount on tack stalls. I think I went overboard and spent WAY more on cheese, crackers and wines than the stall would have cost. But it was lotsa fun!
[QUOTE=HighFlyinBey++;7445778]
What is the etiquette for an event like this? Who should bring goodies to share? At what point do you go from a newbie learning the ropes as a member’s guest to mooching/time to buy a membership/in serious danger of pissing off your generous and polite hosts?[/QUOTE]
If you have been invited to a race tailgate, ask the host(ess) if you can bring something that will complement what they plan to serve. If they say no, then just bring a bottle of wine or champagne. That is always appreciated!
It is called tailgating as that is what it is - people buy spots on the rail for their car (well, SUVs or trucks work best), then pull out a table or two and set it up, albeit usually fancier than most football tailgates. Linen tablecloths, silver serving pieces, fox mounts, etc are all common. People without spots park in general admission, and walk in. Oftentimes, several people will buy a spot together and host the tailgate. If you want to go to a race, but don’t know anyone having a tailgate, consider purchasing a spot yourself and inviting friends - it is a win-win!
Thanks, SSR! Tailgating at horse events is far more upscale than at Lambeau Field :tickled_pink:
Oh I don’t know. Here in Seattle Football tailgating can be very serious business.
though the weather is usually pretty mild, overall and BBQ / grilling is strongly encouraged. Satay is popular since so many people love Asian flavors
People throw down a lot of fresh seafood; Dungeness crabs, oysters mussels
I like to make spanakopita, it travels well and who does not like butter and filo
Hoopoe, that sounds wonderful enough to convert me to a Seahawks fan!
LOL! I was listening to a Packers radio broadcast and they were talking about how, walking through the parking lot, they’d noticed the difference in tailgating where they were (San Fran?) and Green Bay. What they were describing sounded MUCH tastier than brats and beer (I’m not a fan of either one).
Ways in which to be a good Hunt supporter and/or Point to Point attendee:
- Pay your dues and/or cap. Do not just show up at a meet, for the tailgate, then refuse to pay when asked because you are just there for the food.
- Do not profess poverty all the time, and then show up at paid events empty handed and crash other people’s tailgates without invitation.
- Do not bash Hunts and what they charge for events. If you truly cannot afford it, perhaps you should be more selective in your pursuits, or save your own money and pay for yourself when you are able.
- Know and understand the rules and etiquette of attending a meet, whether a Point to Point or a Hunt. For example, bringing your cur dog to a meet with hounds that are still loose is very bad judgement and invites the possibility of horrible injuries to your cur dog or those trying to get hounds away.
- If you are invited to a tailgate, by all means, be a full participant, and bring something to share, but don’t just buy a general admission ticket and expect to be fed and watered by the people who actually paid for their spot and spent the time and money to create a beautiful tailgate, just because you know them. Invitations are generally given, not just assumed.
- Manners rule. Foxhunting and racing both have wonderful traditions of genteel behavior, at least in public view. Learn to respect others and perhaps more invitations will come your way. Foxhunters tend to be very forgiving at social events, however, the behavior of crashers is generally noted, and may be gossiped about later.
Just my opinions, of course. Not directed at anyone, but these are generally true of any type of social event anyway. These would all be true if it were a football tailgate, or a NASCAR tailgate too. Although the rules might be slightly different, such as “Don’t take the last beer from the cooler without asking others if they need one”. Just commonplace manners are needed to move through most all social situations.
Actually, Randy Waterman won a good bit with a selle francais back in the day, but ‘warmblood’ is a relative thing and can be mostly tb. But yeah, it stands to reason that if fewer tb’s are ‘fairly hunted,’ the races won’t fill. As for the pricing, I agree, not outrageous for a day of good fun. I always thought Fairfax (at Belmont) had a good business model- advertisers covered the cost of the race programs, and so they added $5 or so to the admission, not an unreasonable amount, and then gave the programs away ‘for free,’ so the customer actually felt so enthused about the free program they paid no heed to the admission cost.
[QUOTE=SidesaddleRider;7445696]
Well, it depends on how elaborate you want to be.
Standard tailgate items include:
Fresh sliced roast beef, mustard, rolls
Fried chicken (tenders w/honey mustard or other dipping sauce, or legs/thighs)
Sliced ham
Chilled shrimp & cocktail sauce
Cheese & cracker assortment (especially a really good brie)
Pate and fresh sliced baguettes
Bruschetta and toasted sliced baguettes
Veggies (carrots, etc) w/ranch dip
Spinach artichoke dip w/chips or baguettes
Fresh shucked oysters (if you have someone coming in from MD)
Grapes, strawberries
Chips & dip
Brownies, other easy-to-eat desserts
LOTS of champagne and wine, alcohol w/mixers, soda, water. A “speciality” drink is always welcome, if someone makes something special. For instance, one tailgate we go to always offers freshly made mojitos. Yum!
If the weather is cold/rainy, a hearty soup or chili is always much appreciated.[/QUOTE]
What’s you tail gate number at the Gold Cup?
You left out the obligatory Smithfield Han on biscuits. I believe that might be considered sacrilegious for a Virginian. And get you a “bless her heart” comment.
Being from Maryland, crab cakes and or crab imperial would be much higher on the list then oysters. At least in my neck of woods. But better know how to make a proper crab cake. Don’t “man handle” the crab meat when making. And if it is out of a can read the small print, even though there should be a law against it a lot of cans are sold saying Maryland Crap meat but the small print says product of Louisiana. We can taste the difference and this will also draw a “bless their heat” comment. 
Lemon squares.
Bloody Mary’s but must made with tomato juice and “personal signature additives”
Thank you so much, BigBlackDraft! This list, while full of common sense, is very helpful. I have the ADD “gift” of skipping over the obvious at times and a gentle nudge or “psst!” is very helpful to remind my brain to slow down
Even though COTH has many “idiot boarder brings personal dog to barn” threads, it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around the idea that anyone could be such a tool as to bring a cur dog to a Meet. Even I know that’s just begging for trouble with a capital T :dead:
These would all be true if it were a football tailgate, or a NASCAR tailgate too. Although the rules might be slightly different, such as “Don’t take the last beer from the cooler without asking others if they need one”. Just commonplace manners are needed to move through most all social situations.
LOL! Every Wisconsin child grows up to understand that it’s a total d*** move to take the last beer! Of course, it doesn’t stop some from BEING d***s and doing it anyway, but they know.
[QUOTE=Bigblackdraft;7446503]
- Know and understand the rules and etiquette of attending a meet, whether a Point to Point or a Hunt. For example, bringing your cur dog to a meet with hounds that are still loose is very bad judgement and invites the possibility of horrible injuries to your cur dog or those trying to get hounds away.[/QUOTE]
Question for you (or other fox hunters) … I assume a “cur dog” is a dog of any breed that isn’t part of the hunting pack?
And why would anyone do that? I am on the very very edges of fox hunting (have friends who belong to the local) and even I know better. That’s worse than showing up on a four-wheeler instead of a horse.
