Now that the season is just about through, it’s time to think ahead to next season. What are some things that your hunt has used to recruit new members?
summer trail rides, hunter paces, fox hunting clinics, etc. You need a way to get people to come out and meet the hunt. Then make sure your friendliest members are in attendance
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Have a fox hunting 101 course. John Shelldrake at Radnor Hunt used to do this. Parents of Pony Club kids, people from local stables all invited to learn how to ride to hounds, an evening cocktail party or cookout, a cross country ride, explanation of what a day’s hunting includes, a visit to the kennels.
Make sure local stables get the orize list for your hunter trials.
Invite some new neighbors who know nothing about
the Club or horses, they might decide to join even if it’s just to meet new people or play tennis if your club has courts.
Also it is very nice when the staff visits homeowners and farm owners whose lives they intruded upon during the winter!
New Members
We make a pretty enthusiastic effort each year to recruit new members. We host a fox hunting clinic that includes some classroom time as well as a mounted clinic for beginners. We have also been able to develope a good relationship with our local Pony Club and that has added some youth and vitality to our membership.
We host regular trail rides during the summer as well as mounted hound excercise dates. We also host a Landowners Picnic mid summer that creates interest in our hunt and gives us an opportunity to thank our valued landowners.
Perhaps one of the best things that we have done to encourage new memberships is that we have created an Introductory Membership that is available only to riders that have never before been a member of a hunt. Our Introductory Membership provides a new hunt rider with one season of unlimited hunts at a very reasonable price. We have had good success with this as many of the “Intro” members join as regular members the next year.
Hotspur
Metamora Hunt
Mounted hound walks have been very popular. We get more riders at exercise than in the hunt field. This summer our Master has suggested we do it at 5pm one day a week and have a pot luck at the kennels (which are lovely)
Pony Club days have not been as good as we hoped. Where are the brave kids that can RIDE? Perhaps it’s more an issue of them not being allowed to RIDE. I suspect the kids would step up if allowed. Hunting is fun.
During the season, we have added a leisure field so everyone who can get on a horse can at least show up and trail ride.
Hunter paces are extremely popular. Most are at private farms where people only get to ride one day of the year, which is an additional draw.
Summer (mounted) hound walking, including one evening session per week with a potluck and socializing to follow.
One Friday night each month over the summer, there is a themed social event at the kennel house. It’s open to everyone and either costs a nominal fee or is sponsored by someone(s). Food and drink is provided. Last summer, one was a wine tasting, another was different kinds of margaritas, one was bourbon and cigars, etc.
Clinics targeted at different ages groups/types of riders (juniors, adults, etc) that include an unmounted session and short mock hunt.
First-year introductory membership rate. Subscription fee is unchanged, but the membership is cut in half the first year. That helps to nudge some of the fence-sitters into joining.
The mounted opportunities really draw a lot of people, but (IMO) the social events are equally important. Prospective members are required to be sponsored by two current members. If you don’t know anybody, it’s a lot harder to strike up an acquaintanceship while everyone is busy riding than it is when everyone is lounging around with a drink in hand.
