The Short Bus Helps Out

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

We had a BIG Short Bus yesterday - 7 riders, 3 of whom were newcomers.

Here are some photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2833501430069.2124415.1035171568&type=3&l=1b77d194f5

The high point of the day was when we encountered a pair of whippers-in, who had a puppy in tow. One of them went off in search of the field, and the other asked us to hold the puppy for her. One of our newcomers was in a Western saddle and was spry enough to get back on from the ground :D, so she volunteered to hold the puppy. The whipper-in eventually decided to try to call the huntsman - fortunately, they both had cell service.

It made for an interesting break in the day, and some cute photo ops.

I think 2 of the 3 newcomers will be back (the 3rd isn’t really a rider - he just came along with his wife).

We had quite an eclectic mix of horses: 2 QH, a double-registered Paint/QH, a Peruvian, a mustang, a Fjord, and a Haflinger/Welsh cross. And Mr. Blondie did a stellar job of leading the field. He likes being in charge :yes:

[Corky]

Aw great photos and nice to see a welcoming hunt that doesn’t mind ‘alternative attire’ for newbies. Which hunt is this?

Funny story about western saddles in the hunt field - I took a student out hunting on her little pinto 13h tank. She jumped EVERYTHING including things that were easy to get around and managed to never knock the wind out of herself. She certainly learned why I insisted she learn to jump before hunting, even though she wanted to ride western!

[Big_Grey_hunter]

Harrison Fjord may be the cutest name ever!

[gothedistance]

Ooooo!! Fun!! How many bunnies were found? Or are they called jacks?

[Risk-Averse_Rider]

Corky - This is the Paradise Valley Beagles, in Phoenix, Arizona.

While we prefer formal attire, we don’t turn away newcomers who don’t have all the “proper” stuff. And we often have people riding in Western tack - sometimes in English clothing, sometimes in Western clothing. We have no jumps in our territory, although some of the horses will pop over little arroyos or the occasional cactus here & there

gothedistance - We hunt jackrabbits. On The Short Bus, we saw 3-4 jacks bounding away, and a few cottontails. (And a BUNCH of Harris hawks - there was apparently a convention there that day.) I’m not sure how many the hounds found. Because of all the new horses, we weren’t trying to get up close to the main field. But we had fun, anyway, on our little trail-ride-with-entertainment