Tommorrow's the day!

[MegBackInSaddle]

I had three little “goals” for this season, after getting a trailer so I could travel from the western gaming barn where I was boarding my mare. 1. Get to some kind of little show. 2. Try cross-country. Sunday will be our 4th horse trials (and 6th show), so check and check!

3. Ride my Winnie B with the hunt.

I started riding with Coach in April. First show in June. By mid-August, I’d moved to her barn. And as she’s club secretary and her hubby is Master, perfect opportunity to try hunting!

Some things have gotten in the way (lower back problems exacerbated by a bad spot in stadium at an August show, broken foot - not horse-related), so it’s taken me a while to get around to it. But tomorrow morning, we hunt! Pretty excited!

I think Winnie’s going to love it! We’ve been hacking a lot lately, and XC is pretty much her favourite thing. We ride past the kennels on the way to the XC field, so she’s at least heard the hounds baying. We’ve gotten some quality miles on us this season. Think we’re ready!

Pic of my pretty girl, just because.

[Trot_On]

Have a wonderful time, I know you are going to love it. And of course a full report is needed.:yes:

[Foxglove]

Enjoy!

[BayBondGirl]

How exciting! Hunting is the most fun one can have on horseback I feel. I became an eventer after hunting for the first time

Have all of the fun, and bring us all of the photos

[MegBackInSaddle]

Had a great time! And my mare did pretty well. She was perfect for the first two hours or so, but got herself a bit worked up for the last 45 min. She’d still stand nicely, but once we’d move off, she wanted to go-go-GO!

Honestly, though, it was a small hunt and not a particularly fast one, and I found it a little bit anticlimactic after wanting to do it for so long. A big part of that is that we’ve been hacking a lot lately, with plenty of cantering, some galloping and jumping, so it really was just a trail ride with hounds.

Not a bad thing, as it just shows we’re having so much fun at this barn that the hunt is just another day in the life. Got a couple of pics, but have to see if I can compress them to post here.

[Willesdon]

Well, yes, fox hunting often involves a lot of standing around and moving gently from covert to covert with no action, particularly on days when scent is poor or completely absent. Inevitably, some meets are more busy than others, some have loads of jumps, some very few. Nonetheless, always huge fun. This is the reason why I’m always slightly disappointed when the responses to a ‘How to go foxhunting…?’ question in this forum talk of the months of training required, the unique skills needed by the horse, by the rider. All slightly offputting.

But then, I’m British and fox hunting here is a lot more muddy, basic and less… theatrical?

[Huntin_Fool]

I’m glad it went so well! There was only one “flight” I take it?

[xeroxchick]

Yea! That’s hunting, some days are slower than others. Probably good you didn’t have a rip-roaring fast day. It will come!