Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Oh, hunting I want to go!

I miss foxhunting. Very badly. It is a thrill like no other I can even begin to describe. I grew up foxhunting with my mom and my first hunts were with the Ft. Leavenworth Hunt in Kansas. So much fun on a naughty, naughty (but very game) pony.

I was hoping to be able to hunt Gabe this season, but that hasn't quite panned out the way I'd hoped.

Natalie at Retired Racehorse Today posted this video (along with a few others) and I watched it a couple of times with goose bumps of thrills breaking out on my skin, my heart racing and my legs aching to be on a horse riding with that pack! I admit, I am a bit of a horseback adrenalin junkie...and this is my drug of choice. I need a fix!



This is video of the Scarteen Hunters in Ireland...ooohhh...FUN!! They say if you want a truly thrilling hunt, find an Irish pack. No fear.

I spent way too much time watching YouTube videos of foxhunts and all it managed to do was make me want to go hunting even more badly! Most of the videos I watched are of hunts in Ireland and England. One was of a pack of bloodhounds that track human "quarry" instead of fox, since that country outlawed hunting an actual fox. Still, too much fun! I totally live in the wrong country.

8 comments:

  1. Hunting with the Red Rock Hounds is definitely on my bucket list! It's pretty much the opposite of Ireland, though... :)

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  2. We are all obsessed with hunting! Winter fidgets!

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  3. I'm such a wuss but I couldn't watch! The potential for equine injury was a little too high for me to handle. Is it any wonder I'm a dressage rider?

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  4. @Funder...a hunt is a hunt, and besides just being a fun ride, the social aspect is incredible...a bunch of horsepeople all doing what they love, out there just RIDING. And the hounds thrill the heck out of me to watch them work.

    @Natalie..I know, I know. I'm so done with winter, I just want to RIDE!

    @Sarah...no one gets hurt, the ones that do go down pop right back up, the riders jump right back on and off they go. Tough bunch of horses and riders. I love dressage, too, love the technical, beautiful, graceful aspects of the discipline, but sometimes, I just need that "Man From Snowy River" kind of thrill. :)

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  5. Seems like a perfect way to get horses and maybe riders hurt...with very few exceptions, almost every horse's hindquarters were in the ditch...can you say stifle injury??? Even if they do pop right back up, I'd be willing to bet that injuries do occur. Adrenaline covers a multitude of sins, at least for a while. Make it a little safer and it would still be just as fun.

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  6. I loved hunting in Kansas too. We saw the Red Rock Hounds do a demo at the horse expo in Sacramento and even the cowboy wants to give it a run.
    Hey Jenn, don't you have your very own fox right there? Get Jasmine and Gabe to work.

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  7. My husband has recently become interested in fox hunting and I have been enjoying learning about it too. We found Fox Hunting Life www.foxhuntinglife.com and have learned a lot from them! Their newsletter offers fox hunting resources, fox hunting books, tips on mounted fox hunting and a lot more. It has been a valuable resource for us.

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  8. same thing here love hunting so much, forget anything just enjoying it so much.

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