First Fox Hunt

Great fun..... with one little hiccup.

Yesterday was my first opportunity to participate in a fox hunt. The regular season has not started so formal wear was not necessary. I missed the beginner lessons that are sponsored by the Fort Leavenworth Hunt Club (FLHC) due to not learning about them until they were done. So I decided to just go anyway. Trial by fire.... seems to be a running life theme!

Anyway, I washed and spiffed up Tokaj so that she was looking her finest, and cleaned tack and tried to make ourselves presentable. Knowing that the FLHC is very military affiliated, I was not going to be surprised by an inspection! I do not have the proper hunt clothing even for an informal hunt (called cubbing instead of fox hunting)... so thanks to some advice by the Hunt Secretary Gayle, I figured out how to economically outfit myself for trying out this sport, thinking that if I formally join the hunt, that I can upgrade my outfit.

We showed up bright and early Saturday morning in what is known as Easton Hunt Country which is West of the main Fort Leavenworth gate. The trucks and horse trailers were parked with typical military formation and precision so that everyone had room, but not too much room, and a way to leave efficiently when the hunt was over. I parked (thank goodness no backing up!! I am getting better, but would not want to be watched by a no-nonsense military officer.... that would prompt much nervous nonsense!).

Tokaj stepped out of the trailer like a regal Queen and was her quiet, calm self. I got tacked up and got on her to ride her around the trailers to guage her reaction to all the horses and commotion. She was perfect as usual. So I took her back to the trailer and waited for the start of the hunt.

Before the hunt started I got to know the people at the neighboring horse trailer. They were old hands at fox hunting. They had horses who were very quiet, capable looking horses. The gentleman's name was Keene (unknown about the spelling), and apparently they had been hunting with the FLHC since the early 1980's and supplied a bunch of horses for the other members. Keene's wife Susan told me about Keene's uncanny ability to find great horses from unlikely sources. Susan's six year old, huge, quiet horse was bought by Keene in South Dakota at a sale for failed rodeo bucking horses when he was three years old. They have a really great story, and you would never have any idea that he was not a well bred heavy hunter!

I also met a friend of Keene and Susan's, Marnie (sp?). Marnie's husband is in the military and they, like me, are from California. Marnie kindly filled me in on the details of the Hunt and thought I might like to hunt Second Field where there are some jumps. If you are not familiar, the hunt is set up like this: The First Field are official members of the FLHC and follow directly after the hounds (not dogs... you are risking your reputation if you call them dogs.), then the Second Field, which are members who don't want to be First Field, and guests or nonmembers, then there are the Hilltoppers who do not jump and stay behind the field.

Well, I figured going Second field with Miss Tokaj the super quiet horse would be fine. Then we could practice our jumping a bit. So Marnie agreed to let me follow her and she would keep Tokaj and I out of trouble.

We finally set out after the hounds and the first field and I was elated to be finally participating in a fox hunt. Tokaj started out quiet as a lamb.... and then... we started trotting as a group and even cantering some, and she revved up like a supercharged sportscar with nowhere to go... being blocked in front by a trotting horse, and on the sides by the trees and trailside vegetation. She did not understand why this big herd of horses was moving quickly, but there MUST be a horse eating thing behind and she did not want to be last! She became harder and harder to hold back from the horse in front's rear end and then we came to a halt. If you have ever been in a military style formation, you realize that the folks in the back are constantly either stopped or trying to catch up. Tokaj was definitely telling me that she did not understand this situation or what was expected of her. Then the horses started off again, and Marnie, who ended up behind me asked to go first and I held Tokaj to let her pass.... that was WAY too much for Tokaj to deal with... Didn't her stupid rider realize that the Horse Eating Thing was back there!?!?! I let Tokaj follow Marnie but she already decided that I was a hinderance to her survival... she jumped a ditch and put her head down and gave some enormous bucks! I went flying off and she bolted to the head of the line bucking all the way.

I picked my embarrassed self off the ground, did a momentary check to see if all physical systems were fine, and went to claim my horse. I got back on, put on a cheerful face, and became determined to ride as if I was on a colt and not on a super nice trained fox hunter (which I should have been doing in the first place since neither of us had ever hunted!). I understood why Tokaj did what she did and now my job was to convince her that she is not in any danger and to keep her brain and not panic.

Karen, the lead rider for the Hilltoppers asked if I wanted to join her slower, non-jumping group. I decided that definitely was a good idea! So I followed her. Don't get me wrong though.... Hilltoppers are still not out for a Sunday stroll, they trot, canter, and navigate rough terrain too.. And they stay in single file formation which is the hardest thing when your horse is full of steam and the horse in front of you is going slower than she wants to go. When the horses sped up and Tokaj got some maneuvering room she started bucking again, but this time I was ready, stayed on, and pulled her head up. That was the last time she bucked.

By the end of the ride (approx 2 hours with breaks), Tokaj was doing pretty decently. She was not crowding the horse in front as much, and she wasn't fighting for the rein as much. I could definitely see how Hunt horses make great eventers... and how even nice eventers might not make it in the hunt field. Despite my bruised body and ego, and the fact that my focus had to be on my horse rather than on the beauty of the hounds or the countryside, I decided this sport had the potential to be a ton of fun and was just what Tokaj and I need to form trust, and for Tokaj to be a truly trained and useful partner.

Fox hunting is the closest thing to the cattle drives I grew up being part of. Horses must learn to work alone, and in a group, they must listen to their riders regardless of their speed or what the other horses are doing. My great horse Monte (retired) was wonderful at everything I asked him to do after he was trained.... he drove cows, jumped, evented, did western trail, trail trials, shows, etc.... but the best thing was that I could try ANYTHING with him and knew behavior would not be an issue thanks to the ranch work. That is my goal with Tokaj. And she made great improvements in one day. I am sure it will take another four to six outings as a Hilltopper for her to realize that this is not all that exciting and settle down, but after that we are going to be a great team and I will get to focus on the working of the hounds and the countryside!

One great thing about Tokaj that I learned from the Hungarian Horse Association website is that Hungarians are sometimes used in endurance riding in a heavy horse classification. It seemed weird to me until I rode Tokaj on the Hunt. I was kind of hoping she would tire out after about 30 minutes. Horses that are tired will often start looking for an easier way of doing business ie., relax and do only the minimum required, rather than continuing on full jet power. But, Miss Tokaj never got tired. And when we walked the quarter mile back to the trailers she was not as sweaty or huffing and puffing like other horses... although she had done more work in all the bucking, and cantering in place that she did. She has the hallmarks of a great horse. We just need to get on the same page.

Once back at the trailers, Bob (big cheese) informed me that it was great that I just came out and hunted.. and survived it! He also mentioned that on my first hunt, I had made it into a very elite club called the Cropper's Club. Which means I fell off at a regular hunt and "met face to face with the crops" (we hunted on corn fields so now I feel very familiar with corn having met it face to face). Apparently there is a T-shirt that I am now eligible to wear, and that I will wear with pride!

I said goodbye to all of my new friends, Marnie, Susan, Karen, Keene, and Bob and drove home. Once I got home I started feeling my bumps and bruises. It is funny how you can just ride for two hours and not know that you have a sprained ankle swelling up in your boot and have gotten your bell rung pretty good. I was happy to be home and told my husband Jake, "Oh yeah they were very impressed with Tokaj and I. They mentioned that they had never seen a horse buck so high or hard especially after already getting the rider off.....".

So.... Fox hunting this Wednesday anyone??? See you out there.