Supporting Dogged Resistance
My hunting experiences Part 1
Well, I thought I'd write about my first ever season hunting. Won't mention any names or places just in case - it's only about the meets I went to and it only goes up to the 15th of December. There will be more!
Kennels Opening Meet 10/11/07:
I'm all set for this one, despite not knowing exactly where the kennels are. The tack is gleaming, the horse is groomed, the trailer is clean. But, in true Scarlet style, there's something wrong. As I'm leading her out of her stall I spot a - "Oh for f*cks sake. She's lost a shoe" - problem. My options are: call it off or go without a horse. I suppose I should have gone just to meet people (my neighbour was all set to introduce me) but I confess I chicken out.
Meet #2 13/11/07:
Having hastily got Scarlet repaired, I set out for the farm nearby where this meet is being held. I arrive and am greeted very warmly by everyone (though I haven't the faintest idea who they all are). Over a glass of port - tricky business on a horse that won't stand still - I manage to establish the Master and the Huntsman (though it will be another month before I can say which is which).
Despite her trying repeatedly to buck me off, Scarlet and I have a smashing day.
Meet #3 17/11/07:
Arrive by trailer to this one. Scarlet is more settled but the wait while everyone arrives starts to psyche her up a little. We recognise and have a few words with various people and then we're off, over fields, pausing only to allow the Master to remount when he's unceremoniously dumped.
It starts to rain and that, on top of a cold wind and the fact that the leaders of the field just cleared off, causes a large bunch of us to turn for home around 3.
Meet #5 24/11/07:
The location of this meet is changed. Again Scarlet and I arrive fairly early but she's happier to wait today. The Master invites us to ride up at the front for a bit which makes us feel very important and keeps introducing me to various people who's names I forget the instant we stop talking. Rains again today but it finishes at a more humane time then it's a brief hack to a friend of my step-dad's farm to get picked up.
Meet #6 27/11/07:
I decide to give Scarlet a break and not ride this one. I still drive up and talk to various people though and take this opportunity to pay my subs.
Meet #7 1/12/07:
A perfect hunting day. We arrive at the meet and I'm walking Scarlet down the road when I hear a horrible noise - clop clop clink clop. Oh surely not. I look down - "Oh shit." A side section of hoof is missing and therefore she now has a loose shoe. Shit. And the trailer's gone home. And my mobile has no signal. I weigh up my options and decide to go to the meet and take it from there. We end up staying for a few fields but after a particularly mucky one Scarlet lurches. I look down - and it's gone. Shit. We make our apologies and leave.
Meet #9 8/12/07:
Following a tiring week I wake to horrible, cold weather and decide not to ride. Cue - "Oh where's the pony today?" comments from all sides. Um, at home being sensible that's where. Haven't you noticed the sleet??
Meet #10 11/12/07:
I decide to go to this one on a whim following working out the location (hooray for Google) as it's only 2 miles away - an easy hack back. On arrival we talk to a few new faces and the usual culprits, the Master and Huntsman etc. Not much happens in the way of scent so we in the three horse field play spot the Welsh hound. Scarlet ducks out of an easy fence and the Master has to drop out early through losing a shoe but it's an otherwise super day.
Meet #11 15/12/07:
This meet is another fairly big one but most drop out by midday which is lucky for the Master as that means only a handful of us witness him being dropped. Again. I fetch his horse back (a first for Scarlet but she mucks it up trying to bite him) and refrain from teasing him too much.
Following the brief excitement, the day drags wearily on and we find ourselves dragging ourselves wearily back at around 4:30, seeing the lucky people in their nice, warm, brightly lit houses while we shiver slightly in the twilight.
Christmas Eve Meet:
Scarlet and I make a proper ass of ourselves at this one and turn up all geared-up to hunt - only to find they have decided to go on foot instead. It is a classic Bridget Jones moment (minus the prostitute bunny costume). Scarlet doesn't find it half as bad as I do because she is the only horse there and therefore the best horse there and therefore the centre of attention for once.
Boxing Day Meet:
The ground is in a terrible state but the meet is on horses nontheless (tradition and all that). The day is a pretty short one, simply because you are either running through bog or slipping down banks. Scarlet manages to jump a fair number of ditches (her forte) and we spend quite a bit of time texting my (anti) father, telling him how the challenge to hunting nowadays is to see who can gallop, text and swig port at the same time. It's a joke, but he doesn't realise and keeps telling me not to be so reckless. I don't realise until we get back to the trailer that Scarlet has lost another shoe.
Meet #16 29/12/07:
Another fairly nearby meet, this one. It keeps trying to snow but ends up turning to rain. Scarlet amazes me by jumping the fence she ducked out at a previous meet. Twice. True, she does jump about two feet above it, but it's a jump nontheless! We cover a fairly large distance but end up giving it up at about 4:00 because both of us are absolutely shattered and we don't much feel like following the hounds when they finally catch a scent and take off. On the bright side, I manage to wangle New Years Day off from work when they call me up to ask me to do an extra day - "Yeh-ess... but only if..." - yes sometimes the dogsbody bites back!
Kennels Opening Meet 10/11/07:
I'm all set for this one, despite not knowing exactly where the kennels are. The tack is gleaming, the horse is groomed, the trailer is clean. But, in true Scarlet style, there's something wrong. As I'm leading her out of her stall I spot a - "Oh for f*cks sake. She's lost a shoe" - problem. My options are: call it off or go without a horse. I suppose I should have gone just to meet people (my neighbour was all set to introduce me) but I confess I chicken out.
Meet #2 13/11/07:
Having hastily got Scarlet repaired, I set out for the farm nearby where this meet is being held. I arrive and am greeted very warmly by everyone (though I haven't the faintest idea who they all are). Over a glass of port - tricky business on a horse that won't stand still - I manage to establish the Master and the Huntsman (though it will be another month before I can say which is which).
Despite her trying repeatedly to buck me off, Scarlet and I have a smashing day.
Meet #3 17/11/07:
Arrive by trailer to this one. Scarlet is more settled but the wait while everyone arrives starts to psyche her up a little. We recognise and have a few words with various people and then we're off, over fields, pausing only to allow the Master to remount when he's unceremoniously dumped.
It starts to rain and that, on top of a cold wind and the fact that the leaders of the field just cleared off, causes a large bunch of us to turn for home around 3.
Meet #5 24/11/07:
The location of this meet is changed. Again Scarlet and I arrive fairly early but she's happier to wait today. The Master invites us to ride up at the front for a bit which makes us feel very important and keeps introducing me to various people who's names I forget the instant we stop talking. Rains again today but it finishes at a more humane time then it's a brief hack to a friend of my step-dad's farm to get picked up.
Meet #6 27/11/07:
I decide to give Scarlet a break and not ride this one. I still drive up and talk to various people though and take this opportunity to pay my subs.
Meet #7 1/12/07:
A perfect hunting day. We arrive at the meet and I'm walking Scarlet down the road when I hear a horrible noise - clop clop clink clop. Oh surely not. I look down - "Oh shit." A side section of hoof is missing and therefore she now has a loose shoe. Shit. And the trailer's gone home. And my mobile has no signal. I weigh up my options and decide to go to the meet and take it from there. We end up staying for a few fields but after a particularly mucky one Scarlet lurches. I look down - and it's gone. Shit. We make our apologies and leave.
Meet #9 8/12/07:
Following a tiring week I wake to horrible, cold weather and decide not to ride. Cue - "Oh where's the pony today?" comments from all sides. Um, at home being sensible that's where. Haven't you noticed the sleet??
Meet #10 11/12/07:
I decide to go to this one on a whim following working out the location (hooray for Google) as it's only 2 miles away - an easy hack back. On arrival we talk to a few new faces and the usual culprits, the Master and Huntsman etc. Not much happens in the way of scent so we in the three horse field play spot the Welsh hound. Scarlet ducks out of an easy fence and the Master has to drop out early through losing a shoe but it's an otherwise super day.
Meet #11 15/12/07:
This meet is another fairly big one but most drop out by midday which is lucky for the Master as that means only a handful of us witness him being dropped. Again. I fetch his horse back (a first for Scarlet but she mucks it up trying to bite him) and refrain from teasing him too much.
Following the brief excitement, the day drags wearily on and we find ourselves dragging ourselves wearily back at around 4:30, seeing the lucky people in their nice, warm, brightly lit houses while we shiver slightly in the twilight.
Christmas Eve Meet:
Scarlet and I make a proper ass of ourselves at this one and turn up all geared-up to hunt - only to find they have decided to go on foot instead. It is a classic Bridget Jones moment (minus the prostitute bunny costume). Scarlet doesn't find it half as bad as I do because she is the only horse there and therefore the best horse there and therefore the centre of attention for once.
Boxing Day Meet:
The ground is in a terrible state but the meet is on horses nontheless (tradition and all that). The day is a pretty short one, simply because you are either running through bog or slipping down banks. Scarlet manages to jump a fair number of ditches (her forte) and we spend quite a bit of time texting my (anti) father, telling him how the challenge to hunting nowadays is to see who can gallop, text and swig port at the same time. It's a joke, but he doesn't realise and keeps telling me not to be so reckless. I don't realise until we get back to the trailer that Scarlet has lost another shoe.
Meet #16 29/12/07:
Another fairly nearby meet, this one. It keeps trying to snow but ends up turning to rain. Scarlet amazes me by jumping the fence she ducked out at a previous meet. Twice. True, she does jump about two feet above it, but it's a jump nontheless! We cover a fairly large distance but end up giving it up at about 4:00 because both of us are absolutely shattered and we don't much feel like following the hounds when they finally catch a scent and take off. On the bright side, I manage to wangle New Years Day off from work when they call me up to ask me to do an extra day - "Yeh-ess... but only if..." - yes sometimes the dogsbody bites back!
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