There is nothing more aristocratic than fox hunting in my opinion. I love every aspect of the scenery a fox hunt evokes, and I challenge readers to find a film featuring aristocrats in the country that doesn't have a scene with some sort of hunt. Why our friends and chaps in Great Britain banned this archive of history, I do not know. However, I can only presume that the hunt continues on the most elite estates.
This past year I was invited to attend the blessing of the hounds ceremony in Pinehurst, NC. I was unable to attend since this blessing occurred on Thanksgiving Day, but I do hate that I missed the event. In addition, Pinehurst is a wonderful town, but that is a story for another day.
16 comments:
Although the fox hunt leaves me cold (horses bore me to death), I've participated in beagling activities in the North of England. My recent attempts at organising a local cat hunt, sadly, have met with some resistance.
Yes, fox hunting has its own subculture and lore, but as you may know the sport has been greatly restricted in the UK. With the deer population thriving in just a few regions, small game hunting remains popular in Britain and other parts of western Europe, though here in Italy fox hunting is completely illegal. What does that leave us? The ibex is a small goat, and Scottish deer are midget size compared to American ones (actually elks), so not much sport there. Leaving aside bird hunting, the fox is just about the only sporting thing to hunt unless you can find large hare or (rarely) boar. Romania has the largest bear population in the EU but you can't hunt them. At least not legally. Happy hunting, Richard!
You need to read the Sister Jane mysteries by Rita Mae Brown. They revolve around fox hunting. There is an entire series of books.
Fox hunting is alive and well here in Southeastern Penna. We have the Radnor Hunt which maintains a fine pack of hounds as well as Pickering Hunt Club and several others. Many Clubs now do "Drag Hunts" which features a fox-scent bag dragged across country to give the hounds something to follow...Virginia still has several active and fine Hunt Clubs as well.
The real problem with fox hunting is Suburban sprawl restricting the ability to ride cross country.
For an interesting read about Fox Hunting and society in Virginia...read "A Portion For Foxes"...a bit of sappy romance but sets the time and tone quite well.
As the current Wilson, Laird of Cairntoul, I can tell you that we banned the Hunt in Scotland because it's bloody barbaric - my father would never allow those blasted hooray Henry's to cross our land.
Wilde called it "the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable" and I tend to agree with him
I beagle in Northern Virginia in the Middleburg area, I consider it the poorman's version of Fox Hunting still has the thrill of the hunt minus hauling a horse trailer. Knock back a few at the tailgate after! Give it a try! Nice way to spend a winter Sunday afternoon.
I have to agree, horses are an absolute bore these days. They are just far toooo 80's for my taste.
I too enjoy Beagle activities, particularly when visiting the Cape. Often I will simply spread margarine on my testicles and invite the impressionable Beagle to lap at my genitals.
Of course, as you know, testicle buttering has its own subculture and lore. I am sure we can all relate.
Here in Virginia we have some of the oldest hunts in the country, however not all are aristocratic. There are a lot of 'newbies' who didn't straddle a horse til they were at least 50 years old who fancy themselves to be 'hunters.' We never kill the fox, by the way- didn't know if you knew that or not.
How is it that nobody has mentioned a main part of the fun is that most chase participants are totally drunk. It makes speeding on horseback through the neighbors' yards that much more thrilling.
Also, the wild Czech brothers would hunt foxes while wearing tight slacks.
Richard wonders, "Why our friends and chaps in Great Britain banned this archive of history, I do not know."
The reason is quite simple : Britons are not American anglophiles. Therefore, they neither romanticise nor reverence the fox hunt. In fact if there ever were to be an ideologically vegan or antivivisectionist national state, it would surely be first proclaimed at Westminster ! By the way, Parliament did not ban fox hunting per se, rather it outlawed the chasing or killing of mammals with dogs. But David Cameron says he will moot a repeal bill in 2012.
However, I can only presume that the hunt continues on the most elite estates.
No it does not. You can still chase fox with hounds in Ulster ( Northern Ireland has got its own devolved Assembly which rejected a ban on fox hunting ), or in Ireland ( people are less socially evolved across the Irish Sea, you see ), or anywhere in Europe. But most people in the UK who fancy fox hunting couldn't afford the extravagant expense to actually go abroad. (They are not that "elite" anymore.) Instead, they settle for drag hunting -- they pay some wretch to drag a sorry piece of meat, or perhaps an artificial fox scent out of a bottle, for several miles. Then the hounds are loosed unto this glorious quarry and the equestrians leap and bound in hot pursuit of nothing in particular.
Someone pointed out to me on my blog that my remark about 'newbies' sounds rather snobbish and when I go back and read it I have to agree, and I apologize.
This person also pointed out that Foxhunting takes 'newbies' to learn if the sport is going to survive. Absolutely!
I suppose what I have a hard time with is people that want to learn to ride - not even necessarily foxhunt - but just ride because it's, in their mind, the 'aristocratic' thing to do.
It's not their love for horses, or not even something they've wanted to do their whole life, but that they simply move to Virginia and want to 'fit in.'
I see people who have no regard for the animal - they don't want to learn how to tack up properly, or groom properly - they just want to be able to say they do it.
Richard, thank you for allowing me to clarify that.
Kathie
In a vindictive act against people who enjoy the thrill of chasing the fox with hounds, the Blair Labour Government banned foxhunting in England in 2004. "The Ban" is vicious reverse discrimination.
Instead of serving merely as a slap in the face of people who enjoyed hunting with hounds, the Ban" also had significant adverse economic and environmental consequences across wide areas of the British countryside.
Former Socialist PM Tony Blair recently admitted in public that the ban was a grievous mistake. PM David Cameron pledged to repeal the ban in last year's Parliamentary elections. However, he has been forced to contend with more pressing economic issues since taking office. I am confident the current government will repeal "The Ban" at some future point.
Keeping with family tradition, I have ridden two hunts - The Genesee Valley Hunt in Geneseo, NY (about 40 miles south of Rochester) that is held on the grounds of the Wadsworth Land Grant and the Iroquois Hunt near Lexington, KY.
Although I am an avid but not expert rider/huntsman, both were exhilarating experiences that pushed my English style equestrian skills to the limit (I prefer Western out of habit).
My father rode the Genesee Valley from his late teens until his 76th birthday though not as robustly as he did as a young man.
The best part of a hunt is the Hunt Ball for the obvious reason It provides an excellent chance to chase a different type of fetching quarry!
You still see 'full dress' hunts in Australia from time to time, although laws preventing the hunting over hounds have been appearing over recent years. Hopefully we won't end up going the same way as the UK.
My husband has recently become interested in fox hunting and I have been enjoying learning about it toO. We found Fox Hunting Life http://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.
You are not a wasp. Wasps are not so conscious of their ways or their style, but are organically grown. You are a poser; far too immmodest and overt to ever be what you so desperately aspire to. Try growing into your own surroundings and soak up whatever it is, and you will be much more interesting than the desperate poseur you come across as to me. I know real wasps but they do not testify to their waspness; therein lies a great deal of their charm. Good luck, my fabricated sport.
Beagling (my 1st choice) and fox hunting (occasional) are alive an well in England. Always hunting within the law of course. Most hunts are thriving since the ban. Only someone who does not understand and probably too closed minded to want to would think hunting with hounds barbaric. The hounds hunt by nature not training and to prevent them hunting is itself cruel to the hounds. Kills are always clean and instant. Real hunt supporters gain pleasure from seeing the skill of the hounds working and certainly not from seeing animals being ripped apart.
Post a Comment