Jumping and foxhunting

From: Ruth

Dear Jessica, I've looked through your archives and not seen an answer to this or anything like it, so I am writing you this letter. For the last two years, I have been foxhunting regularly with our local Hunt. It's an amazing sport and so much fun! When I started, I was afraid to get involved because I thought we would be killing foxes. Well, that hasn't happened, they just come out and the hounds chase them and we follow, and then when the foxes get bored, they disappear and the hounds make a fuss and if the foxes don't feel like appearing again, we just go home. Some days the foxes aren't in the mood to play with us, so we just hang around for a while and then go home! From the very first day, when I was having the rules and traditions explained to me, I have always heard that you should never jump a fence unless you have to. Some of the places we hunt are through huge pastures that belong to farmers around here, and they have wire fences except in certain spots where they build a jump kind of fence over the wire fence. That's so we can jump safely. So obviously it's fine if we jump the fences, and that's why I want to know about this "tradition" or rule. WHY exactly aren't we supposed to jump unless we have to? The parts of the fences that we jump are there to be jumped, and foxhunting is all about jumping and galloping, so I really don't understand the reason. I've asked quite a few people about this, and the answer is always either "Because the horses will get tired if we jump a lot" or "It's an old tradition", so I hope that you can tell me exactly WHY we're not supposed to jump unless we have to, and I hope you don't think this is a stupid question. Sometimes when we are just hanging around waiting for a fox to show up, it would be a lot of fun if we could just jump back and forth over some of the jumps. I'm not going to do it, don't worry, but I would just like to know a good reason why!

Thank you for HORSE-SENSE, it's awesome. Ruth

"Larking", or jumping fences unnecessarily whilst hunting, is frowned upon and always has been - that much is true. The reason for the rule, and the tradition, is actually quite simple: Jumping isn't good for fences. The farmers and landowners who are kind enough to permit a hunt to cross their land have the right to expect certain courtesies in return, and doing as little damage as possible to the landowner's property is one of those courtesies.

Being told "no larking" is not a reflection on YOU as an individual (unless you were doing it, in which case it's a reprimand and should be taken to heart). It's nothing to do with the quality of your horse or your riding, either. Your horse may be a brilliant jumper, you may be a wonderful rider, the footing may be perfect, and YOU jumping the fence might not cause any damage - but in the hunt field, you aren't an independent agent unless you are a long-time, sophisticated hunter and good at finding your own line cross-country. Most often, if one rider heads in a particular direction, even if (especially if) the Hunt Staff are all out of sight, a crowd of other riders will fall in behind the first rider. If that first rider jumps something, so will the others. The first rider may clear the fence by a foot or so, leaving the fence in perfect condition - but by the time another thirty or forty riders have followed the first one, the fence may be in pieces. This can happen in the course of a hunt, and when it does, the Hunt is responsible for seeing to it that damaged fences are repaired promptly. The job becomes much more expensive and difficult if fences are subjected to extra wear and tear by riders who are jumping just for the fun of it.

Foxhunting may seem as though it is "all about jumping and galloping", but it's not. It's about maintaining the countryside, and it's about watching hounds work, which is why it's called "riding to hounds". It's also about respect and consideration for the people whose kindness and generosity makes fields available for hunting, and without whose goodwill there might be nowhere to hunt.

As for the jumping and galloping, hunts vary - from place to place, from pack to pack, and from day to day within the same Hunt. There may be a lot of galloping, or a little, or none. There may be a lot of jumping, or a little, or none. You have to be prepared to enjoy it all. During a hold, whilst the hounds are in covert, it may SEEM that nothing much is happening - but if you go off and jump fences randomly, you won't be able to give your horse a chance to catch its breath, and you won't be alert and ready to move out when the hounds pick up a line. Or, if you happen to be jumping in the direction of the line, you could interfere with hounds, or you might head the fox - and at that point, you would probably be asked to go home.

If you want speed and a lot of jumping, you might see whether there are some local drag hunts. For many reasons, drag hunts are becoming increasingly popular. There's a lot more finesse involved in a live-quarry hunt, and a lot more emphasis on individual riders learning to take their own lines, but for those who most enjoy jumping and speed, drag-hunting is an excellent choice.

You may also want to look into the possibility of participating in local one-day, two-day, or three-day events. A good cross-country course will give you a chance to do quite a lot of jumping, over a wide variety of jumps.

Jessica

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