Fox Hunt! (Like, Who DOES That?!)

Ok. I have to let you all in on the frickin' coolest thing I've ever done on a horse!! (I mean it!) Robbie, my dear neighbor with some serious cajones invited me to go on a local Fox Hunt sponsored by a real, live hunt club out of the Fraser Valley in Canada. They host a couple of hunts in our area a year and so I thought to myself: "Self: Doesn't running full throttle across hundreds of acres of fields, through creeks and woods all the while dodging obstacles, scaling jumps and trying to keep up with the hounds while perched precariously on horseback sound like the time of your life?!" To which my self answered, "Hell yeah!"

So, I had NO IDEA what to expect. Well, I had an idea. I looked at the hunt website and I knew it involved professionals (like full-on red hunt coat professionals caring fox hunting horns which they blew every time we took off after the hounds), hounds, no fox (it's a drag hunt, or "scent" hunt), a bit of courage (on  my part) and hopefully, a whole lot of fun. Then, of course, I had my dreams about the hunt - you know, like someone yelling "Release the hounds" or "Cheerio" or something in a wicked English accent. And, for the most part, it was what I had expected. Except, add a huge rush of adrenaline as we prepared for the first leg of the hunt. Luckily, as we were milling around waiting to start, there was this lovely man who delivered the much needed shots of brandy on a little platter he was carrying. Let's say a toast for a little liquid courage!!

There he is now: my new best friend!

Ok, here's us before the first run. Picking up on the "What the hell have I gotten myself in to?" look I'm sporting? If I'd only known....

And then, just like that, they "release the hounds", without as much hoopla as I had hoped, and certainly no one yelling "Release the hounds!!" like I'd hoped. The horses that knew what was going on got all excited. And still, we sit there...

Then, all of a sudden, I hear this trumpet bugle and the hounds yelping and I see flashes of horses take off through the field. GAME ON!!! Our group (the second group) takes off like lightening. What an amazing rush of adrenaline! I haven't been that terrified/excited/out of my mind in a long time.

Here we are topping the first hill at a dead gallop:

 
 

...and this is us after we hold up after the first big run. Notice the expression? Nice.

 

Even after a few good runs, through the woods, over a creek, over a bridge and about 5 miles in to it, Jazzy was still, well, jazzed!

..another shot of us hacking down the road to prepare for another mind-blowing run.

Looks awesome, doesn't it?

The lady in the front it carrying the hunt horn wrapped around her if you can see it. And even though they didn't say, "Release the hounds", there were a significant amount of "Tally-hos" and the token man with an English accent.

So frickin' awesome! I can't wait for the next one!