I feel as if I have ridden for a week and it is only Day 2 of our hunt vacation. Today we were privileged to hunt with the Aiken Hounds in the Hitchcock Woods, a beautiful conservancy in downtown Aiken! This is a Penn-Marydel pack that drag hunts amongst the manicured trails and paths that make up this incredible hunting/conservation land space. As we gallop and follow the Master of the Hunt we come upon people walking trails as the hounds follow the "fox" through the lovely Southern Pines. They casually move aside as 50 or so riders gallop single file over the famous Aiken fences- 3 1/2 foot stacks of brush and wood stretching across the whole width of the paths. It was incredibly fun. The hunt was different, seemed basically an excuse to run and jump in a more controlled manner than the usual "regular" fox hunt. More like roads and tracks in the steeplechase phase of 3-day eventing. We flew over 30 or 40 big jumps as we circled the hounds and were done in an hour and half with several long checks. Really, really fun and the best part was we were invited to ride right behind the Master. So appreciative of Belle Meade Hunt to have organized this for us. Tonight we were presented with BMH pins in recognition of their first hunt week. Thanks - we are having a great time!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment