NA Field Hunter Championships 2013- hot and heavenly!

I would have to say this year's Championship week will be remembered for the heat. Almost 90 degrees each day! Enjoyable in October if I wasn't galloping on very hard ground, wearing a jacket. Otherwise it was a very fun and wonderful week. Four days of hunting in Virginia with a final romp thru the Glenwood racecourse on Sunday, dressed in my Sunday best!! The "appointments" class was won by a gal with the "sewn-in" bridle ( theory being that you don't want to have a buckle break on the hunt field) and top hat etc. I did my best with very clean tack and fabulous braids, had the correct sandwich and string gloves tucked under billets- but next year I will borrow that sewn-in bridle!
The first day, at Keswick Hunt, I missed because I was selling a yearling at Fasig-Tipton's Timonium sale. We did OK for a Lionhearted colt and he will go on to race in Maryland, That's good for breeder bonuses. We started the week on Tuesday at Casanova. It was hot, dry and the highlight was a baby bear cub! We startled him in a corn row and at first thought it was a black chow dog. Quickly realized it was a bear cub and while the whips were excellent at knocking the hounds off quickly we were all a little worried about "momma" bear!
Next day was at Snickersville Hounds in Middleburg at beautiful Sunnybank Farm. This is the Smithwick home and the birthplace of the Field Hunter Championship idea, The huntsman is daughter, Eva Smithwick, who hunts their PennMarydel pack! Gregg Ryan led the field here and at Piedmont and does a wonderful job. We stayed in the woods as much as possible because of the heat and there were lots of jumps. Lucky for me this is where my very handy, bold hunter was able to shine and we were picked on Wednesday. He can jump and turn mid-air and stop on a dime which impressed the judges enough to overlook his Thoroughbred overeagerness! ( I believe we missed the very final pick because he jogged across the Glenwood racecourse, at the start,  believing he was about to race!).
The last day was at Piedmont and as usual it is the most beautiful part of the Virginia countryside. We had a lovely view and, as usual, stayed out about 2-3 hours because of the heat. The chance to hunt these big expanses and run and jump and look at the Blue Ridge mountain vistas are the reasons that I do this every year. And to reconnect with my friends who also come every year. I receive invitations to hunt from Cheshire Hounds in Pennsylvania to Low Country Hounds in Savannah, Georgia and I will do them all.
This morning I am relaxing and watching the dawn break over my farm. Heaven!