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| Riverplains Farm-Boxing Day 2008 |
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I was invited to the Dec. 26th Tennessee Valley Hunt Boxing Day at Riverplains Farm. For anyone that knows me, I always worry about the animals, so I was pretty hesitiant to agree to a hunt. After a lot of questions I learned that TVH hounds are bred for their voices instead of speed which means that are not usually fast enough to catch a fox or coyote. I also gathered that the focus of the hunt is definitely not to injure anything, so I finally agreed to give it a try. I would be riding Ritza, Rachel's CDE Fresian/Saddlebred mare in the third field (hilltoppers), which was to be led by Rachel.
I had been to a few hunts in GA while in college where local clubs opened their land to the public. I rode in the third field at these hunts and they were laid back with little trotting or cantering.
Unbeknownst to me, because the third field was led by Rachel, we would be riding at a first field pace and I was ill prepared for how fast, intense and fun the day would be. It was a day of trial by fire.
The hounds picked up a coyote almost immediately and off we went galloping across the corn field in deep, deep mud. It was unreal. We were flying cross the fields following the dogs. I lost my left stirrup 2 times and thought for sure I was going to end up in a heap, but I somehow managed to salvage things while staying at the gallop. Rachel kept looking back to make sure I was still there and then yelling for me to keep up with a grin. I was in such a daze for the first few minutes I just smiled back and tried not to fall off.
We slowed down as we left the fields and went up on to the road where we continued on in a full out gallop. I have always been told that pavement is bad, stay off it, don't trot on it and definitely don't run on it so I had to keep telling myself that it was OK and that Ritza had done this before and had borium on so she wouldn't slip. It was one of those moments where you have to decide whether to give in to the moment and just go with it. Ritza had managed to slog through the mud and stay under me when I was flopping around after losing the stirrup, so I decided to just go with it.
Carrie and Rachel had both told me that the breast collar strap that goes over the neck would become my best friend - they were right and it saved my ass all day. I was exhausted after the initial field runs and as I was going down the road I had to do something. I was sucking in air, trying not to lose my stirrups, and needed Ritza to go faster to keep up with everyone, so I locked my first two fingers into the collar and I encouraged her to go as fast as she could. The breast collar hold kept me in the saddle and really made a big difference in how steady I was. Remember, I have barely ridden in the past 4 years and had only ridden once in the past 6 months so I have no leg strength.
We ran down the road about 1/4 mile and took a left up into the Knobs which is the really hilly, wooded part of the farm. There were a lot of ditches, hills, uneven terrain, mud and branches to navigate and I again started to question whether Ritza could stay on her feet for all of this. I could not believe how well all of the horses navigated such adverse footing conditions.
We stopped to listen for the hounds in an area I recognized from our carriage driving. The hounds were off to the right and there was an incredibly steep hill in front of us with a narrow trail off to the left of the hill. We saw a coyote go across the hill and off to the left. Rachel was concerned about both routes - the very steep hill (I wouldn't have done this one) and the steep narrow trail to the left. Rachel said something about a ditch and a barbwire fence but I didn't really get where it was and off we went up the narrow trail and darn if the ditch wasn't at the trailhead. Ritza jumped it and thank goodness did a sharp turn to the left missing the fence and then a hard turn to the right and then we lunged up the steep, steep trail. I was mostly just a passenger at this point but Ritza was perfect through it all. The trail was so steep at the end that we ended up walking it because the girls couldn't keep up the canter. I was holding mane and standing up out of the stirrups to stay off her back and help keep my weight forward.
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About an hour and a half into the hunt the girls finally started to give out after one really, really long very steep uphill run so Rachel suggested we walk for a bit. I was great with that because I was having trouble staying in the saddle. Because Rachel was leading the third field I asked if I could get off to fix my saddle pad and she said yes and as I hit the ground my leg buckled and I plopped on my butt and stared laughing. I was exhausted! I fixed the saddle pad and then tried to get back on Ritza - there was no chance that was going to happen as tired as I was. So, I moved her next to a bank where she stood patiently while I grunted and moaned my way back into the saddle. It was not pretty and Rachel and John were laughing at me. That's OK I had not fallen off so all was still perfect in Erin's world.
I can't remember the exact sequence of the day but basically the day consisted of us jumping 2 small coops, galloping up and down hills, jumping countless ditches, weaving in and out of trees, ducking from branches (or trying to but failing in some instances), sliding down hills, stopping (not enough of this), listening and just really enjoying the day despite the fact that I was as tired as I had ever been on a horse.
We never found the hounds after we were separated, so we wandered back to the farm. We untacked and hosed the girls off and gave them some hay and grain and then settled in to recovering from the ride with some food and drink. The rest of the hunt showed up about an hour later and we all feasted on a wonderful potluck provided by the club members.
I can't express enough thanks to Rachel and her family for inviting me on this hunt and letting me ride Ritza. She was awesome! Also, many thanks to the Tennessee Valley Hunt for letting me ride with them. It was the ride of my life.
I had a lot of time to reflect on the day as I drove home to GA and of course the subject of will I do this again came up as well as did I feel like any animal was mistreated during the day. The hunts I had been a part of the past did not impress me. I didn't enjoy watching people fall off and horses being put into precarious positions because of rider inability or negligence. I didn't get any of that with the TVH group as they seemed to be professional and very competent. My lack of conditioning probably made me the most dangerous one out there. None of the horses were handled roughly and were very competent at their job, I was told all of the hounds returned to the farm and they never seemed to get especially close to the coyotes and the chases did not go on for long stretches. So, would I do it again? I probably will because that was one hell of a ride.
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