Last week, I wrote a “Let’s Discuss” post about the importance of foxhunting young horses as it relates to their preparation for future careers in the event world. This week, one of our readers, Kathy, sent us an ears photo taken at the opening meet of the Fort Leavenworth Hunt. Although by reading her caption (and watching the linked video) it’s clear she hunts for the sport of it rather than preparing her horse for eventing, I thought it was fitting nevertheless. Thanks Kathy for sending us the photo and thank you for reading.
Dear EN:
I thought you might enjoy this fall scenery from the back of my whip horse, Artyme, during today’s opening meet of the Fort Leavenworth Hunt.
He’s a 10-year-old OTTB that I evented sort of successfully (he’s won at training) before he made it perfectly clear that he’d rather fox hunt than do that dressage thang. In fact, we almost got eliminated when he was expressing this to me in the ring at Lamplight a couple years ago: the judge blew the whistle because she “feared for my safety” (video of that ride is at http://www.clipshack.com/Clip.aspx?key=502042CA34025603).
Turns out, what he really wants to do is whip-in to a screaming pack of hounds and he has developed into a fantastic staff horse. Today, according to the GPS on the iPhone in my breeches pocket, we covered over 12 miles and hit a top speed of 33.6 mph and I must say we both enjoyed every minute of it. I’m delighted he has found his true calling and I event my other horses instead.
