My Short Career as a Professional Irish Bank Diver- AKA Fox Hunting in Ireland

When I last left you, Matt had broken two fingers while trying to give Rocky a bath and I had to decide if I was going to opening hunt or if I should bow out until we can try together. One sleepless night and 3 full scale panic attacks full of “Oh God! What am I doing?!?!? I’m too old for this! I’m too young to die! Wait; am I too old or too young?? If I die can Lester (one of the puppies we raised) come to my funeral? All of these things crossed my lips at least once, and but I eventually agreed with Matt that I should go. It would be a shame not to go, Millie was ready after all, and I’d worked really hard on her, I worked on that bank, and of course I had a full flask ready to go. So maybe we can do this after all, even without my wingman.

After some more brushing and spit shine I had Matt hold Millie so I could have a picture of her looking the cleanest she will ever look, well at least until next year’s opening hunt.

Er ma gerd! Look at that beast! And the horse isn't bad either! ;-)  She is SOOO CLEAN!

 She was gorgeous! Shining white it was nearly blinding and that is a feat for any grey horse, and Millie is no exception. She’s made it quite clear that she prefers to be brunette so for her to be that pretty and clean?!? Whoo hoo! By 10:30am we were loaded and ready to go. As I said, Millie looked pretty darn good and I was looking fairly well put together myself so even if I made a complete ass out of myself, I at least looked the part! The screaming and crying as we loaded her up and left Rocky behind was so dramatic, I started to look for the camera crew. Really guys? 4 months ago you didn’t even know each other and now you both have panic attacks when one leaves the other? Oy! Young love!   
When we arrived it was time for a drink in the pub, and my drink of choice was a nice hot port. Not too sweet, not to potent, it is just right for a shot of courage before we all head off. I recently read on the site Foxhunters on Facebook something along the lines of, “We drink before we hunt to make the jumps look smaller in the field, and we drink after we hunt to make them much larger in our stories.” This is why I started my morning with a hot port and a flask full of brandy and port in my pocket. After about an hour it was time for me to do final brush ups on Millie and mount up. 

And I'm up! Millie is making a wee bit of crabby face at me, but that's because she wanted to go hang out with her NEW boyfriend, Monty.

 

It was love at first sight! Monty the gorgeous grey standing regally next to Millie making crabby ears showing her favorite expression.

Once we got in front of the pub, our distinguished chairman said a few words of encouragement to the field and thanked the pub owner for their hospitality. 

Isn't it amazing when horses and their riders share the same expression? Pat was giving the opening speech before we all headed out.

A traditional Stirrup Cup before the hunt! The pub owner Denis was very gracious to us all!

The huntsman was out with the hounds and we were ready to go. I had been told that this was a pretty slow/relaxed day that starts with a good hack up the road to our first cast so while I was nervous, I was also very excited. The time had come for me to either live my dream or die trying. And yes, John the huntsman said Lester would be able to attend my funeral if I died in the field. He even said they’d rename the fixture from Robert’s cove to Jennifer’s last cove, so with that re-assuring thought in my head off we went. 

And they are off!

Up the road, clip clop, clip clop the sound of 120 hooves hitting the pavement at a trot and a canter. The clacking noise was music to my ears! I love the sound of hooves on pavement! Millie and I were staking out our position. 

And now we're off! The good thing about a grey/white horse is they're easy to find!

It was highly suggested to me to stay near the front or the middle because the obstacles will not be as messy during the middle as they would be if we were at the end. Then I saw it… our first bank into a field and a wave of panic hit me like a ton of bricks. You don’t just jump up banks into a field, you have to jump DOWN into the field! No one said anything about DOWN! Oh hell, what is going to happen here?!? I didn’t practice DOWN! So the first few horses popped up and down and went racing across the field, I was frantically listening to pointers from anyone who would give them in the seconds before Millie decided it was our turn. Just pop up, stay level, give her her head, and then push your feet out, heels down, and lean back a little. Be sure to get a good grip on the strap! You’ll be grand! Next thing I know I’m on top of the bank and thinking, this is not what I signed up for before my world dropped out from under me and I held onto that strap as if it were the only thing keeping me from certain death, which in that moment I was sure it was. Once we landed I figured we’d leisurely make our way to the rest of the field since they were not that far off, but Millie had other plans. With a quick jerk of the reins she was free and we were barreling towards the rest of the group and I was yelping, “Shit! Shit!! Shit!!!” trying to figure out where this speed demon came from and how the hell I was going to get my reins back. The mare I bought needed to be threatened with going to bed without supper before she’d go into a slow canter! Who was this beast of a completely different speed and level?  Once we caught up with the Field Master she went back to old-reliable Mille and tried to eat some grass because all that running made her hungry. I’m pretty sure breathing makes this one hungry, but since we both just survived I wasn’t going to deny her a celebratory snack. 

See the nice man in the red coat? That is Pat our chairman and Field Master!

Hey look! The rest of the field is here!!

Next up a few more banks and I stuck them… barely. Millie was a champ for it all. As I came tumbling near her neck she would stay steady and even slow a bit so I could wiggle my wobble back into the saddle. After a while Millie and I started getting a better understanding of each other, I learned to stay out of her way and she kept me safe. Somewhere along the way, my catholic upbringing and my awe of this transformed hunting machine caught up with me and I found myself praying for my life: 

Hail Millie full of grain, please God be with me!  Blessed are you among ponies, and blessed is the 5^th leg that appears when we need it.  Holy Mary mother of God stay with us hunters now and at the hour of our run…  Oh Shit! Hold on!!

Not sure when the halo appeared, but I'm pretty sure it was earned by watching over me!

Not the traditional prayer, but it seemed to fit along with lots of other 4 letter words, and longer prayers to God, Mary, Jesus, well hell, anyone who was listening out there and might help me survive this roller coaster. We were only an hour and half in when I started trying to give my mare away to other hunters, so I could get off this merry-go-round. Come on, you know you want to ride today! She’s awesome, it’s just pilot error that’s getting in the way! But I knew deep down I needed to stick with it and they agreed or just were enjoying the show. The full freak out happened when we came to electric fence tape. The field master shot off hell bent on jumping it and I kept saying, “I’m not jumping that, I’m not jumping that, I’m not jumping that!!!” When much to my delight a foot caught and SNAP! the fence tape was down and the chase was on! Off we went again up and down, over banks, dropping up to 5 feet off the other end and then rocketing off at a gallop as soon as the hooves touched the ground.  As we pulled up to a check I remembered I had the flask of brandy and port in my pocket. While I was afraid of getting too tipsy to stay on, I only had one gulp and passed it along to the other riders. This is a long tradition in fox hunting, to share your flask. 
 

This photo gets to be extra large so you can see the flask in the lovely lady on the left's hand. The flask belongs to me (with my HitAir vest on the right) and was filled with Brandy & Port to help us be a small bit braver, but not too brave!

When it is really cold or really scary it is a fortunate rider that has a flask. You soon become a very welcome member of the hunts, but only if you’re generous and share. This is strictly in my nature, so of course the flask made the rounds with only a twinge of fear that my liquid courage would run out before my real courage did. As soon as the flask made it back into the pocket, we were off again! So many people in the field were encouraging me and helping me along I’m pretty sure I owe at least 4 people my first born child. I really couldn’t have asked to be out with a more encouraging group they were all amazing and so helpful.

Jumping down! This was a pretty nice small bank.

And off we go!

Mille really showed her mettle when we came to a downed electric fence that was on. The fence was being held down by a metal post kindly positioned by one of the junior members. Some of the horses wanted nothing to do with it. Somebody said they could probably feel a bit of the electric on the ground and so didn't want to go near it. After watching 3-4 different horses approach and peel off, I asked if I could give it a try. This is where I realized I officially trusted Millie the Magnificent, and although I wobbled and faltered a lot on our adventure, she trusted me as well. She walked right up to the electric fence stepped right over and gave a good lead to the other horses! Well done Millie!!! Nothing seemed to bother this mare and while she huffs and puffs when we take long slow treks, she had plenty of energy to spare for the days hunt! We repeated the wire thing again at another junction and she never flinched. I just needed to tell her, it’s OK and give her a good squeeze to ask her to move off and away we went! 

Trotting off a bit. The young lady on the left won best turned out and boy did she earn in! Well done Sophie and Buckley!

The adults share flasks, the kids share candy, lol! Some are better at sharing than others.

Four hours of frazzled nerves later we were done hunting and the Field Master was taking us over some banks for practice. I was exhausted and had made it the whole way without coming off, proud doesn’t even do justice to how great I was feeling. I was starting to feel like this might not have been the scariest thing I’d ever done! Maybe I could do this again! And then it happened…

Everyone was jumping down a bank and Millie decided I needed some more practice without warning me in advanced. When she took the steep drop I was not ready and POP! Off went my HitAir vest as I veered right when Millie veered left. It wasn’t actually that bad because of the vest, but my butt HURT. Now, it was time to pony up and get back on. Unfortunately my legs did not agree with this decision and while I really did want to get back on my horse nothing on my body was cooperating with this endeavor. To make matters worse I thought I had found a nice thing to climb up on to give me the boost I needed, but turns out a truck with a metal ramp is just too slick to use as a mounting block, but it worked great as a slide. So for the second time in less than a minute I found myself on the ground staring up at my very confused horse, “Dear God woman! Get your stuff together!” She seemed to say as I flailed on the ground for the second time.  This was never going to work and it was a long walk home, but God bless one of the members who got down and gave me a leg up onto my horse. Now when I say a leg up what I really mean is he hoisted my chunky butt all the way back on my short little mare because most of me felt like exhausted jelly. See, this is why it was important I get a short horse! Much higher and it would have taken a crane, or at least a really large beefy man to get me back in that saddle! 
 

HitAir vest inflated after my tumble. The vest inflates around your neck, ribs, and back to keep you safe when you fall off. My only complaint is that it's kind of a one hit wonder unless you have extra time to change your canister in the field. Not ideal for fox hunting, but you hope you don't fall off anyways.

The Field Master insisted I go up and down the bank one more time and I did while the rest of the field cheered me on. While I was embarrassed that I came off, it was really great to have all that support behind me.
 

Climbing up the bank after David gave me a lead. While Millie didn't need the lead, I was grateful for it especially since he just hoisted my ass back onto Millie.

Thank you David! Now the bad part is if you look at me I am doing that bank ALL wrong! You don't look down! You look up! You sit up and you put those legs out! I need to practice this until it becomes second nature. Had that bank been larger it would have been face plant # 2 for me.  I'm pretty sure I did it right the other direction because it was steeper that way than this way and I didn't face plant again.

 Once I successfully navigated the bank, I asked the Field Master if we were done moving for a bit. He asked if it was because I was going to get off my horse, to which I replied, “Hell no, you son probably got a hernia hoisting my butt back in this saddle! I’m not getting off until I have to! I just need to adjust my stirrups so they’re even.”  He approved and shortly after I was set, we headed off down a path next to a ridiculously steep drop off to go back to the pub. While the path was steep, and the drop off more than a bit nerve racking, the view was the best I’d ever seen, even better since I was seeing it from the back of my sweet surefooted mare. 
 

My view from Millie before heading back to the beach. In this shot are Dane and Sylvia, 2 of the most helpful and wonderful members of the hunt. Dane sponsored us as club members and has schooled Matt (it's now 2 weeks post-broken fingers as I'm writing this) on how to do banks and drops so he is better prepared for hunting this week than I was. He has offered to give me a lesson (or two!) as well so that I can be a better hunter and hopefully avoid face planting again!

Matt caught the field heading towards the path near the edge of the cliff on our way back down to the ocean

There we are! Near the back of this portion of the pack getting ready to make our descent. My little sure footed mare did so well on the narrow path!

The last part of the day was to take the horses in the ocean to wash them off. Millie walked right in like she was made for this sort of thing and proceeded to try to dig to China in the sand and surf. Being the diva that she is, I think she liked splashing everyone, especially me. Sadly I don't have any pictures of this because we made it back to the beach before Matt could drive down, so instead I'll share a few other fun photos from the day and shamelessly plug my website at the same time.

One of our whipper-ins Therese holding onto John the huntsman's horse as he works the hounds on foot

Here is Avril and Monty, Millie's boyfriend for the day. Aren't they fabulous?!?

John calling the hounds back to him. I love this shot so much!!

One of the awesome things about Ireland is you never know when you'll come across some neat old ruins!

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed my tale of hunting in Ireland. I tried it again the next week and managed to take a dive within the first hour and a half so I think I’ve given up hunting on horseback for a bit. My tush is pretty bruised up and my courage has plummeted. This past week Matt went out with Dane to practice and I think more than anything I need a lot of practice before I try again. Maybe with a bit more practice I’ll be comfortable enough to try it again, but even if not, I still enjoy watching those who hunt well  on horseback do so and especially love watching the hounds work no matter where I am. Tally ho!