Tally Ho!

I am tired in a outside-all-day-in-the-wind-and-sun-having-a-whole-lotta-fun kind of way. Today was the Blessing of the Hounds for The Miami Valley Hunt. The Blessing marks the start of the formal hunting season. It was the first time in the hunt field for Oslo, also for Peaches and also for my Middlest! So, I put a bunch of faith in The Blessing! Take care of my precious family! I got up in the pre-dawn, waking my Middlest and adorning her in white ratcatcher, white stock, pin, yellow vest, buff breeches, Melton wool black coat, with a tweed coat for the breakfast, boots, hairnet, belt and helmet. Then, did the same for myself. Up to the dark barn with warm water to scrub manure stains off Peaches white parts. Wrapped and blanketed, the horses loaded on the trailer, and we were off as the sun came over the silo. Between our house and the hunting fixture(where we will hunt today), a brisk 90 minute drive, there are two diesel gas stations. We needed to fill up Blondie, so stopped at the first one, about 25 minutes from home. It was the slowest pump ever. 25 minutes later, I gave up and cashed out. We had enough fuel to get us there and back, but lost a lot of time. Now, I know there is some trick to getting a slow pump to work more quickly, but I'll be dashed if I can remember what it was....
Upon arrival at the fixture we unloaded horses, and I braided Oslo's long black mane. Peaches went with the more expressive "mane as a hedge" look. We went to breakfast with a big roaring fire in the lodge and made to order omelettes. Fruit and pastries and lots of green tea for me, hot chocolate for Middlest. We met lots of riders and observers and warmed our frozen fingers. Soon it was time to dash back to the trailer and get the horses into their tack, us out of our tweeds and mount up!
The Blessing took place on the shore of the lake. The water looked so cold with the orange trees in its reflection! The riders all form a semi circle around the hounds -it helps keep them contained, and the french horn quartet plays music facing the field of riders. Each rider is in a black coat, buff or white breeches, a white stock tie and yellow vest. There are colorful exceptions- the bright "Pinks" so called red coats that are worn by the staff. We even had a Whippers-in (the staff that assist the Huntsman in controlling the hounds) wearing  a top hat! The Deacon comes out and says a long blessing. Then he blesses each hound, shakes holy water on them and then each rider and horse. It was funny to watch the horses, some of them rather relaxed, react to the water flying into their faces. Our horses were a bit jazzed already, and didn't seem to notice. The Whippers-in were kept busy trying to keep Jagger, Jake, Jasper, Jared, Julep and Jed in line. Since the straying hounds were all "J" names, they are from the same whelping year, and are probably the cubs- the hounds on their first year of hunting. Pups if you will, but no longer puppies. The scarlet coated riders and matter-of-fact horses, steam bursting from their nostrils, make up colorful teams. Whips(short for Whippers-in) with their long leather whips coiled and ready to crack the air to get the attention of a stray hound.
 The Deacon then went around hanging a St. Hubert medal around each rider's neck. St. Hubert being the patron saint of hunters. Hubert was a man with a passion for the chase. Then, the lord gave him a talking to, and Hubert also became a religious man. He did some exorcism, cured rabies, went after the pagans, and all the while, loved the hounds and the chase. His symbol of the stag with the cross is the sign of the Master Hunter- or Jagermeister. Yep, that is on the bottle.
Anyway, medals around our necks we divided into three fields; first field- the fastest, jump anything and most directly follow the Huntsman. Second field- a bit more cautious, or a little less wild. And third- the slowest field, known for caution and going around jumps. Often the collector of oldest folks, youngest folks, and greenest horses. This was our field. 3/4 inexperienced=3rd field. I do believe it was a bit slow for the Middlest. We did get to see some good hound work, casting and working, looking for a scent, but alas, the hounds only gave false tongue (barked after the wrong line, or scent, that of a deer) and were called off by the Huntsman. Too dry, probably, for a good hunting day with the hounds.
After more than two hours, the hunt was done. Now, as an extra perk, at the hunt was Samantha, the yellow horse I took to the hunt barn in Dayton to get put to use for the season. So excellent to see her. Calm and easy for the blessing, and smack at the front of the first field for the whole hunt. Go Sammie Go! Ridden by an adorable girl named Mary, they are having fun together. I am so pleased. After the hunt broke up, the little group from the hunt barn where Sam lives decided to go for one last romp around the lake. Middlest and I brought up the rear on Oslo and Peach. A must faster clip, we mostly cantered around the lake, and then, back the other way. Now Middlest was really having fun. Looks like we'll have to break for second field next hunt!
Also at the hunt was my friend, Eileen Nixon. She is a lovely photographer (she is lovely, and so are her photographs). She was thrilled to have a chance to come to The Blessing and shoot film. Perfectionist that she is, the photos probably won't be posted to her website for a few weeks, but I'll keep checking, and let you know when they show. Because she was there, I didn't have to worry about taking pictures!
www.eileennixonphotography.com