Hunting Etiquette

Hounds.

When you hear the call, ‘hounds please’ ensure the path is cleared for them by turning your horse to face them. A lifted hoof to a hound is the fastest way to see you being ask to go home. Don’t leave it to chance, turn your horses.

Give a slower hound space at a fence / gateway or bridge. Never jump a fence when a hound is clearing the obstacle and don’t assume it won’t stop or change direction. Hold until it’s cleared and away.

If a hound is coming up through the Field pass on the message ‘hound on left/right’ to inform the other followers to move over. And pass the message on as the hound passes you.

Jumping.

If you have a stop, clear the fence as quickly as possible and be sure to avoid cutting up others as you do. Don’t re present immediately, instead go back down the Field to get a clear lead.

Give the horse in front of you space and don’t follow immediately behind them, especially if jumping a hedge where you may not be able to see they have landed safely. Jump slightly to one side of where they took off to ensure you have a clear landing.

Make sure no hounds are clearing the fence before you present.

If you aren’t sure that your horse will jump, stay towards the back of the field to avoid hold ups. Don’t leave anyone alone on the wrong side of the fence, look for a solution to get them back to the field, there is normally a gate somewhere.

Similarly help any fallers. It’s a lot more fun if we look out for each other.

If you break or see anything broken please report it to hunt staff ( green hunt coats) so that it can be fixed. If we don’t know it’s broken we can’t do anything about it; and if we don’t do anything about it we may not be invited back.

If you are worried about jumping, find out whether the meet is suitable for you. Most meets have optional jumping with a non-jumping field where others are all about the jumping!

Messages.

Pass the message on. When riding in a group it is everyone’s responsibility to pass messages on to their fellow mounted followers.

If you hear a message pass it on down the line. Keeping it clear and concise. The below are messages you may well hear.

‘Gate please’ - we often have foot followers on gates that need to be closed but if you hear this message ensure you close the gate behind you or pass the message on. Never leave someone to shut the gate on their own.

‘Car please’ - details a car is trying to get by. Passing this message up the field will allow the field master to find a place to move over to allow the car to pass.

‘Master/Huntsman/Whip/Hound please’ - they have priority over the day and may well need to get someone faster than you. I’ll you hear this ensure their way isn’t blocked and pass the message on to ensure others can move over too.

‘Ware Hole/Wire/Glass’ - to highlight potential hazards to riders following you. Keep the message clear and short to avoid confusion.

‘Single file please’ - instructs followers to ride in single file close to the fence boundary of a field in order to protect crops or sensitive grassland.

If you hear anything you are unsure of throughout the day do ask our hunt staff.

Dress.

For full meets, the dress code is black/navy hunt coats (tweed for juniors) with stocks. Use a couple of safety pins to pin your stock tails down and never again will your photo be ruined by a flapping stock poking out from your hunt coats!

Horses should be plaited and clean (even if they only stay that way for the first 5 minutes of the meet!). Don't go through all the effort of plaiting your horses and then neglect your own mane! Ladies (and gents with long locks) please wear a hair net. Not only does it look smarter but hairnets keep hair neatly out of the way from catching on branches or caught by hooves if you find yourself unfortunately among them.

Leaving.

If you want to leave early, please do let the Field Master know before you go. You are their responsibility and they will want to know. They will often be able to help you find the quickest route back. Many a day has been cut short for hunt stewards who have retraced the line after observing someone is missing, only to find they have gone back to the lorries early.

Equally at the end of the day it is traditional that members of the Field say ‘Goodnight’ (no matter the time of day), not only to the Masters but also to each other.

BEFORE GOING HOME:

Do look round to make sure that no one is left by themselves to box a horse. We’ve all been there with a difficult loader! If there is only one person left make sure they can start their lorry. It can be pretty lonely at the end of the day with a flat battery or stuck in mud.

Buttons and Collars.

You’ll notice that the CUDH hunt staff wearing the green coats all have brass buttons and the CUDH white collar.

The white collar identifies them to the hunt; with hunts across the country having different colour collars. The brass buttons have the unique CUD logo script on them.

‘Hunt buttons and collars’ are awarded to followers of the hunt in recognition of the long term contribution they have given, with them going above and beyond just being regular followers.

This can either be through helping with fundraising, helping in the Field, perhaps with loose horses or hounds etc or (and traditionally) from acts of bravery… and no that’s not from jumping the biggest part of the hedge !

As well seasoned followers these people should be listened to if they give you instructions. If they bark at you to tell you to keep off the grass verge it’s because they recognise the long term damage you are doing… not just to the grass!

They are also great to ask any questions, either about the day or if you are unsure of anything.

If you see anyone out hunting with a different collar colour you can assume they are visiting from another hunt and similarly should be respected for they experience in the Field.

If you are new to CUDH do introduce yourself to those with Hunt buttons at the meet, along with the hunt staff in green coat and hunt stewards in red armbands. We all want you to enjoy the day and it’s much more fun when you get to know faces.

Runners.

The runner is an essential part of the meet. Their job is to follow a predetermined route whilst laying a scent trail that our lovely hounds will then be able to pick up and follow. The runner gets a 10/15 minute head start so that the scent trail is fresh but also so that they hopefully do not get caught up by the hounds. The runner may have to tackle various obstacles on the route as you would expect, such as ditches hedges and maybe even pop a few jumps themselves! Often our runners are students at Cambridge University who enjoy spending their weekend in the great outdoors and we are very grateful for them!

Timing.

The advertised meet time is the time you must be ready. This includes being in the saddle, having had a glass of something warming and perhaps snuffled away a couple of nibbles. Make sure that you have plenty of time on the day to park up and get ready- nobody likes being in a rush!
Ribbons.

A red ribbon should be worn around your horse's tail if it is likely to kick. If your horse is young or green and you aren’t sure how they will react to being ridden in a group please do the same but with a green ribbon.
These are warnings to others, however it is not the responsibility of others to avoid these horses but the responsibility of the riders to make sure that their mounts do no harm to others and for that reason it is recommended they stay to the back of the field. That said make sure you give everyone room and don’t use the horse in front of you to assist with any failing brakes red ribbon or not
A useful signal to be aware of, if your horse may kick when crowded, say through a gateway or waiting for a jump then place one arm behind your back as a warning to others not to crowd you.
It’s not just other horses to consider, riders whether on new, old, young, green or experienced horses should turn them to face hounds and never allow a horse to kick a hound.
Roads.

We try to avoid roads, but please thank cars for slowing down, wave cars on when you see the Masters wave them on and keep to the nearside if you hear the shout "car please".

“No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle.”

- Winston Churchill