Etiquette and Rules of the Hunt
BEFORE THE HUNT
All riders are required to
have on file with the Club a signed release waiver, no exceptions.
Please see the Field Secretary immediately upon arriving to the hunt to
obtain and execute this release if one is not on file for the current season.
All hunt members, guests and staff must carry on their person a current
Virginia state hunting license at all times when in pursuit of a quarry with
hounds (during both cubbing and fox hunting).
All members, guests and staff must carry current negative Coggins test
results for their mounts in their trailer.
TURNOUT
Your horse must be clean,
with a pulled mane. It helps if
you’re clean too. If you have long
hair, you must wear a hair net regardless of gender.
Hunt members should always braid for High Holy Days: Opening Hunt,
Thanksgiving Hunt, Christmas Hunt and New Year’s Hunt.
Occasionally, the Master will request braiding and your most formal hunt
attire for special hunts, such as the Master of Fox Hounds Association joining
us.
COURTESY
Arrive on time.
What does this mean? Be
mounted and ready to hunt 15 minutes prior to the scheduled hunt time.
Make sure to say “good morning” to the Master before the hunt moves off.
It is also polite to greet and thank the
landowners, but do not discuss matters that are the responsibility of hunt staff
or solicit them to ride their lands.
Staff duties begin before the hunt and don’t end until returning the
hounds to the kennel. Please
understand that they have duties to perform and that they may not always be able
to socialize with you.
LATE ARRIVAL
If you arrive after the hunt
has moved off, tack and mount quickly and quietly.
Hack to the field in the least obtrusive
way possible, sticking to roads, headlands and established paths.
Be quiet. Do not in any manner affect
hounds and quarry. If you must cross
working hounds to reach the field, wait until hounds have moved on before
joining the field. If it is deemed you
have affected the outcome of the draw, the Master may ask you to leave.
Once you have reached the field, you
must ride to the rear for the duration of the day, regardless of whether you
wear color. A late fee of $15 must
be paid to the Field Secretary at the end of the hunt if you join the
field after the hunt has moved off.
Don’t try to get out of it; we’ll know who you are.
GUESTS
If you bring a guest or guests, call the Secretary or Master at least one day
prior to the hunt for permission.
Introduce your guest to the Master.
Have them sign a release waiver, pay the capping fee and display their hunting
license and Coggins papers to the Field Secretary before hunting
commences. This means you will
probably want to arrive a little early on the days you bring guests.
Hunt members are responsible for their guests throughout the day.
Members are expected to make certain
their guests are aware of Colonial Fox Hounds Hunt rules prior to the hunt, and
guests are expected to adhere to them.
DURING THE HUNT
COURTESY
No smoking while hunting!
As a courtesy to landowners, if smoking
at the parking area, keep your “butts” in your vehicle or in your pocket.
All riders must ride with
the designated field master. Do not
pass the field master or you may be excused from the hunt.
If a rider wishes to change from first flight to second or vice versa,
he/she must obtain the field master’s permission before doing so.
Riders are permitted to change flights only once during a hunt.
If you must leave the field, obtain permission from your field master,
who will direct you so you will not interfere with the hunt or get lost.
Those awarded Colonial Fox
Hounds Hunt colors ride up front in each flight, followed by other members and
guests. Juniors may ride wherever
their riding ability dictates, but they may not go before a member with color.
If a gate is closed when you
reach it, make certain the last rider through closes it.
If the gate is open, leave it open.
If you knock down a fence or damage property and are unable to repair it
on the spot, report the damage immediately to your field master. Any
unreported incidents will infuriate landowners and could result in loss of that
country to hunt. Always ride to the
headlands in a field, even if it doesn’t look planted.
The headlands is the unplowed strip of land around the edge of the field
on which the landowners have given the hunt permission to ride.
Riding through fields, unless allowed by the Field Master, jeopardizes
the hunt ever riding that landowner’s property again.
The landowner is always right.
SAFETY
Don’t slam into the horse in front of you. If
you can’t rate your horse, ride in the rear and do not bring that horse on the
hunt field again. Put a red ribbon
in the tail of a horse known to kick and a green ribbon in the tail of a green
horse. Neither type of horse is an
excuse for bad manners or dangerous riding. If
your horse is deemed sufficiently unruly, your field master may ask you to
return to the trailers. The horse should not be brought back to the hunt field
unless permission is granted by the Master.
When a staff member’s horse passes you, especially on narrow lanes, turn
your horse’s head toward the staff member, never his tail.
Hounds always have the right-of-way.
ENABLING GOOD SPORT
Non-staff members should
never speak to the hounds. Also,
don’t speak to one another when hounds are close by or you will bring their
heads up and distract them from hunting.
Fox hunting is a most companionable sport.
We encourage you to chat, giggle and
thoroughly enjoy yourselves when you are not near the hounds.
This means that diehard gossips should
ride in the rear.
Often the Field Master must
listen intently for the hounds. We
can’t always stay close to the Huntsman when the territory is forbidding.
At those times, your Field Master will
ask for absolute silence and you can help by listening as well.
If you heard the hounds or horn,
indicate by pointing your hand in that direction.
VIEWING THE FOX
When you view the
Fox and he or the hounds are close by, quietly get the attention of your Field
Master, take off your cap and use it to point in the direction of the fox. If
the fox or hounds are close enough to hear you, your voice may cause the hounds
to lift their heads or the fox to turn.
If the viewed fox is far away, a “Holloa” or “Tally Ho” is in order.
The viewed fox may not be the hunted fox, which makes for an interesting
hunt.
AFTER THE HUNT
A time-honored hunting
tradition is the involuntary dismount.
Should you part company with your horse, provide the Master with a fifth
bottle of spirits (your choice).
Taped to the bottle should be your name, your horse’s name, the date of the hunt
and the place where you found yourself on two legs.
Should the involuntary dismount be by a junior member, a baked good may
be provided.
At the end of the day, thank
the Master and staff. Every rider’s
safety and enjoyment during the hunt is of the utmost importance to our club!
If you experienced a problem in the field or were unhappy about something
that occurred while out hunting, you are encouraged to discuss this with the
field master at the end of the day.
To the extent such issue is not adequately addressed please contact the club
president or the Master by phone or in writing as soon as possible.
Please remember that when
you hunt with another club, you represent Colonial Fox Hounds Hunt.
The traditions of hunting in general,
and that of the club in particular, are to be respected.
Anyone disgracing herself or himself at
another hunt (i.e. loss or temper or crude language) will be brought before the
Master and Board for censure or dismissal from our hunt.
HUNTING ATTIRE
Colonial Fox Hounds Hunt
adheres to the traditional dress for hunting for two reasons: This form of
clothing over the years has proven most practical for the average weather and
terrain encountered in the hunt field, and the pleasure derived by those who
hunt and who watch the hunt comes in part from the spectacle of members and
horses properly turned out. Please
carefully read over the hunt
dress
code. These are not merely
suggestions, but rules.
Weekend
Hunts - Formal Attire
Gentlemen
with
color:
Scarlet
Hunt Coat with hunt colors on collar
White breeches
Black boots with brown leather tops
Plain white stock tie properly tied with plain gold stock pin
Canary or white vest (optional)
Brown, tan or white string
gloves
Hunting crop with thong and
cord snap
Gentlemen
without color:
Black Hunt Coat
Beige, buff or canary breeches
Black boots
Plain white stock tie properly tied with plain gold stock pin
Canary or white vest (optional)
Brown, tan or white string
gloves
Ladies with color:
Black Hunt Coat
with hunt colors on collar
Beige, buff or canary breeches
Black boots with patent
leather tops
Plain white stock tie properly tied with plain gold stock pin
Canary or white vest (optional)
Brown, tan or white string
gloves
Hunting crop with thong and
cord snap
Ladies
without color:
Black Hunt Coat
Beige, buff or canary breeches
Black boots
Plain white stock tie properly tied with plain gold stock pin
Canary or white vest (optional)
Brown, tan or white string
gloves
Nontraditional 3rd
Flight:
Guests
and new members belonging to the hunt less than 2 full seasons are subject to a
modified attire standard of sport coat, tie and protective head gear.
Weekday Hunts -
Ratcatcher
Cubbing Season- Casual Attire
Although we follow all the
timeless, formal traditions of foxhunting, weekday hunts are informal to
encourage interest and participation. Hunt club polo shirts with the hunt logo
are preferred. Also permissible are sweaters, sweatshirts or jackets of any
color except red, which is reserved for hunt staff.
Breeches and boots are required, but may be of any color.
All hunt members and guests are to wear protective headgear (hunt cap or top hatlbowler) with a hairnet, if the length of your hair warrants this.