Branch Hill Farm Hunt

Last Saturday, we hunted from Branch Hill Farm in Milton Mills.  Another gorgeous day for a foxhunt!  This hunt starts off slowly through winding wooded, rocky New England trails and then crossess Applebee Road to the sandy paths along the river.  There are many jumps on that side of the road and the hunt often gets going pretty quickly!

Here's a photo of Daatje at the trailer taking a carrot from a fellow foxhunter.

The field in front of us as we head into the woods on the North side of Applebee Rd.

Not long after we crossed the road, we lost a rider at one of the jumps.  First field was pursuing the hounds on a line and by the time the rider was remounted (seconds, mind you!) we had lost the first field!  The trails through the sandy pine forests are numerous.  They criss cross and all look the same!  Our field master did an awesome job of guessing which way they went and after a long fast trot/canter we heard the huntsman blow the horn not too far away.  As we pulled up, the whippers in came charging across the field.

....to meet up with the huntsman who had the hounds at a check.

Moving off again, we had another fast run through the woods, bursting out into an open field.

Daatje's mane flying in the wind.....

That was the final run of the day, and what a day!  Someone asked for my camera and took a photo of us at stirrup cup.

After a nice hack back to the trailers, the club hosted a "hunt clinic" at the tea geared towards Pony Clubbers.

So, this coming Saturday, we're hunting a new territory in Lyman, ME.  A cooperation between 8 farms allowing us access to 800 acres of Maine farm land is promising to be the hunt of the year!  Stay tuned for more tales from the best seat in the house! :)