Kristy Lathrop has been a member of the Fort Leavenworth Hunt in Kansas since she was a junior, where she also whipped-in. Her whole immediate family has colors with Fort Leavenworth, and her mother, Gayle Rue, is an ex-MFH. Last season Kristy helped design an educational platform for her hunt’s juniors to be successful for the junior field hunter championships, and it was impressive. She had the opportunity to hunt down under in New Zealand, and below is her hunt report.
I am an educational consultant who lives in Colorado and visits schools all over the world. While the majority of my journeys are local to the United States, I sometimes travel abroad to chat with teachers and learn how other countries approach education. One of my most recent international trips was down to the Southern Hemisphere to visit schools on the South Island of New Zealand.
I’ve been to New Zealand a few other times over the years and have heard about how incredible and unique hunting was in the area. Thus, I’ve always had my eye out for an opportunity to cap with one of their hunts. This year that opportunity finally presented itself. Before my most recent trip, I combed through the New Zealand Hunts’ Association site in an effort to discover when most hunts begin their seasons. It just so happened that the Eastern Southland Hunt (ESH) was having their opening meet on Sunday, March 10th just one day after I was scheduled to arrive in the country. I reached out to Jane Pullar, their secretary, to inquire as to whether they might be willing to let me cap and hire a horse for the day. Jane promptly put me in contact with their Master, Lynley Daly and Derek Brown, a past Master and lifetime member who also whips-in for ESH. Lynley was glad to have me as a guest, invited me to wear my colors from the Fort Leavenworth Hunt, and Derek made sure I would be mounted that day.
The Day Begins
My hunting day started off with a lovely Dunedin sunrise, followed by a drive across the Clutha River valley weaving in and out of small towns through banks of fog in the early morning until I reached Derek’s house in Clinton, where he and his family own Atorvia Performance Horses. I pulled up to their farmstead and was immediately greeted by a number of very friendly dogs along with Derek’s daughter Tori and her partner James. Tori is a newly minted lawyer and an accomplished show jumper. She and her partner were already hard at work washing tails and prepping tack for the day. I made myself useful as hastily as possible and took over the responsibility of braiding and grooming Kaiser, who was to be my mount for the day. Kaiser is a rangy gray warmblood and is one of their homebred performance horses. His usual responsibility is to serve as Derek’s staff horse, but he was graciously going to carry me in the field that day. I learned quickly that I wasn’t actually braiding – I was “plaiting”… and try as I might, I don’t think I ever quite figured out the right way to pronounce that action (it might be something like “plate-ing”, but I’m still not sure). In fact, we found ourselves asking one another to repeat sentences from time to time due to our accents and different words for objects and verbs, but it was all in good fun!
In a short period of time, we had all the horses groomed, braided, loaded into the horse van (which was another entirely new experience for me), and headed across the rolling countryside to our destination of Marairua, one of the Eastern Southland Hunt’s fixtures. Sitting in the horse van and gazing at the beautiful scenery outside my window was probably the first chance I had to reflect on the amazing adventure that I was on. Everything about the day reminded me of those countless mornings getting ready to hunt with my family and friends back home. Yet, at the same time, everything felt remarkably different. My anticipation and excitement was growing with every kilometer. I couldn’t believe that I was getting to have this experience with these incredibly friendly hosts.
Arriving at the fixture just added to the surreal feeling of the entire day. We were greeted by the secretary, I paid my capping fee, and we drove up a long driveway as a beautiful mansion came into view. This historic place is made available to the hunt on special occasions. Everything felt like it was straight out of a story book, and I was to be one of the characters. I met friendly member, after friendly member at the unmounted stirrup cup. Each person was genuinely welcoming and curious about my visit. They were everything that I’ve come to know foxhunters to be: kind, generous, and open. There was one difference however; in New Zealand, there are no foxes or coyotes. Instead, their object is the chase of the ubiquitous European Hare, which has overrun their countryside. Thus, I had to try especially hard to refrain from referring to my fellow enthusiasts as foxhunters – they are simply hunters. (I must admit that this was a difficult habit to break!)
My host Tori and I excused ourselves from the stirrup cup so that I could meet their pack and she could help the staff with the hounds. I stood by as Tori opened the door to their hound trailer, their pack leapt forth with all the gregarious joy and noise that we know so well in hounds. After some cheery greetings, they scurried over to Huntsman Churchy Parish, and I was able to survey them more clearly. The Eastern Southland Hunt’s pack is composed of Harrier Hounds, which are just as clever, handsome, and eager as the foxhounds we know and love, but stand about a third shorter than your average foxhound. The strong relationship between Churchy, the staff, and their pack was evident: they gazed up at him and were in anticipation of a day of fun and excitement. Clearly, the staff have spent hours upon hours on the ground and in the fields cultivating that relationship, and it was a joy to watch.
And We’re Off!
Once mounted, Tori and I joined the rest of the field in front of the beautiful home to wait for a picture of the day. pictures complete, we set off to hack to the first field for the first cast. Once again, I found myself marveling at the beautiful countryside, the bright green grass, the dark green cedar trees, and the wide country lane that cut through the forest and opened into the meadows. Huntsman Churchy wasted no time casting, and the pack immediately spread out, their noses to the ground and their sterns feathering in the air. It didn’t take long for one hound to find the scent and the excitement built as the rest of the pack joined in honoring him. We were immediately off at a gallop, following the pack as they worked the line in pursuit of the hare.
As we came to a fenceline, I suddenly remembered the lore passed on to me from friends of friends who had capped in New Zealand before: “Kristy, you do know that they jump barbed wire there, right?” Sure enough, looming before us was a wire fence that had been compressed in one area with a log over the top. I had no further time to contemplate this – the field was hot after the hounds and my seasoned mount was not going to be left behind! After that first jump, the fences came naturally. I learned to trust Kaiser to boldly (and safely) carry me over every obstacle.
The country that we hunted that day was absolutely spectacular. It was full of gullies and hilltops, the former held hiding places for the hares and the latter provided every member of the field opportunities to watch the sport unfold. As the meet went on, I marveled at the hounds’ stamina and focus. Their conditioning was superb and they were tenacious about searching for line, after line, after line. In fact, I believe that I viewed hares at least five times that day! It was so easy to forget that this was their first formal meet of the season, because the pack was hunting in mid-season form.
Besides the hounds, the staff, the horses, the country… (and, well just about everything else) I was struck by the juniors in their field. There was quite a large turnout that day, and I believe about a quarter may have been juniors. The juniors were some of the bravest and strongest little riders I’ve ever seen – their ponies kept right up with the big horses and were just as bold over those wire fences. When I asked Master Lynley Daly about this, she remarked, “Oh yes, our huntsman Churchy is very encouraging to junior riders!” As someone who grew up as a junior in the hunt field, this warmed my heart. Being raised on the back of a horse and following hounds is one of the best ways to gain confidence and grace.
After the meet, we gathered around a large table in the shade of some trees and enjoyed a breakfast. Each member that day had brought a plate to share. I took it upon myself to bring along a couple of American staples: sliced veggies with a Ranch Dressing dip and a giant bag of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. Yes, I recognize that this might not sound like the classiest representation of America, but I knew the dressing and candy wouldn’t have a problem clearing customs at the border, and I still haven’t figured out how to use Kiwi appliances for cooking! Additionally, neither Hidden Valley Ranch nor Reese’s are commonly found in their country, so folks thought it was a treat. I promise to do better next time, friends! In addition to my food contributions, I brought some framed photos of foxhunting in the US for them to add to their clubhouse. These were perhaps a classier gift, and just as well received since folks in New Zealand are just as curious about our sport as we have been about theirs.
Looking Back
As I write this, it’s been a little more than a week since my adventure and it still seems extremely surreal to me. I was half the world away doing something I love, and everything about the day felt just a little bit different from my experiences here in the States, but the core was the exact same. Just like us, Kiwi hunters are passionate about preserving and growing their sport. Their long-established traditions have been passed down for generations, just as we still look to the writings of William P. Wadsworth, MFH and Alexander Mackay-Smith, MFH to honor our heritage as foxhunters. Most importantly, my experience in New Zealand showed me that hunters, whether they be after foxes, coyotes, or hares, are the same everywhere. They are confident horsemen, enthusiastic sportsmen, and ready to welcome anyone who has similar inclinations into their community. I will forever be thankful to my hosts at the Eastern Southland Hunt: Lynley Daly – Master, Ashleigh Smith – Deputy Master, Jane Pullar – Secretary, Derek Brown – Past Master/Whipper-In and his daughter Tori, and all of the members from ESH and other hunts across the South Island. These generous people gave me a gift of indelible memories that I will treasure always. I hope to one day be able to return the favor!