I love this one but there are loads to choose from!
Yonder he Goes!
Always our fathers were hunters, lords of the pitiless spear,
Chasing in English woodlands the wild white ox and the deer,
Feeling the edge of their knife-blades, trying the pull of their bows,
At a sudden foot in the forest thrilling to ' Yonder he goes ! '
Safe for the space of a summer the cubs may tumble and play,
Boldly from April to August the dog-fox chooses his way;
But soon as the beech leaf reddens, soon as the chill wind blows,
He must steal, cat-foot, listening, ready for' Yonder he goes ! '
The sound of a horn in the bracken, the sound of a cheer in the ride;
Fourteen couple running for blood as though to the I brush of him tied!
Fourteen couple screaming for blood, and every hound of them knows
This is his right from the ages - the heart-stirring Yonder he goes!'
Not for the lust of killing, not for the places of pride,
Not for the hate of the hunted we English saddle and ride,
But because in the gift of our fathers the blood in our veins that flows
Must answer for ever and ever the challenge of Yonder he goes !
William Henry Ogilvie
A couple of quotes spring to mind - you might just want the bits in bold though.
Famous, but not old is Baroness Mallalieu's speech to a Countryside Rally in Hyde Park:
"Hunting is often described as a sport. But to those of us who have heard the music of the hounds and have loved it, it is far more than that.
Hunting is our music, it is our poetry, it is our art, it is our pleasure. It is where many of our best friendships are made, it is our community. It is our whole way of life. "
Alternatively, and perhaps more appropriate for a Hunt Ball, the famous and old quote by Surtees' Jorrocks:
"'Unting is all that's worth living for - all time is lost wot is not spent in 'unting "
Yup, all lovely quotes. To the poetry fans among readers, can anyone quote the text of the rhyme which has something of the lines: ' ...you can chatter at the covert side, and kick a hound or two, or break the farmers fences, and gallop on his lawn, but never ever,ever kick the Master of the Quorn...'
The wording is only approximate, but I would love to know who wrote it and when, or even just the full text...