Hunt Balls - What makes them a success?

[astridday]

Looking for ideas to 'improve' our hunt ball, so can anyone help with the following questions?

Should there be a minimum age? ( it seems quite a lot of younger teens starting to attend)
Sit down or buffet?
What kind of band to suit all ages?
DJ afterwards?
Is a 'prize giving' a good idea and if so what categories?
What made the best hunt ball you ever attended so special?

Many thanks for any help, ideas or suggestions!

 

[Posie]

Age limit of 18 - this also saves IDing everyone. Sit down dinner, then auction and raffle. The bands our local hunts choose always seem to be awful, I suspect most people would be just as happy with a dj. Plenty of cheap alcohol and breakfast come 2/3am lol!

 

[combat_claire]

Decent venue - marquees seem to work well but don't do it on the cheap. Choose a posh stately home get decent chairs and tables, line it properly and get a proper dance floor.

Drinks reception with classical music and Pimms before the meal

Decent meal by proper caterers

Decent Band or DJ that plays a variety of music including cheese that people can dance to

Cheap booze - good variety including local real ale - one hunt ball I went to had their own beer brand brewed for the occasion

Horn Blowing competition

Bucking bronco or rides if the budget can spring to it

Breakfast & Survivors Photo.

Allow guests to wear hunt tails if they are entitled to

Ditch the theme unless it is very general, they never ever work and just end up being tacky. I went to a cringeworthy Hawaiian themed hunt ball where I was presented with a cheap plastic hula garland as I entered...

Ticket prices high enough so that you don't have to scrimp on things and to keep the Pony Clubbers and riff raff away!

 

[Hunters]

Agree with all of above. Go for quality, if you scrimp & penny pinch people won't come the following year.

Find a person to organise it who is fun!!!

 

[abetzner]

We dress in tux and gowns, or whatever fun little party dress suits you for a special night. We have silent auction, whip cracking competition, horn blowing, buffet dinner, DJ, wine on the tables with dinner, presentation of members who have earned their colours, Spill the Wine raffle, ( each member who has experienced an "unscheduled dismount" while hunting owes a bottle of wine to the pot, and is raffled off ) Adults, of legal drinking age. Lots of fun.

 

[Drakerath]

Get the essentials right. So in my opinion, you want the right people there and give them the right atmosphere and they will make the night.

I would advocate a smart backdrop for a marquee. Drinks reception included in ticket price to get people tiddly. Then plenty of affordable but good wine with food. Food only has to be average to good in my opinion. Eating's cheating on a night out anyway.
Auction to raise money (little else is raised from other parts of the night unless you have subsidised meal and/or venue).
Awesome band. The dancefloor needs to be full all night.

PM me if you want more specific ideas/policies.

I love it if anyone here wants to recommend and AWESOME band that does not play ABBA or dull 70's disco crap yet does not get all shouty-shouty indie style.

 

[Drakerath]

I'm not a fan of any kind of entertainment other than music. If people are on broncos or blowing horns, then people are not partying on the dancefloor. They break up the rythym of the night and can just break up the party imo. However you do need to ring the changes from time to time just to make the night memorable.

 

[Luci07]

We had the blowing horn competition during our meal so no interruptions there! Surrey Union did a really nice inexpensive thing at the last ball (very recent) which was to have a running slideshow of photos from during the season. I thought it was a nice and personal touch and the tails added a lot of extra umph to the atmosphere too.

 

[astridday]

Thanks for your suggestions. I guess ours has had the same format for 5 years now and is getting boring so suggestions were invited. Definitely time for a new band though, nearly know their set off by heart!

 

[Kat]

If you've got young people who are interested could you organise an under 18s ball?

It could be done as a separate event or in a separate room of the same venue, with soft drinks and so on. If you can run to paying some kind of entertainer/chaperone and getting the 16 - 18 year olds to help out then it could save on babysitters for the night of the actual hunt ball.

 

[Goldenstar]

Find a person to organise it who is fun!!!

agree with this ! I was once asking and had to point out as I am anti social and my idea of a good evening is to read a history book I was about the worse person I could think as to organise a ball.

 

[Maesfen]

Our 'big' hunt ball this year had http://www.rpjband.co.uk/blog/a-crazy-crazy-night-at-the-wynnstay-hunt-ball/, they seem to play at all the smart places lol!

 

[Hunters]

The lady I know who used to organise a brilliant hunt ball, used a well known show jumper's brother's band. Not only did it keep it in the 'horse world' family, but the band 'understood' hunting terms etc & entered into the spirit etc.

Happy Days

 

[Drakerath]

The RPJ band played the Ledbury's Fox Rocks on a couple of occasions. I rather suspect they charge more than we could afford! They are fantastic though and really rock the party!

 

[tootsietoo]

Depends what you mean by a success. Financial success or a really good social for followers? You can probably make a lot of money by keeping the price fairly good value, and going huge. But it's not so much fun for the hardcore of followers then.

From experience of organising a few a while back, it was the extras which made the money - raffle, auction etc. A typical ticket price only just covers food, venue and music. The bar can make a lot of money too if you are prepared to put the man hours in to run it yourself rather than get a bar company in or let the caterers do it. You've got to have a good band. I hired a crap band (a friend's!) which was awful. I bet that RPJ band costs a fair bit though! Also I think it's really important to think through the space. I hate having to have drinks at the beginning all around the tables, or crammed into a tiny bar. You need 9 sq ft per person standing up for drinks. It's also good to separate the disco from the tables to allow wrinklies to chat without the music drowning them out! Or even have two music tents - one for a band and one for a ravey disco. I love a tequila bar. Or at least some cocktails, rather than the horrible wine you usually get at balls. You can make more money out of those too. And no hunt ball is complete without some fisticuffs over hunt politics/shenanigans at the kennels over who is going out with who.

 

[Hunters]

Isn't there always hunt politics?? One hunt ball I was due to attend was cancelled. Apparently, the chairman & senior master phoned the lady organiser informing her that they were boycotting it...

Can you imagine such childish behaviour lol??

 

[RunToEarth]

I'm not a fan of the fairground rides, always a good way to demolish a nice dress after a few drinks...
We have (thanks to some wonderful individuals who organise it) a really good ball, sit down meal, raffle, band and the DJ until the end. They usually organise the hall into younger tables next to the dance floor, the middlies in the middle, and then a "quiet" area right at the other side, with some sofas and not quite as much noise. This year we have a jaeger bomb bar!

Its a big ball, with usually over 700 people there, the hunt ball commitee must have the patience of saints because it honestly does seem like the most thankless task, yet we all have such a good time there, although I agree with Hunters, can't go anywhere without some form of political fall out of the hunting type..!

 

[astridday]

How much are your hunt ball tickets? Ours were €60 for a three course sit down meal with wine, band and disco.

 

[Drakerath]

£70 - couple of glasses of fizz, 3 course sit down meal, band and DJ.

 

[Hunters]

Cotswold Hunt Ball this weekend. Cost was £100 per ticket..

 

[Samantha2911]

Get the essentials right. So in my opinion, you want the right people there and give them the right atmosphere and they will make the night.

I would advocate a smart backdrop for a marquee. Drinks reception included in ticket price to get people tiddly. Then plenty of affordable but good wine with food. Food only has to be average to good in my opinion. Eating's cheating on a night out anyway.
Auction to raise money (little else is raised from other parts of the night unless you have subsidised meal and/or venue).
Awesome band. The dancefloor needs to be full all night.

PM me if you want more specific ideas/policies.

I love it if anyone here wants to recommend and AWESOME band that does not play ABBA or dull 70's disco crap yet does not get all shouty-shouty indie style.

The best band I have seen were www.thegrooveelite.band, they went through soul funk rock pop and had the entire dance floor heaving all night. I loved their energy and the female lead was quite simply sensational, getting everyone involved in a dance off it was huge fun. Watch their video on the website and see for yourself. But they were NOT cheap, i guess you get what you pay for!

 

[Samantha2911]

Definately check out www.thegrooveelite.band expensive but oh so worth it if you want the dance floor packed.

 

[CrazyMare]

Ours is £90 a ticket. Over 18s only.

Normally a bucking bronco or similar. Band comes up from London and has done for several years, dance floor is always packed.

We had cocktails this year and they went down brilliantly. Venue also changes regularly.

Always a good night