Opening meets

aimsymc

aimsymc

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Hi, Ive never posted in here before as quite new to hunting. Been out about 5 times this year with my girl who hunted before i got her. Just wondering if I should expect anything different at the opening meet? My horse is very well behaved, jumps etc just like to be prepared. Should I also now wear blue jacket and plait up? Thanks for any info :)
 
AdorableAlice

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Things have changed since I last went to opening meet, but in my view, a horse should be plaited, clipped and shiny clean, as should the tack and rider be.

Ladies wear a dark coat and a well fitting stock with a pin, no flowing hair ! all hair should be well stuffed into several hairnets, no earrings - very painful if you go through woodland and fail to duck under branches!! Gloves, hunting whip and boots well polished. Spurs worn on the seam of the boot, not John Wayne style.

Remember to put a warm rug in the lorry and a flask of boiling water to take the chill off the drink you give the horse on his return to the lorry.

Have a lovely day and don't do what I did many many years ago and fall off at the first fence of the day into the deepest mud ever and then watch my horse run on and jump several large hedges without me.
 
aimsymc

aimsymc

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Thanks for replying, thats what i thought with regards to smartness, i better start polishing my pony! Im really looking forward to it feel like ive found something we both enjoy doing! :)
 
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spotty_pony

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If you want to wear navy/black jacket then you must plait but you don't have to plait if you wear tweed. Opening meets are usually pretty busy and have a lot of jumping. Stay away from the front unless you are up for jumping anything and everything! Have fun :)
 
Maesfen

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An Opening Meet is classified as a lawn meet and as such you should be turned out exactly as AA suggested; the only legitimate reason for not plaiting is if you're riding a native breed. Saying that, many people don't have the same standards now which is a crying shame, nothing nicer than seeing well turned out hunters and riders and I have to clamp my mouth shut tight if I see coloured numnahs or even worse, saddle cloths let alone being unplaited at any sort of meet; I fear I am an awful snob when it comes to correct turnout for hunting, sorry, it comes from a lifetime of working at some of the best hunting yards with very high standards!

Hope you have a great time, it really is worth the effort when you turn you and your horse out well even if, like Alice, you end up covered in mud not many minutes later!
 
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Lizzie66

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as per Maesfen, although I'd qualify further

Maesfen said:
An Opening Meet is classified as a lawn meet and as such you should be turned out exactly as AA suggested; the only legitimate reason for not plaiting is if you're riding a native breed.
Click to expand...

The only occasion where it is OK not to plait for a lawn meet is if your horse is hogged or you are on gates.
 
aimsymc

aimsymc

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Thanks for replies! I will most definitely be plaiting up and have sparkley clean horsey. No chance of anything brightly coloured as I hate anything not traditional colour. Really looking forward to sat now, will have the hip flask full for sharing and will let you know how I get on. thanks again for advice!!
 
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Just to clarify, do you plait a native or not? Pony has quite a lot of mane and as she lives out I'm loathe to pull or hog it over winter.

I have a NF pony, hoping to hunt a bit over the winter, ideally would also like to wear tweed as my dark blue jacket is far too big, but don't want to be wearing the wrong thing.

How should pony and I dress? (I'm an adult not a junior or pc member)
 
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Please excuse my ignorance, but who is allowed to wear bowlers or top hats out hunting? I've seen people of both sexes wearing those. Are top and/or bowler hats just an option with some hunts or is it some sort of privilege, like colours?
 
AdorableAlice

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GoblinPony said:
Please excuse my ignorance, but who is allowed to wear bowlers or top hats out hunting? I've seen people of both sexes wearing those. Are top and/or bowler hats just an option with some hunts or is it some sort of privilege, like colours?
Click to expand...

There is no ignorance at all, hunting tradition is centuries old. You may see a lady in a bowler and veil matching the colour of her habit side saddle. A gentleman will wear a bowler with ratcatcher for cubbing or gate shutting in the main season.

A top hat will be worn with a tail coat and in the years when I hunted, masters and major landowners would wear top hat and tails at opening meet, lawn meets and boxing day.

It probably is still possible to see this at the premier packs in Leicestershire but the last time our local pack trotted past it was more rag, tag and bobtail. Unplaited horses, women with flying hair, coloured or blingy saddle cloth's and my pet hate - dressage high cut boots, which are fine if you are Carl Hester or a pole dancer, but out hunting it has to be straight cut boots with garter straps.
 
Maesfen

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Blast, it's just ate my reply!

Around here several hunting farmers wear bowlers and we also have a lady member who has always worn one whether in tweed or her navy hunt coat (before we changed to our tweed)
 
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spotty_pony

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AdorableAlice said:
There is no ignorance at all, hunting tradition is centuries old. You may see a lady in a bowler and veil matching the colour of her habit side saddle. A gentleman will wear a bowler with ratcatcher for cubbing or gate shutting in the main season.

A top hat will be worn with a tail coat and in the years when I hunted, masters and major landowners would wear top hat and tails at opening meet, lawn meets and boxing day.

It probably is still possible to see this at the premier packs in Leicestershire but the last time our local pack trotted past it was more rag, tag and bobtail. Unplaited horses, women with flying hair, coloured or blingy saddle cloth's and my pet hate - dressage high cut boots, which are fine if you are Carl Hester or a pole dancer, but out hunting it has to be straight cut boots with garter straps.
Click to expand...

It is indeed quite common to see people out in bowler hats/top hats in the Leicestershire area - also we have a lot of side saddle riders!
 
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Couple of points:

Masters also wear ribbons down, not just hunt servants.

When plaiting please remember to plait to the right (even if mane does go to the left).

Finally hope you all have a fun opening meet - conditions are looking great, slightly better than this time last season!

Tally ho

Sherston
 
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Maesfen

Maesfen

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Ooh, what's your tipple aimsymc? Our galloping vet used to have port and cherry brandy, another had whisky and ginger, another had port and ginger; all very warming but could be quite lethal if you can't leave it alone!
 
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