The East Kent Hunt with West Street: You can lead a horse to water but you can't make her jump!

A splendid meet, thanks to our generous hosts who had also spent not a little time and effort making some of the "Hunt Jumps" a little more . . . now how should this be put? Fun? Challenging? Whatever the description, we are always indebted to our farmers and landowners for access let alone jump building, copious drinks, "brunch" and a jolly good time.

With trails laid by quad, on foot and later on horse-back the field set off in one direction (for those aforementioned jumps while "S" took hounds out through the back of the yard to find the start of the first of those trails.

Your correspondent and companion had long-since departed for the "you must be there - it's the scariest" jump where they waited for a display of wonderful equestrianism: the ballet of horse and rider in unison of intent and purpose; a symphony of skill and power . . . enough of the purple prose!

The best moment was when "F" cleared the "scariest" jump, after a refusal, with the broadest grin imaginable. So often, maybe so or maybe not in this case, the horse would love to clear the fence but the rider somehow communicates doubt and the horse pulls up short. That smile was the clearest expression you can have of horse and rider in harmony - just brilliant!

The Stern

Whose pictures are not published because some readers might be able to lip-reading and so could be offended?
Who thought that they might demand an appearance fee when they heard the shutter click?

Photographs

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