Foxhunting
~Where there are no hounds the fox is king ~
By Laura Pettler
My love for fox hunting began in 1997 when I attended my first hunt with Mecklenburg Hounds in NC/SC. I was blessed to learn from some of the best leaders in the fox hunting world and my family enjoyed hunting with MHI, but chose to end our alignment in 2014.
In September 2013, I decided to take my Second Premium FHANA Friesian gelding Fortissimo out of the dressage arena to try fox hunting...At first, he was as most new fox hunters are, a little nervous, unsure, but soon, he took to the new experiences like I couldn’t believe.
Forte overcame obstacles that being Friesian innately limited his ability to perform as a “regular” fox hunting horse. Forte excelled in this sport and could not have been happier. I am incredibly proud he hunted the flatlands of Lowcountry’s fixtures just as well as he did the hilly terrain of Green Creek’s fixtures.
Forte and I were Senior Hunt Staff for Mecklenburg Hounds, which meant Forte was an Honorary Whipper-In horse not a job often done well by light-drafts like Friesians. We were honored to win the MHI Service Award for the 2012-2013 Season and my then husband and his horse Finale won the My Mouse Award for the 2012-2013 Season for being the best dressed at the hunt. Forte was retired and enjoying grass and sunshine until he passed away January 26, 2020. Finale is now hunting with Sewickley in Sewickley, PA with Art Crivella.
My obsession with the baroque breeds began when I was a child, but was further fueled when I was training with Robert Mayer and his apprentices in the Pittsburgh, PA area as a young adult. Mr. Mayer had Lipizzaners, whose lineage is founded on Andalusian bloodlines. Some of my experiences there led me to begin researching Friesians and Andalusian bloodlines over the years that could be specifically and meticulously crossed to create an exceptional Warlander. We purchased one of the finest bred PRE Mares in hopes to begin hunting her, but chose to trade our mare for two Friesian mares late 2014 to solely focus on foxhunting Friesians. The Friesian has proven to be a phenomenal fox hunter and we get many requests for where to "buy a foxhunting Friesian". The Friesian, while a light-draft can be trained to perform as well as any other breed for foxhunting that can gallop long coyote-run type distances in the flatlands as well as the foothills with grace, balance, comfort, and ease.
Foxhunting Links & Info:
All you have to do is google "foxhunting" and a million places to visit!
