When she starting eventing, many of the skills she’d learned on the hunt field proved invaluable on the cross-country course. Here she explains the merits of field hunting for preparing horses and riders for the challenges of eventing.
“My dad, Paul Burnett, was Master of the Bethany Hills Hunt Club, so from the time I was five years old my brother and I were out hunting. Unfortunately, hunting isn’t like it was then, as there isn’t the availability of land to ride on like there used to be.
Hunting is amazing training for cross-country, because you are travelling over the countryside, going uphill, downhill, dealing with water, creeks, open fields and woods, as well as jumping fences similar to what you might find at horse trials – coops and logs and natural ditches. I remember my dad even jumping over fencelines!
Going out with a group of horses really builds confidence in a young horse. If they’ve been hesitant about jumping cross-country obstacles, when they are following other horses they are going to go rather than get left behind. It’s great conditioning for horses, too.
Hunt horses also learn discipline and manners. They may have to stand for long periods while tied to a trailer, and even during the hunt. They learn to deal with running with the hounds and the commotion and excitement of the hunt. You have to be able to control your horse, as you have to stay behind the field master, maintain his pace and follow his path; not come between the huntsman and hounds; and keep one horse’s length between your horse and others in front.
I took my event horses hunting; I used Tyson [a homebred gelding with which Diana won the 2002 Canadian Open Championships] to whip-in; you could crack a stock whip around him and it didn’t faze him. [Whippers-in help the huntsman by keeping hounds from running onto roads or off-limits land.]
Field hunting is also a confidence-building exercise for riders. You learn to gallop across varied terrain and because you are not in a controlled situation, you develop an instinctual type of riding. You learn “stickability” out there. You become a bold rider, and I’ve taken students from my barn hunting to give them a sense for it.
When I was younger and Ian Roberts was my coach, he’d take us on rides that were similar to hunting, because we’d gallop across the fields and through the woods, turning this way and that way and jumping over whatever obstacles we’d come across. With all the concerns about safety now, most people are riding in very controlled situations such as arenas or rings. In some ways, it [that] may create other safety issues, because riders don’t learn how to deal with unpredictable situations or develop their instincts.”
Diana Burnett operates Diana Burnett Eventing at her family’s Donogue Farm at Blackstock, ON.
