*****Various Saint Hubert Medals*****

All my life I wanted to Fox Hunt…..

…..from the first stories I heard from my father…..about his father…..

…..and the horses that they bred on their farm in Chardon, Ohio…..

…..and the ones who ultimately ended up in the northeastern Ohio Fox Hunts…..

…..(Chagrin Valley Fox Hunt, to be specific)…..

*****Chagrin Valley Hunt History*****

…..beautiful horses…..

…..and great stories…..

…..(I still have the sepia-toned photographs in my wallet)…..

…..(horses jumping roadsters…..horses jumping wickedly tall fences…..horses & scotch-saturated men playing polo and Buzkashi (at least I think that’s what it was)…..

…..this had to be back in the early 1900’s…..my Dad was born in the 1920’s…..

…..(if I were any better at technology…..I’d have those photos copied here)…..

…..(but)…..

…..(I’m not)…..

Suffice to say…..growing up with all of those horse stories…..

…..I’ve always wanted to be a member of a Fox Hunt…..

…..and now I am…..

…..I have been for twenty years (as we’ve already discussed…I’m old)…..

…..(plus I’m not mounted on an uber-OTTB Thoroughbred either)…..

*****OTTB Explained*****

I stick with my double-wide draft horses…..

Fox Hunting is steeped in history…..

…..every aspect of it has a story, and a meaning, and a purpose…..

Saint Hubert plays an important role in Fox Hunting…..

*****Saint Hubert and the Hunt*****

Saint Hubert’s Day is actually November 3rd…..

…..gaining your Saint Hubert’s medal is an important step in being a member of a Fox Hunt…..

*****Information On Saint Hubert & Fox Hunting*****

When you are first invited to become a member…..

…..you have to earn your colors and your Saint Hubert’s medal…..

I’m sure various Clubs have various requirements for involvement or length of time for membership before new members are considered for their colors…..

…..But…..

It’s a big deal when that happens…..

I was so excited and happy when I got mine…..

Members who have earned their colors are announced at the annual Hunt Club Ball at the end of a Hunt Season…..

…..then the following season…..at the Opening Hunt Meet…..

…..the Saint Hubert’s medal is presented to the new members…..to wear while Fox Hunting……

It’s a really beautiful ceremony that is done right before the Blessing of the Hounds…..

*****Blessing Of The Foxhounds*****

When I received mine…..I put it on a welded metal chain…..

…..I figured I’d be stressing my medal out to the max…..and I wanted to have it securely attach to my personage…..

*****Prayers For Saint Hubert*****

…..(I also have a lucky Irish twenty pence piece in my saddle bag)…..

…..(I need all the help I can get)…..