Beware of Bad Footing

I’m sure anyone who’s not a hunter rider themselves will attest that most hunter classes are pretty boring. If you’re not watching a derby that asks horses to jump big scary fences, negotiate tight insides turns, and exhibit bold gallops, chances are you don’t see much excitement on course.

That’s why I jumped at the opportunity to show my hunter, Hannah, in a fun three-phase class at a schooling show last week. The class consisted of a “handy” round and an under saddle in the arena, followed by a course over natural, cross-country-type fences on grass. You even had to jump out of the ring at one point! Pretty exciting stuff for a hunter.