IN the world of fox hunting perhaps nothing can compare with a really good day on a good horse with your local pack. What runs close, in terms of enjoyment, is visiting a neighbouring pack or better still move into completely uncharted territory with a distant hunt or even abroad.

Nowadays long weekends away in Paris or Barcelona are looked on as the norm, so rather than dealing with body searches at airport check-in and over-priced restaurants, go and have a hunting weekend instead. If you have a hunting companion who is prepared to travel, so much the better as it can only add to the enjoyment.

PLAN AHEAD

These trips need to be planned with military precision, well in advance when one has decided one’s requirements. Do you want a big jumping day with one of the crack packs when perhaps a more leisurely and sociable day would fit the bill? Another consideration is cost. A sociable trip to one of your neighbouring packs is not going to cost a fortune and may whet your appetite for further adventures.

However, if you want to hunt with one of the fashionable and hard riding packs then a visit to the piggy bank is necessary. No matter how high the reputation of your chosen pack, a really good day is never guaranteed but for all that, it can and should be enjoyable. First sit down with The Irish Field Directory, a must on any fox hunter’s bedside table. Turn to the hunting section and decide where you would like to go. Will it be the walls of Galway, the wild banks of Duhallow or the plains of Kildare – the choice is yours. Well, perhaps not all yours as you will have to make contact with the secretary of your chosen hunt and, subject to availability, make your booking.

Never be afraid to enquire as to the capitation fee (cap) as nasty shocks at the meet can spoil an otherwise idyllic day. A visitor’s cap cost can vary all the way from €50 right up to €200 on special occasions. While at first glance this may seem expensive remember that you are contributing to the overheads of your host hunt who have costs to be borne the whole year around. You must also remember that regardless of how much you pay you are the guest of the farmers over whose land you ride and should behave accordingly.

On arrival, which should be well before move-off time, make yourself known to the hunt secretary and have your cap ready without being asked. Arriving early allows you to find your feet and have a pre-mounting up drink which at the same time allows you to meet your fellow fox hunters for the day.

THE COMPLETE PACKAGE

If you would like to make a complete hunting weekend why not take in a point-to-point on the Sunday or even a second day’s hunting with one of the many Sunday packs, of which there are many, particularly west of the Shannon.

With the risk of falling out with almost all other hunts in Ireland I will make my own personal recommendation which is biased, based on my location and personal experiences.

For a really good jumping day why not start with the Co Limerick, Scarteen or Duhallow on your chosen Saturday and, if still sound, finish off a perfect weekend across the Shannon on Sunday with the Co Clare where on a very average day you will jump a minimum of 50 walls. With horses put away you are likely to be entertained to a night of traditional music and an impromptu meal in a west Clare pub. A chauffeur is recommended!

If all this booking and travelling your horses to and fro sounds like too much trouble, and if money is no object, why not call the Dunraven Arms in Adare where Louis Murphy will take you under his wing, make all the arrangements, including cleaning your hunt clothes, and pamper you all the way.