IT’s important to remember that in America there are two kinds of hunters: show hunters and fox hunters. Although originally show hunters were meant to be the best fox hunters, today, fox hunters never appear in the show ring at the top level and top show hunters are far too valuable to be taken hunting.

“The top show hunter is a very specialised animal,” according to Lynn Reed, a champion American show hunter breeder and trainer. “The canter is the most important gait, and it must be super rhythmic, a big ground-covering canter that can be adjusted without much movement in his body or frame.