Pony Club Hunting Exchange to Ireland 2009
In the summer of 2009, I received a weekly newsletter from the Secretary of our branch of the Pony Club, Iona Pierce. Along with the activities list and other information was a note telling us about the Hunting Exchange to Ireland in November. It explained the criteria needed to apply, it also said that only four people would be selected from the whole of the UK. Immediately I was very interested as I had never been to Ireland before and hunting over there is notoriously exciting.
I contacted our DC, Bethan Jones for a letter of recommendation, along with Paul Smith our Hunt’s Field Master and also Katy Powell Jones our Pony Club Chief Instructor to ask them to be my referees. I then sent my CV along with the letter of recommendation to Pony Club Headquarters at Stoneleigh – then all I could do was wait.
I tried not to get my hopes up as I knew places were limited and thought that the chances of me getting selected were slim.
It was the Flint and Denbigh Opening Meet and my mother had driven to collect me and my horse in the morning. She brought with her the morning post as there was a letter for me. On the way to the meet I opened the letter – it was from Pony Club HQ – I had been selected! When I arrived at the meet I informed our DC of the brilliant news, she was thrilled!
Soon after we were e-mailed flight details, and sent a Great Britain Team jacket with a Union Jack flag on it!
The UK chaperone, Katie Stephens arranged for the UK Team to stay at a hotel near the airport in Birmingham the night before our flight, so on the 23rd November I met the rest of the UK Team: two other girls Laura and Helen and one boy, Edward.
We flew from Birmingham on Tuesday 24th at around 8am and arrived in Dublin shortly after where we met the Irish chaperone Dorothy Guilford. We then waited in the airport for the American contingent to fly in – chaperone Pat Lyons, and three girls, Catherine, Kiersti and Marissa. We all drove down to Punchestown to have lunch with the Chairman of the Irish Pony Club and meet the Irish Team. We then visited the Kildare Hunt Kennels, and went to R.A.C.E. – Racing Academy and Centre of Education, for a tour of the campus. We then retired to our host families for the night – where myself and two others stayed in Laois.
Wednesday 25th November
I hunted with the Laois along with a few others. I borrowed a wonderful pony called Bart who was a brilliant hunting pony and knew the job very well. Unfortunately the original meet was cancelled due to the flooding so we didn’t cover as much ground as planned but it was still a good introduction to the different country we would be encountering. A photographer for the Irish ‘Horse and Hound’ followed the hunt. After cleaning off the horses we returned to our host families for an evening meal where 
we were joined but the Huntsman and his wife.
Thursday 26th November
Due to the bad flooding the Kildare Hunt was cancelled, however we were lucky enough to hunt with the Laois again to cover the ground that we missed the previous day. The country we covered that day was mostly hilltop with stone walls and some fences to jump. I rode Bart again and he proved once more that he was a better hunter than some of the horses! It was an eventful day as we encountered a very annoyed landowner on the road who stomped around and shouted at us all! After the day’s hunting we then drove up to Waterford courtesy of Dorothy, to stay with the Morris family. Mr Morris is the Joint Master of the Waterford Hunt, and his wife and daughters hunt regularly. When we arrived we had a dinner with all the chaperones and exchanges.
Friday 27th November
The whole group drove up to the Coolmore Stud for a guided tour of the premises. We saw some of the most famous stallions in the world, with stud fees upwards of £30,000, including Galileo, Montjeu and Sadler’s Wells. In the evening we went to a pub quiz and our team – consisting of the exchanges – won second prize which was 100 euro!
Saturday 28th November
The Morris household had six horses all going with the Waterford Hunt that day so the morning was very well planned by Mr Morris and his family while the rest of us tried to help where we could. The meet was at Bonmahon Beach – which was actually right next to a beach! Something I have never experienced before. I rode Mabel, a 15hh roan mare belonging to Mrs Morris. Mabel was brilliant and did everything she was asked. The ground was quite wet that day, and dividing all the fields were banks that you jumped up onto and then straight off the other side – something that I don’t see hunting in Wales.
The photographer for the Irish Times followed the hunt all day. At the end of hunting, before we got off the horses we rode into the sea to wash them off – another new experience! After we had loaded the horses we went into a pub for a meal and then returned to the Morris’s.
Sunday 29th November
Sunday was the changeover where we all moved up to the north of Dublin to hunt with some packs there. The whole group drove to Drewstown Activity Centre in Kells, where we met the Organiser for the north part of the trip, Mr John Flood. The Activity Centre consisted of a climbing wall and high ropes – which was nightmare as I’m not keen on heights! We then met our host families – I stayed with the Treacy family in Tara.
Monday 30th November
Flooding was still creating chaos in the north, and the Kildare Hunt was cancelled along with a few others so we all hunted with the Meath and did a half day each. I shared with Helen and we rode a 15hh dark bay cob named Holly who had the most unexpected jump! The country we covered was very wet and the roads were icy. Instead of the banks we had seen previously, there were ditches separating fields – which Holly took on confidently! We retired back to our host families after loading up the horses and thanking the owners.
Tuesday 1st December
This was the first day that it actually rained while we were out hunting – we had been very lucky up until that day. However the rain did not ruin the day as we hunted with the Ballymacad Hunt. I rode a fantastic pony called Ozzy who was the smallest in the field but made no effort in keeping up with the 17hh that Helen rode!
The ground was very deep and there was a variety of banks and drains that kept us all entertained!
Afterwards we went into Kells for an Irish Night with dancing and music.
Wednesday 2nd December
A couple of us hunted with the Louth that day, and I rode Holly the little cob again. We covered a fair amount of ground, and there were a lot of fallers that day – unfortunately that included me!
Thursday 3rd December
Katy, Dorothy, John and I followed the Tara Harriers on foot. The Tara’s started at noon and didn’t hang around long so we didn’t manage to see very much, but it was interesting to see the difference between fox hunting and hunting hares.
As this was the last day of the exchange a ‘farewell supper’ had been arranged at Mr and Mrs Wentges’ house in Lisnalin, where we gave gifts to the organisers and said Thank you to everyone involved in the Exchange.
Friday 4rd December
In the morning we travelled to Dublin airport and flew back to Birmingham where we went our separate ways.
The 2009 Hunting Exchange had been a complete success and I enjoyed every minute of this experience. I am very grateful to have been given such a wonderful opportunity, and am honoured to have represented the Flint and Denbigh Hunt Branch, and The Pony Club UK.
I would recommend the exchange to any pony club member who loves hunting as it is an experience of a lifetime.
