If you want to settle your nerves before hunting in Ireland, avoid YouTube. There are films galore of dishevelled riders and shaggy horses scrambling up mountains of mud and plunging into fastflowing, murky water, the latter sometimes ending with horses and riders, no longer in company, being swept downstream.
In truth, the reality is not far different. I remember slithering down a veritable cliff, my feet sliding straight out of the treadless stirrups. Another time, landing over a drain, my boots were on the ground yet I was still in the saddle, so deep had my horse sunk in the mud. I once realised, in mid air, that my clever little mare was clearing a ditch I hadn’t seen and on one memorable occasion, riding a brilliant grey belonging to legendary trainer Aidan O’Connell, found myself jumping four stone walls with no reins after they broke over a drop.
What you will gather from this is that horse power is key. If you’ve got a proper Irish horse under you, with a brain and a fifth leg, you will feel the exaltation that comes with tackling the scariest obstacles in the Emerald Isle and surviving. The Irish hunter, justly celebrated all over the world, was developed for endurance in sport and war. “It is very clever,” says O’Connell, who has trained and sold horses for decades. “English breeders understood that; their genius was putting in an ingredient called stamina. How did Napoleon do what he did? Irish horse! Marengo was bred in Wexford. And Wellington’s horse Copenhagen came from Cork.” (Reputedly, at least.)
Denne historien er fra February 2021-utgaven av The Field.
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Denne historien er fra February 2021-utgaven av The Field.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Rory Stewart - The former Cabinet minister and hit podcast host talks to Alec Marsh about the parlous state of British politics, land management and his deep love of the countryside
The gently spoken 51-year-old former Conservative Cabinet minister is a countryman at heart. That's clear: he even changes into a tweed waistcoat for the interview, which takes place at his London home and begins with a question about his precise career status. Having resigned from the Commons and the Conservative Party in 2019, the former diplomat and soldier has reinvented himself, first with an unconventional but promising run as an independent for the London mayoralty (abandoned because of COVID19 in 2020) and then as a media figure, co-hosting one of the country's most popular podcasts, The Rest Is Politics, alongside Alastair Campbell, the former Labour spin doctor.
Fodder
Local fare with the feel-good factor.
Celebrating the game changers
Once served only in the traditional manner, the fruits of our forays now find their way into all manner of diverse and delicious dishes, say Neil and Serena Cross
The first civil engineer
John Smeaton left an indelible mark on the field of engineering and, three centuries after his birth, his legacy remains as strong as ever
School spirits
From grey ladies and ghostly gardeners to more malign entities, public schools are a rich repository of unnatural phenomena
'A long way from Piccadilly or Pall Mall'
Marking 150 years since the birth of Sir Winston Churchill, Dr Conor Farrington explores this eminent statesman’s often-overlooked 1907 tour of British East Africa: a journey rich with enchanting natural beauty and sporting adventure
Top of the pups
Canines in all their guises were celebrated at The Field Top Dog Awards lunch at Defender Burghley Horse Trials whether eager on the peg, patient at home or perpetually making mischief
Angling for success
It’s never too early to shape up for next season’s salmon and trout, and these top fishing schools are here to help
Talking scents
The canine nose is an astonishingly complex piece of biotechnology that man has harnessed for sustenance and sport for thousands of years
Wall-to-wall excitement
Criss-crossed by formidable drystone walls, the High Peak Harriers’ scenic country provides a day out with an exhilarating difference