Foxhunter qualification.

good thinking ..what other races are ameteur jocks? 1 or 2 of the hcaps if memory serves

of course they are,,,but theres a few that are ameteur only ...thats the point!

Just checked and the NH chase is now run over 3m 6f and confined to amateurs with a class B license.

Sageform, to reply to the original question, I tweeted the P2P authority to ask, but no reply yet.

https://www.britishhorseracing.com/press_releases/changes-to-horse-qualification-conditions-for-st-jamess-place-foxhunter-challenge-cup-open-hunters-chase-randox-foxhunters-open-hunters-chase/

The RP have published the BHA qualifications today. They also report that, sadly, the word Fox has been removed from the race title. Another victory for the woke brigade.

It is no joke, cloone river. The pathetic capitulation to the linguistic tyranny of the woke is not an illusion.  It creeps in everywhere. Resist and you will be cancelled.

So the word fox hunters offends people?

without hunting, there would never have been steeplechasing.

Sageform, that was then and this is now. Hunting am animal with a pack of dogs over miles of countryside for nothingelse than personal pleasure and social standing, is something that belongs in the past. Changing the name of the race does not devalue it in any way and sets a good example for the younger generation.

I certainly agree with the dropping of "fox", although is it yet too late for anti-woke contrarian Laurence (of that ilk) to come in and sponsor the race to preserve its name?
I am joking, of course.

In a normal year I would be deciding where to watch the qualifying hunter chases on my day off: The Dog and Duck; The Bird in Hand; The Fox and Hounds; The Hare and Hounds; The Fighting ****?

Post COVID I look forward to a world where I can do so in Willy Woke's Vegan Latte Bar.

The Foxhunter, along with all Hunter's Chases and Points is undoubtedly in irreversible decline.  It has become increasingly professional dominated, and the grass roots behind it are in their death throes.

But names preserve memories of archaic practices.  The Foxhunter is named for a practice of the past.  Nobody thinks the name is an active encouragement to go and pursue a fox.  In the same way that one person can both be vegan, and enjoy the music of the Smashing Pumpkins (could we get D. Bass to confirm this?).

No moral ground is gained by expunging words, which in themselves do no harm.  The harm comes from being inattentive and uninquisitive about how we arrived at today.  Without knowing how the past led us to here we can easily end up with an aggressive orthodoxy about how the world should be which is as dangerous as it is unpleasant.



Right that is off my chest and I will say no more about it.


I would very much like to know the answer to the OP still, though!

So you would sooner allow foxes to habit your city streets ?
Vermine of the worse kind , still being hunted and always will be  by farmers in Ireland because they have experience  of what they can do.
Bringing foxes into your towns and cities is like letting a pandemic come in through your airports.
Hang on a minute !

killing foxes as vermin is one thing but hunting them with a pack of dogs and a glassof champagne and then calling it a sport is another thing altogether

Slaughtering animals for social standing is not my kind of fun. Sign the petition you know you want to. https://focusingonwildlife.com/news/petition-ban-fox-hunting-in-ireland/

Why chase a fox over fields with horses and dogs to kill it as vermin, when a shotgun will do it a lot more efficiently and humanely. I think you will find that the majority of Irish people agree with me.

I thought a shotgun was the preferred choice of you landed gentry.

I have to admit to being on both sides of this one. I grew up on farm and went hunting on foot as a teenager but not since. I believe that tradition is an important part of racing and a countryside base has always supported jumping. If foxes were killed quietly, it made good sense as they are a significant economic cost for farmers but the dressing up and riding to hounds is what has brought it's demise. Badgers are far more destructive than foxes but there is no way that they can be harmed.

My family "hunt" now every year .....dont think they have ever caught a cold let alone a fox. All they do is follow the trail of a scent. Its an iconoc irish village tradition.