I haven’t hunted much this fall but Monday’s Columbus Day Hunt was so spectacular that it made up for the missed days. It was a magnificent warm day and the fall foliage is at its peak here in New England. I was a bit worried that Zelda would be a handful but she made a liar out of me and was perfect. Always glad when my horse surprises me in a good way! As one of my fellow riders commented, when I start taking photos it means my horse is behaving.

This hunt is very close to where I’m

currently boarding. In fact, we ride through “The Perfect Field” on our way. The problem is that when I’m hunting, we’re usually going too fast through it to take an pictures.

The hunt starts in Acton and takes us through several connected bits of conservation land, through Concord and back to Acton. It’s a delightful mix of wooded trails — where the canopy of leaves was the full range of fall colors — and big open galloping fields. The hounds were right on the scent and the field was small enough that we could see it all.