Here’s a nice piece of video from the Monmouth Hunt Club (Monmouth, NJ) from the 1920s. Notice that there is no gapping of the two fences they show. You jump them.  I suspect the practice of gapping fences is a relatively new addition to foxhunting protocols.

It’s fun to see the old cars and the way people dress. The riding styles are different too — just about everyone seen is riding in what we would call a “chair seat” with their feet out in front of them.