This spring we’ve had  short hunting season. We had so much snow on the ground for so long that when it was finally warm enough and dry enough to hunt, neither I nor my horses were in any kind of shape.

Now, suddenly, the season is coming to an end (this is the last weekend) and I’ve snuck in four hunts (with one more on Monday).

The first three I took Zelda. Partially it was a matter of convenience. Freedom moved to the new barn sooner and she was closer. Partially, it was because Freedom has been just bonkers. He’s so full of energy and so hyper that hunting him was going to be a lot of work. Zelda gets tired; Freedom doesn’t.

Today I took Freedom out for his first hunt of the season. As expected, he required an active ride. No chance to be a passenger! I do believe he walked a little bit, but he was, shall we say, energetic. This took the form of a lot of vertical motion. Once again, I will thank the horse gods that he doesn’t buck. I can deal with the jigging, the bouncing and his ability to canter almost in place.

We had absolutely perfect spring weather today and it was a great time to explore a new territory. This landscape had a lot of varied terrain. I wish I could have gotten more photos but I really needed to have both hands on the reins.

Even after we’d been out for 90 minutes, Freedom showed no signs of slowing down. At one point we had to double back on the path and when staff passed us, I had a fleeting fear that we were going with them, no matter what I said. Freedom very much likes to ride up front!