Foxhunting is often perceived as an elite equestrian activity, so the Monmouth County Hunt in New Jersey is trying to make it more fun and accessible. While they are a traditional hunt and typically follow the traditional norms and hunting etiquette, they’ve added a few events to their calendar that open the sport to people who haven’t tried it before. 

On Sunday they hosted a hunt inspired by the hit TV show “Yellowstone” at the Horse Park of New Jersey, inviting riders to show up in western tack and apparel. The result was an eclectically dressed field, from traditional hunting attire to full-on western gear, and a few combinations somewhere in between.

“We try to encourage people to come out and cap, and it seems like if we do a theme it sort of resonates,” joint master and huntsman Meg Valnoski said. “We want to include western riders once in a while, and because of the popularity of the ‘Yellowstone’ TV series, we came up with the ‘Yellowstone’ theme. We had a group of cappers come a few years ago and this year, again, they just seem to like to come out and join us. It’s nice to have people that wouldn’t normally come out foxhunting learn about the sport. We had an eclectic group, and that’s good; the more people that know about foxhunting, the better it is for the sport. A lot of people want to come back, so we’ll probably do another meet in the spring.”

The weather was cold and dry, with overcast skies and temperatures hovering just below freezing. After starting off at the horse park in Allentown, the hunt headed into the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, a preserved space that consists of more than 6,000 acres of land. While the first couple of hours were slow, one of the whippers-in then saw a fox and they ended hunting in thick cover during the last hour out. Overall, Valnoski said, the hunt gave everyone a good feel for the foxhunting experience. 

“They could hear hounds, which is the fun part, plus we had a good go around,” she said. “We have two fields: we have hilltoppers, who go slower, and first flight, who go faster and jump the jumps. We can also go around the jumps, but we have coops and they can have a little fun with jumping.”

Joint master Doug Raynor, who led the first flight on his massive gray horse and wore chaps and a neckerchief to get into the “Yellowstone” theme, agreed. 

“It was a very good day, we saw the hounds in open areas and watched them working in the cover,” he said. “We did do a lot of jumping; it was a pretty fast day actually. Everybody came back tired and dirty, but nobody fell off, so it was a very good day.”

Leora Dillon, the owner of Corinthian Equestrian Center in Warwick, New York, made the two-hour drive south to bring a group of riders down for the day to experience the hunt. Dillon herself made quite a dramatic impression, riding side-saddle aboard Falcon, her Friesian-Dutch Harness Horse cross. 

Dillion, who typically does eventing and dressage, said she’s hunted with Amwell Valley Hounds (New Jersey) and Golden’s Bridge Hounds (New York) and planned to join a hunt club this year, but she and Falcon also play the part of The Headless Horseman in parades, school football games and other community functions in Sleepy Hollow, New York, and they were booked for most weekends during the month of October.

“This year I started [hunting] side-saddle, because I also teach side-saddle and it’s a dying art,” she said. “I have a couple of horses that I ride side-saddle, but he is my most reliable.”

While Dillion hadn’t hunted with Monmouth previously, she said she’s competed in shows at the Horse Park of New Jersey before and knew the area would be an ideal place for some of her students and clients to hunt for the first time. 

Morgan Gonzales, 23, of Hamilton, New Jersey, said she grew up near the horse park and has been riding in the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area since she was a kid. She’s competed in hunter/jumpers, galloped race horses and worked on a ranch out west, but had never foxhunted before. 

“As a kid I did hunter paces, and I had the option to do foxhunts but never did,” she said. “It was really cool to see the hounds work, and to see them respond to the commands. I knew about the traditions of hunting but had never experienced it firsthand and it was really impressive.”

Reflecting on the day, she said, “I wasn’t nervous going into it but I didn’t know what to expect. It was really well organized, considering how many people were there and all the hounds. Everyone was super welcoming and friendly, it was really nice.”

Whipper-in Sarah Kirk, who is a member of several hunts in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, was the most traditionally dressed western rider of the day. Her horse is a 17-hand, 22-year-old Percheron-Thoroughbred cross who has been hunting since he was a 3-year-old. Kirk, who works remotely as a systems engineer, said that she picked up riding western a couple of years ago with friends in Milford, New Jersey, and these days will take her horse foxhunting in the morning, work during the day, and then do ranch roping with her horse in the evening. 

“It was great fun going out in western tack today, he actually seemed to enjoy it,” she said. “I thought he might be a little spunky because I just shaved him like two days ago, but he was probably happier without all that hair. Training is training, and a lot of the things my horse does translate from one sport to another. He learned to be a good roping horse with the moves he learned from dressage work. It’s all connected.

“I explain to my western friends that foxhunting is similar in concept to a situation in which your cow got loose,” she added. “You have to know where you’re going, you don’t necessarily know where you’ll end up, you have to know the land owners and have permission to ride there, and you ride the perimeter to keep the group together, or you’re the eyes on the far side.”

Like Monmouth, the hunts she’s involved with are generally very welcoming to riders who want to come out and experience hunting.

“If you want to try it, and all you have is western tack, come out in cubbing season,” she said. “Most hunts are actually fairly open to it, as long as you ask first—they just want you to be dressed safely. 

“I enjoy crossovers,” she added. “It’s less about what you’re wearing and how you look, and more about enjoying being outside, enjoying what’s going on, preserving open space, and seeing other people. That’s why I have multiple horses, so I can bring other people out to enjoy this too.”