21 May 2023

Love of the Hunt

Oranga Ahuwhenua. Farm Life.

writer: Carly Thomas

photographer: Francine Boer

Last year, the Marlborough-based Starborough Hunt Inc celebrated its 75th jubilee. For three quarters of a century, women and men have gathered to ride and hunt the rolling hills in a spirit of camaraderie and freedom. In May 2022, Shepherdess tagged along on the first hunt of that celebratory season to document what makes its riders so passionate about their sport.

Showjumper and hunter Sindy Kirkwood.

The floats roll into Richmond Brook Station near Seddon in the Awatere Valley. Horses are backed off and enthusiastic waves of hello are exchanged. “It’s always exciting, the first one,” committee member Anna Muir says of the first hunt of the 2022 autumn season as she tightens the girth of her horse, Ferge. “We are all fizzing to get out. It is just such a neat thing to be a part of. Everyone is here to have some fun and to get their horses out.”

There is also plenty of banter, with people catching up since the last time they saw each other. “Tally ho girls!” member Tusha Richmond cheerfully shouts. She intends to stick with her friends today, saying they “will straggle at the back, ease ourselves into it.” Hip flasks glint with each quick nip taken for courage and warmth – there is a chill in the wind and the farm is displaying itself in full russet colours.

The Starborough Hunt surrounded by the hills of the Awatere Valley.

There’s about forty members at this hunt, along with half-a-dozen energetic hounds. Everyone is in their hunt finery and there is a certain flair to the fitted coats, perfectly ironed shirts and light-coloured jodhpurs. Tusha jauntily wears a floral “Tweedy Fox Stock” with a gold pin around her neck. The hunt master, Louis Vavasour, stands out with his bright red coat and dark bay thoroughbred. Mina Kingma, his whip, is at his side; it is her job to keep the hounds organised and focussed on their task at hand – seeking out and chasing hares.

The horses are turned out just as beautifully as the humans. There are rules and traditions to hunting – where the mounted riders chase game flushed out by hounds across the countryside – and one is a high standard of presentation. Tails have been washed and brushed, manes plaited and saddles polished to a fine shine. As everyone walks to where Louis is waiting with the hounds, the horses and riders make a striking scene: chestnut coats glint gold in the late morning sun beside deep mahogany bays, meticulously cleaned greys and a handful of distinctive paint horses.

Tusha leading her son, Oscar, 4, by the hand.

There’s an adrenaline rush with a chase at speed. Hunt members will tell you there is nothing quite like it.

And they are off! Horses high step and prance in the excitement of it all, with many fresh from their break and in high spirits. The hounds take the lead, and the group heads for the wide-open rolling hills and the adventure of the day. Deputy Master Grant Burnett, 63, follows in his ute; he can’t hide his frustration at not being out in the field, exclaiming, “I would rather be out there!” But he is full of smiles all the same. Grant’s faithful and much-loved horse died suddenly in 2021, and his new horse, Toby, isn’t quite fit enough for the chase. “I’m working on that and I won’t be missing the next hunt, that’s for sure.”

Grant has been involved in the Starborough Hunt for the past thirty-plus years. He says hunting for him is an absolute addiction. “I came to riding later in life, about thirty years ago, and dressage and all of that wasn’t really my thing, but I found that hunting was. I remember my first hunt and I went charging around. I was hooked. There’s just something about it. It’s exciting and fast and everyone is so friendly. And there is the adrenaline, too.”

Anne Parker is also following the hunt in her ute, along with Candi Callaghan, whose daughter, Anae Shadbolt, is riding. Anne is another stalwart of the Starborough Hunt and has been involved for many decades. A bad fall years ago means she can no longer ride but, as the field secretary, Anne never misses a hunt. “She is a very important part of everything,” says Grant. “What she doesn’t know about hunting isn’t worth knowing.”

Riders on horseback out amongst rolling hills

Getting out on the hunt isn’t all about the chase, it is also about riding in some beautiful scenery.

The utes pull up to watch the riders go up the first big hill. Grant explains that it is a chance for the riders to blow the cobwebs out of their revved-up horses by cantering up to the top. In the distance, Anna speeds up the hill on her trusty gelding to where the master is surveying the countryside below. “Isn’t it exciting?” Grant exclaims. “That hill always takes the sting out of the horses’ nerves. And the riders’, too.” But not all riders: there is a huddle of keen-as-mustard teenagers right up the front, wind-whipped, red-cheeked, laughing with their hunt friends and enjoying the spring in their horses’ steps. “It’s neat seeing the young ones. That’s one good thing about hunting – the tradition and the families that come through. These kids here are the future of the hunt and so it’s good to see them having a good day.”

Candi’s daughter is right where the action is. The sixteen-year-old gallops past on her chestnut horse. Standing high in her stirrups, she urges her mount on with a natural ease. From where she sits in Anne’s ute, Candi says with a grin, “Yip! That’s my daughter! That horse was bred by my relatives in Ruatōria. They are great horses. My daughter just loves anything to do with horses. She events, she hunts and then she loves getting out and mustering on a horse, too. Horses are her thing.” In addition to the standard green hunt coat, Anae will no doubt wear the MacLauchlan Tartan Collar – which worthy members receive when they turn eighteen – in a few years. “Receiving the tartan is a real honour and you get it by being involved and being up the front,” Grant explains.

The riders jump spars in quick succession, and one woman whoops as her horse jumps its first-ever fence. Horses’ tails fly like flags in the wind as they make fast work of the hills. Four hours pass quickly and although no hares were spotted, Tusha still declares it a “wonderful day.” Riders unbutton coats, take off sweaty saddles, hose down their horses and, finally, enjoy the hunt breakfast. “Afternoon tea is a tradition and we all like to talk about how the day went,” Anna explains. Today’s jaunt has everyone grinning, including the hounds, and tales of this first outing of the season will go down in the long history of the Starborough Hunt. “It is just so good to be out and doing it.”