Foxhunting is a sport – something done for the fun of it. The breeding of the hound, the care of the puppy, the walking of the hounds, the cub hunting, the foxhunting, the helping of hounds to recover the line, the honest accounting, the art of riding to hounds – put them all together and they spell fun. But it ceases to be the intended fun when overnight experts meddle with the spirit and traditions of the sport through ignorance or malice.
Loyalty to its traditions, good manners, and respect for the code (developed through the centuries by generations of foxhunters) constitute the spirit of it. One will never obtain that spirit by jumbling its true components with personal whims and superficial theories.
The sport is not preserved by the absurdity of undue importance.
It is preserved by a kind of romance which animates it and by the constant virtues of knowledge, of integrity, patience, good temper, civil communication, and the understanding of the point of view of the other person all of which are required by code.
Frankness and sincerity are the plus qualities. Arrogance and infallibility are out.
In all that we do, we must ask ourselves “Is this in keeping with the code and the spirit, will this promote unity of spirit, and is this good for the sport?
~ William S. Summer, Past President RFHH