My daughter Jane and I went to Jr Day with the Tennessee Valley (Fox) Hunt on Saturday. It was gorgeous Tennessee fall weather and there were about 50 or more kids there. Instead of a real fox, they had a person dressed as a fox riding ahead and laying down a popcorn trail for the kids to follow over about 200 acres. Then they divided the kids into 3 groups ("Can gallop and jump"; "can trot and may jump"; and "very small people on very small, fat ponies that amble").

They divided each group into "hounds" and "whips" and then the kids who were hounds would ride on ahead and howl at the fox (who was usually out of sight) and the whip riders would keep the hounds in a pack. It was so adorable. Jane and her pony, Dickens, were in the galloping group and were designated whips.

All the parents who weren't on horses could ride around on a haywagon and catch glimpses of the riders as they zipped over hills and ridges. The cutest thing was this one 4 year old kid who was being led on his teensy pony by his father on a horse. He actually fell asleep on his pony! So his first foxhunt ended with him nodding off :-)