TALK
THRILL OF THE PACE Rhys Moore explains how the experience of a good polo pony makes it ideally suited to fox hunting – even in the hands of an excited young rider
On a crisp pre-dawn morning in October 2007, in North Salem, New York, stood a perfectly proud polo pony in a field of hunters attired in black and scarlet, surrounded by hounds anxious to be cast. In the tack was an equally anxious, determined and very excited five-year-old girl. The pony had one of those deeply resigned expressions, as if wondering, ‘Where are the manicured fields, the mallets and the clean white balls, the warm weather?’ In the next moment, the horn sounded, the field moved out, the hounds were cast, and so began a wonderful fox-hunting relationship between a little girl and a remarkable polo pony. My daughter, Elizabeth ‘LuLu’ Moore, has loved horses ever since she was very little, and insisted on seeing our hunt, the Golden’s Bridge
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Hounds, off most Saturday mornings. Each week, she asserted she was ready to hunt, despite being only five (‘almost six’) and riding for little more than a year. Eventually, our most senior master, Gene Colley, invited her to join us in the field on a lead line. It was a huge honour. Master Bruce Colley, Gene’s son, selected a beautiful black mare named Marocha from his string of polo steeds for LuLu to ride. He knew the horse’s temperament well. Her steady gait, sure-footedness and calm confidence meant not even an excitable almost-six-year-old could shake her. LuLu and Marocha made the perfect pair – I’ve never seen a horse and rider fall in love and care for one another so quickly or strongly. Within two years, LuLu and Marocha became frequent hunting partners, learning the ways of
I’ve never seen a horse and rider fall in love and care for one another so quickly
the hounds and the prey, and understanding the protocol of the hunt field. Our hunt fixtures are a combination of rugged open territory, narrow and steep trails, rocky pastures and swampy bottom territory. For a polo pony, this is a far cry from soft, flat fields and 7½-minute chukkas, yet Marocha adapted well. She was so confident and
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03/10/2016 15:30
