Book Description

Horses, hounds, risk-taking, adrenaline, the great outdoors and camaraderie are all part of the allure of hunting. In The Thrill of the Chase: celebrating hunting with harrier hounds in New Zealand, evocative photographs capture the essence of this dynamic sport. Equestrian journalist and hunting enthusiast Sarah Milne and award-winning photographer Rob Tucker have travelled the country recording all facets of the hunting season. Separate chapters outline the roles of key participants, including the Master, huntsman and whipper-in. Other chapters provide an insight into breeding, assessing and preparing hounds for hunting. Several of New Zealand's most recognised hunting identities, including 95-year-old Bessie Fullerton-Smith, Patroness of the New Zealand Hunts' Association are profiled and give their personal insights into the unique qualities of hunting in this country. As many paddocks in New Zealand are enclosed by post and wire fences, jumping wire presents a significant difference from hunting in either England or the USA. Although visitors initially find this challenging, it is an accepted part of the sport here. In the diverse New Zealand landscape, hunting can involve negotiating large fences (often wire), riding through streams or on the beach and around swamps and areas of bush. From Northland's coast-to-coast hunting, to rolling green Waikato farms, the big gorse hedges of Canterbury and expansive tussock lands of Central Otago, Rob Tucker's photographs record many of the hunts in action. Mount Taranaki, the mountains of the Central Plateau and the wide vistas of Hawkes Bay all provide wonderful backdrops for horses and hounds enjoying a day's hunting. Many good competition horses have started their careers in the hunting field and several New Zealand event riders have enjoyed the sport, including Mark Todd who comments in his foreword on 'the excitement of crossing fantastic country at speed and the challenge of jumping whatever comes in front of you.' One hundred and forty stunning photographs capture the action, fun and magnificent scenery that makes hunting in New Zealand such a special sport. Sarah Milne has been passionate about hunting since she first participated in the sport 26 years ago. It combines her love of horses and the New Zealand countryside with the challenge of following hounds. Sarah is an amateur whipper-in for the Waikato hunt and lives in Cambridge with her husband and two sons. She writes regularly for equestrian publications both here and internationally. Rob Tucker has been taking photographs for 36 years including four America's Cup regattas as Team New Zealand's in-house photographer, private work for Queen Elizabeth II, fashion photography with Elle McPherson and two front covers for Time International. Rob is based in New Plymouth.