A giraffe called Joe...

Tessa Waugh recounts a reluctant day out hunting that was spent shadowing her husband while trialling a new mount - and an early struggle to get in the saddle sets the tone for the meet

- Tessa Waugh

WHEN we get a new horse here, Adam needs someone to hunt them a couple of times before he takes them out. This involves shadowing him on a hunting day: something I tend to avoid.

Anyone who has been in a relationship with a huntsman will know that hanging out with them on a hunting day is not conducive to marital harmony. Unless you happen to be one of those super-cool hunting wives/girlfriends who could hunt hounds themselves. But my horse is lame at the moment and there wasn’t anyone else available, so I agreed to go.

The next morning I found myself falling at the first hurdle when the new horse, a 17.2hh giraffe called Joe, was refusing to stand alongside the lorry ramp so I could get on. Manoeuvring a big, gangly thoroughbred can feel like reversing an artic at times.