Fox hunting.
Well, I was born and raised in Denmark, even though I spent all my hollidays in Sweden. I had a couple of horses and tried out a few things with them. Among other things, I had been to Dyrehaven in Klampenborg and watched the annual big Hubertus hunt on TV every year, with the royals out watching. I was there as a spectator first on foot, and then we were also there on horseback, admiring those riding the hunt and pretending it was us. It looked incredibly fun and immensely exciting, and being naturally curious, I promised myself that I would participate in it someday.
When I bought Markant, whom I renamed (he was named Fleur, which I thought sounded like a little pony mare), he was 173 cm and definitely not a small pony. I bought him cheaply because the girl who had him was afraid of him, so to test if there was any truth to him being dangerous, I rode him bareback in the forest 
He protested a little, but we quickly became friends, and he was a wonderful horse. He didn’t mind jumping, and I brought up the idea of participating in the Hubertus hunt.
To be able to participate in the actual Hubertus hunt, you had to complete at least 6 hunts and a fox-tail hunt, which meant you had to have jumped all the jumps. It started with a winter hunt and a spring hunt, and then the jumps became bigger and more challenging. I rode hunts every Sunday, and during the week, I trained him in dressage, rode out, and drove (of course, I also trained him to drive) so he had varied and enjoyable training.
I managed to complete the 6 hunts and then was to join the fox-tail hunt. In these hunts before, there is no winner, but it’s a pleasant hunt together, and sometimes you have lunch with the others, etc. In the fox-tail hunt, there were 2 riders carrying a fox tail on their shoulders, and the goal was to catch them when the hunt was over. I just missed grabbing the fox tail when the rider threw himself to the side. I was very disappointed that I didn’t get it, but oh well, it was super fun.
In the evening, there was dinner with everyone who had been on the hunt at a nice restaurant, and it turned out that those who had taken the fox tails were to give a schnapps to everyone at the dinner, and there were at least 70 people. At that moment, I breathed a sigh of relief and thanked my lucky stars that I hadn’t taken the tail
The big day had come, and I was to participate in the Hubertus hunt. It would be an understatement to say that I was nervous. Thousands of people in Dyrehaven, TV was there, royals were there. My biggest goal was to survive Magasindammen, where the TV always stood ready to film those who fell off into the water. Markant wasn’t afraid of the water, but you never know, he could slip or jump wrong, because there were obstacles in front of him.
Before Magasindammen, you come out onto a large plain “Erimitagen” where you can see the plain, Magasindammen, and Erimitage Castle. I’ll never forget the sight when I came out onto the plain, seeing all these riders in red jackets in a line towards the castle, and the first ones had started jumping into Magasindammen. Then you heard a murmur in the crowd, and you knew that the first one had gotten properly wet, and it turned out that one of the “foxes” riding first had fallen off his horse into the pond! TV got its good footage I made it, and I remember galloping past all those people watching, the joy I felt.
Since then, I have ridden many Hubertus hunts in Sweden, but since they only have this one hunt a year there, it’s not the same. When you’ve ridden hunts with the same people many times, you get to know them and their horses, and you have a fantastic time.
It’s something I miss from Denmark.
On the picture, it’s me and Markant.”
