Do you have to be invited to be a member of a hunt?

How much does it cost?

Membership is extremely expensive. My previous boss was a member an I used to go in place of her sometimes. She was allowed to bring a guest to ride along or send two others in her place. God it was fun! I would love to be a member one day but not anytime soon. She belonged to the Elkridge hunt club and I believe she told me it was like $5,000 a year. I think thats far fetched but maybe shes right. Either or, its not cheap by any means wether its only $3,000

Not if your a fox.

no i dontt think you have to be invited you must sighn up.....but it does cost a TON!! OF MONEY lollike 3000 to like 12000 depends which hunt group you join!

Er why would you want to? Fox hunting is cruel!

Well I went hunting last year (drag hunting, not fox hunting) and Im not a member. I just turn up on the day.Membership can be expensive, and isnt really worth it unless you are a keen hunter and participate very regularly...If you want to go hunting, just turn up (There may be a fee to join the group on the day, but only a few pounds/dollars or whatever currency you use.Most hunts will just be glad you have taken part, so dont worry too much about membership.

Most hunt clubs have a day fee that they charge if you want to hunt with them for only one day. The costs will vary depending on the area and the club. Be sure to get information about how formal the group is. You may need to have the right color coat and boots and such to hunt if the club is very formal.

Usually, yes- and the costs can be staggering at times, as one of the other writers pointed out. Most hunts do allow visitors to ride with them for a day, provided that the visitor pays what is called a "capping fee" to the hunt secretary. Also, reservations for a guest ride MUST be made in advance with most hunts. Virtually all hunts are formal to a greater or lesser degree- part of this depends on where the hunt is located and where their territory or country is. If you want to join the local hunt where you live, you should call the secretary and ask about membership, hunting rules, season length, dates, times, and definitely ask about required attire. Hunting is not a sport where one can just show up in old clothes or jeans and expect to get accepted- this is a sport with rules and traditions which go back centuries in many cases. Most members of hunts usually get there because they own property in the hunt territory, or they are related to someone who does. This takes money, as you may have guessed- hunting is almost always a pasttime of the wealthy elite. Even drag hunts usually have cooperative arrangements with the farmers whose land they ride over- and it is the hunt staff who do things like see that the fences in the area are paneled for jumping and maintained. Every hunt has a formal staff, consisting of the Master of Hounds, the Huntsman ( whose main job is controlling and working with the hounds in the field) the Associate or Junior Masters, and several Whippers-in, both paid and honorary. Some hunts also have a Kennelman or Kennel master, whose job is to take care of the hounds, and every hunt also has a Secretary. Hunts exist in all 50 states, as well as in Canada, and the prey hunted varies by region and location. Not all hunts use foxhounds- there are also Beagle and Basset Hound packs which run with different hunts. On the plus side, most hunt clubs do far more than just hunt in the fall and winter. Many if not most sponsor shows and horse related events, such as pony club rallies and games, clinics, seminars, and the like. Almost all hunts also sponsor social activities throughout the year, including a Hunt Ball or formal dinner dance in late winter or early spring. Some hunts even have polo fields on their grounds, and will sponsor polo tournaments and matches for their members and for visiting teams. I used to live near the stables and kennels of one such place in Ohio, and the matches there were held throughout the year, as were the shows. Hunt Club buildings and grounds are popular places for things like weddings and wedding receptions and parties, as well as graduation parties and other social events. Hopefully, this answers your question to some extent.

When I hunted, I wasn't a member but I attended the hunts anyway and paid a fee on the day, which was a lot cheaper than membership but didn't have the same priveledges. Eg paid-up Hunt members can enter the hunter teams comps, enter inter-hunt comps, attend the hunt ball etc. Hunt membership cost $800 a year (and that was back in 1999). I wasn't invited to the hunt, nor was it a requirement to be invited to join the hunt. But this might vary from hunt to hunt.Good luckShelly