Fox Hunting

By Melody Perry

Montana is known for its cowboys, Quarter horses, and workmanlike western riding. Although the English side of horseback riding is not as well known, it’s still there as evidenced by the yearly Flying Colors, and Jump Into the Seasons events. However, one out-of-state sport has hit Montana that combines both English and western.

Big Sky Hounds (BSH) brings fox hunting to Montana, calling it, “Fox Hunting Montana style.” Renee Daniels-Mantle, owner of Montana Horses (The parent company/business etc of BSH) and one of the master’s of the hunt calls it “Fox Hunting Montana style” because it’s different than any other fox hunting group in the world. Riders use English or Western tack (Such as saddles, bridle, and breast collar as opposed to martingales and half-pads), and the horses aren’t all warmbloods and thoroughbreds. Daniels-Mantle prefers Appendix horses- a cross between a thoroughbred and a quarter- for their agile nature and strong hind end, which is important when riding up mountains and across ranches like they do here, unlike other fox hunting groups who ride on flat courses. The MT group rides any breed, including a few imported warmbloods and draft crosses.

Daniels-Mantle says that fox hunting came to Montana after her friend Lynn Lloyd of Red Rock Hounds in Reno, Nevada kept bringing her hounds up to Montana to hunt in new country. They would stay at the Sacajawea Hotel in Three Forks, and Daniels-Mantle and her husband would lease horses to people from all over the world-such as England and Ireland- for the hunt. Lloyd suggested to Daniels-Mantle at one of these trips that she start a fox-hunting group there in Three Forks, so beginning with two hounds, BSH was created about twenty years ago.

Today, BSH goes hunting every Sunday and Wednesday, September through April. Sunday is a more formal hunt, with riders meeting on the property at 9 unless the hunt is off property. Hounds and horses are collected and prepared. 20 of their 50 hounds are run on the day of a hunt. The Master, more on what that is later, blows their horn and the group trots off.

Hounds will chase coyotes- not foxes, that’s another reason it’s called Montana Style- for hours, sometimes two, sometimes up to five or six. Daniels-Mantles says, though they “do not typically kill the coyote, we hunt at the sole permission and benevolence of our landowners and we respect the landowners’ wishes in every way.” The last time coyotes were killed was six years ago. Instead the hunt usually, “ends with the coyote on a hill five miles away, laughing at us,” says Daniels-Mantle. They cannot hunt deer, elk, antelope, or cow.

After the hunt, riders head back home for a hunt breakfast to “eat, drink, and be merry.” They talk about the day and anything that may have happened throughout it. Wednesday hunts function similarly, instead meeting at 9:30 and including a tailgate lunch.

Daniels-Mantle urges everyone to try fox hunting because “it’s fun. It’s a rip-roaring fun time,” she laughs. “You can ride your horses year-round and accomplish things you normally don’t with your horse.” Riders can enjoy the gorgeous landscape and watch the hounds do their job. She praises her “tribe” of riders as being very welcoming and inviting to beginners and kids. “There’s a freedom out there you can’t get anywhere else.”

If fox hunting sounds like something you’re interested in, just call them up and ask how to get started! BSH is an open hunt, so you don’t need to be invited like other hunts outside of Montana. You can reach Renee at 406-579-4060 or email her at info@montanahorses.com. Their website is Hounds@Montanahorses.com.