A few weeks ago, we shared a thrilling helmet-cam video that Helen Newbold of England had posted on her Facebook page.
It got a huge response, with comments such as “I wish I had the courage to do that! That scared the pants off a rider as nervous as me, but what a fantastic bit of film, a great relationship and wonderful riding. Thank you for sharing this!” and “Thank you for a great day out hunting! I felt every jump! Can I have this wonderful horse?”
The reaction was just what Newbold was looking for—she freely shares her days out with The Farmers Bloodhounds of Northamptonshire, England, as a way to share her love of the sport with riders around the world.
“It’s so nice that other people get to enjoy watching the videos. Not everybody is able to go and do what we do; we’re very lucky to have the horsepower and the land and the jumps and the enthusiasm of everybody that makes things happen,” Newbold said. “It’s making the most of what we’ve got and it’s just nice to be able to share it with everyone.”
Want to go hunting with Helen? Check it out…
Farmers Bloodhounds – Weston – 06.12.15 Jason Newbold Anna Hall Elaine Colton Paul Buddin Jamie Temple Charlie Boardman
Posted by Helen Newbold on Sunday, December 6, 2015
ADVERTISEMENT
Newbold hunts with The Farmers Bloodhounds, where her husband, Jason, is a Master. The Bloodhounds—in keeping with restrictions on foxhunting in England—don’t hunt a live fox. The hounds follow a “clean boot” scent trail of a running human and the field of riders follows across the fields and over hedges and fences.
“We go hunting, and come back and tell people, ‘Oh, we jumped this and it was huge and this happened.’ Everyone you tell, it’s hard to describe what we’ve done,” Helen said, explaining why she started filming the days out with a helmet-cam. “I’ve been doing the helmet camera for a couple of years now, but it was just to record what we’d done on the day. It’s gone on from there.”
“It’s amazing. We did a video last year that went a little bit bonkers, it got like 3 million views. It’s brilliant for the Bloodhounds and it’s brilliant for us. It’s nice to read all the comments. There are some people who get worried and think we’re following foxhounds and killing a fox, but I explain that we’re a bloodhound pack and just chasing a line. It’s nice to talk to different people from all over the world,” she said.
Watch another of Helen’s helmet-cam videos…
Farmers Bloodhounds at Poundon…one hell of a day! First video with two cameras, hope you like it!
Posted by Helen Newbold on Monday, December 14, 2015
Helen and Jason run a training yard in Milton Keynes, England. They hunt during the winter months and show in the summer as well as breaking and training Thoroughbreds for the track. “We’ve always been into horses and have been doing this as a business for about seven years now,” Helen said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The eager gray featured in some of Helen’s videos is Finn, an 8-year-old. “He’s so much fun; he’s like a little bouncy ball, all ready to go,” Helen said. “He’ll jump off any stride, he’s totally game. He doesn’t have his breeding recorded, but I’m guessing he’s a Thoroughbred cross with something Irish.
“He’s done a bit of show jumping and eventing, but I got him because he was a little bit quirky. He didn’t really want to play games and a friend thought he might suit us, so they sent me a few pictures and I pretty much bought him right then. He’s brilliant,” she continued.
Helen also is a devoted ex-racehorse fan, as she has done quite well with off-the-track Thoroughbreds in the Racehorse to Riding Horse division at the prestigious Horse of the Year show. “We won Horse of the Year show in 2013 with Deep Reflection and we were second this year with his half-brother, Tycoon’s Reflection. We do lots with Thoroughbreds; we break yearlings in, we get horses in pre-training, and we re-train them when they’re done racing and send them off to different jobs,” she said. “I’ve got three ex-racehorses I show. Calgary Bay was quite a famous steeplechaser and was 14th in the Grand National and we’ve got him to do some showing with. I love the ex-racehorses.”
Helen’s also thrilled that her helmet-cam videos have helped her connect with horsemen around the world a bit. “It’s just nice for people who aren’t able to do it, that they can have a bit of a go while they’re sitting at their desk or in their chair. So as long as people keep enjoying them, we’ll keep doing them!” she said.
Farmers Bloodhounds 29.11.15 – Evenlode
Thrills and spills at Evenlode…
Posted by Helen Newbold on Monday, November 30, 2015