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membership details
Explore Memberships, Attire, & Etiquette.
Membership
Hunting is by invitation of the Masters. Mells offers both Riding and Social Memberships.
Social Membership
A Mells Social Membership keeps you connected to friends, horses, hounds, social life, and nature! Mells Social Members enjoy an array of club activities: following the hunt in vehicles - “car hunting”, attending after-hunt teas, the annual Hunt Ball, walking the hounds with our Huntsman, Talley-Ho wagon rides, and much more!
THE FLIGHTS
First Flight
Second Flight
Second Flight
First Flight keeps up with the Huntsman and involves significant galloping and jumping.
Second Flight
Second Flight
Second Flight
Second Flight riders are expected to gallop comfortably but utilize gates rather than jumps.
Third Flight
Third Flight goes at a slower pace with some galloping, cantering, and trotting.
Fourth Flight
Fourth flight keeps to a walk and trot pace, endeavoring to find vantage points for observing the hunt. This is a good place to start!
Attire
Ratcatcher
- During Fall Hunting Tuesdays and Thursdays. Formal otherwise.
- Helmets must be worn in either brown or black velvet. Unless your hair is very short, a hairnet must be worn.
- Your shirt should be a subdued color with a conservative coordinating necktie or stock-tie secured with a stock-pin.
- Vests may be canary or tattersal.
- A hunting coat in linen or wool tweed in muted colors, tailored and appropriately vented, must be worn unless waived during warm weather.
- Breeches may be any earth tone color, such as tan, canary, rust, gray, or brown.
- Boots must be clean and polished in black or brown.
- Formal dress boots or field boots are permitted.
- Spurs are optional but must be heavy and blunt.
- Gloves may be tan, brown or black leather, white wool or cotton string.
- A hunt whip is optional for those with colors or staff.
- Wire cutters in a leather holder or a sandwich or flask case are optional.
Formal
- Formal attire is required every Saturday after Blessing of the Hounds. Formal attire is similar to Ratcatcher with the following exceptions:
- Helmets must be black velvet.
- Boots should be black formal dress boots.
- Hunt coats must be black with 3 buttons for the field.
- Ladies may also wear navy.
- Men with colors and masters may wear scarlet with russet tops on their boots.
- Women with colors may wear coats with colors and boots with black patent tops.
- Breeches must be canary or tan except for those in scarlet must wear white breeches.
ETIQUETTE
Observing proper hunting etiquette helps ensure good hunting and the safety of riders, horses, and hounds!
- Arrive with time enough to be mounted by move-off time.
- If you are a visitor, check in with the honorary secretary prior to mounting, and greet the Masters.
- Stay well clear of hounds, and stay a safe distance from the horse in front of you. Stay behind your field master.
- If you are new to hunting, your horse is green, or you are a child, stay to the rear of your flight.
- If your horse kicks, or might kick, or if you don't know whether it will kick, put a red ribbon in its tail and avoid riding close to those who might be harmed.
- Give right of way to hounds and whippers in.
- Never leave your flight without asking permission from your field master.
- Do not speak to hunting hounds. Stay quiet while hounds are hunting.
- Leave gates the way they were found. If open, leave open. If closed, leave closed.
- Do not ride through crops or fresh plough. Ride quietly through cows, especially those with calves.
- Do not smoke in the hunt field.
- After the hunt, thank the huntsman, the masters, and staff.