‘The whole field roared, “Tally-ho!ʼ”
catherine.austen@futurenet.com
Stockholms Fältrittklubb, Stockholm, Sweden
RIDING a bicycle through central Stockholm in full hunting gear is not a typical start to a hunting correspondent’s day, but then again, a lot about the Stockholms Fältrittklubb’s “Hubertusjakt” (Hubertus Hunt) is not what anyone accustomed to hunting in the UK and Ireland would call “normal”.
Roughly translated, fältritt means “cross-country” and the Stockholms Fältrittklubb, or SFK for short, is an equestrian club based in Stockholm. It was set up on 1 November 1886 by the Swedish royal princes Carl, Oscar and Eugen. These three royals enjoyed riding and hunting in their royal parks so much that they wanted to share it with their friends and subjects, and so the SFK was born.
Saint Hubertus, the patron saint of hunting, is widely celebrated across Europe. Ten years after forming the SFK, the royal trio decided to hold their inaugural Hubertus Day meet. The royal parks in Stockholm were the obvious places to hold these
