Women Hunting the Fox

In the foreground, a huntsman—a professional director of hounds—commands dogs in the distance with blasts from his horn. Farther afield, a female rider balances her spear while training her gaze on the fox to her right. The declining deer population at the time had forced hunters to seek alternative game such as foxes and other “pests.” By the late 1700s fox hunting had become a faster, riskier, and very popular sport. Many women were edged out, whether from concern for their well-being or for fear they might outpace their male companions. Women hunters in some regions felt strong social pressure to ride sidesaddle or in carriages—“ladylike” indeed but not permitting the speed of riding astride. The hunter in this scene rides astride.