Although it was hard to draw during the race- the elbow-to-elbow spectator conditions and running from staging area to staging area kind of put a damper on the sketchbook-I found a few moments to sketch. The mounted officials watching from the sidelines made a nice subject, at least until the riders rounded the bend. The racers plunged into the water hazard and one horse came out empty-saddled while the unseated rider scrambled up the bank, dripping. She raised her hands in a victory salute as the crowd roared, and she had a camera strapped to her helmet, so check Youtube. Pencil on 8 1/2″ x 11″ Robert Bateman Sketchbook.
No foxes were hunted during today’s annual Hubertus Hunt in the great Deer Park forest at Klampenborg, just north of Copenhagen. In fact, the deer were laying low, too. But steeples were chased, if I’m getting that right, and the race was glorious. The grand horses, the elegant riders, the beautiful fall day all came together with throngs of lovely people and their dogs, too. Someone won, someone else fell off their horse into cold water and someone’s horse stalled at one jump and took courage at the next.
Pre-hunt warmup, where riders rode slowly under the trees near the starting line. It gave the crowd a chance to size up the field. Didn’t see anyone placing bets, per se, but there was some action over by the coffee wagon.
Walking from one jump to the next, headed for the event at the Hermitage, the Royal Hunting Castle on the hill ahead.
More sketches- just quick studies- a great oak tree filling rapidly with spectators climbing up for a better look. At lower right, a rider gives her horse a breather, white-gloved hand stroking withers. Pencil in 8 1/2″ x 11″ Robert Bateman Sketchbook.The view of the day; walking across fields and through forest to arrive at a destination out of time.
Drawing The Motmot 
What a marvelous time! Wish I could have been there, but this is the next-best thing.
Wonderful!