oxhunters have a saying: "There are those that hunt to ride and there are those that ride to hunt." But what about those who hunt of foot, following Beagles and Basset hounds in their pursuits of rabbit? What's their motivation?

Not surprisingly, it's much the same as most avid hound followers--the thrill of the chase. A vast majority of foot followers started out hunting on horseback, and many still do.

ntil now, Gin Fizz was only known in the hunting field. But after he and Jacqueline Stahl won the New York/New Jersey District competition, qualifying for the finals of the Centennial Field Hunter Competition, his name might be more well known.

"He's kind of been termed a legend in our hunt field," said Stahl, who hunts with the Millbrook Hunt (N.Y.).

Stahl showed "Fizz" in the competition, but the gelding is really her mother's horse. Her mother, Nancy Stahl, has been an MFH at Millbrook for 10 years, and they've had the elegant gray for 14 years.

It may have looked like Kathleen O'Keefe was all alone as she rode Gol Lee to the win in the Theodora A. Randolph Field Hunter Championships of North America, but she didn't feel it.

O'Keefe claimed not only the field hunter championship finals, held Oct. 8 at the Glenwood Park in Middleburg, Va., but also the prized "best turned-out" award in the appointments judging.

"This is an absolute thrill. I always pride myself on being well turned-out, so to be recognized for that is quite an honor," she said.

The average American is likely to have preconceived notions about a 66-year-old man living with a bunch of hound dogs deep in the backwoods of North Georgia. His penchant for firearms is not likely to surprise anyone, nor is the somewhat menacing expression that occasionally manifests itself on his face when meeting strangers. But Rod Swanson, long-time huntsman of Shakerag Hounds in Hull, Ga., is a walking conundrum.

The Hildegard Neill Ritchie "Joys of Foxhunting" writing contest is held annually by the U.S. Pony Clubs in memory of Hildegard Neill Ritchie, founder in 1958 and District Commissioner of the Colorado Springs Pony Club (Colo.) for 30 years.