The Smithtown Hunt

The Smithtown Hunt was organized in 1900 and recognized by the Masters of Foxhounds Association in 1906. The Smithtown Hunt is now the only hunt surviving on Long Island. For many years, we hunted both live and drag, but in recent years have become exclusively a drag hunt. This means that a scent is laid on the ground, and it is that scent of the fox that the hounds follow.  The Smithtown Hunt maintains and breeds a pack of foxhounds that are registered with the Masters of Foxhounds Association. The hunt staff assists in the care, feeding and exercising of the pack which is supervised by the huntsman who is under the Master’s direction.  The Smithtown Hunt is now a section 501(c) (3) non-profit charitable organization, whose mission is Conservation, Preservation, and Education.  The following pages are your guidelines when fox hunting with the Smithtown Hunt. They will prepare you for a safe and knowledgeable day of fox hunting. You will learn the traditions, the thrill of watching the hounds work and make new friends. TALLY HO!

The Corporation is organized exclusively for charitable purposes that are beneficial to the public interest of preserving and conserving land, wildlife, and their habitats, and protecting the same from development; preserving access to existing natural territory; opening and conserving other natural territory for public use; educating the public to the rich tradition and history associated with riding to hounds on Long Island.  The mission of the Corporation is the following:  

To acquire, manage and to restore the land to its natural, undeveloped state and to promote access to natural habitats for the public consistent with safeguarding the same to protect wildlife and its habitats for future generations to cherish and to enjoy;
To work in conjunction with various public service groups as well as government agencies to clean public lands by removing pollution, debris, and rubbish from these lands and restoring the same to its natural state;
To open, clear and map trails for equestrian activities and provide access to these lands for use by the public for their enjoyment consistent with wildlife and habitat conservation and preservation;

To acquire land for creating and preserving new habitats for wildlife on Long Island for the public to enjoy;
To contribute funds to and work in conjunction with local educational institutions, nature conservancies, and environmental groups to enable them to carry on research to study and preserve wildlife and their habitats on Long Island;

To promote and encourage drag/scent hunts, as opposed to live hunts, as a charitable fundraising equestrian event;
To study, encourage, promote and engage in the breeding, raising and training of horses, hounds and other animals necessary to promote, preserve and continue the tradition and history of riding to hounds;
To make distributions to other charitable organizations that qualify as exempt organizations under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, or the corresponding section of any future federal tax code;
To raise funds through the solicitation of grants and contributions from the general public and membership and through charitable equestrian events for the realization of said Corporate purposes.