Two-year-old Rose Cassipi may only be small, but she is already riding tall in the saddle.
The youngster, astride her trusty pony Lily, accompanied her mum Tracey Paskins and scores of others who gathered for the Atherstone Hunt Boxing Day Meet in the centre of Market Bosworth.
Tracey, a riding instructor, said: "Rose loved all the excitement of the meet, seeing all the riders, horses and hounds.
"She has known horses all her life and can ride Lily unsupported, but I hold her jacket just to be on the safe side."
The Boxing Day meet is a long-established part of the Leicestershire calendar.
The county has six hunts – the Atherstone, Belvoir, Cottesmore, Fernie, Pytchley and Quorn.
Thousands of people attended the Quorn Hunt meet at Prestwold Hall, near Loughborough, yesterday.
Sophie Hanbury, whose dad Joss is a well-known figure in equestrian circles, said: "This year there were about 6,000 people at the meet, with 80 on horseback.
"It was very impressive but conditions were a bit slippery and muddy."
This year marked 10 since the Hunting Act was drafted.
The Act, which became law on February 18, 2005, bans the use of dogs to hunt wild mammals, principally foxes, deer, hares and mink, in England and Wales.
However, it does not affect drag-hunting where hounds follow a deliberately-laid scent trail.
Chris Allen, one of more than 100 people who attended the Fernie Hunt, which set out from Great Bowden, said: "If anything, hunting has become more popular since the act than it was before.
"By following a trail a hunt can take into consideration a lot of elements, such as the ground conditions or the amount of experience the riders have."
He said there had been about 20 to 30 anti-hunt protesters present at the meet.
A recent poll by Ipsos Mori, found 80 per cent of the public think fox hunting should not be made legal again.
Joe Duckworth, chief executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, said: "The Hunting Act is the most successful piece of wild animal welfare legislation and as this poll shows the ban on hunting with dogs is as popular as ever in both rural and urban areas."
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