The second Hoof It hunt boasted an excellent turn-out and some fantastic sport. With an extra 20 minutes (and an extra fox to find!) even latecomers got a chance to join in, and hopefully a great time was had by all.

Congratulations go to Fawn who found an amazing 27 foxes! Close behind in second with 25 was Nate, whilst in 3rd with a nice bag of 20 was Yariss. Well done guys - and to everyone who took part - those foxes know how to hide and it was no easy job! On to the photos :)

The meet gathers on the snowy beach

The hunting party are immaculately turned out

After a briefing us on the day's sport it's time to start and the hunt begins...

Some late arrivals join in the fun

Searching in the pine woods

Meeting over the boat jump

Searching in all directions

Just need a couple more horses and the Bum Sniffing Circle will be complete

The weather's fine in the oak woods

A moment's rest by the river

While some hunters explore the wilder regions

Some ford the rivers

And others take the bridges

Investigating the final gate

Checking out the swamp

By the clock tower

Heading into worse weather

Searching the trails

A frightening leap beneath the gathering clouds

Into the livery yard

A refusal or just taking a look?

Well, some horses are a litte spooked by water...

The narrowed eyes of a determined hunter

Riding down to the marsh camp

Taking the walkway to the edge of the world

High-stepping through the trees

Watching and waiting for the hunters to return

Bizarre insurance claim

Regrouping for the final count

Waiting for the winners to be announced

The foxes seem pretty pleased with themselves, too

Thanks to everyone who was able to take part, hope you had as much fun as I did!

Those of you who have a copy of the Centaur Saddle System v1.0 will be pleased to know that v2.0 is finally available! This is a lot less twitchy than it's predecessor and ought to run a lot more smoothly. If you've previously bought a saddle you'll be in the database, so call by the avatar shed and pick up your new model. If the system doesn't recognise you and you DO have a copy of the old saddle, give me a shout.

If you don't already own one, the v2.0 saddles will be on sale properly next week.

Join us tonight for another wild charge around Nectaris trying to catch as many foxes as you can! Cash prizes to the top three hunters and lots of fun to be had, so come to the beach at 1pm to join the action!

With 40 foxes gone to ground in Nectaris and only thirty minutes to sniff them out on hoof, the first Hoof It fox hunt promised to be a bit of a wild ride, and it didn't disappoint! My thanks go to all the horses and riders who could make it, and to Ruby who planned and organised the whole thing.

And congratulations to our winners - in first place was Landra who returned with an impressive 12 foxes in her bag! Close behind was Taint in second with 11, and in third was Mush with a very admirable 10.

Whilst the hunters hunted, I sneakily hunted them with my camera. Enjoy the pictures!

Ruby and I are up early to release the foxes and await the arrival
of our keen hunt followers

As the sun rises and takes the chill from the air,
the first horses and riders gather at the meet

And what a smartly turned-out bunch they are!

Glossy coats and shining hooves

Hunt secretary Ruby briefs the party on the day's sport<

And with a blast of the horn they're off!

Galloping past the livery yard...

....and exploring within

Some head up into the mountains

Whilst others search the more unusual hiding places

Leaping over rails

Asking Fergus whether he's seen any foxes about

Might they be lurking in the riding school...

... or snorkelling in the river?

Here's a horse who's unlikely to clip the rails!

Do foxes enjoy the arts, I wonder?

A leap of faith over the icy pool

Meeting in the woods

The mist starts to fall in the marsh

Heeeere foxy foxy foxy...

The sky darkens as the sun begins to set

Galloping through the snow as darkness falls

Wise to carry a light on a Winter evening

But where are all the foxes?

In some dangerous places!

Night falls fast on our riders and it's time to head back to base

For fox-counting, prizes and congratulations :)

hope you can join us for the next hunt!

Wrap up warm and come join us for a snowy fox hunt at Nectaris! The island will be closed 1:30pm-2pm while we release the foxes. Be here at 2pm to start at 2:10pm.

40 foxes will have hidden around the sim. How many can you find in half an hour? Catch as many as you can and bring them back to our hunt secretary Ruby and you could be a winner! L$500 goes to first place, L$300 second and L$200 third.

Flying will be restricted during the hunt so make sure your horses are fit or that you've had an extra bowl of oats for breakfast.

For February 2009 we're releasing 50 Zephyr models in a striking dun pinto with splashy markings and blue eyes. Same price as always, but only 50 will ever be sold, so be quick if you want one!

Well, it's the end of the month and the end of the market. Thanks to all our vendors, I hope you had fun and made some good sales. And if you visited to do some shopping I hope you found some good bargains!

New events can take a little time to build momentum, but I hope that as we run this as a regular occurrance, both vendors and shoppers will know what to expect and we'll see a rise in both merchandise and sales. The Spring Market will be at the end of April, so once again everyone is invited to participate. Whether you've been 'in business' for years or you've just made one or two things for yourself and want to see if they'll sell, the market will always be a chance for you to show your products for free.

I'll be ejecting vendors from the Livery group tonight - this is nothing personal! It just means you won't have to click through notices intended for the stable liveries :)

If you have any comments or suggestions about this market or the next, give me a shout.

Thanks again to all for your participation and support. See you back in April?

To cellebrate the last weekend of the Winter Creators' Market, our new events manager Ruby brought Bart the bull to the riding school so you could test your limpet-like powers against his rage. Congrats to our winners:

1st - Sammi Loire

2nd - Derf Vyper

3rd - Torry Baar

Hope you found some good bargains at the market! We'll be back again in April for the Spring market so there's some advanced warning if you'd like to take part :)

Thanks again to everyone who took part in the January average time XC competition - the results are in and a big congratulations to Lieke who took first place! In second place was Pony, and close behind in third was Prue. Well done guys, and to everyone who took part. You can see the full results here.

February's competition is another speed trial, so don't skimp on the oats! As always, rules can be found here and info about the current competition here.