Husband Hunting: the new sport for women who want to get serious.

Husband hunting anyone?

Thanks, but married men aren’t my thing.

That’s what I said when my girlfriends first told me about the concept of Husband Hunting over a few glasses of pinot gris in Melbourne a few weeks ago.

My immediate reaction was to picture groups of women dressed in fox hunt vests and commando gear chasing helpless, handsome grooms around the marshy area of a lake.

WRONG.

Apparently there’s a different kind of husband hunting out there and it doesn’t involve lakes or guns or any kind of unflattering hunting attire.

Let me enlighten you further.

“It’s about marriage MATERIAL!” I’m told. It’s going out with the intention of meeting the man who has the potential to become your husband. It has nothing to do with nabbing someone else’s husband. Ick. It’s about finding your own.

If you want to, of course. Stop shouting about women not needing a husband and being perfectly equipped to live a happy solo life. That’s a given. But some women DO want to get serious, find a guy (or a girl) and settle in for the long haul.

So they’re putting their minds to it. Tired of casual sex, quick flings or aborted relationships with guys who were NEVER going to be long term prospects, some women (some women I know even) are making a concerted effort to date a particular type of person. A person with potential to be…..a husband. Or a long term partner. Or a father of their future children. Yes, yes, we’re all looking for Ryan Gosling, wait, what?

These women are not victims or wall flowers or apron wearing throwbacks to the 60s. They’re smart, driven emotionally and financially independent women in their 20s and 30s who want to share their lives with someone.

There are rules for Husband Hunting too – It’s more specific than just ‘dating’. I learned these when a different friend in Brisbane told me she was going to ‘TFH’ this weekend. (TFH = Trawl for Husband. Different name, same concept.)

No hunting at regular weekend haunts, no sex until at least the 5th date, your eyes are your weapon and definitely no hunting in a nightclub at 3am.

Tall, dark, handsome, smart and successful are preferred traits but anyone who can hold a conversation without focusing solely on your boobs is doing okay. Employment is preferred. Law firm’s a bonus. There are gold stars on offer for belts that match shoes. Ability to navigate a kitchen is welcomed, but ample knowledge of take-away menus also ranks highly.

Prime locations for the husband hunt include the members’ area of a cricket or football match (where collared shirts are ensured by dress code requirements) and Friday night drinks venues well populated with suits. Try ski lodges and ski lifts are great if holiday hunting’s your thing.

As the the Sydney Morning Herald recently suggested, Husband Hunting is also offered at the Saturday afternoon polo.

THERE’S a tradition at the polo called stomping of the divots.

Between chukkas – and glasses of champagne – the spectators take to the field and literally stomp back in the divots of turf displaced by the hooves of the polo ponies.

More importantly for some, rumour has it that for young women followers of the sport, it is also a good way to meet a future husband.

The secretary of the Australian Polo Council, Amanda Jansen, said: ”You get out there on the ground, and get to meet everyone – it’s a prime husband hunting opportunity.”

Anya Collingwood, 31, from Bondi, watching an earlier under-21 match said: ”I was hoping to find one of the players but they all seem to be about 16 in this match – but I haven’t met them all yet.”

Go forth. You know, if you want to.

And here’s some inspiration.

If you’re married or have a long-term partner, where did you meet?