Before I continue, I am totally anti -hunting . Children are brought to the Meet on lead reins, often with their parents mounted on a horse but I would presume (hope) this little girl had someone on foot leading her. They often just stay on their ponies until the Hunt sets off, unless they are competent little riders, but even then, they are not allowed to hunt on their own without parental or adult supervisio until they are 16 years old.
The Hunt these days is much faster than in years gone by as the scent trail is pre-laid and there is a lot of galloping and they know where they are going.
Ok that's the facts - I think its bloody ridiculous letting children anywhere near a Hunt and its mainly, if not always, done by leading members on the Hunt to basically' show off' the next generation.
Many Moons ago it was a great honour to be 'blooded' as a child -that is the Huntsman smearing the child's face with fresh blood from the dead fox. The whole lot are total morons.