Were you out with the Avon Vale? [PICTURES]
Were you out recently with either the Avon Vale, United or the Scarteen packs, when the H&H hunting correspondents paid a visit? If so, why not take a look at the gallery below to see if you were spotted by our photographers.
The Avon Vale
With their kennels in the glorious surroundings of Spye Park near Lacock in Wiltshire, the Avon Vale hunt on Tuesday and Saturdays.
The country is approximately 30 miles by 25 miles in extent, bordered by the Duke of Beaufort’s, the Mendip Farmers’, the Tedworth, Royal Artillery and the South and West Wilts packs.
Photos by Sarah Farnsworth
Followers enjoy bright sunshine
Matthew Radbourne flies into action
Clare Hawings Byas looks to be enjoying her day
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Jan Reeves pops a log
Hannah Freeman’s mount at full-stretch
Getting ready for the off
The United
The United pack, which hunts on Tuesdays and Saturdays, is descended from a trencher-fed pack which dates back to 1839, although its origins in the Beddoes Pack can be traced back to the 1790s.
With its country in south west Shropshire on the Welsh borders, there are around 300 square miles of sparsely populated upland country at its very centre, containing numerous wooded dingles and heather-topped hills.
Photos by Peter Nixon
Richard Beaman
Teresa Foutter
The field heads through a gate in the mist
Amateur whipper-in Bill Adams
Fiona Edwards and Teresa Foutter
Master and huntsman Richard Cambray
Master and field master for the day Jonathan Lee
The Scarteen
The Scarteen country lies in the counties of Tipperary and Limerick in Ireland and covers 23 miles east to west and 28 miles north to south.
Often referred to as the “Black and tans” due to the colouring of their hounds, the Scarteen masters and hunt staff wear a distinctive tan collar on their hunt coats.
There are records of hounds having been at Scarteen, the home of Chris Ryan MFH, for over 300 years and Chris is the eighth generation of the Ryan family to have hunted this famous family pack.
Photos by Catherine Power
Huntsman Mark Ollard gets a good push off the top of a bank
Eventer Rod O’Donnell
Jay Reardon pings a wall
Melanie and four-year-old Jonty Purcell at the hunt breakfast
The famous “black and tans”
Don’t miss our full reports from all three packs in the 25 December issue of Horse & Hound magazine
To see the full range of pictures taken by our photographers, visit www.horseandhound.co.uk/galleries
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Polly joined the Horse & Hound team in summer 2013. A former senior master of the Bicester with Whaddon Chase, her hunting knowledge and contacts are second to none. She left Horse & Hound at the end of 2016 to join The Hunting Office.