From one of hunting’s most popular hunt countries in Leicestershire to a small pack in Wales that hunts more often on foot than they do on a horse, the H&H hunting correspondents continue to visit hunts around the country to find out exactly what fun can be had. We find out who the characters are and how the hunt operates from week to week.
Were you out with either the Cottesmore or the Towy & Cothi recently when our reporter and photographer came to visit? If so, why not take a look at some of the pictures below to see if you can see yourself or anyone you know.
Cottesmore
The Cottesmore country, still as popular as ever with the hunting fraterity, lies in Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire, stretching 18 miles north to south and 22 miles east to west. In the heart of hunting country, the Quorn, Belvoir and Fernie are some of the neighbouring packs.
The first records of hounds hunting foxes in the Cottesmore (pronounced Cotsmore) country, dates back to 1666 and they continued to hunt legally until the Hunting Act 2004 was passed. Complying with the law, the hunt now uses a combination of laying trails and flushing to a bird of prey for the bird itself then to hunt.
Pictures taken by Peter Nixon
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A member of the Household Division enjoys a day out with the Cottesmore
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Louise Sophia
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Monica Tebbutt-Wheat
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Harriet Walker
Margo Benoit (Daughter of vet from Newmarket) at the Cottesmore Hunt meet at Owston, near Oakham in Rutland, UK on 18 November 2014
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Margo Benoit
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Nick Wright and Roger Weatherby
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Roger Weatherby
Towy & Cothi
The Towy & Cothi, based in north Carmarthenshire in Wales, is named after the two rivers that offer its boundaries. Founded in 1914, this is predominantly a gun pack, hunting on foot two days a week but with a mounted field on Saturdays. Although not experiencing the large fields seen in the Shire packs, this pack has a very loyal following on foot, on horseback and even on quads.
Pictures taken by Peter Nixon
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The Towy & Cothi followers enjoys impressive views
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Huntsman John Hughes
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The field heads through dramatic country
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Stamina is needed to cope with the hilly Carmarthenshire country
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Holly Harris
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Lidia Morgan
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Rosemary Cookson and Amy Powell
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Crowds gather outside the Neuedd Arms
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Angharad Jones on Mr Panache and Samantha Jones and Ffion Jones at the Neuedd Arms
Don’t miss our full reports on both packs in the 4 December issue of Horse & Hound magazine
If you were out with either the West Percy Hunt for their opening meet on Saturday 1 November, or the
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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.
