Michael Scott retired from hunt service after 26 seasons with the Old Berks on 1 May. Marcus Armytage – a former Old Berks MFH – talks to him about a life in hunting

IT may not quite have panned out as anyone would have wanted for a swansong with a few intermittent days between lockdowns but, after 26 years with the Old Berks, its understated, highly respected and popular huntsman Michael Scott hung up his horn on 1 May.

James Andrews, master of the South and West Wilts, once reflected when he returned to judge at an Old Berks puppy show that the best thing he ever did as master of that hunt was to bring Michael, now 57, to Faringdon as his kennel-huntsman in 1995.

The son of a watchmaker in the Scottish Borders, Michael’s first brush with hunting was when he, aged 13, saw the Berwickshire hounds meeting in the square at Coldstream. He followed them on his bike and he was hooked.

“A former neighbour followed the hounds every Saturday in his car and his wife came to the shop the next week asking if I’d like to go hunting again on Saturday,” he recalls. “It was foxes that first interested me. I wanted to see a fox and then everything else that surrounds it. That led me on to looking up where the local packs were meeting in the local paper. I used to get the bus 12 miles to school and I worked out that if I could miss the bus I could use that day to go hunting.

“In the October holidays when all my school mates went picking tatties, I went cubbing six mornings a week – that’s how fanatical I became about it. I even cut out photographs of huntsmen and stuck them on my bedroom wall. Is that sad?

“One abiding memory was the North Northumberland killing a fox mid-stream in the Tweed as it tried to swim from England to Scotland. I saw the huntsmen of these packs as my mentors and the more I went, the more I wanted a career in it.”

He got little help from his school careers adviser when he said he was interested in hunt service, so he wrote to local masters.

Christopher Spalding invited him to spend a week in the kennels with Michael King at the Lauderdale, and he was away. Michael put him in touch with the Fitzwilliam’s stud groom Bill Taylor, where he spent two years as second horseman; a job which filled in another gap on his CV – learning to ride.

He then did stints with the Taunton Vale and the Quorn.

“It’s a lot harder for young hunt staff these days,” he says. “I grew up in the 1980s whipping-in to the Quorn. It was such a good education. I did all the stopping on Tuesdays and Fridays. I was so happy, Michael Farrin had to persuade me to move on.”

When James Andrews moved on to the South Pembrokeshire, Michael assumed the Old Berks would replace him with another amateur: “I never expected to get the huntsman’s job but the chairman, Lord Astor, knocked on my door one day and said could I be the huntsman of the Old Berks Hunt?”

You bet he could.

A match made in heaven

THE Old Berks might not be the hunting country it once was, but where is? Like all packs, its territory has been compromised by development, particularly Swindon’s move eastward, the urbanisation of the old Vale villages, increased traffic and, ironically, the growth of sister field sport, shooting.

The Great Western Railway which carves through the middle – well, that is nothing new; it has been a hazard for Old Berks since 1840.

Michael and the Old Berks country was a match made in heaven, though. His unflashy style suited the country.

“The best days were when all the stars aligned, you moved off from the meet and the hounds hunted continually until dark,” he reflects. “You didn’t have to hunt them on those days. Occasionally the scent could be too good and they’d fly, which could be a bit of a nightmare in tight country and with the railway. But we used to take the hounds down to Dartmoor most springs and it was great to see how they adapted to open country.

“Would I do it all again? Not starting from now, I wouldn’t. Hunting faces so many challenges. There are far more boundaries to work within.

“Shooting has affected it in a huge way but without their co-operation we wouldn’t be able to manage, so we have to be grateful they accommodate us. There’s still a lot of goodwill out there in the population – if we were on hound exercise, most motorists would stop and take a photo.

“But there’s still a lot of great hunting to be had with the Old Berks. They are still hardly ever on a road except to cross it.”

Michael Scott’s affinity for hounds

OCCASIONALLY other hunts tried to poach Michael, but he was loyal and never gave offers a second thought.

“I was very content,” he explains. “The masters trusted me to run the kennels in the fashion I wanted. It was a good set-up and a well-organised mastership. I loved hunting the country and the people.

“Some asked me whether it was all a bit predictable, hunting the same country after 26 years, but you still never knew what would happen from one day to the next.

“People ask, ‘Will you miss the riding?’ I won’t miss that, but I’ll miss the hounds and hunting them most. I don’t think you can teach someone to be a houndman – you have to be born with an affinity for them.

“I once took 32 couple out autumn hunting without a whipper-in. I did get a strange look from [former master] Mrs L-P [Jessica Leigh-Pemberton] when she asked how many hounds we had out.

“Bringing hounds into the world at birth – not always straightforward – and watching them grow and develop, making sure they have a good life, entering to hunting, witnessing the achievements it makes during its lifetime, that’s something very special.”

Michael, who runs 10km races for the White Horse Harriers, met his partner, Sandra, while singing for the Cotswold Male Voice Choir, making him one of the few huntsmen to have a CD in the shops, although Ed Sheeran is not looking over his shoulder quite yet.

His son Archie is training to be an aircraft engineer in the RAF while his daughter Katie is a semi-professional cyclist with Cams-Basso, one hurdle and a bit of luck away from a professional career in road cycling.

Like a lot of huntsmen who have spent their working lives keeping kennels immaculate and colourful, Scott is as talented with plants as he was with hounds. He is already working as a gardener and about to take a Royal Horticultural Society gardeners course at Bampton.

“You only live once,” he explains, “and I wanted to give something else a shot while I was still fit and able.”

.

This exclusive feature is also available to read in Horse & Hound, on sale Thursday 8 July

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Why are some hunting coats red, some yellow, some blue? Andrew Sallis MFH explains the history of hunt liveries

WHEN at a masters’ meeting some years ago, the topic of the kennel-huntsman’s frequent “visits” to see a married lady subscriber was misguidedly attributed to “scarlet fever”. My joint-master, deep into his seventies and south of a barrel of liqueur, retorted forlornly that despite trying, he had failed to have that “feverish” effect, but hadn’t given up hope.

Whether it is at school, on the parade ground, football pitch or hunting field, uniforms are worn with pride. School uniforms are considered a great leveller among peers. Hunt liveries try to raise the bar universally out of respect for the office or privilege held, the farmers and the landowners.

The histories behind individual hunt liveries tell an important narrative of British country life stretching back centuries, taking in some of the great families and events en route.

The red coat synonymous with foxhunting has its roots in the military, although its exact provenance has been lost. However, correct terminology has always been important. As a student master of beagles, I was firmly reminded by an elder that, “Hounds divide and bananas split, huntsmen wear coats and potatoes have jackets.”

Huntsmen in pink jackets are the stuff of Disney. A coat is red, occasionally scarlet but never pink, an erroneous reference to a London tailor.

SEEING RED

IT is easy to think of hunting attire as stuck in time, but the reality is quite different. Strange as it may seem to some outsiders, pomposity and pretension are rarely factors, but few topics are less globally important and yet capable of raising both blood pressure and eyebrows than hunting attire, particularly if it is deemed incorrect.

If not a hunt official, to wear a red coat with some packs is deemed crass, whereas other hunts delight in a sea of red dashing across the country.

Gentlemen are traditionally granted the right to wear a red coat once awarded the hunt button, although discretion and humility along with a particular hunt’s conventions may dictate when or even if the sartorial leap is made. Better to wear the hunt button on a well-fitting black coat than fall at the first in your gleaming new red coat.

The correct number of buttons is also important – three for subscribers and members, four for masters and five (or occasionally six) for hunt staff and masters hunting hounds.

Distinctive liveries for ladies became more established after World War II, with collars on black or navy coats, although lady masters generally avoid wearing red coats.

Ulrica Murray Smith, master of the Quorn from 1959 to 1985, disliked women wearing red coats as, “they end up either looking like the ‘Tallyho Band’ or wizened, little men; neither alternative being particularly desirable in the hunting field.”

Times change and the 21st century has heralded more female hunt staff who tend to wear red.

The most spectacular of liveries was worn by the hunt servants of the Charlton Hunt Club, the oldest documented pack of hounds solely used to hunt the fox, more than 300 years ago and immortalised in oils by Gainsborough.

In their bright yellow coats with red cuffs and collars, the servants’ livery of the Duke of Richmond and Lennox, they led the mounted field dressed in “Charlton” blue coats across the South Downs, from the ducal estate at Goodwood. West Sussex, not Melton Mowbray, was hunting’s mecca and the subscribers’ list read like the upper echelons of Burke’s Peerage.

The Goodwood estate still maintains its support of its local hunt and the Charlton blue neatly ties in with the Leconfield blue sported by the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray Hunt.

As is foxhunting convention, red coats had been worn for generations, but the blue of the Leconfield family servants’ livery was adopted during the latter part of Richard Barlow’s distinguished mastership from 1936 to 1990.

The neighbouring Hampshire Hunt, known more commonly as the “HH” and one of England’s oldest hunts, was founded in 1745. The original members wore blue coats with large silver buttons engraved with “HH”.

Towards the end of the 18th century, the hunt’s fortunes were mixed with staghounds and latterly foxhounds of the Prince of Wales, later George IV, who granted members of the HH permission to wear the Prince of Wales’ feathers, embossed into the hunt button. This permission has been sought and granted by every succeeding Prince of Wales.

Navy coats gave way to red over time, but modern considerations prompted the hunt to adopt its original livery once again in 2005.

Joint-master Rupert Harvie explains, “The hunt staff weren’t too keen to ditch their red coats for the new blue uniform, but we did get a lot less roadside abuse. It’s irrational, but sadly true.”

When the political climate permitted the current Prince of Wales to hunt, he wore the smart Windsor livery of navy coat with red collar and cuffs.

Hounds have been kept by the Berkeley family since the 12th century. For centuries, their hunting empire stretched from Charing Cross to Berkeley Castle, encompassing five, sometimes six kennels. The masters and hunt staff wear the yellow coats with green collars of the family’s servants’ outdoor livery, adorned with a running fox on the lapel.

The country around Cheltenham was eventually ceded in the mid-19th century to form the Cotswold and North Cotswold, whose respective green and primrose collars on red coats indicate their Berkeley lineage.

KALEIDOSCOPIC

DECIDING on livery after an amalgamation can be an excuse for a decent hunt row if not handled sensitively. Thankfully, most amalgamations err away from sending their hunt staff out hunting looking like Joseph in his technicolour dreamcoat.

The Kimblewick, a successful amalgamation of five original hunts, chose the distinctive livery of its ancestor the Vale of Aylesbury, itself a successor to the Old Berkeley Hunt, formally founded in the 1860s.

The jury is out on its name – yellow, tawny or mustard. Their colour is slightly darker than the Berkeley yellow, apocryphally attributed to the older, used coats left to the hunt by its forebears in Gloucestershire.

Two famous packs of hounds whose hunt coats are similar yet unconnected only adopted their unusual shade of red, a Padua red in the case of the Pytchley and subtly different plum colour for the South and West Wilts, in the first part of the 20th century, several centuries after they were individually formed.

Daniel Cherriman, who hunted the Pytchley for 10 years, explains: “Lord Annaly, famed for his mastership during Frank Freeman’s tenure as huntsman, re-introduced Padua red coats, last used in the 18th century from a bolt of cloth from Lowther Castle, whose family had a long association with the Pytchley. The white collars had always been part of the livery, designed to protect coats from a powdered wig.”

The South and West Wilts, probably the oldest pack of foxhounds still in existence, took its shade of red from the outdoor servants livery of Lord Arundell of Wardour Castle who founded the hunt in 1690. During his revolutionary mastership from 1925 to 1934, Ikey Bell asked Lord Talbot, the closest descendent to the Arundells, for his consent to adopt the family livery.

The famous green Beaufort comes from the family outdoor servants’ livery which was then adopted by their offspring, the Heythrop, in 1835. Uniquely in hunting, ladies and gentlemen who are awarded the Beaufort hunt button are entitled to wear the striking “blue and buff,” while farmers proudly wear the hunt button on their black coat.

TRADITION AND HERITAGE

A GREAT breeder of racehorses, hounds and highland cattle, Michael Poland, former master of the Hursley and the Isle of Wight, has always sought to be ahead of the curve. In a significant polemic written three decades ago, he advocated the ditching of red coats in favour of more modest attire, in the interest of public relations.

Interestingly, most of his pioneering ideas have come to pass in the fullness of time; for him, perception was key.

Demands of post-ban trail-hunting saw many hunts alter their traditional liveries. The ground shook with all those long-gone masters and huntsmen turning in their graves, but genuine fears abounded as hunts entered their Brave New World.

At first, the hunt staff, masters and mounted field at the Bicester with Whaddon Chase wore “mufti” country coats before settling on coats made from melange green cavalry twill.

The Wynnstay have worn a specially commissioned tweed since the early post-ban days. Lord Daresbury, joint-master since 1991 and former chairman of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), felt that red coats had “an elitist connotation that inflamed the anti-hunt lobby”.

Whether it was the implied links to the military or a perceived hierarchy, even ridiculous claims about being “blood red”, many masters believed the opposition literally “saw red” at the sight of hunt uniforms.

Opinions and experiences differ, and while the MFHA certainly has authority in certain remits over member hunts and masters, each hunt is autonomous. Certain important matters, governed by rules and principles, unite all hunts, but there is not a “one cap fits all” diktat on many subjects. What works for a large Shires establishment may not for a farmers’ pack in the Welsh mountains: such is the eclectic glory of hunting.

For each anti who sees red, another supporter smiles. Tradition and heritage aren’t sufficient by themselves, but the sight of hounds and red coats in our glorious landscape still gladdens many hearts, making them skip a beat, not necessarily for a “fever” but the thrill of the chase.

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Hunt staff work hard for little financial reward, but the Hunt Staff Benefit Society and the Hunt Servants’ Fund are there to help, Rebecca Jordan explains

AS you get older, one of the delights at Christmas is receiving a card which makes you pause to appreciate and engage in both the scene depicted and the festive season.

Last year, the Hunt Staff Benefit Society (HSBS) ticked all the boxes with prints from artists Daniel Crane and Cecil Aldin. Sales resulted in a profit just short of £4,000 – a much-needed boost to the coffers which suffered, en masse, due to Covid.

The Hunt Servants’ Benefit Society was set up in 1872 by, among others, Lady Theodora Guest, wife of Merthyr Guest, master of the Blackmore Vale (1884–1900). Three of its staunchest supporters, Lord Portsmouth, the Hon F Scott and Mr Anstruther Thomson, drew up a code of rules which still apply.

All masters were expected to attend the annual general meeting, held for many years in the subscription room at Tattersalls the day after the Derby.

In 2004 political correctness seeped in and, despite strong opposition from many employed in hunt service, the society replaced “Servant” with “Staff” in its nomenclature.

So, for just shy of 150 years, the HSBS has provided hunt staff – whether they work in kennels, stables or as a countryman – with a regulated pension scheme overseen by a financial committee, which today consists of some of the leading lights in the City and is currently managed by Cazenove Capital.

The Prince of Wales is its patron and governor. He hosts an annual meeting at Highgrove and is renowned for his close attention to detail in all aspects of the society and its beneficiaries.

This pension is specifically tailored to the needs of hunt staff who can choose to opt out of their employer’s workplace pension scheme to join the HSBS, or pay contributions to both.

Today 654 hunt staff take advantage of this scheme. In 2019, 15 new members signed up and 98 members are receiving their pension through the HSBS, which had funds of just over £20m at the end of 2019.

The HSBS (a friendly society) provides good pensions for staff in their retirement because fundraising, donations, hunt donations, legacies and honorary membership subscriptions cover all costs; no fees are deducted from individual pensions.

“The success of our fundraising will become increasingly important over the coming years,” says Alastair Jackson, the HSBS’ fundraising director. “We have to jump through all the same hoops as other pension schemes; this is getting more expensive. But we are determined to protect our membership and continue to offer them the best possible pension.”

BEST INTERESTS

THE Hunt Servants’ Fund (HSF), which is a charity, is run separately to the HSBS. However, they work closely together to assist hunt staff in different ways.

The HSF is run by trustees Tim Easby, Robin Greenwood, Rosie Vestey and Alastair Jackson. Its objective is to help both serving and retired hunt staff who have fallen on hard times or who may have been injured, require hospital care or physiotherapy. This charity relies solely on its own investment income, legacies and donations from

hunt supporters.

The welfare of hunt staff and their families has been a core concern for the HSF since its inception. Salaries are at the lower end of the spectrum for all who work in hunting – and the welcome perk of skin money is a thing of the past. So, if a problem occurs there is often little savings to fall back on.

“Staff do get into problems and it is then up to the trustees to decide when to help,” says Alastair. “Over the years there have been accidents either out hunting or in kennels which mean staff can’t work. We have stepped in on many occasions and helped out either with a one-off or regular payment.

“The Fund has paid rent for widows of hunt staff and even funeral expenses. It recently paid a contribution towards an ex-huntsman’s hip operation: he had provided years of sport for many subscribers and the trustees felt it was only right to help him.

“There is also the opportunity of financial help to set up another business if leaving hunt service.

“Many hunt staff are too proud to come forward themselves, but we live in a very tight-knit community and often another hunt servant will phone up and let us know where there is a problem. And it is all worthwhile for the lovely letters of gratitude we receive.”

MUCH-NEEDED FUNDS

OBVIOUSLY, the HSBS’s committee is concerned it has lost nearly a year’s worth of fundraising. With no hunting for most of last season, online cap donations were a saviour but this contribution was well short of a “normal” year when about £33,000 is received in caps and donations from hunts.

Fortunately, an online auction last summer achieved £24,000. This June, 44 auction lots include a day at Ditcheat hosted by trainer Paul Nicholls, a riding expedition to Kyrgyzstan led by Countess Alexandra Tolstoy, exclusive fishing as well the chance of a mare’s service to Tomatillo (the eventer Tamarillo’s genetic clone).

The Hunting Shop Horn and Hound Ball is held at York Racecourse in October. Tickets are likely to sell fast, as the 500 on offer for last year’s event sold out.

“We have noticed and are very grateful for the increase in honorary membership subscriptions which are just £30 a year,” says Alastair, who is keen more hunts pass on HSBS news through their hunt email lists to ensure all subscribers are aware of the both HSBS and HSF and their ongoing activities.

Income from HSBS honorary and life membership in 2019 was £35,649. But just 27 new members were enrolled, five of which took life membership at £600.

If each foxhound pack, for example, recruited that number of new members at £30 each, that would raise more than £140,000 in a shot. It would make all the difference to the staff who work all hours, rain or shine, to provide sport for us all.

HSBS 2021 FUNDRAISING EVENTS

June: online silent auction

1 August: HSBS Polo Day at Beaufort Polo Club

6 September: visit to Raby Castle, Co Durham

23 September: Young Hunters’ Drinks Evening at the Cavalry and Guards Club, London

23 October: The Hunting Shop Horn and Hound Ball at

York Racecourse

You can also read this feature in the 13 May issue of Horse & Hound magazine.

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Fred Eames’s retirement as master and huntsman of his family pack, the Cotley Harriers, means it’s the end of an era for these hounds, as Will Chanter discovers

FOR many, the wilds of Devon are to be avoided for hunting. It is seemingly a place where, historically, the local populace pursued different game animals nearly the whole year round and, even more worryingly for some, apparently don’t count the number of jumps encountered.

However, for locals and converts there is no finer place to hunt and perhaps, even more so, no greater hunting community to hunt among.

While the West Country is full of “unters”, they are a factional bunch. Perhaps those who purvey the closest to unadulterated West Country charm and old-fashioned courtesy are those who hunt with the West Country harrier packs. Among those, the Cotley Harriers, with their unblemished pedigree of both hounds and huntsman, stand prominent.

The retirement of Fred Eames after 14 seasons of hunting hounds brings to an end a nearly unbroken tradition of the Eames family hunting hounds since 1797, when Fred’s great-great-great-great grandfather Thomas Deane (whose daughter married an Eames) started the Cotley.

No doubt the harbingers of doom who soar over social media waiting for the carrion of hunting will cry that this really is the end, for the Cotley without an Eames seems like the Tower without its ravens, but with Fred’s cousin Mary Perry – the daughter of Vyvyan Eames – continuing in the mastership, the family connection remains.

Also retiring is Fred’s father, Edward Eames MFH, who has held office since 2000 and, very ably, started hunting hounds at the age of 52, having whipped-in since 1968. Duncan Cinnamond, the popular kennel-huntsman, goes to hunt the Albrighton and Woodland and Matt Biddiscombe will now hunt the hounds.

TRADITION

THE Eames have a strong tradition of apprenticeship within the family and it is the relative norm for young members of the family to carry the horn occasionally. Vyvyan first hunted hounds aged 16, but history relates that Edward rode beside him blowing the horn on his behalf. Fred was no exception and was indoctrinated in this manner.

He explains: “I started wearing a green coat when Dad took on hunting the hounds and began to ride with him. Gradually as I got keener I was occasionally allowed to hunt the hounds; Dad would find and generally remark, ‘See what you can do with that’.”

This developed until it was felt that Fred was ready and he joined the mastership in 2007, whereupon he began to hunt the hounds. He had a ready-made team in his three amateur whippers-in – John Eames, Marilyn Burrough and Gordon Herrod – and credits them hugely for a smooth transition.

“They were a huge help and very encouraging,” Fred says. “They also knew the country backwards and when I got somewhere I was less familiar with, they always showed me routes through it.”

This is not entirely surprising, as between the three of them they had more than 80 years of experience whipping-in to the Cotley. What young huntsman wouldn’t be delighted to receive such assistance?

Latterly James Legg has been of considerable help and, as a younger man and first-class jockey, is always willing to cross the country when hill topping looks like the better option.

Fred also continued to benefit from help from his father who, although having relinquished the horn, continued as master. Fred pays him great credit both as a mentor and as the previous huntsman who had got the hounds going extremely well.

Edward effectively became chairman – although the Cotley, being a family pack, have no such role – once Fred started hunting the hounds and Fred was joined in the mastership by his cousins, Mary Perry and Tom Eames.

Fred also gives thanks to his kennel-huntsmen – Mark Wheeler, Paul Williams and Duncan Cinnamond – all who have said over the years that the Cotley is a rather special place, and not without a twinkle in their eye, that they saw their role as an employees of the Eames family rather than the hunt and enjoyed the privilege that this carried.

“A SPECIAL ANIMAL”

PAUL was instrumental in the introduction of a Liddesdale outcross, having come from the nearby Jed Forest, and both Fred and Duncan rate these hounds very highly, while no less than Nigel Peel has always been a firm “bidder” for any drafts when they are available.

Fred repeats a story of Nigel’s that at a particular check it was only the Cotley breeding that could take the line on. The fact that this line was on top of a dry-stone wall makes the story worthy of repetition.

The West Country harrier is a special animal imbued with a “beaglesque” sense of happiness and eagerness. The downside of this is that they can be overexcitable and, to quote Duncan, “The more excited they get, the more likely they are to misbehave.”

As a consequence they do not suit some huntsmen, but Duncan recognised soon after his arrival that Fred’s relaxed demeanour was the perfect foil for the overexcitement and that the mutual trust between Fred and his hounds was far beyond many would be willing to give.

In a country in which it is sometimes difficult to get to hounds, and one that benefits from relatively good scenting conditions, he was soon impressed with how this approach meant that hounds were continually able to work things out for themselves. In Duncan’s words, “it suits the hounds and suits the country.”

Fred elaborates on this and says that his ultimate aim was to have a pack of hounds that he could take to the first draw and then largely leave alone for the day, his particular theme being that a good day when conducted on this basis “means credit to the hounds and not the huntsman”.

He uses the analogy that as a huntsman he is there more as a reference point than a referee and that his greatest frustration as a huntsman was to see hounds languishing and not pushing on through. When one considers that much of the country is stiffly fenced with stock fencing either side of substantial banked or thorn hedges, it is a not-inconsiderable benchmark.

Fred also credits the West Country harrier with an honesty and says that many of his older hounds, until physically beginning to struggle to keep up, do not “run cunning”. These older hounds are particularly helpful in the early stages of a hunt when the harrier is occasionally likely to get overexcited.

He describes the noise of them striking a line as a “carnival”, and anyone who has ever heard the Cotley at full tilt in the depths of a steep Devonian valley will now doubt agree. Particular hounds he has had a soft spot for are Gauntless, Regent, Landlord and Twilight, all of whom went through to at least their seventh or eighth seasons.

One of the great highlights for Fred has been showcasing the hounds while visiting other countries where, he says, “We’ve never had a bad day”. Perhaps the best in Fred’s mind was a day at the South Dorset.

Hounds had been hunting well all day but later on had settled in to a decent hunt. On breasting the ridge of one of the wider downland valleys the tail hounds were seen disappearing into the distance, whereupon the whipper-in said, “How the bloody hell did they get there?” – a highly satisfactory comment for Fred.

ELYSIAN FIELDS

WHILE away days may have been occasional highlights, cracking days in the Cotley country never seem to be in short supply. Fred pays great tribute to the extraordinary generosity of the farmers within the country whom, he says, “hardly ever, or rather never, say no”.

When discussing the changes to the country in the past 20 years, access didn’t really feature; testament to the excellent relationship the Eames family have historically had with their farmers but also Fred’s personable approach and familiarity.

He comments that the biggest change in the country is the amount of maize now grown, but even then he does not particularly see this as a problem as it is generally left as stubble during the hunting season.

In Fred’s mind, other than the Cotley hounds, one of the greatest assets to his mastership has been Lucinda, his wife. She has been unstinting in her backing at every turn, including being largely responsible for the horses, and also immensely supportive of any Cotley fundraiser.

They have three daughters who it is said, all “go like stink” and it is not unknown for Fred rather to wonder how his own horses, his wife’s and his daughters’ ponies all seem to have arrived at the appointed hour, at the same time, in immaculate order.

So in such Elysian fields with hounds and a country so beloved, one wonders why Fred would wish to step down, but he is unequivocal.

“I want to give up before I lose interest,” he says.

He moves on rather more prosaically: “I have been out with some packs when the huntsman goes on until it’s dark, he’s on his own and sometimes even the staff have gone home. Occasionally I’ve perhaps gone home when there was one more hunt to be had, but when I’ve seen people later and they’ve said that they’ve hugely enjoyed themselves and can’t wait to be out again, I know I’ve done the right thing. I think it is on that basis that I’m giving it up.”

And so the Cotley without an Eames hunting them? Fortunately it is not unprecedented, as in the 1960s the much-venerated Lt Col Dick Eames briefly had to hand over the horn due to illness for a couple of seasons, and while wishing the incoming huntsman the very best, it is hoped that this period will be merely an interlude before another Eames takes up the horn.

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As Andrew Cook prepares to step down from a 30-year career with hounds, he talks to Tessa Waugh about his experiences and what he has learnt

ON 1 May this year Andrew Cook is retiring as master of the Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Foxhounds after 15 seasons. It is a big change after 30 years in hunting – a good stint by any standards.

When asked why he is stopping, he bats the question away with a swift, “because my wife told me to”, followed by a hearty cackle.

Andrew is not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Nor does he enjoy talking about himself. But when pressed he is clear: “I have been in hunting in one way or another since I was 16. I have done 15 seasons here and if I want to do something else, I need to do it now before I get too old.”

Rather pointedly, he adds: “We’ve all seen people who have carried on too long. I don’t want to make that mistake.”

Andrew didn’t hunt as a child, but he grew up with hunting all around him.

“The VWH kennels were across the fields from my family home, and some of my earliest memories are of the hounds being exercised through the village,” he says. “I can remember a day when they met nearby, and I saw a fox going away from Poulton Gorse. The hounds were struggling to hold the line and I remember being completely transfixed as I watched Charlie slink down the hedge, back to where he came from.”

As a self-confessed “doggy” child, it was natural that he would get involved with the beagles at Radley. During his time there, Bill Lock arrived as kennel-huntsman.

“We were very lucky to have a new purpose-built kennel,” recalls Andrew. “Bill had hunted staghounds and foxhounds, so he had a very broad knowledge of hunting and I spent far too much time there listening to his stories of the chase.”

Andrew became master of the school beagle pack from 1990–1991, and in those days the master could take the pack home for a few days’ hunting over the Christmas holidays.

He remembers writing to Hugo Busby, who was master of the Royal Agricultural College (RAC) Beagles at the time, requesting some meets in his country. He laughs as he describes the letter that came back saying that he would not be allowed to come under any circumstances. Several other school packs had asked, and Hugo had said no to them all.

“Needless to say the RAC country was plundered by school packs that Christmas holidays,” he adds, with more laughter.

“ONE SMALL HURDLE”

AFTER Radley, Andrew spent his gap year working at the Bicester kennels and hunting with the harrier packs in New Zealand. He went on to the RAC and, having hunted the College beagles for three seasons, had a good idea what he would like to do with his life. There was one small hurdle – he hadn’t done much riding.

“I knew I would have to get that going if I was going to pursue hunting any further,” he explains.

The famous Talland School of Equitation was down the road from where he grew up, so he took a crash-course with renowned coach Brian Hutton and rode out with various family friends. Eventually, he bought “a little cobby thing” and hunted with the VWH and the Heythrop. This was not always plain-sailing, Andrew remembers.

“One day I was up with [VWH] huntsman Sidney Bailey and the hounds, and I got off my horse to help the terrierman bolt a fox. The fox bolted and Sidney set sail with the hounds, at which point my horse bolted too, just as I was trying to get on. He galloped halfway across the field with me clinging on to the side before I finally bailed out.”

When he was 22, Andrew got a phone call out of the blue from Anthony Hart, who had been chairman of the Radley College Beagles. He wanted to know if Andrew was still interested in hunting a pack of foxhounds. When Andrew said yes, Anthony replied, “Well, that’s good because Pamela Sykes from the South Shropshire is going to ring you in a minute.”

“When Pamela rang, she said in her typically abrupt way, ‘I gather you can hardly ride,’” says Andrew. “So I explained that I was working on that and, after going up to see them, I was offered the job.”

By his own admission, the first two seasons were not easy.

“I took over from Michael Rowson, a professional, born and bred in the country, and some people thought I had pushed him out of a job. But the animosity faded and I went on to have seven fantastic seasons there. The South Shropshire was well-foxed, varied and a lovely country to be in.”

A good friend of Andrew’s, Patricia Cornes, who became hunt secretary during his tenure, recalls, “We took quite a gamble on ‘Cookie’ because his riding wasn’t the best, but I was impressed straight away with the way he hunted hounds.

“He was quite cocky when he arrived, but he won us over with his hard work and everyone was sad to see him go.”

MOVING ON “UP THE LADDER”

FROM the South Shropshire he went to the Portman. Why did he leave? “Because when you are young you feel as if you should go on up the ladder,” he says slightly wistfully.

At the Portman he enjoyed the vale, but regrets that it was over-hunted because it was popular with the supporters.

“We hunted a quarter of the country three-quarters of the time and three-quarters of the country a quarter of the time, which was very sad. The downland bit was heavily shot, but if you looked back through history at the great hunts they had in that part of the world, they were always on the downs,” he says.

Asked about the huntsmen who have influenced him the most, Andrew names Sidney Bailey and Martin Thornton, who in style were “chalk and cheese.”

Of Sidney, who hunted the VWH for 43 seasons, Andrew says, “He was one of the last great professionals and I am full of admiration for someone who hunted the same country four days a week for as many years as he did. Having been in two countries quite a while, one of the things I’ve found hardest is watching how the country is degraded. Witnessing that over Sidney’s long tenure would have been heart-breaking.”

Watching Martin Thornton in action at the Bicester was another vital part of his education. While Sidney was quiet, Andrew says, “Martin was totally thrusting and would gallop through a wall to catch a fox. It didn’t matter if it had only gone five yards. The Bicester hounds were awesome and it showed me what you can do with a pack of hounds when their confidence is up.”

Andrew recalls Martin’s hard-man persona, which involved five mornings’ autumn hunting on the trot followed by some seriously aggressive squash games. One day he had the pleasure of driving him around on a day’s hunting after a bad fall.

“Sally [Martin’s wife] instructed me that under no circumstances should I allow Martin out of the car, but it was a bit like having an unmuzzled pitbull terrier in a playground full of children. At a bad check Martin was out of the car and running across the road and through the hedge into the field to be with hounds. He fell into the ditch on the way and I was left standing there thinking, ‘Oh no!’” he recalls, laughing uproariously at the memory.

THE NEXT CHALLENGE

IN 2005 Andrew got a call from Jamie Blackett, a Dumfriesshire landowner whose ambition was to re-establish the Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Foxhounds, which had been disbanded in 2002.

Andrew threw himself into the challenge with his customary energy, moving to Scotland that summer with his wife Jane, and set about establishing a pack of hounds comprising drafts and some he brought from Dorset.

Andrew’s joint-masters Piet and Sue Gilroy and Malcolm Bell Macdonald also had a big part to play in re-establishing the hunt. Piet notes that it is Andrew’s “complete professionalism as a manager of the kennels” that stands out in the time he has been there.

Andrew found the Dumfriesshire country similar in many ways to the South Shropshire: “A lot of grass, while the west side was very wild with lots of gorse. There were also large tracts of forestry with very little access. If you ran into them, it was game over – you could be there for the rest of the day.”

Looking back, he says, “We had a lot of fun doing it, but we probably went and hunted a lot of places early on that weren’t suitable.”

The country was huge and the travelling made logistics difficult.

“The average journey to a meet is an hour; some of our meets are an hour and three-quarters away, so if you left a hound out it was a serious hassle.”

He relished the opportunity to start a pack of hounds from nothing, noting “good cry, hunting ability and determination” as the key things he looks for.

“In a hill country you really want a hound that never gives up, although that can be a serious pain on a bad scenting day. You’ll be two-and-a-half couple short and know without looking around who they will be.”

The best stallion hound he has bred at the Dumfriesshire is one called Saracen 12, by Blencathra Trimmer 07 out of Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Saviour 08.

“They were a very good litter, as is often the case with a direct fell outcross,” he concludes. “They weren’t particularly big but they were all serious hunters.

“I can remember a tricky day in some hill country when the fox ran along the dyke for 250 yards. Saracen and one of his litter-mates tried to hunt it along the top of the dyke and two or three of that litter took that fox on. He did a phenomenal amount of work and we bred from him a lot.

“The Duke of Buccleuch’s and College Valley and North Northumberland also used him, but it is always hard to get your hill-type dogs used by those down south because they tend to want a big, scopey dog.”

The biggest lesson he has learned?

“If you have a good, reliable pack of hounds always trust them, regardless of any information you are given elsewhere.”

He names time spent with hounds as the most enjoyable aspect of his work – he is at the kennels most mornings – along with “banter with the farmers.”

So what next? Having always kept sheep, he has set his sights on a farm in the West Country.

“I’ve been farming on a small scale but I’d like to do things properly,” he says, “and give it my all.” No doubt he will.

.

This exclusive interview is also available to read in H&H magazine, 25 March 2021 issue

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From horticulture to piano-playing, sculpting and plastering, Britain’s huntsmen have skills that might surprise you, says the Beaufort’s Matt Ramsden

“What wonderful marrows you have, madam.”

Not a stock sentence advised to whippers-in when placating an enraged homeowner. Nevertheless, it was a sincere remark made to a lady in Tetbury by Dennis Brown, who was whipper-in to the Duke of Beaufort’s hounds from 1969 until the early 1980s.

Hounds had concluded a hunt in the aforementioned lady’s garden and done their utmost to destroy what was a pristine plot. Deputised to calm an air filled with rage, the expert horticulturalist knew no other tactic than to compliment the array of winter vegetables. Naturally, the situation was defused instantly.

As well as being a consummate whipper-in who knew parts of the Beaufort country like no one else, Dennis Brown was an exceptional gardener who won prizes at shows as a matter of course. Badminton Horse Trials director Jane Tuckwell, a long-term Beaufort hunting lady, well remembers the anxiety of ensuring that Master – the 10th Duke of Beaufort – ordered hounds home after cub-hunting, allowing enough time for the whipper-in to fetch his entries up to the Hawkesbury Show, which takes place at the end of August.

Dennis’s skill as a gardener is still spoken about by Badminton residents today, and it was of no great surprise that he went on to serve The Prince of Wales in the gardens at Highgrove upon his retirement from hunt service.

A frighteningly common misconception among hunting folk is that outside the hunting season, masters and staff alike spend their time troughing cakes at puppy show teas and little else. Although indulging in Battenburg and Bakewell is something none of us shy away from, the “downtime” is our only opportunity to nurture or learn other skills. Here, I will try to shed some light on other strings to the bows of masters and hunt staff.

The past 12 months have contained rather more empty periods than we care to repeat, but a positive consequence has been that a lot of these “skills” have been put into practice. Hounds and horses cost no less to keep if they are hunting or not, while the void left by a lack of visiting caps and a season cut short means that we must cut our cloth accordingly.

Therefore, a lot of work which might have otherwise been contracted out is being done “in house”. Our good friends at Defra declared that they were unhappy with some exposed brickwork in a room off our flesh house. A flat, rendered surface was what was required. A few “DIY Doctor” videos later, I was fairly certain that I was an expert.

Having ordered the materials and got hold of a cement mixer, our trainee whipper-in and I got to work. Very quickly, I was reminded of my own work experience with a plumber at the age of 14. I was thrilled to be given a nickname on my first day, until I realised that being called “Fortnight” was on account of my being too weak, rather than anything praiseworthy.

Suffice to say, our job of work was extremely physical and, in the end, rewarding. Had I still been at the Bedale, our countryman, Kevin Newcombe, would have been instrumental, having done a trade in plastering. No such luck.

A little north of here, the Heythrop are in the process of building impressive new kennels and stables. I do not for one minute mean to imply that Charles Frampton is undertaking this work himself, however talented a bricklayer he is – evidence of which materialised a few summers ago, when he and former Wynnstay master and huntsman Richard Tyacke built an extension to the Framptons’ home near Moreton-in-Marsh.

Charles has spent this most recent lockdown in comparative bliss, enjoying the confines of a mini-digger while barking orders at all within earshot.

Artistic inclinations

The arts and hunting are not instantly aligned, but the two have been entwined for centuries. Since before the Bayeux Tapestry, artists have been depicting hounds and horses crossing our green and pleasant lands and, today, masters of hounds continue the tradition.

Best known, perhaps, is Daniel Crane, a master of the Scarteen in Ireland. Unfortunately, Daniel is on the wrong end of the spectrum, painting being his primary occupation. Toby Coles, on the other hand, has been hunting the South Dorset for the past three seasons and draws and sculpts beautifully. While on a brief sabbatical from hunting, Toby and his family spent some time in Africa. There he drew the native animals, the results of which can be obtained as cards.

“Hunting hounds and the arts hold a surprisingly large number of similarities,” says Toby. “You are either bestowed with the talent or not. You can hone those talents through practice or education.

“For me, sculpting and hunting hounds manifested in similar ways; patience and your eye is all you’ve got, and then you need the confidence to carry out your convictions. Let your instincts guide you without being overbearing, and you might be lucky and end up with something people enjoy – either a decent hunt or a bronze standing above a fireplace.”

I once asked a world-class conductor which members of the orchestra were the trickiest to deal with. Quick as a flash, he came back with the answer: “Horn blowers, of course. Biggest lot of prima donnas around!” The explanation was that the line between a bad note on the horn and a good one is fine; something we can all agree with, I’m sure. Whether this has any correlation with huntsmen I doubt, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Undoubtedly the most talented musician hunting hounds currently is the Kimblewick’s Andrew Sallis. A former professional composer, when Andrew taught music at Charterhouse he was fortunate to be granted private health insurance. Eyebrows were raised as his premium crept up on account of being patched up after falls out hunting.

As far as creeping the boards is concerned, a hunt pantomime can bring out the thespian in the least expected members. About 10 years ago, the VWH and the Beaufort staged a highly competitive version of Strictly Come Dancing. A surprising act was a ballet performance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, complete with tutus and tiaras.

The cast of this particular act featured a now eminent huntsman and arguably the best kennelman in the country, both of whom ought to remain nameless. Having let his hair down with rather too much gusto after the show, one of the ballerinas turned in late for work the following morning, only to be sent home immediately.

“I don’t mind you being late,” scolded his boss, “but eyeliner is out of the question!” The director of this groundbreaking piece of theatre was the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art-trained former VWH whipper-in Will Forsyth.

What is evident here, therefore, is the stark correlation between a sport which, on the surface of it, involves little finesse or creative zest and a world of paintings and theatre. The late 11th Duke of Beaufort, although a consummate horseman and field master, was perhaps best known for his work as director of Marlborough Fine Art, selling Freuds and Bacons all over the world. However, when he did have time to cast his eye over a large entry of his hound puppies, he had no trouble picking out the best among them, such was his universal eye for quality.

Equine specialists

Working on young horses is an occupation that absorbs the energies of many of us, none so much as Meynell and South Staffs master and huntsman Guy Landau who, along with hunting hounds and showing horses, has devoted most of his life to it.

“I still get tremendous satisfaction seeing the young [horses and hounds] coming around, improving and showing their worth, in the manner that you have hoped for. After a certain moment, they are no longer a challenge; there is an element of sadness from that point,” he says.

During the first lockdown, Ralph Richardson, master and huntsman of the Middleton, went back to his roots to make some young polo ponies. Over the past decade, Ralph and his brother Jack have been retraining racehorses to compete in the polo field at top level.

“The trickiest element of the process is the time it takes,” says Ralph. “Over-developed muscles can be a hindrance and from day one to the professional arena can take up to four years.”

There is no doubt that the last two examples entail a phenomenal level of patience, which is a necessity in anyone wishing to handle a pack of hounds.

One need only consult Beckford’s Thoughts on Hunting and the qualities which, to his mind, make up a huntsman or a whipper-in to discover that all of the above examples help us to go about a day’s hunting.

Whether it is with your head buried in the herbaceous border or watching a dry fly on a quiet stretch of river, time away from our sport, however ghastly, is well spent, if only for the way in which it enriches other talents that have an uncanny knack of cropping up when we least expect. Diplomacy on the other hand, cannot be taught but only accrued over time. I’m still waiting.

Also published in H&H 11 March 2021

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Bill Bishop is retiring from hunt service after nearly 30 years, most recently as huntsman to the Crawley and Horsham. Bill, 51, has worked in 10 hunt kennels in different parts of England.

He grew up in Lincolnshire and started hunting as a child with the Fitzwilliam, Cottesmore and Belvoir. His first job in hunting was as kennelman/ whipper-in to Colin Hicks at the Braes of Derwent. From there he went to the Blankney, the West Norfolk, the Fitzwilliam, the South Dorset, the West Somerset, the Oakley – where he hunted hounds for the first time – back to the West Norfolk, the Wheatland and Atherstone before going to the Crawley and Horsham two seasons ago.

“I love what I do and have enjoyed it immensely, but the job is changing so much and I am looking forward to the next stage in life,” said Bill, who is going to join his fiancée Louise Young in farming near Lingfield. “The place I would go back to out of all of those is the West Somerset. It’s where my daughter Issy was born, and it’s a fantastic country with lovely people.”

Hawkins retires from hunting

After more than 35 years, Ian Hawkins, current huntsman at the Sennybridge in Wales, is retiring from hunt service.

Ian, 60, grew up in the Rhondda hunting with the Ystrad. In 1981 the Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray (CLC) advertised in H&H for a second whipper-in and a groom – and Ian and his girlfriend Lynette got married on 25 April and moved together to the CLC, where Nigel Peel was master and huntsman and Bob Collins kennel-huntsman.

After two seasons they moved to the Cheshire, where Ian became first whipper-in to Johnny O’Shea, and where their children, Emma and Robert, were born.

“That was a hell of a place for hunting, and I learnt so much,” said Ian.

Four years later he moved to the New Forest, initially as kennel- huntsman and then huntsman, and became good friends with Sir Newton Rycroft, the illustrious hound breeder and former master and huntsman of the New Forest.

“It was a lovely place with fantastic people, but the saboteurs were bad – we’d have 60 of them on a Saturday, and it was quite a dangerous place to be with a young family,” Ian said.

In 1991, the call to return to Wales proved too strong, and the Hawkins went to Brecon, where Ian hunted hounds for 13 seasons.

“It was a dream come true, although money was tight,” said Ian, who worked as a carpenter and ran the council dog poundalongside his job as huntsman.

He did a huge amount of work improving the kennels, and bred an excellent pack of hounds who did well on the flags as well as on the hunting field. In 1997, he won the champion Welsh bitch prize at Builth with Sonnet.

Ian came out of hunt service for 11 years, but rejoined as Sennybridge huntsman six seasons ago.

“It’s time to go, but I am leaving them with a good pack of hounds,” said Ian.

Staghunting stalwart exits

After years of dedication to the Devon and Somerset Staghounds (DSSH), Janet Ackner is retiring as joint-secretary after 26 years at the end of this season.

Her nickname of “Granny” stems from the fact that, as well as welcoming many hundreds of followers to the DSSH over the years, in her other role as stud groom she has worked with a “vast number” of young people.

Former masters Maurice and Diana Scott said: “Janet took on the role of joint-secretary to the Devon and Somerset Staghounds in 1995 and continued throughout our mastership. She was highly efficient, hardworking and reliable. Janet turned out her horses and herself to perfection and was always on time to carry out her duties in the field.

“In 2003, Janet took on the extra job of stud groom. The horses were always turned out impeccably and they were always fit and well. She did an amazing job for us and never let us down. Nobody could have done better than Janet during her long service to the DSSH and we are truly grateful for the time she worked with us.”

A retiring fund is being set up by Nick Webber and Pat Bawden, who both have worked as joint-secretaries with Janet.

Donations can be made by cheque – made payable to “D&S Presentation Fund” and sent to Mrs P Bawden, Halsgrove Cottage, Withypool, Somerset

TA24 7RX – or by BACS to: A/C 38046458, NatWest 52-30-42.

New huntsman for the Oakley

South Durham master and huntsman Harry Beeby is moving to the Oakley on 1 May. He will join Ian Hudson, Lady Thompson and Hannah Pattinson in the mastership.

Current Oakley huntsman Simon Hand is going to the South Dorset as kennel-huntsman.

Harry said: “I’m looking forward to the challenge. I whipped-in to two of the Oakley’s neighbouring packs – the Fitzwilliam and the Pytchley – and, having grown up in the Quorn country, it will be nice to return to that part of the world.”

Also published in H&H 4 March 2021

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Despite hunting’s problems, we must move forwards, says Andrew Sallis

“I got 99 problems but… my hounds… ain’t one,” rapped Jay Z (sort of). After keeping a fit pack of hounds on ice for a month, last week’s release into the hunting field was glorious. On crisp mornings hounds had bounced down the road but despite their confusion at being “off games”, had kept themselves together beautifully.

Those of us who hunted hounds back in 2001 remember when hounds had to hit the ground running in mid-December, once the scourge of foot-and-mouth disease had finally been banished from the countryside, after snapping shut the previous season in February.

Hounds never cease to amaze; they have rebooted their season with a flourish. The ladies and gentlemen, just as eager to return to the hunting field in their legions, armed with fresh, giddy horses, galloped and jumped behind hounds until dark on Saturday, empty saddles and smiles aplenty; surely the best antidote to any lockdown blues.

Our hunt’s recent trail-hunting video, filmed just before lockdown 2.0 and produced with the Countryside Alliance, has just topped 30,000 views. It provides a useful educational and promotional tool for trail-hunting and another library film, showing our hounds hunting trails successfully. Such footage is vital for all hunts to help repudiate malicious allegation and submit to any licence-issuing bodies.

Lessons learnt

Conveniently timed for some with the resumption of hunting, the recent public flogging of the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA), hunting’s governing body (news, 3 December), hasn’t made pleasant viewing and will inevitably result in naval-gazing, review and lessons learnt, however spurious the allegations are shown to be upon closer investigation.

Irrespective of how it grapples with the burden of being the self-regulatory body of post-ban hunting, the MFHA’s achievements of late are considerable, particularly in positioning hunts, masters and hunt staff in the modern world of business, employment and compliance.

A master’s lot has never been more complicated, but the rewards remain great. However, rank and file masters, the bedrock of masterships nationwide, which number countless successful businessmen and women among them, have pointed to well-meaning naivety in “web-gate”, but very few are looking for whole-scale revolution. That would not be at all helpful.

Splinter groups, mostly high on white noise, low on sound ideas, have been proposed and summarily spun themselves into the ether. Like hunts and their legal trail-hunting activities, the MFHA must evolve and continue to support hunts, robust in their defence, but it must necessarily be consistent in disciplining and sanction in order to have internal credibility.

Humility in leadership is not a sign of weakness. By the end of their first week in office, all masters are acutely aware of the need to shoulder responsibility for actions, not only of their own making but others’, too, even if they were oblivious or worse still, it was unsanctioned; such is the burden of office. Such an officer is not necessarily defined by the perceived “offence” but how they deal with it.

As a grumpy brigadier once balled at me, “If a fish stinks, it stinks from the head! Well done for seeing me, now have a whiskey.” The fact that it was his neighbouring farmer, acting alone, who had cut his wire fence and not me, would have only complicated matters, so remained unreported.

Hunting has always faced challenges and emerged stronger, together. Let’s

enjoy our festive hunting with pride.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 17 December 2020

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After 10 seasons at the Pytchley, H&H columnist Daniel Cherriman will be westward bound, reports Catherine Austen

Daniel Cherriman (pictured) will become joint-master and huntsman of the South Shropshire on 1 May. After 10 seasons as professional huntsman of the Pytchley with Woodland, he will take over from George Renwick, who is stepping down after three seasons. The other four joint-masters – Walter Blum Gentilomo, Camilla Corrie, Amy Henderson and William Onions – will remain in place.

Daniel, who is married to Jessica and has two children, Jack, five, and Ted, one, said: “I’ve been very happy here at the Pytchley and have really enjoyed my time. However, what I haven’t achieved in 10 seasons I am not going to achieve in 20, so I am looking for a new challenge.

“The South Shropshire is a very varied hunting country, with some vale by the River Severn, some rolling, low-hill country and the open hill on the Welsh border and the border with the United. I love all types of hunting country, so I am excited about it. There’s less urbanisation, the potential for longer hunts and all sorts of new challenges – it just feels timely.”

Daniel did admit that his decade-long tenure is the second-shortest span by a Pytchley huntsman in the past 120 years. He will be replaced by Jason Mahon, whose wife Claire is secretary of the Pytchley with Woodland and who currently whips-in to Daniel twice a week.

Oliver Beazley will become Daniel’s kennel-huntsman at the South Shropshire; he is currently first whipper-in at the Dulverton West and was previously at the Tynedale, and so has hill hunting experience.

Hartley Crouch will join the Pytchley with Woodland as first whipper-in on 1 May.

Other new appointments include William Gibson-Fleming, who will take over from the retiring Will Bryer at the Cattistock as joint-master and huntsman, while Ollie Thompson becomes huntsman of the Old Berks as Michael Scott is retiring after 22 seasons.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 17 December 2020

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Robert McCarthy, the huntsman of the Percy, was the undisputed winner of a national hornblowing competition held at the Horn & Hound Ball at Cheltenham racecourse on Saturday, 25 April.

Ten huntsmen, both professional and amateur, travelled from their different packs around the country to take part in the competition sponsored by Horse & Hound.

Participants were judged by Nigel Peel — master and huntsman of the North Cotswold — and Capt Ian Farquhar MFH (Duke of Beaufort’s), on their ability to blow “gone away” and “going home”.

Making their decisions from behind the stage — where they were not aware of the order of the competitors — they were unanimous in their decision of the winner.

Continued below…

Hunting: a day to remember doing the best job in the world

Horse & Hound hunting correspondent Rory Knight Bruce recalls his best day of the 2014/15 season, which left him with

The selection of the runner-up was not quite so clear-cut, with Tony Holdsworth — a former winner and huntsman of the Duke of Beaufort’s — and David Every (Park Beagles) being invited to blow again, with Holdsworth victorious.

After his win, McCarthy told H&H: “I am surprised to win but am delighted to take the cup back to Northumberland, which, looking at the previous winners, appears to be the furthest it has travelled.”

McCarthy, who is now in his 10th season as huntsman of the Northumberland pack, was presented with the prestigious Horse & Hound Challenge Cup. The cup was first awarded in 1952, and previous winners include Captain Ronnie Wallace, Alastair Jackson and Tony Wright.

Both the winner and the runner-up also received engraved nickel hunting horns.

The ball, which was attended by more than 400 guests, was being held to help raise funds for the Hunt Staff Benefit Society (HSBS).

The HSBS is a registered friendly society that benefits hunt staff, and offers them a personal pension scheme, into which the members can contribute themselves. Additional funds such as those raised at events, donations directly from hunts themselves and honorary members’ subscriptions also offer additional support to the scheme.

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This year marks the centenary of the Great War. The transformation inflicted upon this country as a consequence of that campaign was immense. As the lamps went out all over Europe, little did people realise the huge changes that were to come. No echelon of society would be spared.

The impact on hunting was also extensive. In the context of war it may appear trivial, but it was nevertheless a fact. The curtain was about to come down on a way of life and nothing would ever be quite the same again.

Lord Robert Manners and Tommy Bouch were masters of the Belvoir Hunt when the declaration of war was announced on the 4 August. They were, to their credit, amongst the first to answer their country’s call, landing in France to rejoin their regiments a week after war was declared.

Tommy Bouch continued to fund the hunt in absentia and the 1914-15 season must at first have seemed pretty normal. After all, the consensus was: “It will all be over by Christmas.”

The reality of war, however, was soon brought home to the members of the Belvoir Hunt, when Robin Welby — only 19 and the son of hunt Chairman Sir Charles Welby — was killed in late August during the retreat from Mons.

In October came the demise of “first flight” Major R A Markham from Sysonby, serving with the Coldstream Guards; and on Christmas Eve 1914, Sir Montague Cholmeley, of the Easton Estate. These were all early casualties destined to be top of the list on the memorials erected after the war.

In the absence of the masters, Cyril Greenall of Carlton Hall (Sir Gilbert’s cousin), CJ Philips of Old Daly Hall and Sir Geo Whichcote of Aswarby Park took the helm, as all were past military age. At the outset, hunting days were reduced from six to four, necessitating the dispersal of Bouch’s private pack.

The local press reported that 35 horses from the Woolsthorpe stable were commandeered by the army within the first month.

It was not until 1915, when trench warfare set in and the casualty list rapidly grew, that the catastrophic reality began to emerge. On the Western Front, Jack Cox, son of Bicester huntsman Charley, who had served at Belvoir with credit, was killed on his first night in the trenches, as was newly appointed second whipper-in, Arthur Laytham.

To the great sorrow of the community, the popular Lord Robert Manners MFH, the Duke’s brother, joined the list of the fallen while commanding a battalion of Northumberland Fusiliers at Villoret.

Hunt servant heroes

Many hunt servants across the country exchanged scarlet for khaki, and were to perform gallant deeds for which they were deservedly rewarded. George Castle from Badminton, Tom Singleton, Dumfriesshire and Fred Kinch, who was to give the Percy long and faithful service, were all awarded the Military Medal. Our own future Belvoir huntsman George Tongue received a well-deserved DCM during the closing weeks of hostilities.

Harry Maiden, a member of that famous line of hunt servants and former star pupil of Frank Gillard, was not so fortunate. In 1908 he accepted a lucrative position as huntsman to Prince Kamel Pasha, when Turkey decided to side with Germany, he found himself with a pack of hounds, no master nor money to maintain them and interned for the duration.

Following the armistice, a number of established hunts went to the wall, while others considered possible amalgamations. Tommy Bouch resumed his position, finding on his return a shortage of horses and men. 

The hound list had been reduced from a pre-war 100 couple to a mere 40, many of which were not up to much work. In his own words: “The sick, the lame and the halt.” 

As we all know, the casualty figures were unimaginable. Those who returned sound of body and mind could scarcely believe their fortune. They were determined to enjoy themselves and hunting field enjoyed a final encore, but the lavish Downton Abbey era was well and truly over.

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An anti-hunting activist has been charged with aggravated trespass, assault and harassment of a North Wales hunt employee.

The charges relate to an incident on 28 January and footage that Chester-based Judi Hewitt took and posted online of the Flint and Denbigh Hunt’s countryman Rob Smith using a terrier to flush a fox from underground to a waiting gun, in accordance with the Hunting Act. No date has yet been set for the court case and Ms Hewitt has not entered a plea.

Joint-master of the Flint and Denbigh hunt Jeremy Reed said: “Rob was keeping to the letter of the law and had the full permission of the landowner. We understand that people do oppose fox management but we believe Ms Hewitt went too far.”

Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance added: “It is important that hunts realise that they can take action over harassment from activists. If hunts help themselves by collecting evidence and are willing to make a statement we can support their complaints.”

This story was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (31 July, 2014)

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The puppy show season has peaked and the hunt horses have returned from their summer sojourn to the kennels. Mounted hound exercise has begun, bringing, as always, an air of excitement of the season to come.

The Duke of Rutland’s puppy show ran smoothly, with an agreed good doghound entry although, I think it would be fair to say, the bitches did not quite reach the same standard.

They were judged by Dominic Jones MFH from the South Dorset and Joe Townsend, huntsman for the Hurworth.

I have enjoyed the pleasure of a number of judging engagements this summer. The first was the Essex and with it, my first visit to that county. Prior to my departure, I was issued dire warnings by Peter Collins, the Quorn huntsman, as to what to expect from the locals. He is an avid fan of a television program called TOWIE, so I traversed the M11 with some trepidation.

I was greeted by a fine cross-section of the rural Essex community and a fine pack of hounds. Their coats shone like guardsman’s toecaps, difficult to achieve so early in the summer. They looked as well if not better than any I have seen this year.

The welcoming and attentive audience was, as far as a naive northern lad can tell (without closer inspection) free of breast enhancements and spray-on tan.

My co-judge was James Barclay, whom it was my pleasure to assist. Mr Barclay comes from the area and was a swift and confident appraiser, as one would expect from someone whose family is as steeped in hunting lore as they.

Being a large-framed fellow he also provided, on what was a sunny day, a liberal amount of welcome shade.

From the rolling wheat fields and hair extensions of Essex, my next engagement was the domicile of footballers and white Range Rovers: the apparently endless grassland of Cheshire.

Again, the guests didn’t fit with the modern-day caricature of that fair county — no tattoos that I noticed, nobody proclaiming undying love to bygone girlfriends, and nobody dripping with gold and diamonds.

The only concession to the modern parody was the prizes. Never have I seen, outside Garrard’s, such an array of silverware in one place — it would warrant high-level security. The cups and mementos laid out on the table would have rivalled the trophy room at Old Trafford. Small wonder one sensed an air of competition among the puppy walkers.

The 126th Royal Peterborough Foxhound show has just been held. In the doghound championship, it would have been nice to see Patrick Martin finish his distinguished hunting career with a Bicester champion, but it was not to be, pipped as they were at the post by VWH Steptoe 13.

Access to the finest stallion hounds, for even the smallest kennel, is given freely and generously and this has resulted in the very high standards now attained in the modern foxhound.

Many of the smaller hunts can now compete very well with the larger and more established showing packs. I doubt this munificence is equalled in any other field of animal breeding.

Drama overtook proceedings during the harrier judging after what can only be described as a fracas reminiscent of the football terraces, in the collecting ring. Yes, at Peterborough — is nowhere sacred?

A group of school children from Nottingham recently enjoyed a tour of the Belvoir kennels, escorted by Sarah McCorquodale MFH. In the Duke’s room, which functions as a mini museum, a rather moth-eaten and greying fox mask always gives rise to much debate.

One diligent youth took time to read the small print about the exceptional hunt during which the Dukes hounds were joined by the Quorn, before overtaking their fox at Welby Holt. Duly impressed, a serious young face turned to Lady Sarah and asked: “It must have been tiring, were you on that hunt?” The date was 22 December, 1884.

John’s column was first published in Horse & Hound (24 July, 2014)

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Christopher Hammond, former joint-master of the Surrey Union, died peacefully on 26 June, aged 78.“Christopher had a passion for the institution of hunting,” said Mark Sprake, one his former joint-masters.

Following his retirement from the mastership in 1998 after eight seasons, Christopher continued to follow hounds. He was a keen supporter of National Hunt racing, having horses in training with Hughie Morrison.

Christopher’s wife Barbara, who died in 2009, competed in eventing, showjumping and dressage.

His funeral took place on 10 July.

This news-in-brief was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (17 July, 2014)

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Although autumn hunting has not yet started, some packs of hounds are already anticipating mastership and staff changes for the 2015-16 season.

Among those looking for a new mastership are the Taunton Vale Foxhounds. A grass country, boasting a splendid vale that takes a great deal of crossing and carries a good scent, this West Country pack is likely to attract much interest.

The Bicester with Whaddon Chase are also seeking applicants to hunt hounds following Patrick Martin’s retirement at the end of the 2014-15.

For full details of the positions available, turn to page 106 of Horse & Hound magazine (10 July, 2014)

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A silent auction in aid of the Hunt Staff Benefit Society will be held at the hunter chase evening race meeting at Cheltenham racecourse on 2 May.

The record 53 auction items can be found online now.

They include Wimbledon centre court tickets, debenture seats at an England rugby international at Twickenham, an array of eventing, shooting, fishing and hunting items and a hunting and skiing trip to Colorado in the US.

Bids can be made online, by post or at the meeting.

Visit: www.hsbs.org.uk.

This news story was first published in the current issue of H&H (26 April 2012)

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A kennel huntsman who hit the League Against Cruel Sports (LACS) head of operations with the stock of his whip has been given a conditional discharge by a Somerset court.

David Bevan, of the West Somerset Vale, appeared at Taunton Magistrates Court on Tuesday 6 September.

He pleaded guilty to assaulting LACS employee Paul Tillsley on 29 March.

Mr Tillsley had been filming the hunt on a bridleway at Woodlands Hill when Mr Bevan struck him on the head and arm.

Mr Bevan was given a one-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £150 compensation and £85 costs.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (15 September, 2011)

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Bids are invited for 41 lots in the Hunt Staff Benefit Society’s online auction.

Items under the hammer include a bespoke Patey hunting cap, a week at a house in the south of France, members tickets to Burghley and hunting with packs including the Exmoor, the Quorn and the Fernie.

“In these [post-hunting ban] days it is more important than ever that we support those on the front line, our hunt servants,” said Alastair Jackson of the Masters of Foxhounds Association.

Bid at www.hsbs.org.uk by 4pm on Tuesday, 3 May.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (28 April, 2011)

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The first few weeks of the hunting season have proved trying for huntsmen at three packs due to injury.

Oakley huntsman Duncan Cinnamond broke his hand at the opening meet on 6 November. He won’t be back much before Boxing Day.

“I’ve never injured myself this early before,” he said.

Whipper-in Simon Grimble is now hunting the Oakley.

Readyfield Bloodhounds new huntsman Bruce Langley McKim will have two weeks off after breaking his collarbone during hound exercise.

And kennel-huntsman Tony Holdsworth has taken over hunting the Duke of Beaufort’s after joint-master Captain Ian Farquhar pulled a muscle.

“He hasn’t had a fall, he’s just done a bit of damage riding,” said a Beaufort spokesman.

Capt Farquhar is due to retire as huntsman at the end of the season but continue as joint-master.

This article was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound, 25 November ’10

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RECOMMENDATIONS that hunt staff can continue to choose to wear a “traditional” Patey hat or a “modern” hat with a chinstrap are being well received.

This summer, the Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) carried out a review of headgear, prompted by concerns from some masters over the safety of traditional strapless hats worn by most hunt staff (H&H news, 1 May).

MFHA chairman Stephen Lambert said: “I’m very pleased we can continue to give people the choice. We wanted to, but only if it was safe to do so.

“We’ve been responsible, undertaken research and advice and are able to give people the choice.”

In the first industry consultation of its kind in 17 years, the MFHA surveyed hunt staff, conducted safety tests on Patey hats, analysed accident records and consulted with insurance, legal and health and safety experts.

It concluded that hunt staff should be allowed to choose between wearing a modern hat (with attached chinstrap) or a traditional one. But, should staff plump for the traditional hat, they must wear a Patey and comply with set recommendations (see details below).

“The crucial thing is that if staff decide to wear a traditional hat, they are not asked to sign a disclaimer,” added Mr Lambert.

Following tests on the Patey by the Transport Research Laboratory, the MFHA said the lack of padding in the sides of the hat is a “significant area of weakness and would increase the risk of injury to the side of the head”. But it concluded the Patey had “performed competently” according to accident records from the past 10 years.

The MFHA said a “modern” hat had been described as uncomfortably hot on warmer hunting days, and posed a risk of neck injuries in undergrowth or branches, being unlikely to come off if struck by a branch.

NFHA hat recommendations

‘Traditional’ hats must be:

• Made by Patey and correctly fitted
• Checked by Patey at least every three seasons and after any fall
• Allowed to dry naturally for 36 hours before being worn again, so any huntsman hunting three or more days a week should be provided with a second hat
• Paid for by employers
• Staff should not be asked to sign a disclaimer

‘Modern’ hats must:

• Carry British Standards Institute Kitemark BSEN1384 PAS015 or American Kitemark ASTMF1163

Read this story in full, plus the thoughts of huntsmen and masters from around the country, in today’s Horse & Hound (23 October, ’08). This week’s issue is a hunting special with a guide to the best sport in Britain, plus a complete UK hunt directory.

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Young and newly appointed masters and whippers-in will get a higher level of training in the future.

The Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) is running one-day training courses in April and May to give younger hunt staff guidance in handling the field and hounds under present legislation. A government-funded NVQ is also being piloted.

“Staff do not move up the ladder like they used to, as there are far fewer people employed full-time in hunting,” explained MFHA director Alastair Jackson. “It’s up to us to put regulations and training in place to make hunting acceptable to the modern world.”

The courses are part of a new directive to make hunting more professional.

Previously, a huntsman would have been in the profession of whipper-in for some years before moving up, but now the progression is much quicker. It is the same for masters.

“In years past, masters tended to have a wider knowledge of hunting than is sometimes the case now. There’s not as much knowledge being passed down as people move up the ranks,” said Stephen Lambert, chairman of the Council of Hunting Associations (CHA).

“The training courses are a taste of what’s to come. In time, the courses will become more structured and will take place over several days. They will be module-based and have some kind of accreditation,” added Mr Jackson.

As well as the MFHA’s own courses, a national vocational qualification (NVQ) for hunt staff, funded by the government through the Learning and Skills Council, is being piloted.

The “Animal Care General Route” course is run by Haddon Training Ltd in Marlborough and can be undertaken by hunt staff as they carry out their jobs. Qualification is gained on a continual assessment basis by teachers with a background in hunting.

The MFHA’s one-day whippers-in courses take place 19 May at the Bedale hunt kennels and 20 May at the Worcestershire kennels.

The one-day masters’ courses will be held on 28 April at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, and 29 April at the Golden Fleece Hotel, Thirsk.

For more information, contact the MFHA (tel: 01285 831470).

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (5 April, ’07)

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Former Camarthenshire huntsman Mathew Herlihy is the chosen man to take over from David Jones at the David Davies, when “Jonesy” retires on 1 May. Mathew, 25, says that these will be big shoes to fill, although he sees this as the opportunity of a lifetime.

Mathew hunted the Ystrad for a season, then carried the horn for three seasons with the Vale of Clettwr in West Wales. But he says he learnt most about handling hounds when whipping-in for three seasons to huntsman Donald Summersgill at the Devon & Somerset Staghounds.

“My main job at the staghounds was to bring the pack on after Donald had taken the tufters to find the harboured stag. Once the chosen stag was away, they’d stop the tufters and blow for the rest of the pack.

“I’d bring the pack on, sometimes over miles of open moor, with deer everywhere. I learnt so much from Donald about how to keep hounds together, and not lose the lot to the line of a fresh stag,” says Mathew.

When the 2000 foot-and-mouth crisis called a halt to staghunting, Mathew regularly travelled home to Wales to hunt with the Ystrad, which were not stopped by the regulations.

They offered him the job of huntsman, which he took, seeing it as a step up the job ladder: “The Ystrad was a hard country to hunt, as it’s mainly forestry. But we had a lot of fun in the Vale of Clettwr country, which is much more open.”

Since leaving the Camarthenshire last October, Mathew has been going up to the David Davies most weeks, learning the country, meeting the farmers and getting to know the hounds. Like Jonesy, Mathew hails from Merthyr Tydfil. He is married to Clare, a former Devon and Somerset groom, and they have two daughters.

• This news report was first published in Horse & Hound (1 March, ’07)

David Gaylard, kennel-huntsman for the Berks & Bucks Draghounds and the Palmer Milbourn Beagles, retires in May after 50 years in hunt service with 12 different packs, mostly in the West Country.

David began as second horseman with the Sevington, going on to the North Cornwall as whipper-in, where he married Rosemary in 1963. He also worked as whipper-in at Taunton Vale and kennel-huntsman at the Stevenstone with Frank Sumner, before spending three years in Canada hunting the Eglinton & Caledon, a pack based 25 miles outside Toronto.

Rosemary says: “I loved it in Canada, but the seasons were short — September to December — and David missed the traditional long English seasons. There, we hunted fox and hare; the hares were big and put in some big circles. They could give you really good days.”

Their son, Antony, was born in Canada. He was seven when they returned to the UK, and is now back in Canada as huntsman of the Montreal Foxhounds, after spells with the West Percy and North Tyne.

“Antony loves it in Canada. He doesn’t mind the heavy snows,” says Rosemary. “I can’t see him moving back here.”

When David and Rosemary returned to England, he first worked as kennel-huntsman with the Tetcott in Devon, and then went to the Fife Foxhounds for three years as kennel-huntsman to John Gilmour. The Radnor & West Herefordshire came next, as kennel-huntsman to sole master and huntsman Neil Ewart.

But arthritic hips curtailed David’s riding days, and he took a job as kennelman at the Meynell & South Staffs. Next came a role as huntsman with the Four Shire Bassets, while Rosemary was stud groom for the Heythrop for five seasons.

Rosemary says the six seasons that followed — back in Devon with the Cotley — were very special. She remembers showing with great success at the Honiton Hound Show.

• This news report was first published in Horse & Hound (1 March, ’07)