Peterborough festival to celebrate hunting

A morale-boosting “Festival of Hunting” is to accompany this summer’s major Foxhound show at Peterborough.

The new event at the East of England Showground on 20 July aims to attract the widest range of hound enthusiasts. It includes an inter-hunt team relay for horse

and pony teams from packs across the country.

Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show Society has joined forces with the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles and the East of England Agricultural Society to organise the programme.

Up to last year, Beagles and Harriers were shown on a separate day. This year, they are to be judged on the same day in adjacent rings. There will also be an exhibition and show of other hounds, such as Bassets, Mink Hounds, Fell Hounds, Old English and Welsh types, Staghounds and hounds from drag packs.

Coursing will be strongly represented, with Greyhounds, Salukis and Lurchers on show, as well as hunt terriers.

Show secretary Andrew Mercer said: “This will be a ‘celebration of hunting’, where visitors can meet old colleagues and bolster their morale for challenging times ahead.

“The need to protect the precious bloodlines of hounds established over so many generations has never been greater, and we are determined that the festival will provide a boost to the commitment of hunting folk.”

For details and tickets, contact (tel: 01733 234451) or e-mail: Andrew@eastofengland.org.uk

This news article was first published in Horse & Hound (31 March, ’05)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now