Date set for ‘hare coursing’ trial at Scarborough Magistrates Court
Seven defendants — including former racehorse trainer Peter Easterby, trainer Sir Mark Prescott and the TV cook Clarissa Dickson Wright — are to be tried at Scarborough Magistrates Court next April for alleged illegal hare-coursing.
Miss Dickson Wright and Sir Mark are being prosecuted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), whereas charges against the other five defendants, including Mr Easterby, are being brought by the Crown Prosecution Service.
The charges are said to refer to two events at Helmsley and Malton in North Yorkshire on March 2 and 3.
All of the accused deny the allegations made against them.
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
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
A self-confessed newshound, farmer’s daughter and journalist of many years' experience, Charlotte worked on regional papers before joining H&H in 2007. A regular rider, she visited Ireland in 2010 to investigate the fate of Irish horses through the recession, to much acclaim, and reported from the FEI General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro in 2011. She left Horse & Hound in March 2013.