Treasured hunting horn lost in river found after three months
A hunting horn that was lost in a river over three months ago has been found after a long search.
Tom Roberts, master and huntsman of the Sinnington Hunt in Yorkshire was crossing a dyke in February when his horse fell as he was trying to clamber out over the banks. This resulted in Tom letting go of his much-treasured horn, which has a distinctive bend in it after being trodden on by one of Tom’s horses during his first season hunting hounds.
After spending “many hours” searching for the horn, and using a metal detector, the horn was found muddy but in tact on Wednesday, 18 May.
Horse & Hound hunting correspondent Frank Houghton Brown was with Tom when the incident occurred and referred to it in his report (18 February):
Tom pushed his fresh horse in to jump the ditch but it didn’t get the distance and fell back, plunging Tom into the water for a ducking. In the ensuing commotion his hunting horn, the same one used by his father since he hunted the Ampleforth Beagles 40 years previously, was lost in the muddy waters of the ditch.
In learning that Tom had tracked down the horn, Frank told H&H:
“When I saw Tom’s horn drop in the muddy beck I knew that he would be back to look for it because hunting horns — especially ones with as much history as this one — are such treasured possessions.
“I lost one once and had it posted back to me after being squashed flat in a vice, so I was thrilled when Tom texted me the photo of his horn — muddy but intact.”
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This is not the first time the Swaine & Adeney Cotswold horn has gone missing. Bought for Tom’s father Simon by his mother when he was hunting the Ampleforth Beagles in 1974/5, Simon went on to hunt the Derwent. During a visit of the Derwent hounds to the Bedale country, it got lost but was relocated again the following day after a lengthy search.
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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.