It is traditional for packs of hounds to have a "grand" meet on Boxing Day and they don't come much "grander" than Avington Park! Built in the 10th Century, it was transformed in the 17th Century to accommodate the needs of Charles II and Nell Gwynne. Later, it was owned by the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos and played host to King George IV and Mrs Fitzherbet. So the Masters felt it was appropriate that it should now play host to them and the South Downs Bloodhounds. Delusions of grandeur or what!! Nonetheless, Mr and Mrs Bullen laid on a most hospitable meet, for over a hundred foot followers and a reasonable number of riders - including the Bairds from Scotland. The distances people will travel just to have a day with us! Colin Dixon was a Quarry for the day and it was very kind of him to turnout after his lorry broke down and his wife, Susanne, couldn't hunt.
The Masters' great plan to start and finish the first hunt in the nearest field on Park Farm to Avington Park had one tiny flaw. This field was also the starting point of everyone in the south of England for their Boxing Day walk. The Quarries had started across the bad scenting cultivated ground, whereas the walkers had been all over Mark and Robert Stent's generous grass headlands. First the hounds hunted left on the headland and had to be stopped, before they hunted right..........and had to be stopped! Eventually hounds were settled to the line, but they were now 40 minutes behind the Quarry. Nonetheless, they managed to hunt the line all the way to the end.
The second hunt starting on the stubble at Yavington, got away without a hitch, with hounds running onto Mr Bruce's land at Hampage Farm, crossing the footpath onto Mr Mitchell's Ovington Park Farm. Swinging south into some very large fields of winter cereal, the field got great views of houndwork as the hounds hunted up to the last field before the Alresford Road. Making a sharp turn before the main road, hounds crossed the Ovington Road onto some pretty bare ground and hunted up towards Ovington East Lodge, where they caught their Quarry.
The final hunt started in the same field as the start of the second hunt, with hounds running down to Bushy Copse before turning north by Hampage Wood and head back towards Yavington Farm. Just short of the Itchen Way, the hounds swung back for Gospel Oak, before catching their Quarry near the Temple Drive. Not the easiest bit of country to get three reasonable length hunts in, but thanks to the generosity of the Mark and Robert Stent, Pevrell Bruce and David Mitchell, we managed to get a quart out of a pint pot. Robert even took the trouble to put some jumps out for the Field, anyone see the Master go over any?
Photographs by Mike Baker and Sharon Thayer (Click to enlarge)
