Season 2007 - 2008
The meets appear in the order of most recent at the top. Follow links
in each summary report to find more details and/or more pictures.
Lomer Farm, Preshaw. 9/4/08
It was a sunny, warm, dry day when hounds met on Sir Richard Pelly's stunning Preshaw Estate. Our Master looked worried as the hounds were about to come under the scrutiny of Carolyn Poland, wife of Michael Poland a former master of the (Hursley Hambledon and Isle of Wight Foxhounds). Given that much of the ground the hounds would be hunting over would be bare ground or spring crops, the omens for a good day were poor. It was good to have amateur whipper-in Kim Thayer back out with us after her bad fall, and equally good to see Chris Lee back running for us, having had a very busy time at work for a few months. "I'm looking forward to a good fast run," says Chris - words that he is going to regret! Dominic Hubble was also looking forward to a day hunting the clean boot - little did he realise he would end up hunting the "sweaty pony"!..................Hounds were really showing off which, given our distinguished and knowledgeable visitor, the Master was very grateful for. And as for catching Chris on the hoof in the second hunt and giving him a scare on the third, "that was the icing on the cake," said the Master! I can't help feeling that Chris will be looking for revenge next season!
Full report and more pictures here.
Standing in the valley at Meon Springs, one thing was obvious to the Quarries Nick and Richard Hoare, this day was going to involve running up, down and across hills. Little did they realised it was also going to involve running through woods and brambles, while dealing with a mistake in the directions! The day was also very warm and far from ideal scenting conditions. Was this March the 30th or April 1st the Quarries were wondering by the end of the day! We are most grateful to the Butler family and Bill Tyrwhitt-Drake for giving us some beautiful country to hunt over on this day. Mind you, by the time the Master reads this report and views the pictures of his jumping (or to be more accurate non-jumping), I might be looking for a new job! Apparently Stanley doesn't like drop fences..........................This had been a very tough day for the the Quarries and the hounds as they had done more than double the hill work than the riders. Added to this, their legs were lacerated by numerous bramble cuts. Was the Master sympathetic about the Quarries aching legs and numerous lacerations?????.......Do pigs fly?!
Full report and more pictures here.
It would appear that the annual pilgrimage to ski resorts took a heavy toll on our Field, which was a shame because we had some great country to hunt over, after enjoying Charlie Corbett's hospitality at Holden Farm. Jeff Lynn very kindly and selflessly gave up a day's work to Quarry for us and as such, gets a mention in dispatches! One of the advantages of having only one Quarry running, is that scent is very catchy and hounds have to work very hard to stay on the line. It was clearly a poor scenting day as well, with hounds panting in the warm weather. We had some good open ground to hunt over, thanks to Mr Corbett, Mr Young, Mr Rames, Mr Foot and Mr Gray...........................................It wasn't the fastest of days but if you enjoy hound work, there was plenty to see. Thank you Jeff. (That was your mention in dispatches!)
Full report and more pictures here.
Bereleigh is always a popular meeting place for a number of sporting events, not least because of the generousity of Mr & Mrs Tyrwhitt-Drake. Once again there was a good turnout of 25 riders and a good crowd of foot followers. Quarries for the day were Nick and Richard Hoare, and Jeff Lynn. For some reason they would not accept the Master's assurances that the hunts were all on level ground. We were extraordinarly lucky with the weather as it was wet and windy either side of our meet. If you like jumping, then this is the place to be; and even Quarry Jeff Lynn (right) was in jumping mode, fortunately Nick wasn't - we don't have a team of fence builders following on the day! ....................... There were a lot of smiling faces at the end of the day, despite a few empty saddles along the route! And the Quarries?????????????????? Paramedics to Vineyard Hole please!
Full report and more pictures here.
The Master told me, "Whenever I used to drive to Winchester on the A272, I used to look down into that great big bowl of ground on the right just before the road drops down to the A31, and I think to myself, if only we could take the bloodhounds there, what a sight it would be."Well, the Master's dream came true. Mr Peveral Bruce kindly permitted us to meet and hunt at Temple Valley, and not only did Head Keeper Richard Stokes give us a very hospitable meet - two meets if you count the afternoon Port break! - but he was also tremendously helpful in finding us the best routes. As well as running a very big shoot, Richard is a keen follower and supporter of foxhound packs. It was only a shame there weren't more riders out, but there was a good show of foot followers. Quarries for the day were Jeff Lynn and Paul Miller and they faced some pretty testing country. Full report and more pictures here.
"A stonkingly good day," was the Masters verdict at the end of the day following the meet at Abbotstone. "I think we spent more time in the air than on the ground!" he added. Of course it is great to be hunting on the Grange Estate at any time, but to be given a meet by the Hon. Mr and Mrs Mark Baring really was the icing on the cake. Mark and Miranda Baring generously provided refreshments for a good turnout of riders and foot followers, including Lady Susan Ashburton and Admiral Sir James Eberle GCB MH (Master of the Britannia Beagles). Our Quarries for the day were Nick and Richard Hoare and Jeff Lynn. We were sorry to be missing our Amateur Whipper-in, Kim Thayer, who had a horrendous fall during the week while exercising a friends horse. Just goes to show Kim, you're much safer hunting! We hope she's back out with us soon. Full Report and more pictures here.
Upton Park was another new meet for us this season and we are very grateful to Mr Morgan-Giles for letting us hunt over his beautiful estate. It was also good to see Mr and Mrs Morgan-Giles and their family with us at the meet and following for a while. We are also grateful to Farm Manager Tim Walters for helping the Master plan the day's sport. It was good to see Nick Burne MBH and Jan Gration MBH (Burne Bloodhounds) out with us. The first hunt started in glorious parkland and the Field were also able to enjoy some jumps along the way. Although from now on Laura will be known as the Karate Kid, for the way she went through the last jump! Nick Hoare and Mark little were our Quarries for the day and they only just made the end of the first hunt before the hounds caught up with them. "They cheated" cried the Master, who had been hoping to catch them on the run, after Nick said on the radio that the hounds had no chance of catching them, even though they had only a 15 minute start on a 4.6km run. Apparently the Master claims they cut the last corner by half a mile. We will have to study the replay! . Full Report and more pictures here.
There was a record turnout of 30 riders for our meet at Brockwood Farm, and a whole host of foot followers. Four hunts had been arranged, with the first one starting on Charlie Flindt's Manor Farm, Hinton Ampner, and the other three on Mathew Morton's land at Brockwood Farm. It was great to have Roseby Morton join us with her children and we hope they enjoyed their day. It was never going to be an easy day as although bright sunshine is nice to ride in, it is not great for scent. Added to this, there was roe deer and hares seen in virtually every field we hunted in, including 6 hares thinking it was March, and boxing in the first field before hounds were laid on to our Quarry, Mark Little. Full report and more pictures here.
It was a great shame not to have a larger Field out with us at the Fox Goes Free at Charlton, partly because we were hunting in a beautiful part of the Goodwood Estate and partly because they would have seen one of the most extraordinary sights our Master has ever seen out hunting. It is illegal for hunts to intentionally hunt deer, but by the end of the day the Master was left wondering, is it illegal for deer to hunt hounds? Olly Room, Mark Little and Jeff Lynne were our Quarries for the day and we were most grateful to our host farmer John Holt, for accommodating us. Full Report and more pictures here.
There can be no better example of a country pub than the Pub With No Name. This is the hounds "local" and the mounted and foot followers were generously provided with refreshments by Georgie and Paul Stuart. Regular Quarries Nick and Richard Hoare, and Nick Hudson, were joined by another first timer, Jeff Lynne. The weather was good, and ideal conditions to enjoy the beauty of the Rotherfield Estate. Full report and more pictures here.
As usual, Warren Farm proved to be a popular meet with both riders and foot followers. Stephen and Val Batten provided generous refreshments for the assembled company, including a herd of Quarries. Nick and Richard Hoare, were joined by Nick Hudson and first timer Mark Little. The Quarries declined a drink to start with, until they had a look at the maps and notes and realised just how much plough they would be running over! Given the dreadful wet weather we have been having over the last week, it really was very kind of Mrs Knight at Penny Hill and Anthony Silk of Priors Dean to let us hunt at all. Full report and more pictures here.
Corhampton Lane Farm, 13/1/08
After a very wet week, we were very lucky to be hunting at the new meet of Corhampton Lane Farm. Unfortunately it was only possible to find enough ground to have two hunts on and we are very grateful to Dick Hall for his hospitality. The Master was panicking the night before, as he had no quarry. Texting his daughter and asking if her fiance would run, he was lucky to find she was in a pub, and that her friend Claire Lindsay was down from Leeds and "up for it." Apparently the next morning, the sober realisation of what she had volunteered to do sunk home. But it was too late now, there was no turning back. The Master had posted a guard at the train station! At the meet, the Master did his usual routine about the hounds not eating whole Quarries, just a leg or an arm, but she was completely un-phased by his remarks. From the looks of her, she is probably used to being chased by slavering animals; but they probably usually have only two legs and want to do more than lick her once they have caught her! Full report and more pictures here.
I can think of know better start to the New Year, than having our first meet of 2008 at Coldhayes. A beautiful setting, generous hospitality provided by Ingrid and Geoffrey Dale, a good number of riders, loads of foot followers, and some great country to ride over, courtesy of the Dale, Ellis, Amesbury and Beecham families. As the country was new and a bit tight to organise hunting over, the Master played safe and left the fastest hounds at home. Probably just as well, as the Field had some difficulty living with the hounds. We had a good turnout of Quarries as well, with Nick and Richard Hoare being joined by Nick Hudson and Freddie Green; Nick Hudson having decided that running 8 - 12 miles in front of the hounds was considerably less tiring, than trying to ride his horse behind them! Full report and more pictures here.
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. Full report and more pictures here.
As usual, food and drink flowed like water at James and Carolyn Fair's Keyham Farm meet and was enough to make our Master brave enough to jump out of the field on the first hunt. Next year he might even do it on a horse! Nick Hoare was joined by our host's son, Hector, to give us a brilliant day's sport. Nick Hudson, who ran for us as a Quarry at Chilton Down, was riding for this meet, but I think by the end of the day he may have decided to go back to Quarrying for a less exhausting way of hunting! It wasn't that he was out of control, more that his horse was in control! Full report and more pictures here.
We've had rain, we've had gales, now it's frost that made for tricky riding conditions at Upper Farm, Bradley. We were also short of a Quarry as the day approached and we are grateful to Ray Bulman and Joint Master Mark Stent for stepping in at the last minute; although it may be a day Mark will want to forget! Mark started the second hunt very confidently as he "knew the area well". Unfortunately, as often happens with people who "know the area" they don't check the map and notes too carefully, and Mark started in the wrong field! Poor Mark, he ran about 3.5 kilometers and yet Jeremy couldn't lay the hounds on, because he couldn't be sure Mark was running over permitted ground. Fortunately Ray stepped in to re-run the second hunt. All the hunts took place on the Gibbons family's land and we are most grateful to them for accommodating us. Full report and pictures here.
Chilton Down, 9/12/07
The previous Sunday's meet was postponed because of forecast gales and rain, so we couldn't believe it when gales were forecast for this weekend again. The Masters decided to trust the forecast, which said there would be a lull in the weather around midday. However, the generally poor forecast did affect our numbers, which was a shame because this is a beautiful bit of country and we are grateful to Mr and Mrs Marriott and Mr Morgan Giles for having us despite the fact they have shoots. Bob Collins, Ex-huntsman of the Hampshire Hunt and now Chilton Down Gamekeeper, was most helpful in finding as routes to hunt. It was good to see Chris Lee back running for us again, joined by Colin Dixon and Nick Hudson - whose wife Louise was riding with us. As it turned out, we stayed dry but the cooling wind stopped the Quarries from overheating! Full report and more pictures here.
Itchen Down Farm, 25/11/07
Dick Burge and Brenda Hulme kindly laid on some splendid refreshments on a bright sunny day at Itchen Down Farm. There was a good turnout of riders and foot followers hoping for a good day in this beautiful part of the country. Adrian Sole and Ali Bamford were our Quarries for the day and they were joined by Colin Dixon, whose wife Suzanne was riding the much admired Trevor (Right). Colin must have enjoyed his day, because he has volunteered to run again! Full report and more pictures here.
Stocks Farm, Privett, 18/11/07
The weather forecast was appalling, surely no-one would be as crazy as our Master and actually turn up to hunt? Would our Quarry Nick Hoare actually turn up to run in these conditions! Well he did, and there were three more people who should have been wearing straight jackets rather than hunting jackets!!! Kim and Carol Thayer were joined by Amy Poole-Lacey for this day of mud and water! But the real heroes of the day were the Dalton family who are just so incredibly generous in supporting all the local hunts. John Dalton kindly telephone Jeremy last season and invited him to bring his hounds this season, despite the fact that he already has the Hursley Hambledon Foxhounds, the Clinkeard and Meon Valley Beagles and the Southern Shires Bloodhounds regularly hunting on his land. As this is a serious arable farm with a shoot, this really is a magnificent example of generosity by John and his father. Full report here and a couple more pictures by Ann Brewer
Despite having our Opening Meet on the non traditional day of Saturday - to avoid meeting on Remembrance Sunday - there was a good turnout of 25 riders and loads of foot followers. A great sunny day, in beautiful autumn colours, with generous hospitality provided by our hosts Mike and Fran Baker, what more could we want? Well I suppose some good Quarries to hunt and some ground to hunt over - and we had that as well. Adrian Sole and Alison Bamford kindly volunteered to set us some good hunts over the Ellis family's land for the first three hunts, and Anthony Silk's ground for the fourth. It was great to see Jane Ellis out with us again, as well as a contingent of 10 riders from Froxfield Stud. Full report and pictures by Ann Brewer here.
Nick Hoare and Freddie Green were our Quarries on this beautiful sunny day with amazing autumn colours. Once again there was a good turnout of riders and foot followers in the delightful setting of Mark and Robert Stents farm. Four hunts had been arranged and hounds hunted well on various surfaces - stubble, bare ground, new crops and grass. This was not only a day of great riding but great viewing of hound work as well. The Quarries gave the Master a bit of a shock by putting in an extra unexpected loop in one of the hunts, but the hounds were trusted and the hunt finished without any interference or help. Some more really great pictures by Ann Brewer and Sharon Thayer here.
This meet was going to be quite a test for the hounds, as new Quarries Nick Ross and Freddie Green had quite a bit of newly sown ground to run over, and this type of ground carries little scent. There were 12 1/2 couples of hounds, including 5 couples of puppies. Our new Quarries ran perfect hunts giving the hounds great lines to work out and the riders a good ride over Mr Mitham's farm on the beautiful Rotherfield Estate. Click here for more pictures by Ann Brewer
At last, the lifting of Foot and Mouth restrictions gives us a chance to get going again. Nick and Richard Hoare ran with Tanya Brady, to give us an excellent first training meet of the season. Bearing in mind none of our Quarries had run for hounds before, they did a brilliant job. Hunting over Mr Silk's farmland, the hounds hunted as if they had been never been laid off for the summer. Sonia and Simon Poulter were both parted from their horses for a short while, but by different means. Sonia had a fall after the field try to pile through a gateway a bit over-enthusiastically, while Simon made the mistake of feeling sorry for his horse and getting off it for a rest. The horse decided to go home by himself! Click here for more pictures by Ann Brewer
