Looking forward to the 2019/20 season

Photo credit: Sarah Farnsworth

For some hunts – namely those without any changes in either their mastership arrangements or with their hunt staff – 1^st May will have come and gone without notice. For others, this day earlier this week would have been a significant milestone, for it signified the start of the 2019/20 season where all those who have taken on a new role - either in hunt service or in the capacity as a Master - officially began the next phase of their hunting career.

The first few weeks in any new role tend to be a rapid learning curve but for those moving to a new hunt in a different part of the country, it means getting to know who the key people are within the hunt country and learning where their corresponding patch of land fits into the large jigsaw puzzle. "Sir" and "Madam" have always been two of the most-valued words in any hunt staff's vocabulary, and have been used many a time to get out of a sticky situation when a name might have escaped them.

Most importantly, in addition to learning the names and faces of the ladies and gentlemen, the hunt staff have to learn scores of hound names too. This in itself can be a pretty daunting prospect when faced with what, on first sight, might appear to be 35 couple of virtually identical Old English Foxhounds or West Country Harriers. The task is often made even more difficult when there has been a "clean sweep" in kennels with a whole new team of hunt staff. In these circumstances, the only way of identifying each hound – be it beagles, basset hounds, foxhounds or harriers - would be to check the tattoo marked in their ears and their microchip number in order to compare them to the list of names left by the previous employee.

A number of hunt staff and masters will have found themselves at a loose end this week following retirement from their positions, with some having made an entire career out of working with hounds. It may be the end of an era for them, for which we must thank them for their devotion to their hounds, however many are glad to make way for up and coming youngsters, plenty of whom will have learnt their craft from those now retiring or taking another path.

It is always a pleasure to hear about enthusiastic youngsters who devote their weekends and spare time to spending time in kennels, walking out hounds and washing down yards in their bid to learn from more experienced members of hunt staff. So many of these go on to take up positions within their own hunt and then make a career for themselves in hunting.

It is also very encouraging to learn that following the success and popularity of the Young Handlers Class (which was established at the West of England Hound Show at Honiton), the organisers of this year's Harrogate Hound Show and the Lycetts Festival of Hunting have decided to hold their own classes for young hunting enthusiasts from hunts exhibiting at these shows.

With so many young people already helping with hounds in hunt kennels, this provides an ideal opportunity for them to demonstate the skills they have learnt, while hopefully encouraging other hunts to get more junior members involved with their pack. The judging will be based on the ability to encourage a hound to extend across the ring and to stand on the flagstones, assisted by an experienced senior steward who will act as their assistant. The judges will ask the competitors about the hound's breeding and they will also be asked about their work at kennels and how long they have helped out with those particular hounds.

We look forward to following these classes with interest and watching which of the young hound enthusiasts go on to make a career out of hunting. For further details regarding the classes, and how to get involved, please contact Richard Walton 07970 029825 or David Wallace 07915 607469.