‘Hard-working, genuine people’
The Pembrokeshire enjoys admirable depth of experience in its mastership, who care for its extensive country and superb pack of hounds for future generations
THE MEET
IT was late afternoon on a bright winter’s day and we were standing by a gateway at the bottom of a small valley in west Wales. Behind us snipe streaked away over the waterlogged grass, while on the other side of the hedge lay a sorry mess of uncut wheat, which had proved too much for the combine harvester after the exceptionally wet autumn.
Beside me, Roger Edmondson was reminiscing that in the 1970s he had a pig farm in the Garth and South Berks country which sold suckling pigs to Harrods, when a hound spoke in the bushes next to us. We waited with bated breath as Gorwel 17, a handsome son of Builth hound show champion Gelligaer Druid, bounded over to reinforce his kennelmate’s discovery. Soon the whole pack had coalesced and raced away up the valley and along the skyline before wheeling back into the covert. From where we watched I could see trail-layer Rachel
Rees returning to her quad bike, glancing back to see what this sharp pack of hounds would make of her latest web of intricate trails.
Earlier we had met at Longhouse Farm in the pretty village of Wiston, home to retiring South Pembrokeshire master Judith Reed. Among the many foot supporters was her father Brian, who hunted these hounds in the 1970s, and another former master and doyenne of the pointto-point world, Cynthia Higgon. Her father-in-law had had several lengthy stints in the mastership, starting in 1938, and had been
instrumental in introducing the hunt’s distinctive dark red collar.
As it was the children’s meet there was a good array of youngsters, including fouryear-old Ella James-Wynn, who proudly told me she had plaited the tail of her pony, Prince. On her feet taking the cap was long-serving secretary Gill Wilson, who started her hunting career as a 10-year-old with the Berkeley. She moved to Pembrokeshire in 1969 and milked the cows for six years so that her husband Richard could concentrate on the mastership (he is currently hunt treasurer).
THE MASTERSHIP
ONE of the biggest issues facing hunting today is a lack of experienced masters: often the pressures of modern life mean that masterships are all too brief. It was refreshing, therefore, to see the set-up at the Pembrokeshire. Ruth Rees is just completing her 20th season and her sister Margaret Johns is only a year behind her. Next year Gary
Barber will celebrate 30 years as huntsman and latterly master. Wyn Morris, who breeds and produces show horses and ponies, has been in the mastership since 2001. The fifth member of the team is farmer Charles Owen who, apart from a stint at agricultural college, whipped-in for 14 seasons from the age of 15.
Each of the five masters is responsible for an area of this vast three-day-a-week country, a task made easier by their farming connections.
As Margaret Johns said: “Both Ruth and I farm, as do our two older sisters. We went to school with many of the farmers and our children played sport and went to Young Farmers’ Club with their children; it all helps.”
Ruth and Margaret were introduced to hunting by their grandfather Capt. Penn, who was a descendant of the family that founded the US state of Pennsylvania. Capt. Penn was hunt chairman during the war and helped maintain the hounds. In later years he was renowned for squeezing his tall frame into an Austin Seven, which he habitually drove into muddy fields from which he had to be extracted.
Ruth was too busy lambing to be present all day but still brought the huntsman’s horse and another for me, both immaculately groomed and plaited. She singlehandedly cares for five hunters as well as full involvement in her family’s large livestock farm.
She enthused: “Farmers and hounds are my number one priority; we also have a very good team of masters and committee. The farmers are a tremendous support even though not many come hunting these days. If you have good hounds you will have good hunting and the field will have a good day.”
THE FIELD
FROM the meet we first drew southward toward Fenton
Brook and I spoke to some of the field. Not surprisingly, as Pembrokeshire is known as
“little England beyond Wales”, there were some members who had moved here in recent years, including Sandra Hoyle, a retired banker from Kent, and Steve Mundy, a former headteacher from Oxfordshire. I always feel happier when there is a doctor hunting nearby, so I was delighted to meet both nurse Freya Bevan and paramedic Steven Donovan, who was accompanying his daughter Ava and her friends. Perhaps a little more ominous was crematorium worker Eddie Taylor, who usually tries to take Tuesdays off so that he can hunt.
There were some 30 mounted, 10 of whom were riding horses and ponies supplied by Sonia Stevens from her riding school and livery yard. These included Rebecca Cadbury and her daughter Esme, who regularly commutes from Warwickshire to hunt here. Among the day’s visitors were Celia Summers and, sporting the green collar of the Gelligaer Farmers, the
Miles family.
THE COUNTRY
AFTER several fast circular trails in the little valleys between Wiston and the Lamborough lane, we stopped on top of Hook’s Hill. Here we had a panoramic view of some of the Pembrokeshire’s large country, which stretches 30 miles
east to west and 25 miles north to south. Looking to the north across the rolling countryside we could see the Preseli Hills. These hills — they looked more like mountains to me — are one of Gary’s favourite venues, with their wide-open stretches of moorland, and are usually hunted on foot on Thursdays and attract a strong contingent of foot- and car-followers.
On the far side runs the B4313 Fishguard road, which marks the north-east boundary with the adjoining Tivyside. To the east, Penblewin roundabout on the A40 near Narberth delineates the start of the Carmarthenshire country, while the River Cleddau and its tidal eastern estuary forms a natural southern limit. Former master and point-to-point trainer Bev Thomas’ lovely Boulston Farm is the southernmost meet at the confluence of the two arms of the Cleddau.
As for the rest, it is surrounded almost on three sides by the sea, and though this might result in more than its fair share of wind and rain, the hunt rarely loses a day to frost.
Anyone travelling through this prosperous, predominately dairy country could easily think they were in Devon, were it not for the place names. With no mainline railways or dual carriageways to contend with and no commercial shooting, this is a wonderful bit of country. The most popular meets are from Haverfordwest, Camrose and around Dale.
Gary recalls one memorable hunt in the pre-ban days from the meet near Letterston.
“They found at Trecoed and ran to Welsh Hook and into Haycastle, from there through Trehowell and on to Treddiog Mood, out to Hollybush and finally concluding at Brawdy army camp. It was 16 miles as hounds ran,” he said.
STAFF AND HOUNDS
HELPING Gary on a hunting day is kennel-huntsman and first whipper-in Jonathan Meyrick. He is moving to the Llangeinor Pentyrch as huntsman next season and will be much missed by everyone here. Amateur whippersin include Ella Richardson, Aled Harper and Sarah Davies, while sixth-former Rebecca Roberts was busy opening gates for the hunt staff. I was interested to learn that my mount, hers and the huntsman’s were all out of the same mare and were the third generation bred by Ruth Rees.
I have always admired
Gary’s no-nonsense and eclectic approach to hound breeding, and I used his stallion hounds when I was master and huntsman of the United. Changes in modern farming have meant that there is an abundance of double-fenced hedges, and Gary now favours a smaller, lithe hound that can negotiate these far quicker than their larger brethren. Over the years he has drifted away from pure Welsh and a lot of the pack are now a College Valley outcross. In addition, there are one or two drafts from Badminton and the VWH, sourced by Glamorgan MFH Jacky Thomas. The absence of any deer in the country has brought in others such as Cotley Rhymer 15.
However, the real showstealers on this day were the
Kerry Beagles and, in particular, Dainty 15, who had been brought over by retired hunt servant
Jack Keegan. Her drive, cry and accuracy were a joy to watch. Although named beagles, they are one of the oldest Irish hound breeds and are medium-sized black and tan hounds.
This year there are momentous happenings afoot at the kennels, as, after nearly a century at
Slade Lane, their lease has expired and they are set to move to new premises five miles away. Gary, understandably, is hugely enthusiastic about the whole project.
He sums up his lengthy tenure at the Pembrokeshire by saying: “I’ve enjoyed my 28 seasons here, and though there have been some difficult times, the mastership with the others is what’s helped me keep going. They are all hardworking, genuine people.”