A day’s hunting with...
A young team, sharing hounds and country — is this the way forward? This thoroughly modern system works a treat for the West of Yore
the West of Yore
West of Yore, Cowmyers, N Yorks
A HOUND spoke in the middle of Winksley Planting and within a few short seconds, the whole pack were roaring at the line. It was just before 3pm, the bright sun was disappearing and the chill of the coming night’s frost was just starting to pinch at your fingertips. The field was much depleted to about 10 people, but through the deep woodland rides there was no way of going any faster, and it seemed that hounds could easily get away from us.
The noise turned back towards us, closer and closer, with the cacophony building until the pack raced along underneath the conifers between us and the covert edge. They turned short again and then the tone changed as they hit the open grass and away. Again it seemed that we would be left and as we scurried downhill and jumped some rails out of the wood, we could hear joint-master and huntsman Sam Townend blowing gone away.
There was a vista of grass in front of us, but the hounds overshot where the trail kinked to avoid three fields of ewes that were particularly sensitive at tupping time. Sam held them round the sheep, a complicated manoeuvre through several gates and a yard, but they never ran on again with any gusto. We had
experienced a brief and tantalising glimpse of what these hounds are capable of.
YOUNG GUNS TAKE THE HELM
THE meet was at Cowmyers, just west of Ripon at Tom Ramsden’s livery yard; it is run by Louise Ruddock, who has worked for Tom for 35 years and walked virtually a whole pack of hound puppies during this time. Louise produced one of Tom’s hunters for me to ride, a big chestnut called Auburn that hunt secretary Sharon Fletcher had sold to him when she smashed herself up last year.
“He won’t stand still but will jump anything,” said Sharon, and he certainly lived up to his billing.
Retired farmer John Errington arrived in the yard, having collected the hounds from the Bedale kennels, and this was
Sam Townend’s turn to hunt the hounds, a responsibility and honour he has shared for the past four seasons with his joint-master, 27-year-old Jake Richardson.
An organic vegetable farmer from the Bedale country, Jake cut his teeth hunting the Claro Beagles for two seasons and said: “I hardly knew Sam before I started hunting the hounds with him, but now we’re good friends.”
Twenty-nine-year-old Sam has his own local building business and spent his gap year working at the VWH kennels to learn the nitty-gritty of hunting. These two young men work together seamlessly and there is absolutely no jealousy in their partnership.
The West of Yore has no kennels and no professional staff, relying entirely upon amateur help on a hunting day. Now they have adopted a hound-sharing arrangement with the York and Ainsty North, where they hunt
‘The West of Yore has no professional staff, relying upon amateur help on a hunting day’
both countries with the same pack. Both hunts have their own committees, raise their own finances and organise their own hunting countries. They hunt two days a week between the two countries and share the kennel costs of keeping their hounds at the Bedale kennels.
Subscribers from both packs can hunt on any day, and of the 50 or so mounted field there was a fairly even distribution of people from either country. Christina Robinson gave the meet, and her daughters Chloe and Sophie were both out hunting. Chairman of the West of Yore, Michael Abrahams, was at the meet on his feet with his wife Amanda. Michael used to hunt the hounds himself and Amanda was also a master, but they were represented in the field by their daughter Emily and grandchildren Alexander, Posy, Francesca, William and Jamie.
Local farmer Warwick Bailey was field master and also shares the responsibility of arranging the day.
“I ring up some of the farmers to let them know we are in the
area. My mother still rings up some farmers too and she has been doing that for 40 years,” explained Warwick.
Jackie Brooke is the York and Ainsty North master in attendance, but she delegates the field mastering when in her country to her daughter, Jess Gillam. Jess works as racing secretary to racehorse trainer
Tim Easterby, but keeps her lovely grey hunter at home with her mother.
‘THIS ARRANGEMENT WORKS SO WELL’
FROM the meet, Sam took the mixed pack of 15½ couple to Ellington Banks. The sun was high in the clear sky and a crisp overnight frost was just starting to seep out of the ground as the temperature rose.
Sam’s fiancée Alice Mackintosh unloaded her dun pony after hounds had left the meet, as she was helping to dispense the refreshments. Her mount was a bit keen and pulled her straight into the first field boundary, a big hedge that he skipped over with ease to get to the field.
It was indeed a beautiful day, but in this large woodland it was difficult to hang on to the line of the first trail. Persistence was the order of the day and Sam stuck at it for an hour or so. With short bursts of music when it looked like we would get going, each time it petered out to nothing and in the end it came to naught.
Masters of Foxhounds Association (MFHA) director
Tim Easby slipped on ahead along the top of Laver Banks, the next draw. Tim is a West of Yore farmer who used to hunt the hounds and still hunts with them as often as possible.
“It’s a fantastic country and they have this very modern arrangement that works so well for both the West of Yore and the York and Ainsty North,” he said. “They can enjoy the benefits of both lovely hunting countries, share the kennel costs and keep their own identity. Both hunts get to know each other, and from where I sit, this is a blueprint on how to proceed.”
They were soon running back from whence they came and over to Nab Wood. Scent was getting worse as the sun was at its zenith, and amateur whipperin and farrier Chris Pedley had to jump off and release a hound that was caught by its toe in the wire. As hounds touched the last vestiges of a line into Dick Hill Wood, I spoke to Steven Ward, a subscriber of 50 years’ standing and still hunting in a red coat.
“We have a really young and energetic team,” he said, “and it’s all working very well.”
I went on with Tom Ramsden as a fresh start was made in Hospital Wood. We were on Tom’s estate all day and he explained how there had been a World War I hospital in the wood, hence its name.
“My father restarted the West of Yore in 1962 as a private pack. He had been a master of the Bedale and saw that they hardly hunted this bit of country west of the Ure river,” he said.
Tom’s father was the Rt Hon James Ramsden, who shared hunting the hounds with
Nancy Staveley.
“He was probably the last Cabinet minister to have hunted a pack of hounds,” Tom said.
Tom’s father was the Secretary of State for War. From 1972,
the hounds were kennelled with the Bedale, and Tom hunted the hounds himself for 20 seasons from 1981, when he took over the horn from Michael Abrahams. His son Matt is now doing a splendid job as joint-master and huntsman of the Duke of Beaufort’s hounds.
Sam took the hounds to draw Bolton Nursery, where we jumped the forestry gates beside the rabbit netting into the plantation.
These thick Christmas trees held a huge red deer stag and his hinds that must have been escapees from a local park.
There were two large fields of fodder beet and there was much banter and even a wager involving fence-mender Dave Fletcher on his Gator vehicle, Eric Simpson who was in a 4x4 vehicle and
Tom Ramsden. Eric is a local farmer who whipped-in for 40 seasons but now follows in his car every day.
“We ran on to Eric’s farm one day and got in a lot of trouble for upsetting his sheep,” Tom remembered. “However, we made amends and very shortly he took up hunting and became my amateur whipper-in.”
HAPPY HUNTERS
TOM led us over a neatly trimmed hedge as we went to draw Clipped Thorn, and the field had thinned out as
Sam put hounds into this thick covert. But with nothing doing here, we made a move to Winksley Planting, where they found the last line of the day.
We rode back into the Cowmyers yard at dusk in this unspoilt and quiet part of North
‘From where I sit, this is a blueprint on how to proceed’ MFHA DIRECTOR TIM EASBY ON THE WEST OF YORE’S ARRANGEMENT WITH THE YORK AND AINSTY NORTH
Yorkshire, and I reflected upon the immense dedication that has run through every person who has made the West of Yore hunt work so well over the years. There is a dynasty of amateur huntsmen and self-help which in no way diminishes the dedication or professionalism with which the hunt is run.
A bad scent can often be a poor excuse, but on this occasion it was a difficult scenting day. Somehow, however, whatever was not right on the day did not detract from the enjoyment.
Everyone was thrilled to be there and while the sunshine may not have helped the hunting, it certainly made for happy hunters.