All change on the first of May
While it is right to marvel at flawless hound work and expert horsemanship, those toiling behind the scenes deserve the highest admiration of all, says Sir Johnny Scott
“Hunts are expensive to run; particularly mounted packs”
THE BEGINNING of this month marks the start of the new hunting year and, although no physical hunting takes place until autumn, it is also the date that Masters are appointed or reappointed by the hunt committee and new kennel staff – huntsmen, kennel huntsmen and whippers-in – begin their duties. Committee members who have served their term of office (generally three years) retire and are replaced, and new secretaries take up their posts. I know you have hunted for several seasons and are well versed in the etiquette of a hunting day. However, when I was your age, I was more interested in watching hounds and knew little of the enormous amount of hard work that goes into running a hunt.
There are around 230 packs of hounds in the UK – foxhounds, staghounds, beagles, bassets, harriers, minkhounds and fell hounds – each registered with their respective governing bodies. These organisations have strict rules on how hunts can operate under the Hunting Act 2004, which banned the use of hound packs to control quarry species, and a huntsman with a foxhound pack can now only hunt an artificial scent laid by a trail-layer. The British Hound Sports Association is the governing body of all recognised hunts and provides support, guidance and supervision for hunts and their personnel.
Hunts are expensive to run, particularly mounted packs. Part of their income comes from subscribers (the mounted field) and from the annual point-to-point, hunt ball, dinners, hunt rides and other social functions. Within a hunt there is a committee, headed by a chairman, that is responsible for the overall policy of the hunt and raising the income to run it. This includes wages for staff, food for hounds and horses, maintenance of premises and payment for damage to non-hunt property. Sub-committees plan the point-to-point and hunt ball, while the secretary collects subscriptions and sends information to subscribers (Meet cards and so on) as well as dealing with all financial issues relating to the hunt. Further funds are raised by hunt supporters’ clubs, which organise social events throughout the Season, such as quiz nights, darts matches, and terrier and lurcher shows.
All hunts will have one or more Masters and some as many as six, depending on the size of the country. The Duke of Beaufort’s, for example, covers 760 square miles, while the North Cotswold is a third of that size. Masters are responsible for the overall management of the hunt, kennels, staff and conduct on a hunting day, plus the vital role of liaising with local landowners and farmers, on whom the hunt depends for permission to hunt across their land.
A new professional huntsman is a salaried employee and responsible for the welfare of the hounds, assisted by a whipper-in. If hounds are to be hunted by a new Master, a kennel huntsman has the duty of looking after hounds. In either case, the most important job is learning the names of his hounds and their personalities – the average size of a pack is 25 to 30 couple – and for them to recognise and respond to his voice. He has to study the hazards of his hunt country (roads, railways, rivers, areas where access is denied) and meet the farmers, keepers and landowners.
A day in kennels starts at 6.30am with hounds to walk out and feed, bedding to change, lodges to clean, yards to wash down and a myriad of maintenance jobs that go with looking after a large number of animals. May is always a busy month: the kennels have to be spruced up for the annual puppy show – a special occasion in the year of a hunt. This is an opportunity to thank the farmers, landowners and hunt supporters as well as the puppy walkers, who are really the guests of honour. Puppies whelped in the summer and weaned at 10 or 12 weeks will be fostered by puppy walkers for the next four to six months before being returned to kennels and joining the pack. A huntsman is too busy to educate puppies and puppy walkers are crucial to any hunt, introducing the young hounds to the sights and sounds of the countryside, helping them learn right from wrong and teaching them their name. The ‘new entry’ are usually judged by a visiting Master and professional huntsman, and the day ends with prizes and tea in the marquee.
Most hunts show hounds through the summer, both at local events and the great hound shows: Great Yorkshire, South of England, Wales & Border Counties, West of England and the Festival of Hounds in Peterborough. From July hound exercise gets progressively longer, first on bikes and then horses, to get hounds fit for the Season. So just remember, Freddie, there is much more to hunt service than wearing a red coat.