Matthew Higgs
Beagles Column
Matthew Higgs
It has been a difficult autumn for our farmers and even worse a one for those in the North and West of the UK. Horrendous weather at harvest which delayed the cutting of crops and necessitated expensive drying costs when they were, coupled with a falling commodity market has left many of them questioning their future.
As Nigel Peel wrote elsewhere the right thing in these circumstances was absolutely to delay the start of hunting until the farmers were ready to have us. It was an ugly sight watching one or two packs who knew better struggling to lay trails about swathes of unharvested corn, an act that cannot have improved their standing among the farming community one jot.
I married my joint master in August (rumours that she had refused to whip in this season unless I did the decent thing are absolutely true). We had hoped to go hunting in the morning but as one wet day followed another put that thought aside. We had, of course underestimated the generosity of our farmers, who with the headlands off and one or two fields cleared insisted we have a go. We did and, although the handbrake was firmly on, started a marvellous day (the only sunny one that fortnight!) as we would have wished with our hounds and hunting friends.
We were also blessed by a most accommodating vicar who cheerfully agreed to our terriers accompanying Kate up the aisle and (unbeknownst to us) some hound puppies being walked in the village joining the congregation. The Dickson girls had their charges bedecked with ribbons and the puppies’ lusty contributions to the hymn singing was a delightful surprise!
We were married in Flamstead church, where Richard Russell, now master of the Dummer, was brought up. His father was for many years vicar there and Richard told us that at that time a retired Eton College Hunt beagle was a regular member of the congregation so a precedent had been established!
That excitement over we returned to the roads and weren’t able to really hunt again until we made our annual pilgrimage to Northumberland in September. Last year we missed this invaluable part of our season because of the foot and mouth restrictions and didn’t it show?
We are not the only pack to migrate to the north or Wales at this time of year and its beneficial effect on hounds young and old alike is huge. The generosity of host packs and farmers alike is greatly appreciated as it enables hounds to go out into good scenting conditions several times in a short space of time. Good lessons are learnt and reinforced over a week’s intensive sport and the pack is set up for the season.
It is also of course the most tremendous fun. Our trip was enjoyed by a good crowd including several Cambridge undergraduates, one admitting to learning more in a week than she had in the whole of the previous season’s beagling.
It has been less easy on our return home where, of course after the miserable harvest we have battled with bone dry seed beds and poor scent (the weather is never right!). We have unusually already lost one day -to fog - and at the time of writing the Chilterns are covered in snow. What a start to the season!
The AMHB held its Young Hunter’s Day at Stowe in October and it was well supported by youngsters from a wide range of packs, not just the College ones. Lizzie Salmon, our director is to be congratulated on sorting out an interesting selection of speakers and the recent innovation of asking experienced professional huntsmen to share their expertise is a good one.
This year Garry Irwin (Old Berkeley) and Steve Duckmanton (Dummer) spoke and, despite admitting to being nervous, they of course provided a lucid and telling commentary on a subject they so well understand. Steve told us the late George Haynes, who set so many foxhunters on their careers when he looked after the RAC Beagles, told him always to remember hounds hunt at their best “tired”. With many kennels keeping more hounds than they can comfortably take out regularly I thought this point well made.
Hounds learn little in kennel and are less likely to stray if kept busy. Anyone lucky enough to have a day with the Dummer will well know how well Steve adopts this policy, hunting a big pack of fit, well matched hounds all of which go out day in, day out.
Charles Frampton now master and huntsman of the Portman gave an interesting resume of his hunting career which began at the Stowe and it was then interesting to hear how several youngsters spending their gap year with foxhound packs this season were getting on.
All of them, I think, were a little surprised at the intensity and sheer hard work of the experience but that seemed to only have strengthened their resolve to excel. The only disappointment for us foot hunters was that all of them, without exception, saw their experience with beagles, while hugely worthwhile, as a springboard towards a mounted pack. None saw their future with a foot pack.
What can be done about this is a problem. Gone are the days, it seems, when the Yorkshire “valley” packs supplied a steady stream of keen huntsman (Martin Fitton, Wayne O’ Brien, Steve Duckmanton among others) who went on to work around the country and the commitment necessary to hunt a pack of beagles regularly appears to be a commodity short in young people today.
Perhaps one way to address it would be to make sure that the various members of the excellent bursary scheme run by Brian Fanshawe spent some time away from their respective mounted packs with their local beagles.
If nothing else they would gain experience handling a different sort of hound and with luck one or two might look to a foot pack in their future careers. Beagling continues to be popular with young people, as the turnout at the AMHB course demonstrates each year, but without some of them deciding to devote a major part of their spare time to the sport many packs will struggle.
Matthew Higgs