Matthew Higgs
Beagles Column
Matthew Higgs
We finished our season in good fettle. As so often after a good covering of snow has thawed, the countryside seemed cleansed and from February on we enjoyed a consistently good scenting time.
Hot bitches, and some with sore feet, meant I had to trust our hounds and risk taking one or two of the more headstrong into parts of the country they aren’t usually allowed to enjoy, and they repaid this in spades by turning in some wonderful hunts.
I suspect as one grows older, one’s attitude softens, and I’ve certainly been guilty in the past in allowing one or two hounds who are beginning to struggle to live with the rest of the pack, to continue to come out. Their disappointment at being left in kennel is all too tangible! But it only leads to problems I’m afraid, especially where there are a lot of lines beyond the one you are meant to be following, and a pack tailed out over a field or two are prone to split and lack purpose. I was harder at the end of this season and several favourites were left in kennels to good effect.
At the end of every season I write an “end of term report” for each hound and score them using a figure based on the number of days they hunted - as a percentage of the total they could have, if they had gone out on every day they were able (I allow for days they were in season or otherwise unavoidably prevented from hunting.)
While it is not an infallible measure of the value of each hound, it does give a good indication of each individual’s steadiness (as the hounds which go out most often are those that can be trusted most), and stamina. Much of what these statistics tell you is, of course, unsurprising as the “good” hounds all score highly but it amuses me that two of the highest rated hounds in our kennel are the ugliest, and one is almost deformed.
Four X ’04 (Dummer Forester’99-Trinity Foot Tallow’00) is an extraordinary little hound with a dreadful action behind and appalling cow hocks. When he came back from walk I almost put him down as his gait was so awkward. Yet in his fourth season he hunted on 98% of the days he could running up and never putting a foot wrong. This included hunting six days on the trot in Northumberland
It just goes to show that what is inside a hound, and his spirit, is just as important as his conformation. Of course Four X probably won’t make old bones, and probably will hunt two or three seasons less than his better put together kennelmates (which is why conformation IS important) but his courage deserves a salute.
It has also been nice to find most of the puppies scoring highly and several of them are developing into consistent middle of the road hounds. I much prefer young hounds like this to those which burst like a star onto the scene in their first few mornings. I’m sure I’m not the only huntsman to have fallen out with a puppy that initially appears to be a marvel by the end of the season. All too often they go on to become too flashy or headstrong and fall short of their early promise.
For the first time I also took the decision to shut up three puppies after Christmas. I don’t know whether that is a good idea or not, time will tell, but they were struggling to join in at all and just did not appear to have grown up. I will start them again next season in the hope that six months will have improved them.
It has been nice to repay the generosity the Dummer have shown our hounds over the years by lending them one of our doghounds Trinity Foot Marshman ’02. for stud duties.
I can take no credit he was bred by my predecessor Jenny Stafford and is Dummer top and bottom (Dummer Blizzard’99- Dummer Marble ’95).
Marble was a gift to the Trinity Foot as an old hound and did much good. Her son is a nice little hound and it was gratifying to find our high opinion of him endorsed by Steve Duckmanton, the Dummer huntsman. It was fun to see him in the field with those racing bitches though a little surprising to see him running up as he is not the fastest in our kennel and I was rather hoping we were slow!
Steve was glad of Marshman’s nose on the dusty ploughs of March. Sadly he was not such a success in kennel and despite much enthusiasm failed to make much impression on the ladies (any temptation to liken him to his masters should be strictly resisted!)
He did cover the diminutive Barley on the last day of his allotted stay so with luck he will leave more than just memories.
Show schedules are beginning to plop onto the door mat and the judges for all the major shows have been published.
There are some brave and innovative choices. On the 12th June the South of England’s judges, perhaps uniquely, do not include a master of hounds but are no worse for that.
Patrick Till, owner of the Hunsley Beacon Beagles, and George Alder, the promising young huntsman of the Britannia are judging the doghounds and the bitches will come before Lizzie Salmon, theAMHB director and John Fretwell, erstwhile kennel huntsman of the Stowe and breeder of the great Blencathra Glider at the Pennine Foxhound kennels.
Wayne O’ Brien, ex-huntsman of the Brighton and Storrington is judging bitches at Peterborough, Dave Gaylard, an outstanding (now retired)huntsman and kennel huntsman at various packs including the Cotley Harriers, Peterborough Harrier bitches and Steve Duckmanton doghounds at Honiton.
In the past there has been some opposition to having professionals judge their peers, for the good reason that it may embarrass them to reach certain decisions, but this departure from tradition is I believe a good one at a time when we are struggling to find good BEAGLE judges.Sadly there are fewer and fewer aficionados with the necessary time and enthusiasm to spend a lot of time looking at hounds and the inclusion of these experienced gentlemen in the list of judges can only be a force for good.
I hope packs will continue to support shows. Some are demoralised by rarely winning a ticket and there is no doubt that it is a considerable expense in straitened times but unless we all continue to take hounds to them the shows will become a pale shadow of what they are now which would do our sport untold harm. We will continue to take hounds that we are proud of in the field to them and enjoy the craic!
There have been the usual to and froings in the ranks of the professionals and by the time this appears several kennels will have have new incumbents or nearly so.
Mike Smith is returning to the Old Berkeley Beagles from the frozen North and we wish him well. Sadly his predecessor Garry Irwin is leaving hunt service to try his hand at landscape gardening. He is moving to the edge of our hunt country so I hope he finds time to hunt with us.
Mick Robson is leaving the Newcastle and District for foxhounds, moving across Hadrian’s Wall to the Haydon where he will be kennel huntsman. His place will be taken by James Pound who has built up a good reputation in the 10 seasons he has been at the Chilmark and Clifton Foot.He is no stranger to Northumberland, of course, as the C&CF have been regular visitors over the years. It’ll be fun to get out with him (I hope!) next September.
The Wick and District Beagles have taken the brave decision to put on a professional after some years of relying on amateurs to look after their hounds. I do not envy their committee the work of generating the necessary extra income, it is always that much more difficult to raise monies over and above what you’re used to. Ben Davies is joining them from the Ampleforth.
To all those who move over from, leave or take on a pack I wish the best of luck.
Matthew Higgs