David Hindle
Bassets Column
David Hindle
David Hindle trained as an agronomist and intended to be a farmer but, on leaving university, went into the agricultural seed industry where he spent the rest of his working life. He is now retired and lives in Lincolnshire. A former Master of the East Lincs Harehounds, he was later a Joint-Master of the Colchester Garrison Beagles before they amalgamated with the Sproughton Foot to become the Stour Valley Beagles. He has been Chairman of the Masters of Basset Hounds Association since 2003.
The Festival of Hunting at Peterborough is the venue of the only Basset hound show in Britain run under the auspices of the Masters of Basset Hounds Association (MBHA) and is simply referred to by the members as: “The Annual Show”.
I have said before, we are a small association with only nine member packs in this country, and all except one are expected to be showing at Peterborough this year. Our packs are very well spread throughout Britain and our ‘Annual Show’ is the only time in the year when we ever get together, with our hounds, in one place. This year, at the Festival of Hunting, it will be our 67th show and all of us are looking forward to it, as usual.
Basset hounds waiting to be judged at Peterborough, 1977
Showing Basset Hounds at Peterborough in 1977, at the time when the MBHA used the Foxhound ring on the Tuesday of Peterborough week
A lot of work goes into preparing and showing the hounds and, although years ago this was usually done for each pack by its professional huntsman, we now have only one pack who is so blessed and, having prepared hounds for Peterborough myself in days gone by, I know how much time and effort goes into getting hounds ready. I always think it a pity that each pack cannot always win something to reward it for this effort, but that obviously depends on the judges - and I suppose eventually on me, because I am responsible for inviting the judges!
The hunting Basset hound is not an easy hound to judge. To begin with, we have no actual breed standard and the word Basset hound covers quite a variable genotype. This is mainly because of the out-crossing done, historically, to obtain a more active hound in the hunting field by creating what has become known as the English Basset.
The idea was to obtain a working hound that was capable of hunting two or three days a week, without being encumbered by the “Queen Anne” legs, and was thus more or less straight in front and without the “stuffiness” and “lumber” associated with the original French or “Hush Puppy” type. The MBHA has always believed it is up to each Master to breed the type of hound he considers best suits his own particular hunting country. Consequently, you can imagine some variation in the show ring and the judges can sometimes have quite a testing task.
I usually try to pick one judge with considerable experience of the hunting Basset – (normally one of our Vice-Presidents, most of whom are ex Masters of a Basset pack) and another judge who has the reputation of being a good general hound man, be it Foxhounds, Beagles or Harriers. Getting the latter is nowadays not as easy as it was, because such people are often involved with their own type of hound at the same Festival on the same day. It was easier when Peterborough was spread over three days, with different days for the different hound breeds.
Westerby Basetts kennel-huntsman Peter Barrett with Peterborough '08 Bitch Championship Active
We do produce guidelines for judges, but they are of necessity so imprecise that what usually happens is that judges generally eliminate the hounds from each class which they consider to have any faults, and then put the rest in the order they would like to take them home! You can, therefore, see that this is rather a case of “beauty being in the eye of the beholder” and, unfortunately, some packs may go home disappointed.
Whilst the annual show is no longer really the virtual garden party it once was many years ago, I always try to remind our members that the show should be considered more like an exhibition than a contest and to use the occasion as an opportunity to see each other’s hounds and exchange breeding ideas. Nevertheless, the competition can be quite fierce and I always suspect that not everybody may necessarily leave happily.
At this year's show we have initiated, for the first time, two classes for hounds (one for doghounds and one for bitches) not exceeding fifteen inches in height, so as to give those packs with smaller hounds an opportunity of showing their hounds in classes with other hounds of a similar stature, because it was thought, quite reasonably, that smaller hounds could be at a disadvantage when shown with larger hounds. I am keen to see the outcome of these new classes.
Peterborough is rather special for Bassets, in much the same way as it is for all the hound breeds. In earlier days we were able to use the Foxhound ring on the Tuesday of Peterborough week. The Foxhounds had it on Wednesday and the Harriers and Beagles on Thursday. We tried moving away from Peterborough for three years in the early 2000s, and although we had some good shows it was never quite the same, so we came back as part of the Festival of Hunting and find the organisation of the Festival to be first class.
Peterborough marks the turning of the year in many ways. After the Show is over I begin to look forward to the start of the new season. Whatever happens at the Show, all of us, whether we are exhibitors or spectators, should remember that showing is a nice, pleasant way of spending a summer’s day, but it is a mere shadow of what the hounds were really bred for.
David Hindle
The Hunting Basset
David Hindle’s book is now available. It tells the story of the Basset Hound in Britain from when it first arrived from France during the second half of the nineteenth century. It describes how it was first used mainly for showing and then why the hunting world went its separate way by the formation of the Masters of Basset Hounds Association (MBHA) in 1912. Each of the current member packs of the MBHA is featured and the whole story makes fascinating reading.
The book is in hardback form and has 114 images in colour or black and white – some of which are over one hundred years old. It is published privately in a limited numbered edition and the author intends to give any profits from the publication to the MBHA in support of its work. It is available now from the address below at £28 (including postage and packing in the UK).
Cheques with order please, payable to: David Hindle at:
The Hemmels, Brinkhill, Louth, Lincolnshire LN11 8RA