Sue Simmons MH, MFH
Links:
Holcombe Puppy Show
Tales from a New Master
Sue Simmons
Susan Simmons is married to John who is managing director of the family business Simmal Ltd. John's sports are shooting and fishing, particularly on the Spey, Tweed and Esk.
Educated at Manchester University (BSc Hons in Computational Linguistics & Modern Languages), Sue qualified as a chartered accountant in London, and is now finance director of the family business based at Preston.
Sue has hunted 18 years with Holcombe (between work & kids); and took over sole mastership on May 1 2009 when Arnold Greenhalgh retired.
Sue has competed at both the Royal International and Horse of the Year Show Working Hunter Finals. Placed 4th at RIHS 2008 HW Worker Championship.
Sue is a very keen skier, and says her life is: "Always very busy!"
This month I am very pleased to report that I have finally ticked the box of completing my first official opening meet as New (sole) Master. All of last season I rode out as Deputy Fieldmaster, but in essence alone, so I had a season’s dress-rehearsal and some would say, I’m sure, what was there to worry about this time?
Well, the whole perspective of the Opening Meet is different when your own name is "over the door". I so wanted it to go well, selfishly I admit, for myself, and so that I could look back in years to come and remember a "good day" to bookmark a significant memory. Again the key person Frank and Wire Chairman Mark had done great work in opening dormant country at Owd Betts, Norden and Rochdale; under the gigantic whirring shadow of the windmills known as Ashworth Valley.
The best laid plans of walking the country the day before were scuppered when I went to my lorry that morning to a leakage that tasted of anti-freeze seeping from the under carriage. Here we go, I thought, the start of my problems. So that was my day - running the lorry to Leyland Daf and praying for it to be fixed in time for the next day.
Fortunately it was put right, but this meant I arrived cold at the Meet next morning with little knowledge of where new jumps were sited. In addition, horses being horses I had been forced to transfer and bring - not old faithful, but my novice horse - who while is a great natural jumper, is inclined to be a little over exhuberant. I had visions of being bucked off in front of all and sundry.
As it turned, out we had a great day. Hounds were in great voice, the field enjoyed several runs with plenty of aerial efforts and the sun mainly shone. As a tradition the hunt wears a buttonhole at this meet, so being "new" and a Lancashire Lass - I chose the Red Rose of the County Palatine which looked super on all the coats. We had also one new lady member in our whip Diane Ashworth, made up to a Red-Collar, and so for her the tradition also is to buy champagne for a toast in the pub afterwards. I am pleased to write Diane discharged this responsibility with aplomb, and a glass of bubbly was enjoyed by all.
However, 24 hours later and my worst nightmare would have been founded - the meet would have been water-logged. It has since rained, and continued to rain, so we struggle now to reschedule onto moorland and just hope for drier conditions to come later so that we can revisit the grasslands we had already prepared.
All of our hunting relies on our farmers and landowners, and this year we were proud to welcome a tally of 600 in total to our Annual Farmers Ball held at Rivington Barn. This is an amazing listed building built with the A-Frame structure and fortunately swallowed up the huge number of guests for free supper, drinks and disco into its depths until 1am.
The atmosphere was buzzing on the dance floor and I'm sure all the younger element had a ripping time. I don't know if it suited the more "mature" guest as one group on leaving said the tickets should warn of the "Rugby Scrum". However, I was told the hunt hadn't had so many attending the Farmers Ball in many years, so we must be doing something right. My wire chairman & I tried to meet everyone as they came in through the door and do some much needed hunt PR - for the second time that week.
The preceeding Monday we welcomed visitors to kennels for an Open Night followed by supper, quiz, and informal talk by myself titled: "Everything you need to know about hunting..." Not that I am so bold as to presume I know it all... We were amazed to entertain 100 guests, and had lots of enquiries about attending the mid-week meet, which then did snowball on the day to a record field for that meet.
Being quite an Urban Hunt (central Lancs) has its advantages in that people can "get to us", which has been proven with our recent activities. Yet on the other hand the challenges are that our country is largely over-looked: we had Antis before the word was invented, and estates seem to emerge where previously we had hunt jumps. Nonetheless, in the week commencing Oct 26th the hunt entertained more than 800 bodies by my reckoning - so that tells me we are still: "very much on the cards".
Going back to the subject of 'antis' - or 'monitors' - we had a trio following us recently without incident, which I reported. However, I do wonder what would happen next should all the hard work towards repeal become reality? We hear now of the high street chain Lush funding activists, akin to the days of Linda McCartney, and are advised not to buy these products.
Yet where is hunting in the polls with the general public ? Every where in horse & country magazines I read about (and we are urged on) the Road to Repeal, yet there are few articles in the general press about designed to promote the positive face of hunting to the public in general? "At best" the town dweller is ambivalent, and "at worst" - well we all know about that. I feel I am doing my best at grass roots level as a Master to keep my own hunt alive - yet beyond that I have no influence on higher level PR and media efforts to relaunch or rebrand the "positives" of hunting to the UK at large.
A fellow countryman and sheep farmer Robin Dean, recently wrote in the Farmers Guardian about "sterilised handwash" becoming part of farmyard culture. It brings to mind images of day-trip visitors to the countryside with regulation wellies, blue hairnets and handwash, and probably a thermostat to control the temperature... If this is the UK public today then their image of hunting will be far from what we need it to be for hunting to be accepted in 2010.
Did anyone see John Cravens hunting coverage on "Countryfile" Sunday 1st November ? I would be interested to hear your comments (via the Editor). And finally if you believe the propaganda you read about the growth of the UK Muslim population leading them to "power" by 2025 -perhaps that would be a positive for hunting? Somehow I doubt the plight of fox or hare wouldn't warrant any political time amid their plans.Sue Simmons
MH. MFH Holcombe Hunt