Claire Wright
Claire Wright © Alastair Wharton
Claire Wright is a 26 year old trainee land agent who lives, works and hunts in Cambridgeshire. She whips-in to the Eastern Counties Minkhounds, and also hunts with the Fitzwilliam (Milton) on a bike, or goes beagling with the Trinity Foot & South Herts. Claire is Cambridgeshire County Chairman for the Countryside Alliance
As with all British minkhounds, the Eastern Counties continue to practice with artificial lines along the river banks in the anticipation that the Hunting Act 04 will be repealed in due course.
On the Riverbank | September 2009
With the show season done and dusted, the end of our season rapidly approaches. You can always tell the closing meet is rapidly imminent when members of the field appear bleary eyed at 11am, having already been up for early morning autumn hunting with the foxhounds or beagles! So many opportunities to get out with various packs of hounds can’t possibly be turned down by any self-respecting hunt supporter.
We were cheered by news that our huntsman, who had initially announced that he would be hanging up his hunting horn at the end of the season had been persuaded to stay. A combination of nagging, a distinct lack of applicants to replace him and one of the most successful seasons ever convinced him that he would be mad to abandon the premier pack.
I have to admit I missed the first two meets of the month, as I was needed to help man the Countryside Alliance stand at Burghley for one Saturday and then swanned off to visit the Devon & Somerset staghounds the following weekend!
Ladybird, with Claire
The First Whipper-in is also involved with whipping in to the beagle pack that we lodge with, so towards the end of our season it can be a delicate balancing act making sure we have enough staff out on the river bank. Juggling the logistics round allowed us to invite our subscribers to the afternoon meet of the beagles, followed by a tasty barbecue. A good number of our followers turned out for the afternoon. We then hunted Sunday morning in part of our Hertfordshire country on the River Rib. the meet is in an idyllic if rather tricky place to find. Open grassy banks and chalky arable fields made a nice change to battling through the normal bank side vegetation. Hounds worked as well as could be expected in the hot and dry conditions. With the sun beating down, the First Whipper in suffering from a chronic case of ‘man flu’ and hounds getting bored we were relieved to reach the end of a relatively short draw and get boxed up.
I was again slack in my official duties for the closing meet, lured away from the meet on the Cripsey Brook by the Fitzwilliam for a morning of autumn hunting from the kennels followed by the legendary hunt breakfast cooked by the master.
It seems barely five minutes since it was April and we were readying ourselves for the pre-season meets, now I have valeted my kit for the last time this year and thoughts are turning to arrangements for the eagerly anticipated end of season supper and a social programme so that we can continue to see each other over the winter.
We sadly lost our star hound, Ladybird earlier in the season. She had however whelped a litter by General. The pups have now returned to kennels from their puppy walkers. We are greatly looking forward to next season when Ladle, Lupin & Lollipop will be entered. The new entry certainly look like their dam, fingers crossed that they have inherited her working ability too.
Here’s to even more fun on the river next year!
Claire Wright