Stuart Trousdale

Stuart Trousdale is from a hunting family from Thorntondale near Pickering in North Yorks. His father was an engineer, but they were country people, and all the family hunted.

“Hunting: it’s just what we kids all did; if we weren’t on ponies, we’d jump in with the terrier lads. And if the hunt was going to be in a good bit - we’d bunk off school and go hunting.”

His first taste of kennel work came when he went to work for Brian Brown at the Saltersgate Farmers. “I knew Brian through hunting, and he offered me a job on his farm when I left school at 15. He was master and huntsman, and also kennelled the hounds at his farm, and I ended up doing the hounds for him. His son Andrew now hunts them.

I had a weekend gardening business back then, and through that I met a guy called Dougie Hunt who was an amateur whipper-in with a local pack. He explained to me all about the life of a hunt servant, and told me to watch the Horse & Hound for any jobs coming up. He put me a ‘good word in’ at the West Norfolk and I went there as kennel-man and groom. We’d always had ponies as kids, so I could already ride, and when the whipper-in was injured that first season - I stood in as whipper-in.

Next I went to the South Wold as kennel-man with huntsman David Anchor, where I got to do the terrier work. I next had the chance to go as whipper-in at the Pendle Forest & Craven with huntsman Richard Lloyd: I was there for two seasons. It’s a great hunt country: we’d jump 50 fences and more a day up there; small fields, but great farmers.

Bicester was next for three seasons: I was first whipper-in to Patrick Martin (1992-to date) on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and second whipper-in to Ian Mckie (1987-03) on Thursdays. A great country and well organised. I met my wife Zoe at the Bicester: her father Bob Leach whipped in to Captain Gosling at the Bicester (1954-63).

And then I came out of the job for five years. I was an agricultural contractor, and whipped in as an amateur at the Derwent. But I found contracting too much capital outlay and the lure of hunting called again: and I went to whip in at the Fitzwilliam for two seasons. Anything to do with hunting at the Fitzwilliam was always well furnished, and it all made a difference to the sport.

I was asked to go as kennel-huntsman down on the Isle of Wight (2003-08) where Andrew Sallis was huntsman. Andrew hunted them for a further two years and then I took over as huntsman, for another three years. There’s quite a lot of downland on the island, but there’s plenty of shooting interests - so it’s quite tight. The Island is about 25 miles by 15 miles: if it were all huntable it would be a good country, but a lot is taken up by the town of Newport, and the holiday end was all chalets and built on. The Jed’ country looks a lot smaller on a map, but it’s actually a lot bigger as it’s more open and accessible.

Next came the opportunity at the Jedforest as master and huntsman (with guarantee). I’d always wanted to be hunting in the Borders. The Jed kennels were gifted to the hunt by their former master and huntsman Roly Harker, and his name is still often heard at this hunt.

Where the Jed country joins with the Border country is about as good as it gets for hunting; there’s also a part of the Buccleugh country called Ettrick: these are wonderful wild open spaces, and when it comes laying a trail out on the top of these areas - it seems like you can go on forever.

We have a couple of organised shoots in the Jed country, and some farmers’ shoots, but they are all good to deal with. There’s only one commercial shoot, but they are very good and allow us access, and always gives us a break over Christmas where we can get in and have a good day in lovely country: we find before and after shooting.

Bad falls? At a Point to Point one day. Ajax, grey horse, who was always a steady horse. Ajax freaked-out that day and set off through the paddock ropes; got the ropes wrapped around its leg, pulled a corner stake out - the stake flew through the air and broke Peter Houghton-Brown leg in two places; then the rope wedged behind a car tyre and brought me and the horse down into the side of a Landrover: dislocating my shoulder.

Peter Houghton-Brown and me shared an ambulance to Banbury Hospital fighting all the way over who’s need was greater for the gas and air! I’ve had dozens of falls out hunting, but fortunately nothing too serious - as yet.

My joint-masters here at the Jed are a great asset. Johan Christofferson, who lives in London, was my ‘gaffer’ for five years at the Isle of Wight, and came in as master with me at the Jed. He’s a very wise man, and a good judge of situations.

My other joint-master Paul Armstrong-Wilson is another good man. He owns a fish haulage business - he moves live fish around, which makes for some different conversations at a dinner party.

I’m as happy as I’ve ever been up here in these mountains with the Jedforset: I’ve always wanted to be hunting in the Borderland hills. It’s such a good open country. You can sit and watch hounds for half an hour up here, and then move across the hill, and the hounds will have covered a lot of ground in that time.

Hounds up here must be independent. It’s not like a pack of modern English foxhounds where the huntsman picks them up and carries them forward – trying his best to give sport to a mounted field. Hounds up here have to go on and sort it out themselves. So consequently, we have quite a bit of Fell breeding in these hounds.

I’ve bred first-cross Fell hounds using Ullswater sires: Lawyer, Searcher, Farmer and (the famous) Banker. They’ve all been put to modern English bitches. Lawyers and Searchers are entered and ‘real good’. The Searchers are workaholics; even when we are finished and coming in from the hill - they can’t stop feathering about looking for lines to hunt. The Lawyers have lots of speed. I really happy with our hounds, and I’m really happy with being at the Jedforest.