William Proudfoot
Young People are Vital
William Proudfoot | Ginni Beard
William Proudfoot, formerly joint Master of the K & S Minkhounds and currently amateur huntsman of the Pevensey Marsh Beagles, writes.
The theme of this issue of TMV is young people in hunting. There is a great craze these days for ‘the young’ and a great many clubs and societies of all kinds agonise for ages over how to encourage more young participants into their activity.
“young people are vital”
For many leisure pursuits though, this is a total waste of time. Older people tend to be more interested, knowledgeable and have disposable time and income, but hunting faces a particular problem, as young people are vital for the sole reason that they are fitter and better able to participate.
A great many foot packs, be they beagles or minkhounds, have a lot of older followers, many of whom have come to hunting only later in life, but this is nothing new. Phil Burrows, long time Master of the Bolebroke Beagles, complained in the late 1960s about the lack of young people to whip in, yet as packs struggle to get younger members now, this is often forgotten.
I have often suspected that this is the reason for packs of foot hounds not having lasted very long in the past. The average pack of beagles prior to the Second World War was probably set up by a few keen individuals, and when they died, moved or lost interest the pack was simply given up, and a few years later a new one started the next time someone who had an interest in beagles was available in the area. We agitate furiously now about keeping packs going, but in reality almost all the beagle packs around now have been in existence far longer than their predecessor packs ever were.
“there is the opportunity to tear about on the farm’s quad bike, and also to chat up the nice girls out on horses”
The problems faced by foot packs are obvious when you consider a situation if, for example, you are a farmer’s or keeper’s son. The foxhounds look exciting – there is the opportunity to tear about on the farm’s quad bike, and also to chat up the nice girls out on horses. When the beagles or the minkhounds show up, the dozen or so miserable old men who gather in the yard don’t look very exciting at all.
So, what’s to do then? Well, in order to attract young people, you need to have some young people in the first place. This is unlikely to happen if you don’t offer any help in getting them to the meet. How is a 16 year old who lives down the road from the kennels and who has shown an interest in your hounds - going to go hunting with you if you don’t offer them a lift? For slightly older people, what happens after hunting is important too. Does everyone simply clutter off home, or do you go back to a pub? Here we have an immense advantage over the foxhunters, as the followers don’t have their horses to attend to, so any pub good enough to be open at 4.30 in the afternoon deserves our support.
If you do have a few younger people coming out (by which I mean anyone under about 35!) they will inevitably be asked to whip in. This is fine, but it is no good giving them a whip and then spending the whole season moaning that they are no use and don’t know what they are doing. It is quite remarkable that so few Masters ever bother to tell their young whips what they are meant to be up to. The knowledge of how to whip in for a pack of hounds is unlikely to appear in a person’s head spontaneously, but at the same time winding a load of four letter words into someone who has only been hunting for a few weeks when it all goes wrong is not the best of encouragement.
Here of course is where the last two aspects I’ve written about come together. What better than spending an hour in the pub after hunting discussing what people should have been doing, and where they should have been with the aid of a few beer mats and glasses as props. It took me years to work out even the very limited amount I know now about whipping in to hounds, because no one ever thought it necessary to explain it to me sooner.
Newcastle & District Beagles ‘ready for the off’ | Midge Todhunter
Beagles are not seen as being very attractive to the young as they tend to all run off and then of course you have to run after them to catch up. This is actually a bit of a myth, as once people are spread out round the country where the trails are laid, staying more or less in your area is a better option.
Minkhounds on the other hand have a huge advantage in this department, as while the activity with the beagles or the foxhounds may take place half a mile away the other side of a wood, the hunting with minkhounds will be right next to you. This is good for both the old and the young, who get to see far more of the hounds than would be the case with other forms of hunting.
A greater proportion of the followers knows the names of the hounds and takes an interest in the actual hunting with minkhounds, than is the case with most other hound sports. Naturally, interest off the hunting field is also very important. If people feel welcome at the kennels, and feel involved in the various social events that take place throughout the year, then this also does much to encourage anybody, not only the young. A lot of packs that show have young helpers, especially at the minkhound show, and this does much to build the sense of involvement that is so important.
A day spent on a big shooting estate or with certain foxhound packs shows that there is no shortage of young people involved in field sports. The shooting interest appeals as that is where the money is. Shoots pay far more people, not only as keepers and under-keepers but also as beaters than hunts are ever able to.
A vibrant pack of hounds with a keen and social group of Masters and followers should have no problem in tempting a handful of these younger people out into the field occasionally. It is certainly good to hear of one young under-keeper who is taking on a professional beagle job this season, showing that the people are out there, so long as they can be found.
William Proudfoot