HAVE HOUND WILL TRAVEL

There are probably many people who do not realise the enormity of work that goes on in the kennels once the hunting season has come to a close.

Staff – if they are lucky; need to take a break.  Some like a trip down to the West Country to catch the tail end of Stag hunting for a few days once their hunting is finished.

What with staff changes 1 May, Mastership changes, there is much to be done at home, then, as the show season kicks in before you know where you are the calendar has filled up with the local country shows that the  hunt  are asked to attend.  The County shows where hounds parade.  Puppy Show invites roll in; let alone the preparation involved for your own hunt Puppy Show.   All to fit in around the painting of the kennels.  Getting maintenance jobs done you have not had a chance to do in the winter.  Bitches whelping.  Hounds out to walk.  Those with a large or even small flesh round “its business as usual”.

I live in East Anglia, in Waveney Harriers country which doesn’t quite reach as far as the North Sea, however, their country lies inland seven miles from the most easterly point which is Lowestoft.  Nestled in the Waveney Valley.

Travelling anywhere seems to take one a long time.

So it was a lengthy trip across country to take a stallion hound back home from having spent a longer than normal period in the Waveney kennels covering bitches.

I can now tell you the Waveney Harriers will have a preponderance of High Peak Damien 2011 (Sheriff 2006- Ross Dazzle2006) offspring  Just joking! However,  he does seem to have been here a long time!  So watch this space.

I had a kind invitation from the Masters of the High Peak Harriers to attend their Puppy Show – an opportunity not to be missed to a) see the hounds, b)  catch up once again with Dougie Killick their young Huntsman who has been given a marvellous opportunity to hunt the Harriers this coming season.  I first met Dougie when he came from the West Country to the Easton Harriers.  So it made sense to take High Peak Damien back to Derbyshire with me on the day of the Puppy Show.

Rueben Kench, Huntsman of the Waveney Harriers promised me faithfully he would bath said hound, before his long trip –  he was true to his word.  I was to collect him at 9 am in the morning – the journey is some one hundred and seventy five miles.  Rueben’s fiancée  accompanied me for what was an enjoyable “harrier day out”.   It took five hours to get there! So a pit stop in a lay-by on the A17 with Johanna in her “Sunday best” on a Saturday – caused some interest as said “hound” who was extremely polite the whole journey! Was walked out to find a suitable tree to relieve himself on, then have a drink of water whilst we had a quick cup of coffee.

I wished I had captured the looks on some of the faces of the other travellers doing similar with their dogs which sportingly wore  brightly coloured harness or halters on their heads, (Call me old fashioned, but I thought these were really for horses?) alas,  this beautifully behaved Harrier just took everything in his stride.

High Peak Damien I am pleased to say – certainly did not live up to his name – he slept all the way, thankfully!

The reason I am telling this short tale is because with hunting people – this periodically – goes on all the time.  Hounds travelling up and down the country.

When we reached the kennels in Derbyshire, Dougie was there to meet us and gestured a pull up outside the kennel door for said Harrier to disembark, he jumped out the vehicle like an old pro. And promptly went into the lodges.  Job done!

The puppy show was a delight; friendly northern people – it was good to take a look at the hounds they have in kennel.

In East Anglia there are (as is happening in the rest of the country) Young men in responsible jobs as either Huntsman or Kennel Huntsman.  Doing a good job.

Times have changed; the young are “our future” – we must support them and hope they can successfully carry forth what seems to be a new era in Hunt Staff.  Long apprenticeships were the norm – not that long ago.  You started at the bottom as a kennel man/terrier man, certainly in the fox hound packs.  Worked your way up – it took years.

Now you can do a bursary, couple of years whipping in and hey presto – be given an opportunity to hunt hounds (in some kennels).  It will be a steep learning curve. It can be a hard pill to swallow for the old school, but times are changing.

Of course, they will make many mistakes along the way and hopefully learn from them.   There are those young that have “old ways” – from observing the old school and gleaning the knowledge from a young age, having had that opportunity to watch those revered Huntsman that had years and years of experience and to those young it holds them in good stead – some still look to their mentor. But there is definitely a divide between the old school and this young merry band of youngsters in prominent rolls.

We must support them.  As the future does lie with them.

The Waveney Harriers is a one man band at the kennels, as so happens with the smaller packs – one man does all.   Relying on amateur help if they are lucky in the kennels or just having the amateur whipper-in assist in the hunting field, they might have one or two.  The Waveney have a flesh round, so there is picking up and  much to do, however, the Senior Master keeps the hunt horses at his yard and brings them to the meet, which can be an enormous help.

Ben Hood, another young Kennel Huntsman is at the Dunston Harriers, working in kennels alone, there is usually a horse or two to do as well and any others are brought as and when needed on a hunting day.  There is not the flesh round,  although, Ben manages to feed some flesh by going to an abattoir and picking meat up.

At the North Norfolk Harriers Simon Dunn is an experienced professional Huntsman and might be more familiar to those who have seen the official DVD produced by the Association of Masters of Harriers and Beagles “In Kennels” filmed with Richard Lloyd at the Pendle Forest and Craven Harriers, James Pound at the Newcastle & District Beagles and when Simon was at the Chilmark & Clifton Foot Beagles, the DVD educates and informs on the kennel skills honed from their peers and gives you an insight into the management of hounds in kennel.

The Easton Harriers has a new professional Huntsman Gary Wingar who started 1 May.  This kennel is also a one man band operation, hunters in season are kept at the kennels and will be done by the Huntsman.  Hounds are fed on biscuit.

So as the summer progresses there are the wonderful Puppy Shows to attend – it will soon be time to start hunting all over again (once harvest is in)  and I shall leave you Countryman’s Weekly readers with this little verse from Will H Ogilvie’s

Collective Sporting Verse:-

“It won’t be long till the nags are fit

And the foam is flung from the champing bit

And the riders are back in their riding kit

And the keen old crowd united.

It won’t be long till the rides resound

To the calling horn and the chiming hound,

And it won’t be long till a fox is found

And we sail on his line, delighted”