South Devon Hunt

Dartmoor at its best…at 6am! 

After a busy few weeks of Puppy Shows and Hound Shows it is wonderful to be back out on the moor. The early starts bringing spectacular sunrises, gentle hunting and hearty breakfasts. Many thanks to Dave Mitchell and his trusted team of foot followers for the al-fresco catering.

Autumn Hunting is a wonderful opportunity to experience hunting for the first time. A relaxed pace and small friendly field make this time of year perfect for novice horses and riders. Everyone welcome especially newcomers.

Just contact the Kennels or the Joint Secretaries for more information.

The rain had stopped, but the mud remained! Despite tractors having to pull hound lorries into the show following the overnight downpours, the actual day turned out to be dry and bright.

The West of England Hound Show took place at Honiton on Thursday 3rd August, with a large representation of SDH subscribers, followers, farmers and puppy walkers in attendance. The SDH hounds showed well, having been to both Dunster and The 2017 Game Fair the previous week.

The Joint Masters provided a relaxed lorry lunch which was enjoyed by many. Once again a huge thank you must go to all those who came to support and especially those who helped with the catering.

SDH Hounds were placed as follows:

Single entered bitch – 2nd place – Focus

Single entered dog – 4th place – Boffin

The South Devon Hunt was invited to parade its hounds at this years Game Fair, which took place at Hatfield House in Hertfordshire. The Game Fair is the annual gathering for people passionate about countryside pursuits, and the Great British Countryside in all its glory. Taking place over three days (28th, 29th and 30th July) this years event welcomed over 150,000 visitors.

SDH hounds paraded in the main ring twice on the Friday to a knowleagable crowd and to huge applause.

Thanks must go to Robert and Maz for ensuring that both hounds and horses looked impeccable on the day. A very special thank you to Mr & Mrs Rodney Cleave, for accompanying us on the long journey. Their hard work, support and humour was very much appreciated.

The Joint Masters would also like to pass their sincere thanks onto Mr & Mrs Andrew Reid, who very kindly accommodated us all and provided stabling for both hounds and horses.

The South Devon Foxhounds were again competing at this year’s Dunster Hound Show on Wednesday 26th July 2017. Amid a mixture of sunshine and showers SDH hounds competed well, with a move up the placings from last year! A relaxed lorry lunch followed the judging, with a good number of supporters and puppy walkers joining the Joint Masters.

Thank you to all who came to support and especially to those who helped with the catering.

SDH Hounds were placed as follows:

Brood bitch – 2nd place – Bangle ’14

SUNDAY 6th AUGUST 2017

Full schedule and further details now on our events page.

The Joint Masters had the pleasure of welcoming over 150 people, including farmers, subscribers and friends, to The Kennels on Friday 16th June for the 2017 Puppy Show. It was a wonderful afternoon of unbroken sunshine, high summer temperatures and an array of splendid cakes! The hounds showed extremely well and the kennels looked immaculate. Thank you to all who attended and all who helped.

Very grateful thanks to our judges, Richard Williams Esq. MFH and George Adams Esq.

The results were as follows:

DOGHOUNDS:

1st Monarch walked by Mrs K Harvey
2nd Moral walked by the Yeoman family
3rd Moleskin walked by Mr & Mrs P Prior
4th Major  walked by Mrs R Medcalf

BITCHES:

1st Rocket walked by Mr & Mrs Brunton
2nd Rolo walked by Mr & Mrs Beazley
3rd Modesty walked by the Yeoman family
4th Popcorn walked by Miss C Davis

CHAMPION HOUND: 

Monarch walked by Mrs K Harvey

BEST WORKING DOGHOUND: Gallant walked by Mr & Mrs P Prior
BEST WORKING BITCH: Graceful walked by Mr & Mrs P Taylor
BEST WORKING 2nd SEASON HOUND: Windfall walked by Mr C Upham

THANK YOU

Congratulations must go once again to the organisers of this year’s Devon County Show. A tremendous event as ever and great to see so many attending over the three days. Well done!

HORSE LORRY PARKING

The South Devon Hunt played its part, taking responsibility for the smooth running of the horse lorry parking. Thank you to Mr Peter Prior and his dedicated team of volunteers for their long hours, hard work and humour!

PARADE OF HOUNDS

The South Devon Hunt had the privilege of Parading Hounds on the first day of the show. Congratulations to our professional huntsman Robert Medcalf and his team (Toby and Maz) for providing a wonderful display of both hounds and horses. All beautifully turned out.

INTER-HUNT RELAY

Friday saw the annual running of the highly competitive Inter-Hunt Relay. Representatives from 11 hunts took part with members jumping, running, horn blowing and looking smart! The South Devon Hunt team consisted of riders Maz Medcalf and Carol Cleave, backed up by strong runners Robert Medcalf and Toby How. The final results are unimportant, it was the taking part that counted.

The Committee and Masters of the South Devon Hunt will be holding their Annual Spring Luncheon

at

Uphill House, Ponsworthy, TQ13 7PH on Sunday 28th May 12.30pm for 1pm.

Guest Speaker: James Barclay Esq. discusses the future of hunting and his recent book My Hunting England.

Glass of wine and canapés on arrival followed by a Buffet Lunch.

Tickets: £25 Dress: Smart casual

Contact: Anke Ellis on 01647 221249 or aeeellis@aol.com

This season we had the pleasure of welcoming several professional photographers at our meets.

Take a look at these links to see some wonderful images from the 2016 / 2017 Season:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/hazeblingbling/

http://nigelgidneyphotography.co.uk/p940815523

http://www.myiontheworld.com/photographic-journeys/ready-for-the-hunt

http://www.catdownphotography.co.uk/-/galleries/hunting-2016-17-season/sdh-08-04-17

This year we celebrate the End of Season with a lunch rather than a supper! This will allow people to enjoy a full days hunting the day before at the closing meet, give our hunt staff time to arrive and hopefully give a lot more people the flexibility to attend.

All are welcome including foot followers, friends, supporters and children.

Venue: Longfield, Manaton (parking available, weather permitting)

Time: 1pm onwards

Tickets: £15

Contact: Anke Ellis on 01647 221249