Now autumn trail-hunting is nearly over, most packs will be preparing for one of the biggest days in the hunting calendar: the opening meet.

In order to get to this point in each season, opening up country and keeping it open is a massive and very important job. The key to a good day’s trail-hunting is organisation and good communication.

At one time, just one or two masters would clear country for a day, but this aspect of the day-to-day running of a hunt has changed a lot.

Masters often have full-time jobs of their own and, as all of us know, life in general is getting progressively busier. Nowadays masters, committee members and sometimes huntsmen are more involved in clearing country.

The countryside has also changed so much in recent times. Commercial shoots are growing in size, methods of farming are becoming more intense and roads and houses are extending rural villages.

Planning ahead

The way the country is cleared changes from hunt to hunt. Here at the Percy, we try to get all the shoot dates in as early as possible, working on from there. Most shoots will be relaxed about you hunting the week after they’ve shot but not the week before.

It’s extremely important to talk either on the phone or face to face as planning is in progress. The more notice you can give landowners, farmers, shepherds and keepers, the better. If for some reason they don’t want the hunt on a certain date, this is always respected.

I’m a great believer in clearing a lot of country for a day as you can never have enough ground to go at. I’ve also yet to meet a hound that is happy to head home because we’ve run out of room!

Once country has been cleared, the next job is to confirm plans with local farmers, landowners and keepers in writing. For us, this means sending cards out to all those whose land we are planning to hunt over or near. The cards give the time and date for when we’re in that area.

It could be argued that some time, money and ink may be saved by sending texts or emails rather than handwritten cards. However, although carding is more time-consuming, it shows that you’re communicating with each farmer personally.

The 900 or more cards we send out over each season aren’t easily forgotten and, for us, are definitely worth our time.

Maintaining relations

No matter how much time and effort you put into organising a day, sometimes things can and will still go wrong. If a landowner, farmer or keeper is upset, it’s far better to go back and see them as soon as possible, rather than leaving it.

Whether travelling home exhilarated from the day’s events or thinking they haven’t had the best day, all followers should try to remember that someone has put an awful lot of effort into organising a country.

The other thing to remember is that anyone is encouraged to hold a meet, whether this may be from a car boot, your back garden or within the grounds of your stately home.

Best wishes to all for the upcoming season. Enjoy your horse, the hounds and what our countryside has to offer!

Ref Horse & Hound; 31 October 2019

A police horse who was punched on the nose by a drunk football fan but “still loves people” has retired after 14 years on the beat.

Bud, a part-bred Shire, has come off duty aged 20 to spend the rest of his days at the Horse Trust.

He was unharmed in the incident at a Newcastle v Sunderland match in April 2013 – his attacker was sent to prison for a year – and was transferred from West Yorkshire Police to the Met two years later.

“Throughout his career, Bud was involved with all aspects of mounted policing, the good, the bad and, as we know, the occasionally ugly face of public gatherings including local patrols, ceremonial events, public demonstrations and countless sporting events,” said a Horse Trust spokesman.

“Thankfully this isn’t the sort of thing that happens very often.”

The spokesman said that Bud’s calm temperament made him ideal as a mount for officers new to riding, and for escorting inexperienced horses on the streets of London.

“But even he couldn’t go on for ever,” the spokesman said, adding that Bud’s former riders described him as a loyal and steady horse.

“As soon as he arrived, everyone at the Horse Trust fell in love with him. Incredibly he still loves people and that’s a testament to the great care police horses in service are given and to the very strong bonds they develop with their regular riders.

Continues below…

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“It was an emotional farewell when he arrived here, with more than a few Polos and kisses to go around.”

Horse Trust chief executive Jeanette Allen said Bud would join fellow former Met recruits Gawain, Hadrian, Kathleen, Cumbria and Jedburgh as well as Boris, Huntsman and Trojan who served with other police forces.

“It is our privilege to care for these incredible animals later in life that along with their officers give so much to our communities and I will personally make sure that Bud will never see another football scarf while he is with us!” she said.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Two races over natural hedges, each offering more than £4,000 to the winner, will take place near Bourton-on-the-Water, Glos, in the Heythrop hunt country on 8 March 2020.

“The Gloucestershire Steeplechases”— a race over two miles and 20 hedges for 20 non-thoroughbreds and one over the same course and distance for 20 thoroughbreds — are each worth 4,000 guineas (£4,200) to winning connections.

There is also a gate-jumping competition, sponsored by bookmakers Fitzdares, with a 500-guinea (£525) first prize.

The organisers state that “the following hunts will be asked to provide entries for the Ron Brooks Memorial Pragnell Trophy [the non-thoroughbred race]: Heythrop, Atherstone, Beaufort, Belvoir, Berkeley, Bicester, Blackmore Vale, Cattistock, Cotswold, North Cotswold, Fernie, Ledbury, Meynell, Portman, Quorn, Taunton Vale, Tyndale, Warwickshire, Worcesters, Wynnstay.”

The Merriebelle Stables Gloucestershire Cup, for thoroughbreds, is open to all.

Organiser Tom Gittins said: “These races are attempting to reinvent the era of original steeplechasing in its purest format. It is the brainchild of Charlie Brooks, on whose land the course was constructed two years ago in preparation for the inaugural event.

“We are encouraging everyone to relive a 1920s raceday with prizes for the best dressed lady and gentleman, and riders will be wearing traditional hunting attire.

“Our very generous sponsors have put up the prize money to encourage the best of the hunting, point-to-point and cross-country community to enter, with a share going to help each rider’s local hunt.

“Both races and the gate-jumping will have a maximum field size of 20 and betting will be available on the day via Fitzdares.

“The course has been designed to a high standard by James Froggatt and as such will provide a proper test of horsemanship. To this end a committee will approve the entrants — note there are no entry fees.”

Continues below…

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Racehorse trainer Sir Mark Prescott will act as starter for the races.

Public entry costs £10 per car, which will be donated to the Heythrop hunt.

Anyone who would like to be considered for entry is asked to email Tom Gittins: tgittins@foxtrot.co.uk

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

How do you rate this wonderful country house with 5.87 acres of land in a pretty, rural village location?

Flax Hill is nestled in the village of Ufton, one of the most sought after parts of the countryside around Leamington Spa.

The Warwickshire property is five miles south east of Royal Leamington Spa and two miles west of Southam.

Local equestrian centres include: Swallowfield Equestrian (18 miles), Willow Farm EC (12 miles) and Nuneaton and North Warwickshire EC (27 miles).

Onley Equestrian Centre is a 25 minute drive (14 miles) from the front door.

If you fancy following hounds you can go with the Warwickshire Hunt, or if showing is your sport of choice sign up to BSPS Area 6.

There are cross-country course on offer at Swalcliffe Park (19 miles) and Lyneham Heath Equestrian (34 miles).

Priced at £1.4m, the Leamington Spa branch of Fine & Country are the sellers of this property who state that this is a “truly is a rare opportunity to acquire a large detached residence in its own grounds.”

Do you agree?

Set in 5.87 acres of land, the property enjoys some seriously stunning views over surrounding Warwickshire farmland and woodland.

Despite this, the house is located in a private position with large trees offering shelter and protection.

There is one paddock which has been used for grazing and also as a training space.

You will find a yard with seven stables and a spacious tack room. There is also plenty of space for storage and parking for several vehicles.

The white brick house boasts six bedrooms and three bathrooms…

It provides generous living space from top to bottom including a kitchen dining area, large drawing room with formal dining area and various other reception rooms.

There is also a heated outdoor swimming pool with changing room as well as a double garage and a garden.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Two rare breed horses have lent their strength to a flood protection project at a country park.

Chelmsford-based Hawthorn Heavy Horses’ 16.2hh Suffolk, Roy, and 18.2hh Shire Joe provided their assistance last week at Essex County Council’s new natural flood management scheme at Thorndon Country Park, Essex.

Roy and Joe replaced machinery by pulling logs into the park, a protected woodland, where ‘leaky dams’ are being installed on two tributaries at Old Hall Pond. The dams are a form of natural flood management which helps allow the slow flow of water in times of heavy rainfall and reduce flood risk to residential properties downstream in West Horndon.

Matt Waller, who runs Hawthorn Heavy Horses with his wife Claudia, told H&H 10-year-old Roy and 16-year-old Joe know their jobs well.

“We’ve had Roy since he was two, he started his training and began working commercially at five. There’s not many Suffolks who work commercially, they tend to be more used for showing and riding, so it’s nice to be supporting the breed in this way,” he said.

“Roy is very steady and he’s quite quirky. He likes his food and will stop and take a nibble on something at any opportunity he can.”

Matt said Roy and Joe each have their own “little specialisms”.

“Joe has longer legs so he works faster over long distances whereas Roy is a bit slower so we use him for shorter work. Roy is also used for the steeper work; because he’s two hands shorter he’s got a better sense of gravity to get up and down and is more comfortable doing that than Joe.”

Matt Butcher, project lead and environment manager for the Environment Agency, told H&H heavy horses were a perfect fit for the work at the sensitive woodland site.

“Using dump trucks and excavators could have caused a lot of damage whereas using heavy horses meant we could get right into the tightest woodland that we needed to without leaving a trace,” he said.

“The horses are usually used for logging and pulling trees out of the woods but we asked them to pull the logs into the woods so we were using the skills they already had and applying them in a slightly different way.”

Article continued below…

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Nathan moved heavy trees across streams and brooks to help protect the community from future floods

Horses called in to help protect homes from flooding

‘Horse logging is a really environmentally sensitive way to move felled and fallen timber while reducing damage to flora and

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Matt said the horses had been an excellent addition to the project and the council plans to work with Hawthorn Heavy Horses on other projects in future.

“The park is a really popular open space and with it being half-term we’ve had lots of interest from people with their children interacting with the horses and learning about them,” he said.

“It’s been a real talking point and allows people to come into contact with horses doing something you don’t see every day.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

A rider who jumped clear across country to finish fifth in an event three days after she underwent chemotherapy said crossing the finish line was “the best feeling ever”.

Jayde Payne was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in early August, but was determined her eventing season would not be cut short.

So although she had her sixth session of chemotherapy last Wednesday (23 October), she was competing at Tweseldown last Saturday on her 10-year-old gelding Will Splash.

“It was a bit of a shock to be diagnosed but I’ve just taken it in my stride really,” Jayde told H&H. “I’d had no symptoms, just a lump in my neck so I went to the GP and they found more lumps – so I went to a specialist, had a biopsy, and they said that’s what it is.

“I’ve just looked at it like it is what it is; there’s nothing I can do about it so let’s just crack on and get better.

“Getting diagnosed would have cut my season short so I thought ‘No, I want to carry on, I’m fine to do one more’.”

Jayde ,who has also been hopping hedges out hunting since her diagnosis, has kept “Baz” fit throughout her treatment so far.

“For the first six to seven days, it makes me feel really hungover, and exhausted,” she said. “But if I’m tired, I just lunge him, and whenever I’ve felt good enough, I’ve ridden.

“I’m not going to stop doing what I want to do, stop living my life, just because I’ve got cancer.”

Jayde, who had been competing at 100cm level but dropped down to 80 for this unaffiliated event, lives near Tweseldown but an 8am dressage time meant she was up at 5.30am.

“I didn’t feel too bad because I just kept going,” she said. “It was only when I got home and sat down that it hit me!

“I had to warm up in the pitch dark as he can be a bit enthusiastic so he needs a good 40 minutes and it was blowing a gale so I was pleased with a 31.3 dressage.”

Baz had two poles showjumping – “which is very good for him; he was having 24 faults last year” – and then went clear inside the time across country to finish fifth.

“It was amazing; he’s a cross-country machine who’d go round on his own,” she said. “It was the best feeling ever; I thought ‘I’m still here, doing this despite what everyone said’ and how it felt when I crossed the finish line – I squealed with excitement.

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“It was awesome and to get placed was the icing on the cake; I hadn’t expected that.”

Jayde said her “supercob” will now have a month off after their event, which raised over £600 for Hannah’s Willberry Wonder Pony Charity, and do some hacking over the winter. Her chemotherapy is due to finish in January, after which she hopes to crack on ready for next season.

“My mid-term scan has come back all clear; the doctors said they were going to cure me, not treat me,” she said.

“I’ll be hacking him out in December and January, in hope we’ll both be ready to start next season in full health.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

Tomorrow (4 November 2019), the 10th running of the Monart Sale in Ireland gets underway. The three-day sale offers a selection of potential future superstar event horses, aged from three years old.

Horses are selected by a panel of five-star event riders, this year Polly Jackson, Niall Griffin and Billy Levett and are vetted by Olympic team vet Marcus Swail before being sold by auction.

Here we round up a few of the notable graduates from this sale. Time will tell if any of the 2019 graduates will make waves in the eventing world in years to come…

Lassban Diamond Lift (Easy Lift x Lassban Chow Bella)

Competed by: Bill Levett (AUS)
Owned by: Jenny and Liz Murdoch
Sold: in the 2013 auction
Notable results: 15th Badminton (2019), third Bramham CCI4*-L (2018), third Tattersalls CCI4-S (2018). Member of 2018 World Equestrian Games (WEG) team

Cooley Rorkes Drift (Courage II x Doon-a-ree Lass)

Competed by: Jonty Evans (IRE)
Owned by: Elisabeth Murdoch, Jane Moss and Jonty Evans
Sold: in the 2010 auction
Notable results: ninth in the 2016 Rio Olympics, 20th at Badminton (2017), winner of Belton’s CCI4*-S Grantham Cup (2018), eighth Boekelo CCI4*-S (2015), third in Blenheim’s eight- and nine-year-old CCI4*-S (2015).

November Night (Flagmount King x Coolnalee Kate)

Competed by: Ciaran Glynn (IRE)
Owned by: Susanna Francke and Peter Cole
Sold: in the 2010 auction
Notable results: member of the Ireland European Championships team 2019, 14th Burghley (2018), third Cappoquin CCI4*-S (2018), sixth Mallow CCI4*-S (2019), fourth Millstreet CCI4*-S (2017)

Gortfadda Diamond (Water Valley Cool Diamond x Panda)

Competed by: Emilie Chandler (GBR)
Owned by: Maria Doel
Notable results: first Blair Castle CCI4*-L (2019), sixth Blair Castle CCI3*-L (2018), third Osberton CCI3*-S (2017), third Somerford Park CCI3*-S (2017)

Shannondale Mari (Shannondale Sarco St Gyvan x Shannondale Maria)

Owned by: Sarah Hughes
Sold: in the 2016 auction
Notable results: third Tattersalls CCI2*-L (2019, ridden by Alex Bragg), second Ballindenisk CCI2*-S and eighth World Young Horse Championships at Le Lion D’Angers (both 2018 with Elizabeth Power).

Kilcoltrim Mermist (Mermus R x Kilcoltrim Panache)

Competed by: Sara Bowe
Owned by: Caron Chapman
Sold: in the 2013 auction
Notable results: sixth Belton CCI3*-S (2018 and 2019)

Article continues below…

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Monarts Masterpiece (Master Imp x Capponellan Clover)

Competed by: Flora Harris and Polly Jackson
Owned by: Caroline Harris
Sold: in the 2011 auction
Notable results: fourth Bramham CCI4*-S (2017), first Barbury CCI3*-S (2016), second Belton CCI3*-S (2016), fourth Ballindenisk CCI3*-L (2016), fourth Burgham CCI3*-S (2016), won five consecutive Novice classes in 2015 with Polly Jackson

Prince Mayo (Bonnie Prince Charlie x Crosshue Lass)

Competed by: Paul Tapner (AUS) (2014-2017) and now Matthew Wright
Owned by: John Peace and Charlotte Cole
Sold: in the 2010 auction
Notable results: first Tattersalls CCI4*-L (2016 with Paul Tapner), 16th Tattersalls CCI4*-L (2018 with Matthew Wright)

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

A horse owner is encouraging others to clip a semi-colon onto their horse to show solidarity with those suffering mental illness and addiction.

Project Semicolon, a suicide prevention charity, was founded in the US in 2013, and sparked a trend for its supporters to have tattoos of the punctuation mark.

Team-chase competitor Liffie Fowler said she had been struck by the prevalence of suicide within rural communities, and had been contemplating having the tattoo when she came up with the idea for the clip.

“There has been the Blow for Bradley anti-bullying campaign, and also the images of empty wellies published recently [by the DPJ Foundation] representing the number of farmers lost this year to suicide,” Liffie said.

“It’s not just rural communities, it’s through every community, and since I first shared images of the clip, I have had a lot of people message me and say how it touches home.”

Liffie said she considers the symbol a sign of support and if anyone spots it on her horse, they are welcome to “pull her to one side” to talk to her.

“I want it to be seen that I am supportive of anything and it would be great if other people could also take it on board,” she said.

“Sometimes it can be easier to talk to a stranger than it can friends and family and I know that myself — I bottled things up for years as I was scared of judgment.

“I would hate to think there were people out there when I am team chasing, show jumping or hunting who are struggling and I hope that if they recognise the symbol, they know they can reach out.”

Liffie has clipped the semi-colon onto her Irish sport horse Zach, whom she rides in intermediate level team chases with the Fox Grant Thrusters 1.

“The image has had a reach of about 12,000 people so far and I have had a lot of people say they will leave a semi-colon on when they do their next clip,” Liffie said.

“It only takes five minutes with a pair of face clippers. I usually use stencils but I was able to quickly do it freehand.”

She added that one of her motivations for the campaign was having suffered “drops” in her own mental health, and that she had learned it was often better to offload than bottle things up.

“At 16, I went down a really bad path, I was addicted to alcohol and drugs, which I had sorted by the time I was 17, when I became a mother,” she said.

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“I still have remnants of depression and anxiety and I do struggle sometimes, but my life has changed completely — I have my own home and own horses, I’m team chasing at intermediate where we are top of the league and I never envisioned myself doing that four or five years ago.

“The equine world has really helped me and I hope this is something that people take up.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

In this week’s issue of Horse & Hound (out now, issue dated 31 October), National Hunt jockey Harry Skelton talks about why coming second isn’t an option in his competitive family — “It’s not allowed!” he says.

He also gave us an insight into which of the Lodge Hill horses, trained by his brother Dan, he’s most excited about riding this season — as well as the team’s quest to find the Big Star (pictured top) of the racing world.

Here, he shares his thoughts about five of the yard’s top horses he reckons could be finding their way to the winner’s enclosure in due course.

1. Roksana — seven-year-old bay mare by Dubai Destination, owned by Mrs Sarah Faulks, bred by John O’Leary

The stable star of last season took Harry on his second visit to the winner’s enclosure at the Cheltenham Festival in March — and gave the yard their first taste of Grade One success — when first past the post in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle.

Harry says: “She was really progressive last year — her best run was actually probably finishing second in the Grade One hurdle at Aintree [in April] when she progressed from her Grade One win at the Festival and ran even better. She’s been doing really well at home.”

2. Beakstown — six-year-old bay gelding by Stowaway, owned by Bryan Drew, bred by Geoffrey Thompson

This giant of a horse, standing well over 17hh, won a point-to-point in Ireland before joining the Skelton yard, where he has been lightly raced but has racked up a brace of wins over hurdles, including breaking the track record when claiming victory in a Grade Two race at Warwick. The gelding finished second to the classy Sam Spinner in his debut over fences at Wetherby recently.

Harry says: “He’s a future chaser — we probably won’t see the best of him for a couple of years.”

3. Generation Text — four-year-old bay gelding by Getaway, owned by Highclere Racing

Has yet to race under rules but came to Britain after finishing second in a point-to-point in Ireland.

Harry says: “ We’ll start him in Bumpers then go from there.”

4. Maire Bainrae — seven-year-old bay mare by King’s Theatre, owned by the Hales family and Jon Diver, bred by Donhead Stud

She made a record price for a mare from the point-to-point field when sold out of Ireland for £320,000 as a five-year-old. She has remained unbeaten since the start of last year, including in her chasing debut at Stratford at the beginning of October, where she looked a very exciting proposition.

Harry says: “The Hales family have been great supporters and Maire Bainrae has won her last three races — she looks a very progressive mare.”

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5. Interconnected — five-year-old brown gelding by Network, owned by the Yates, bred by MJ Tuckey

Previously trained by Nicky Henderson, where he raced once over hurdles. Darren Yates paid a record-breaking £620,000 for the horse at Doncaster Sales in May and while Interconnected has yet to make his debut for the Skelton yard, it will surely be a race watched with great interest.

Harry says: “He cost a lot of money at the sales, but is very much a big baby so we’re talking long-term with him — we can see the bigger picture and it’s much further down the line, but he really seems a really nice one to look forward to.”

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday

When Lorraine Twigg competed Whippletree Jupiter at the 2018 Team Quest national championships as part of the Cheshire Cats team, she had no idea that the following year would prove the most harrowing of her life.

Shortly after the championships in October 2018, the 18hh grey gelding was kicked in the field at home, fracturing the radius bone in his off foreleg.

“I saw a cut on his leg when I brought him in, but didn’t realise how bad it was until I started hosing him,” explained Lorraine.

“He had to spend 14 weeks standing still in his stable, with a splint up the back of his leg and another up the side, almost as high as his withers, so he couldn’t move the leg at all.

“I put my life on hold — I or someone else was always in the stable so he was never really alone. He coped really well — he has a very sane head on his shoulders and seemed to accept that he just had to stand there. He never messed about, never fought it. I can only put it down to the Cleveland Bay attitude to life.”

After nearly four months, the splints and bandaging were able to come off, but Jupiter was far from being out of danger.

“I was warned by the vet that if the fracture hadn’t healed properly and Jupiter lay down in his stable, his leg could snap, and if that happened it would never heal,” Lorraine recalled. “When I went out to him the first morning after the splints had come off I didn’t know what I was going to find. But then I saw his head over the door and I just knew he was going to be OK.”

But the ordeal was far from over, with Jupiter developing grade three ulcers afterwards and requiring treatment, followed by another freak accident.

“At the second scoping, Jupiter spotted some grass while on the ramp of the lorry and suddenly moved sideways. He stepped too far and slipped off the ramp, tearing the skin off the inside of his leg in a huge flap,” says Lorraine, who was finally able to bring her horse back into work in May this year.

“He had lost a lot of muscle, and we had to get his saddle refitted as he was a different shape. We had to work so hard to bring him back, but Jupiter worked his socks off. When I first took him out competing after everything he was scoring 75%. I just can’t believe this horse — he is an absolute star, and so precious.”

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Lorraine and Jupiter joined Lucy Allen and Rena Roberts on the Cheshire Cats Team Quest team for a fourth year — wearing pink and white striped onesies — and the trio finished 13^th out of 22 teams at the championships.

Lorraine is now aiming to compete Jupiter at elementary and novice freestyle over the winter.

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