Another last-minute tip-off for a late afternoon cubbing meet took us to the Eggesford, whose huntsman Gary Boon was promoted (?) to the Devon & Somerset Staghounds last season. Any hunt would be considered a step up from this particular bunch.
The Eggesford’s former treasurer, Graeme Holmes, was convicted earlier this year of defrauding the hunt and pocketing tens of thousands of pounds (see press report). The new huntsman, Jason Marles, isn’t a stranger to prosecutions himself. He’s due in court this week on charges of illegally hunting while he was with his previous pack, the Derwent (see video). His father Chris Marles, previous huntsman of the East Devon Hunt, did six months in jail for assaulting an elderly female hunt monitor (see video), a few years after he was convicted of ABH on another hunt monitor (see news report). Not to forget Jason’s brother, Shaun, who was convicted of illegal hunting a few years ago while he was a whip at the Middleton Hunt (see report).
We went along to introduce ourselves, together with friends from North Cambs Hunt Sabs, Nottingham Hunt Saboteurs and Northants Hunt Saboteurs. The hunt met at Eggesford Fourways, just down from the kennels, and as expected went straight for their favourite hunting ground around Trenchard Farm, whose owner also owns Timepiece Nightclub in Exeter. Hounds were cast into an enormous maize field between Pigsmoor Wood and Alderplot Wood and spent most of the following two hours scattered all over that area. A makeshift trail was brought out, consisting of a hoodie attached to a piece of string.
There was the occasional ping-pong between huntsman and sabs in the valley, with hounds responding to calls from both, although the huntsman’s unusually high-pitched voice-calls were difficult to imitate! Hunt support on the road won’t have had much of a view and several were overheard complaining they were getting bored. At Hawkridge Farm hounds briefly went into cry but it was getting dark and Jason turned back towards the kennels via Lyland Wood, picking up stray hounds along the way.
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