On Saturday the bad weather kept many hunts away from our wildlife. We went to see what the Stevenstone were up to, but although they were at their meet at Yeory Farm in Merton, they weren’t hunting due to the weather and so, with no hounds in sight, we left them to their pasties.
We asked the few riders present what they were planning to do with no hunting on and they told us they were going for a countryside ride before going home. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could just do that every week and leave the foxes alone?
We decided to then catch up with the Torrington Farmers at their closing meet and keep them company for the day.
They met in the village of Weare Giffard and when we arrived hounds were heard right away, marking in the valley near Oldiscleave Farm. Sabs ran in to rate while others got ahead to prepare for foxes breaking. A fox was seen soon after in the same valley fleeing the hounds and sabs were on hand to cover its tracks with citronella insuring that this one got away. Hares were also seen breaking in this area but sabs were on hand to cover any scent with citronella.
The hunt then headed towards Gammaton moor and crossed to hunt the valley between Lower Kingdon farm and Stony Cross. Sabs followed but were harassed by the landowner and hunt followers on quad bikes while hounds could be seen on a line north across the valley. With one sab group distracting 5 quads and the landowner, another group got in closer to the hounds. Thankfully with the wind and bad weather, hounds seemed to lose the scent of what they’d been on. Huntsman Steve Craddock then gathered his hounds and field and took them on another loop of this area, hoping to pick up on the scent again, but failed.
The hunt then moved on traveling on the road some distance. During this time the field all called it a day, leaving only the huntsman and one other rider. They headed south and went in on a bridle path towards the valleys south of Huntshaw Water but seemed to have given up hunting, as they simply took the hounds on a loop and came back out onto the road.
Sabs then followed the pair on the road once again as they headed south and went into Huntsaw wood.
Sabs followed tracks through the woods that lead towards Woodhouse Farm where the hunt were seen packing up around 4:30pm.