On Saturday we went to sab the Stevenstone Hunt’s meet at Five Lanes Cross near Abbots Bickington. They started off drawing the woods behind Court Barton, before heading north towards Gardenclose Wood where the huntsman scattered his hounds all over the valley and spent the next hour trying to gather them again, setting the pattern for the day!
The huntsman then dismounted and went north into the woods and valleys around Stowford Cross. Again this effort consisted of losing half his hounds and spending most of the time on the phone trying to get his horse brought back to him. Hounds did pick up on a scent around Bower Plantation following it back to Hankford Cross where sabs found hounds marking a badger sett. Terriermen and hunt staff were lurking around, but with sabs on the scene the huntsman took his hounds and a dig out was averted.
The hunt then went south towards Bulkworthy, where sabs followed the bloody paw prints of an injured hound. As the Stevenstone continued to draw the valley between Town Farm and East Bridge Farm, a number of deer were seen breaking, as well as a fox dashing east, but with hounds scattered around the valley by sabs calling against the huntsman, everyone got away safely. After a second loop of the valley the huntsman finally managed to gather his pack and, with hounds still dripping blood, rode back to box up at Five Lanes Cross.
Over the course of the day (and most days we are out) sabs walked through some vile farms, wading through rivers of slurry to get out of Town Farm, and walking over freshly ‘fertilised’ fields to follow the hunt. Next time you hear badgers blamed for TB, remember that half the farms in Devon are wading in shit.
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