This Saturday we sabbed the Stevenstone Hunt in former Tetcott Hunt country again.
They unboxed at Five Lanes Cross and then went to Little Derworthy to eat sausage rolls. The quadbike with the registration TRAIL was spotted a few times throughout the day, usually on the road miles from the hunt who were seen pursuing multiple foxes (and some deer) during the day.
They started off in the moor near Barton Cottage which terrierman Alex Wass attempted to evict sabs from. They looped around Broomball Wood and out into Gardenclose Wood. Hounds got onto a fox here, which was seen just a few feet in front of the lead hound. The fox was running strong and with help from sabs rating and calling hounds we are sure this one got away, as it was seen heading north while the hunt went back west towards Sanders Cross.
The hunt spent a lot of time in the valley south of here and sabs saw several foxes running from the hunt. We were able to cover their trails, but eventually with hounds scattered across the boggy valley they chased a fox to ground in a bramble patch. A Stevenstone terrierman was there watching and making no effort to do anything as sabs cleared the hounds and sent them back to huntsman.
The hunt then went south past Youlden Farm towards Hill Copse and drew the boggy valleys in this area. No foxes but hare and at least 4 deer were flushed. Hounds were rated off by sabs as the hunt riders did a predictably poor job of it. They never practice rating because why would they ever want to call the hounds off?
With sabs on him all day, huntsman Archibald Clifton-Brown decided to call it a day early and drag himself and his riders back up to Five Lanes Cross where they packed up.
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