We had heard from insiders that Jason Marles’s days with the Eggesford are numbered. Embezzling funds, abusing colleagues, pissing off the farming community… Saturday’s Hatherleigh Carnival meet was evidence of the rather dire state of affairs. The carnival no longer publicises this meet, but the hunt were hosted by The George pub instead, and still set off from the town square at 11am. This year though, and despite the perfect weather, they were accompanied by just a handful of riders, and a similar number of quad bikes and car support. We were joined by friends from Plymouth & West Devon Hunt Sabs.
Normally the hunt start the day on Hatherleigh Moor, but on this occasion they instead headed straight for the woods south of Pynda. On our way there, we were blocked on the road by a woman who had her young child on a lead rein pony. It’s bad enough when riders endanger their animals by using them to block sab vehicles on the road. For a mother (we assume she’s the child’s mother!) to do this to her child is completely irresponsible and disgusting, as is taking a young girl along to an illegal hunt in the first place. Then again, we were reminded on Saturday that this is the hunt that not only welcomes bad mothers, but also disgusting old men like Dave Cole who spend more time making vile misogynistic remarks about female sabs’ bodies and launching racist rants about “bloody immigrants” than they do watching the hunt.
Foot sabs had kept up with the hunt regardless and rated hounds back to huntsman Jason Marles when they first found scent. A clever little fox then snuck past our Land Rover where we had been blocked on the road, enabling vehicle sabs to cover the fox’s tracks. The hunt moved west, via land they had no permission to be on (what a surprise) and then north towards the river Torridge. Our drone team spotted hounds chase a fox to ground at a badger sett straddling both sides of a thick hedge. Huntsman and terriermen went to investigate but our runners quickly caught up with them
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