On Monday the 13th, a small team of us headed to Ashreigney, as Jason Marles, Lloyd Heard, and the rest of the Eggesford Hunt were meeting at South Farm.
We arrived just as they were leaving the meet, after a detour to assist an injured bird. Marles left the meet with Heard, a handful of quadbikes (including one equipped with terriers and tools for digging out foxes) and roughly a dozen field riders and headed south, to Ley Cross and in towards the valley at Lake.
We caught up with them as they were drawing the valley towards Higher Minicleave wood, where the hounds picked up on a line but quickly lost it. After spotting us, Marles ran away giggling to himself and left the majority of the hounds behind in the process.
Soon enough, the hunt returned to the same valley. Hounds started speaking immediately, running right back to the same part of the valley they started in. Sabs caught up as hounds were marking a fox to ground in a hole amongst dense brambles. Huntsman Jason Marles and Lloyd Heard were on foot congratulating the hounds, before gathering them and taking them out of the woods. Congratulate them all you like Jason, but with sab presence on the day, that fox was protected from being dug out and will live another day.
After looping around via Little Narracott, Marles took the hounds into the valley at Platsdown, where the hounds started speaking and foxes were seen fleeing the area. They then hunted in the direction of Churchwater, and to Ash Wood, disturbing dog walkers and other members of the public as they went.
Hounds were now scattered and spread all over. Some were dangerously wandering the roads in Ashreigney and Riddlecombe, whilst Jason was ineffectively gathering just north of Moorwater. Once he had gathered most of the pack, they quickly shot off and made a beeline towards Dolton Beacon. This area is a favourite haunt of Marles – he has tormented the foxes around there 3 times this season already.
As expected, hounds instantly chased a fox through a nearby field, and another fox (likely their mate) darted into the woodland towards a large badger sett. Seeing that we were present and witnessing and filming everything, quadbikes suddenly zoomed into action, trying to catch up to the hounds and call them off. Sabs ran in and covered the fox’s scent. We believe the fox got away.
The hunt then continued eastwards, with hounds picking up on another line, but were quickly rated off by a sab. Jason Marles then did what he does best and ran off further to the east. Clearly annoyed at being sabbed, Lloyd Heard took his anger out on a lone sab by trying to ride his horse directly into them. Once again, violence and intimidation attempts will not deter us.
Jason and the hounds then emerged on the road by Moorwater, before he desperately took them back into the valley and the hounds picked up on a fox’s scent again, and quickly ran south on a line all the way to Little Narracott.
Jason then took a while to catch up to the hounds and spent some time gathering. Some of the riders, quads and vehicle support finally caught up to Jason on the road (imagine paying for that). They then headed through Great Pitford, before turning around and heading back in the direction of the meet, attempting to gather the many scattered hounds as they went.
The hunt returned to the meet at roughly 5pm. We believe they were still missing several of the pack at this point, as Jason was heard desperately calling hounds in the dark.
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