We sabbed a Monday Eggesford meet at Hansford, attended by the usual bunch of miscreants.
Among others, this included David Ellis, who keeps ranting at sabs about something to do with VAT. We’re really not sure he knows what it means. Jason was asked whether he’d be rabbit-hunting or trail-hunting that day, to which he replied “a bit of both”…
Under the watchful eyes of our foot sabs, the hunt set off west at Hansford Wood, drawing blank and then heading north towards Hansford Cross, where they entered one of many elephant grass fields in the area. Plenty of deer and foxes to be found here. Rabbits and ‘trails’? Not so much.
We had it covered and soon enough Jason doubled-back to the south, taking hounds into Deerpark Copse valley. Hunt support all lined up on the road north and south but nothing happened for a good half hour. We wondered if Jason was having a private moment to himself in the woods or if they’d snuck out at one end of the valley, but just as we were about to reposition to check, a deer and a hare broke across the field north of the woods, suggesting that hounds were in the valley after all. Eventually they picked up on scent and hounds started speaking, but sabs either side of the valley stopped them in their tracks.
Next, Jason took hounds via a brassica field towards the now-infamous slurry pit south of Beera. From here everything moved further south into the Horridge valley. Hounds ended up all over a badger sett near Densham Plantation and chased a fox across a field south of Horridge Farm but lost the scent in the open field and were moved on to the north in direction of Eggesford Forest. The hunt are not allowed to hunt in here, but of course we wouldn’t expect them to respect that. Hounds were cast into the woods while Jason stayed on the outside, encouraging them on.
Towards the end of the day, hounds were taken back to the valley south of Highdown and chased a fox to ground at an earth in a hedge, directly adjacent to a field of tiny newborn lambs. The lambs ended up separated from their mothers and scattered all across the field. Ewes were still bleeting in distress an hour after the hunt moved on. It was freezing cold and not long before sunset, so we informed a neighbouring landowner, who assured us they would let the farmer know that lambs and ewes were separated. We’re not convinced this farmer would particularly care though. After all, he’d given the hunt permission knowing full well what they’re like. This is the same land on which we caught Eggesford terriermen Seward Folland and Nathan Bowes digging out a badger sett a few years ago, for which they received a conviction.
Jason’s reaction when sabs arrived at the marked earth in the hedge was to congratulate the hounds before noting “I wouldn’t leave that one!”, in reference to the face that the fox would be dug out if we didn’t stay behind to guard the earth. Terrier boys Danny Pearce and Jake Crabb, alongside Cornish visitor Gareth Frain, were lurking on their quadbike, having been unable to dig so far that day. A sab stayed behind to guard the earth while other sabs followed the hunt north back in direction of the meet, via Beera and Bourne. Here another fox was marked to ground in a hole by an overgrown quarry next to the road. Again sabs had to intervene to move the hounds on and ensure that no digout occurred.
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