Eggesford’s opening meet was another roadside meet at Chulmleigh Beacon. Riding helmet tucked under his arm, Jason showed everyone his freshly-polished head while giving his annual speech to mark the start of the main hunting season.
As the hunt set off, terrierboy Tom Bounsall reversed his quad at speed straight at one of our sabs on the road, pinning her against a parked car and narrowly avoiding seriously injuring her.
Just as he did during the cubbing season in this area, Jason started the day by entering hounds into a field of beets just off Parsonage Cross. Unsurprisingly, a fox was flushed within minutes. The fox ran out across the road and back again, followed closely by the pack who by now were in full cry and being hunted-on by Jason. Sabs stopped some of the hounds on the road but the bulk of the pack were running at speed towards Parsonage Copse, where the fox eventually went to ground at a badger sett. Our presence ensured this fox was not dug out. As sabs were rating hounds off the badger sett, a frustrated Jason jumped off his horse and began filming sabs on his phone, accusing them of interfering with his hounds… while he was continuing to allow the hounds to interfere with the badger sett!
Next, the hunt moved on towards Horridge Moor and Bycott and from there across to Lower Vipershill and Wixon Wood and then Higher Sheepsbyre and West Benley Moor. Eventually they came out around Week and headed to Darland Plantation and Twitching Moor, where hounds flushed a fox and chased the fox into the main valley by South Moor Plantation. Despite fighting against heavy winds and torrential downpours, this was all documented by our drone. Foot sabs caught up with the hunt as hounds were marking the fox to ground in a dense hedge a few fields up from the valley. Jason blew to ground but we believe the fox was bolted on the far side of the hedge and chased once more back into the valley, before hounds fortunately lost the scent around some lakes at South Week. The hunt retraced their steps back to the meet, drawing a final area between West Garland and Beara but failing to pick up on a fox.
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