On Wednesday we visited the end-of-season meet of the Stevenstone Foxhounds at their kennels in Great Torrington.

With their own hunts finished for the season, some other local scum like South Tetcott huntsman Tim Ingram and Torrington Farmers’ kennel huntsman Jack Rowley had their formal wellies on to watch Stevenstone huntsman Archibald Clifton-Brown hunt on and around the Tarka Trail.

The hunt left the meet and immediately covered a lot of ground, heading through Smytham Manor and eventually onto Stowford Moor. The hunt spent most of the day determined to kill in this area, completing several loops between Lambert Moor and Vinny Copse. There were some close calls, with hounds in cry multiple times only a few yards behind a fox but sabs were able to intervene and scatter hounds and allow the fox to escape.

Desperate to kill in front of other huntsmen, Archibald was on and off his horse all day, crawling red-faced through hedges and scattering his hounds widely so he spent most of the day with half a pack.

Continue reading “Stevenstone Hunt, Great Torrington, 15.03.23” →

Stevenstone Hunt kill fox

On Saturday the Stevenstone Foxhounds under the direction of huntsman Archie Clifton-Brown killed a young vixen near Woolsery. Sabs had been with the hunt all day since they left their meet at Sessacott and several foxes were helped to safety in that time.

In the afternoon the hunt chased a fox to ground in a large pile of sheet metal rubbish on the edge of a small copse. Sabs arrived in time to move hounds on and prevent a digout. However, the hunt returned to this spot about thirty minutes later and bolted the fox.

She was chased again for about twenty minutes, during which time our various foot teams did everything they could to get in between fox and hounds and stop the chase. However, hounds caught up with her and overwhelmed her in a ditch in the valley. She was mauled to death by the pack. As sabs were waiting on the road with the fox’s body, a terrierman rode past on a quadbike and shouted “one less for us to kill”.

The Hunting Act is 18 years old this week but hunts are still chasing and brutally killing our wildlife. Sabs are the only people actively intervening. We can’t prevent every kill but we try our absolute hardest.

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.

Continue reading “Stevenstone Hunt, Little Derworthy, 07.01.23” →

Today we sabbed the Christmas Eve meet of the Stevenstone Hunt in former Tetcott Hunt country, at the aptly named Winterlands Farm on the edge of Holsworthy.

The day was hosted by landowner and former Tetcott Master Diana Stevens. She had woven festive tinsel into her horse’s mane but for a major Christmas meet the turnout was poor, with just a handful of riders and the same number of car support.

The hunt took off into fields to the south and hounds immediately went into cry. They were in cry on and off for most of the day but our foot teams stuck with them throughout, stopping hounds whenever they found scent, and we kept an eye via the drone as well.

Continue reading “Stevenstone Hunt, Winterlands Farm, Holsworthy, 24.12.22” →

Yesterday we paid a surprise visit to the Stevenstone, who were hunting outside their own ‘country’ in what was formerly Tetcott Hunt country. Tetcott are the hunt that disbanded earlier this year.

Despite Tetcott country having become vacant, wildlife in the area is not safe, as ex-Tetcott masters Diana Stevens and Andrew Youlden have been arranging for neighbouring packs to hunt some of their old meets. If Stevenstone had known in advance that any away day in Tetcott country is likely to attract sabs, perhaps they would have thought twice about coming.

Although as it was, it seems not many made the trip anyway. Despite perfect weather and scenting conditions, just six riders showed up for the occasion. The meet was at Marhamchurch and the hunt spent the day drawing various valleys: north of the village, east between Steart, Great Beer and Hobbacott (including land they’d been banned from entering), and then north in the long valley between the Old Canal and Brays Hill.

Continue reading “Stevenstone Hunt, Marhamchurch, 03.11.22” →