January   2010  WINTER NEWSLETTER

by the Joint Masters

THE MASTERSHIP

On 1st May, Bella Scott, who has been a subscriber for more years than she cares to remember and is a former field master, joined Andy Orkney and Chris Hall in the mastership. Andy, who had hunted hounds occasionally during the last few years, was quickly into his stride and, until the recent spell of bad weather, hounds were going well for him. Richard Selwyn Sharpe retired after 17 years as a joint master of the hunt, including three years as huntsman. He carried the horn through a period of unprecedented upheaval for hunting and it is gratifying that subscriptions have held up so well since the 2004 Hunting Act. Richard’s main legacy must surely be the quality of our hounds; his interest in breeding and that of his predecessor as huntsman, Tim Easby, have brought us the benefit of many new bloodstock lines and our hounds have been winning prizes at hound shows in recent years.

HUNTING REPORT

So far this season we have had 15 mornings’ autumn hunting and 14 days’ “fox” hunting. Thanks to some cleverly laid trails and good scenting conditions, we have enjoyed some good runs. Warwick Bailey has entertained the field quite brilliantly and has spent a lot of time walking the country beforehand to ensure the days have run smoothly. The present spell of snow and ice has played havoc with our programme during the Christmas holidays, but we were pleased to see a huge crowd in Masham Square on Boxing Day, once again showing the massive support hunting has in the countryside.We were very sorry, but not totally surprised, to receive the news that Bob Wigham, our fence-mender of many seasons' standing, had decided to call it a day at the end of last season. As is typical of Bob, he did not go before finding a replacement, John Errington, who has been kept busy this season. There will be a presentation to Bob in the near future and we would ask that you give generously towards his present, as he has been a very good friend of the West of Yore for many years.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Because of the nature of our country, we set a limit on the number of subscribers and strictly control the number of visitors we allow out, especially at our popular meets. This year, we have over 50 subscribers, which is close to our limit. In the very wet conditions that we have seen in recent weeks it is important that we do not presume too much on the hospitality of the landowners and farmers over whose land we hunt.

FUND RAISING & OTHER EVENTS

We have had two fun rides (Nutwith 4 May and Low Lindrick 13 September), a hunter trial at Newfield on 11 October, a post-Mickley Show hog roast and a hedge hop at Tim's on 17 October (organised by Howard S-W assisted by Warwick and catered for by Dave and Sharon). All these events were well-supported, efficiently organised and brought in valuable revenues. For many years, we ran a joint point to point with the Bedale at Hornby Castle and for two years our own one there. It proved too difficult to get the course into shape for our races so we had to abandon that idea. So we are very glad that our team, led by Richard Wells, has found a new course,which we will share with the Badsworth & Bramham Moor, at Whitcliffe Lane, west of Ripon. Much work has already been done to get the course ready but more will be needed and Richard will be looking for support from all subscribers. It will be on Sunday 31 January. Alex Moody has kindly agreed to organise next year's Hunt Ball at the Blue Lion on Saturday 13 February, which once again promises to be an outstanding party. The Lightwater Valley cross country ride is one of the main fund-raisers for the hunt. It also allows those non-hunting horse riders, often from urban areas, who don’t normally get a chance to ride off-road, to enjoy our gorgeous country and, we hope, to take a more sympathetic view of hunting. We usually get (if the weather is reasonable) more than 300 entries. We are most grateful to the landowners who allow this huge contingent over their land. As usual, the organiser is Howard Smelt-Webb and he will be hoping for help from many of you. This year it will be on Sunday 14 March. The Masters are extremely grateful to all those concerned in the running of these wholly worthwhile activities.

HUNT SUPPORTERS

The Hunt Supporters are organising a New Year social evening at The Staveley Arms at North Stainley on Friday 8 January and they would be grateful for your support. We are sure you all realise the incredible amount they do for us – indeed, they organised the Nutwith and Low Lindrick rides, the Newfield hunter trial and the hog roast – not least in making a very substantial financial contribution to us, without which we would struggle to make ends meet. So if they ask for our support, we should ensure that we give it.

THE GENERAL ELECTION

There must be a general election before June and once again hunting will be an issue. The Conservatives have promised to provide Government time for, and a free vote on, a bill to repeal the totally unworkable hunting act. Not everyone thinks this is a good idea and some would prefer to let sleeping dogs lie, but it is the aim of the Countryside Alliance, to which we all belong, to seek the repeal of the act. The present situation allows self-styled “monitors” – actually our old friends the balaclava wearing sabs – to interfere with a lawful activity and, in some notorious instances, to pursue through the criminal courts some of the most law-abiding people in the country. Several professional huntsmen have had months or even years of worry while their cases have been taken to the magistrates’ courts and in some cases to higher courts on appeal. We hunt in a part of the country where there is very little open hostility to our sport, but not all hunts are so fortunate. Our contribution to ensuring the repeal of the hunting act is to support candidates (of any party) in marginal seats who will vote to lift the ban. Vote-OK, which organises our campaign, has allocated us to Harrogate, where an excellent Conservative candidate has a good chance of beating the sitting Liberal Democrat member. Our founder, former master and chairman, James Ramsden, was MP for Harrogate, so this is an appropriate constituency for us to support. Tony Duff is organising our effort. It is important that all subscribers find the time to help – it need only be a couple of hours one morning or afternoon.

AND FINALLY

Thank you all for your loyal and continued support; we can all hope that 2010 brings us a repeal of the 2004 Hunting Act and even more enjoyment from our hounds.