WELCOME to the traditional fox hunt in Millman Meadows. Our 75th annual hunt will celebrate the memory of the old landowner and the great hunter, Lord Edward Millman. This Boxing Day will include everything we appreciate as hunters; horses and hounds, tea and scones, whiskey and friends. After the hunt, we will celebrate the catch of the day with an exclusive banquette in the historic Lord Millman Foayer. The attire of the day is Traditional Hunting, so put on your red jacket and high hat. Let us all enjoy a beautiful day in the fields with our best friends, both the ones on two and four legs. Blow the horn and let the hunt begin!
J OHN LASKEY
Master Of The Foxhounds
HUNT&HERITAGE
LORD MILLMAN Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group led by a master of foxhounds. The most famous fox-hunter in literature is Surtees’s humble grocer Mr Millman, who proclaimed the virtues of country life with characteristic exuberance: “London’s a good place, to be sure, but oh my beloved ‘earers, there is no misery like that of solitude in a big crowd, or inconvenience like that of livin’ with men without being able to afford to partak o’ their plissures. London’s the rich man’s paradise, the poor man’s .” Many rusticated visiting London swells. “A lot of noisy, perfumed, chattering coxcombs,” Surtees observed in disgust. The keenest sportsmen, then as now, cared nothing for an exquisite turnout and fashionable conversation. They were indeed monastically devoted to the breeding and working of horses and hounds. They were brave, often idiotically so. They fell, fell, and fell again, hurtling over the big fences and into the bogs, thinking life or limb well lost in the sacred quest. They bonked a lot. Fox-hunting and adultery are inseparably entwined. Those of us who live in the country yet are rotten horsemen have always been madly jealous of the success with women of a good man to hounds.
&HONOR
HERITAGE
Foxhunting is the sport of mounted riders chasing a wild quarry with a big pack of hounds. It is a union of humans and animals in the beauty of nature’s setting. Man is an observer mounted on a horse, the vehicle that as allows him to follow and observe the many hounds as they hunt the fox. The scenario unwinds before the foxhunters eyes and ears with the sound of the huntsman’s hunting horn as the hounds give chase. The fox or coyote maneuvers, circles and runs through the country cunningly evading the hounds. The music of the hounds in “full cry” is laced with the sound of the horn echoing off the woodlands and hills as they pursue the quarry across plains or through woods, fields, creeks, marshes and over rock walls and fences. A crescendo of sounds and sights that thrill you beyond imagination play out in front of you and your horse until the fox goes to ground or hounds lose the scent and the hunt is over. One can compare it to a theatrical production with mother nature the conductor and the hounds in full cry, accompanied by the hunting horn and the orchestra. Man is the audience privileged to watch, as hounds and fox or coyote, the actors, unveil the plot with never ever the same act repeated twice.
TALLY HO!
* The phrase was first brought to England by William the
Conqueror, an avid stag hunter, after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The old Norman phrase was “Tya Hillaut� and was shouted when a deer had been found. It became the phrase Tally Ho in England, and is still shouted in fox hunts today.
THE MONARCH of THE ANIMAL Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group led by a master of foxhounds. In speaking of hounds, there are a certain ways of speech which distinguish those who know from “them what don’t.” This is so of sports generally - no sailor would speak of a mast as a pole, although it is one. Hounds are hounds, NOT DOGS. However, correcting a non foxhunter who calls a hound “dog ” is in bad form. Hounds are counted in “couples”. A male hound is known as a “dog hound.” Likewise a female hound, no matter how exemplary, it is known as a “bitch.” A hound has a “stern” instead of a tail. When he moves same, he “feathers his stern.” A hound never barks, he “opens,” “gives tongue,” or “speaks.” When hounds are in covert, the Huntsman will place himself so as to best influence their movements in drawing for the fox. You should, of course, remain with the Field Master. Never go “ahead of the draw”. If the Huntsman turns and comes back toward you, STAND STILL with your horse facing the hounds. When a hound finds a fox, if you are listening and not talking, you will hear him “speak” and sense the thrill which stops in their tracks all who hear it. The other hounds flock to confirm the find, and the Huntsman decides quickly whether to cheer the other hounds on or to await a more reliable witness. Once satisfied, the Huntsman cheers the hounds together and gives a series of short sharp blasts called “doubling the horn” to call hounds together. Stay with the Master who knows the country and will do his utmost to keep the field in view of the sport.
VOCABULARY This is a fairly comprehensive list of terms specifically related to fox hunting. Some of these terms are a trifle old-fashioned but, as we all know, foxhunters value tradition and “the old ways” above most other qualities. ALL ON All hounds present and accounted for. BABBLE To give tongue on scent other than fox, or on no scent, or on a scent too faint to follow. B• TCH PACK A pack of hounds consisting only of bitches (females), reffered to only as bitches, not as bitchhounds. BREAKFAST The meal after hunting is over, no matter the time of dag Originally this was a meal served to early arrivals by the host or owner og the place where the hunt met. BRUSH A fox’s tail. COFFEE HOUSIN G When people are chattering instead of paying attention. COLORS The colored coat collar that distinguishes the unigorm of the hunt, usually accompanied by hunt buttons; to be awarded colors is to be given the right to wear them. CRY The sound given by hounds when hunting. FEATHERING A hound “feathers” when he indicates, by actions rather than by voice, that he is on a line or near it. The stern is waved and activity is concentrated and intensified. HONOR One hound honors another when he gives tongue on a line that another hound has been hunting. KENNEL The place where hounds are kept. LARK To jump a fence unnecessarily, when hounds are not running or when hacking home. LIFT To carry hounds forward. The huntsman lifts hounds by encouraging them forward. LINE The trail of the fox. MARK When a hound indicates that a fox has gone to ground.
MASK A fox’s head. MASTER This almost always refers to the Master of Fox Hounds (MFH), the person responsible for the hunting and the organization of the country. PANEL A jump built into a fenceline specifically for foxhunting. RATE A vocal warning given to correct hounds. RIOT When hounds are hunting any game other than the intended. RUN Describes the action after hounds find the line of a fox. A “good run” is also a “good hunt” (the term “hunt” should refer to a “run” and not to a “meet”). SCENT The smell of a fox and the physical and chemical phenomena by which the smell gets from the fox’s footprints to the hound’s nose. Scent can be good or bad, easy to follow or not, depending on various factors including the weather. SPEAK When a hound gives tongue. (One would never say a hound was barking . . .) STIRRUP CUP A drink to be shared at the meet before hunting, so called because it was originally held at stirrup iron level by the person serving. TAG The white tip on a red fox’s brush. TERRITORY The area officially designated by the MFHA where a hunt is allowed to operate. THRUSTER A member of the field who rides too close to staff or hounds. TONGUE A hound “gives tongue” when he proclaims with his voice that he is on the line of a fox. VIEW To actually see the fox. Should a member of the field view, he or she should quietly inform the Master right away. VIEW HOLLOA The high pitched cry given only by a staff member when a fox breaks covert. VIXEN A female fox. WARE A shortening of the word beware, i.e. ware hole, ware wire, etc. Should not be used to alert the field to passage of individuals. WHIPPERS-IN The staff members who assist the Huntsman with discipline and behavior of hounds in the hunt field. They may also assist with kennel duties and hound exercising.
LET THE HUNT BEGIN
ACC ESSO RIES Everyone hunts for different reasons. Pursuing an ancient sport with a traditional appearance is often very appealling to a lot of people. The distinctive clothing is frequently the very first thing people ask about. That’s fine but there’s so much more to the sport! You don’t spend your Saturdays getting up a 4 a.m. to take part in a fashion show! Even though considerable ink has been spilled describing “what to wear,” try to keep things in perspective. Presenting a uniform, in its neat, and traditional appearance is not because of exclusivity or snobbiness. It shows respect for the hunt, the landowners, and the sport in general. Do not let concern about correct attire keep you from hunting!
VIEW HOLLOA.
mister The red fox is the size of a small dog, with a total length of 39-41 inches and a weight of 9-12 pounds. It has prominent, erect ears, a pointed nose, and a long, bushy tail with white tip. The fur is long, soft, with the upper part reddish-yellow, lack-tipped on the shoulders. Some might wonder why foxes in their natural environment bother to run such long distances when it would seem easy for them to find a hole and go to ground.Foxes are territorial animals. They know every inch of their feeding range and it would be a simple matter for them to jump into the first convenient earth (the term for foxes’ lair or den). Sometimes they do, to the disappointment of the hunters, but often as not they choose to run. One cannot apply human reasoning to the fox. One can only suppose he chooses to run because he wants to or does not feel threatened enough to bother going to ground. A fox lives by scent. He knows good and bad scenting days. This may have an influence on how long he runs or if he feels he can lose the hounds without going to ground. Many foxhunters believe that some foxes undoubtedly enjoy the chase. This may sound farfetched, but it is true that on certain days, it appears, some foxes may play with the hounds almost teasing them by backtracking and circling past their dens when they could easily go to ground. Foxes have been seen to stop and hunt mice, rats, and even birds while hounds are chasing them. As humans we should not presume to understand what the fox thinks. We can only say that experience has shown that a fox often seems to be under little stress. When the fox does choose to run though, he gives us the opportunity to observe when one of the Earth’s greatest predators demonstrating his finest skills.
THE PHEASANT Perhaps the most popular out of the various bird hunting kinds is pheasant hunting. And it has been that way for hundreds of years, since these birds were first brought to Europe in the 10th century. Although things are very different nowadays, our passion for hunting these creatures remains untouched, and to some extent it seems to defy time itself. Many explanations can be found but one of the most plausible seems to come from our inner desire to be as free as these beautiful creatures are when they fly. Pheasants are native to the Asian continent but have been widely introduced elsewhere, where they are bred to be hunted and are shot in great numbers. The bird was brought to Britain around the 10th century but it then became extinct in the early 17th century, it was then reintroduced in the 1830s and is now widespread. Pheasants were introduced in North America in 1913, and they’ve become very popular for hunting, rather than for food.
THEHUNTINGACT The Hunting Act was passed by Parliament in 2004. It has not been a demonstrable success, and is difficult to enforce. Only three hunts have been successfully prosecuted for illegal hunting
On 19th February 2005 every hunt in the country met and they have continued to do so ever since. There have been just nine attempts to prosecute MFHA hunts under the Act and six of them failed. The first, involving Exmoor huntsman Tony Wright, eventually reached the High Court where a very important judgment limited further the chances of hunts being convicted under the Hunting Act. There have only been three successful prosecutions involving MFHA packs and one of those is currently subject to repeal. The Hunting Act 2004 came into force on February 18th 2005. It affects England and Wales but not Scotland, which has its own hunting legislation, or Northern Ireland. The legislation was the subject of huge controversy throughout the many years it was debated in Parliament. The 700 hours of parliamentary time spent considering hunting and massive demonstrations against a ban meant that the injustices and flaws of the new law were a matter of public record long vbefore it ever came into force.
MANY THANKS!