HUNTING HERITAGE

Horses, hounds and hunting are for many people an integral part of the British countryside. It is a tradition, yes, but it is more than that – it still has relevance to today’s rural communities and sustainable habitat and wildlife management.

As you drive across the United Kingdom you will see innumerable hedgerows and small woods, many planted by fieldsports enthusiasts. Huge amounts of rural areas are still managed traditionally today, to the benefit of both flora and fauna. The planting of new woodlands and hedgerows continues in different parts of the country. This isn’t a happy coincidence –management is part of the sporting heritage of the UK. Game shoots and fox hunts will work to get the best out of their land, increasing the number of hedgerows, copses and ponds that form a key habitat for countless species.

Hounds are followed today by people of all walks of life both young and old. Some follow on horseback, others on foot, and some just watch from their car. Equine sports are tied inseparably to the countryside, from pony racing and point to points through to National Hunt jump races.

Horses, hounds and hunting have also played a part in our cultural heritage. The commissioning of art and music as a celebration of our relationship with the outdoors through fieldsports is a global phenomenon.

It’s viewed as a source of controversy, but for those in the know, the sport itself is anything but. Since the 2004 Hunting Act came into force, those who follow hounds have adapted their activity to fall within the law. I can report that more people today are following hounds than at any other time – amid true countryside folk, it is a uniting subject, not a divisive one. A concerted campaign continues to overturn an unjust law that does nothing to aid animal welfare.

A flagship event

Boxing Day meets are well known, but in terms of summer events, the hunting and hounds community has been rather underserved. The traditional British game fair has historically been a shooting-and-fishing event, in contrast to its equivalents on the continent, which have far more of a hounds-and-hunting slant.

Enter the UK Game Fair, taking place at Stoneleigh on 22-24 July, which promises to unite both communities. As well as appealing to the traditional crowd, it’s working to encourage those who may not have been to a game fair in the UK before but have strong cultural connections with hounds and horses from overseas.

There will be opportunities to see and meet sight and scent hounds, both those that traditionally use their eyes and those who use their noses to locate and follow their quarry.

The event will celebrate the thoroughbred racehorse with a display from the Retraining of Racehorses charity, which brings retired racehorses to parade who have been retrained to take part in other equestrian sports and activities since leaving the track.

Terriers and gazehounds will feature strongly, with showing classes sponsored by the Countryman’s Weekly. Simulated coursing and straight line competitions will take place in an amazing parkland setting, complemented by working breed tents where you can meet terrier, gundog and scenthound breeds and their owners.

Of course, there will be displays of hounds and horses in small, intimate rings – and what country event would be complete without the traditional parade of hounds in the main ring, with the sound of the horn and the spectacle of scarlet, horses and hounds galloping past.

Get tickets: www.ukgamefair.com