Hunting as a child taught me resilience and courage – we should encourage it, not ban it
There are few things that can generate the same “He’s been! He’s been!” squeals of enthusiasm as a stocking full of presents at the end of the bed on Christmas morning. But, in our house, there was one thing: the arrival of the meet card – essentially, the hunt’s fixture list.
Out would come the fluorescent pen: those meets closest to home or deemed to be the best jumping days would be highlighted on the postcard before it went up on the mantelpiece for constant reference. Sure, there are simpler, faster and more economical ways of communicating this information, but the arrival of a WhatsApp message or email is hardly going to set the pulses racing of hunting families up and down the land in the same way.
I’ve hunted for as long as I can remember and my childhood memories of following hounds could only ever be described as incredible. There is nothing that could be considered to have been abusive, yet a group of celebrities are calling upon the Prime Minister to ban children from attending all hunting activities, including trail hunts. They claim that “certain fox hunting groups start grooming children as young as four to chase foxes to their deaths”. Utter nonsense.
Nobody would disagree that children must be protected from physical and psychological violence. It defies belief, though, to link this to trail hunting just to suit an agenda. A personal agenda that has seen Ricky Gervais previously refer to those who hunt as “posh people on horseback”, and that is one of his more polite Tweets when it comes to hunting. Let’s face it, this isn’t all about children’s rights, foxes or animal welfare; this is about grabbing a headline and targeting those who go about a lawful country pursuit (although his perception about the hunting community is wrong too because that involves a wide spectrum of people, not just the “toffs”).
This group of signatories, which also includes Twiggy, actor Mark Rylance and ex-Strictly star Amanda Abbington, seems to have completely misunderstood what trail hunting is and how it can actually benefit the physical and mental wellbeing of participants rather than causing them harm. Trail hunting involves the hounds following a scent that has been dragged across the countryside for them to “hunt” – there is no live quarry. Followers, the ordinary members of “the field” – both pre-ban hunting and present day – are not involved in the actual trail hunting itself, that is the responsibility of the huntsman and the hunt officials. The field simply follows the designated field master whose role it is to keep us all entertained, positioning us in the best place to watch the hounds at work while not getting in the way or interfering with them.
Hunts respect their heritage by wearing traditional hunting clothing and the hunting horn is still the method by which the huntsman communicates with his hounds and those following. So much of what goes on looks very much like hunting pre-ban, but quite why pursuing a scent-infused rag across the countryside can be “psychologically scarring for young people” is beyond comprehension.
The first time I went hunting on a pony was to attend the former Vale of Aylesbury’s local Boxing Day meet, aged four. I don’t really remember much about the day other than being incredibly excited at the prospect of being able to hack to the meet alongside all the others going from our farm. This was some years before any change in hunting legislation but my focus that day was not on killing a fox, nor was it the priority of any of those around to encourage me to get involved in the hound work. All I cared about was persuading my mother that I could join the rest of the mounted field off the leading rein and go hunting all day alongside two of my siblings. I didn’t get my way and can only describe the disappointment as character-building. That was probably the first of many life lessons learnt out hunting.
The hunting field is not a particularly competitive environment yet it constantly provides challenges that are overcome without hesitation, helping to build confidence in children, often without them realising. What an honour it is to be asked to give the master a lead; that person you admire and respect has asked you to be the trailblazer so there is a certain amount of pressure not to fluff your lines when it matters. Getting it right, jumping off a perfect stride and being thanked for helping afterwards can generate the broadest of smiles and warm feelings of pride inside. Volunteering to open or close gates, sharing sweets, or picking up a glove for somebody who has dropped it, all happen quite naturally, helping children to forge relationships and give them a sense of being part of a community.
So what is it that children – and adults – really love about hunting? For many it is the adrenaline-fuelled thrill of being at one with your pony, galloping across the countryside alongside your friends and jumping fences that you are only permitted access to because you are out with the hunt. It’s good to challenge yourself and put yourself out of your comfort zone every now and again, perhaps by taking on a hedge for the first time or crossing a water-filled ditch. Not every day goes smoothly and tumbles can happen or low branches can whack you in the face if you don’t duck in time but usually it’s nothing that a hot bath after hunting can’t cure. One of the best parts of the day, though, is the post-hunting chat; with your cheeks aglow after coming into the warm out of the cold, reliving special moments by trying to count how many fences you jumped, where you went, explaining how you gave the master the lead or counted the number of hounds correctly, all brings the day to life again.
Plenty find that their greatest pleasure comes from listening to the hounds speaking [the sound they make when following the trail] and watching them work, none more so than the hunt staff and those who follow a foot pack of beagles or basset hounds. Anyone who has been lucky enough to walk puppies – a very important role which takes place between weaning hound puppies and them returning to the pack to start their formal education a few months later – will be on the lookout to see how the previously mischievous but still incredibly gorgeous hounds have developed.
Hunting as a child should be about having fun with your friends – many friendships will be made for life – and enjoying the camaraderie, while also learning about the ways of the countryside, appreciating the seasons and having empathy for the natural world, sharing different experiences in a multi-generational space and picking up an endless number of other important life skills along the way. Being out in all weathers is part and parcel of going trail hunting and most of the time you’re on the move so don’t really notice getting cold or wet, but some days you do question your sanity. There is always a degree of optimism that any bad forecast will be wrong so it’s always worth going out just in case it’s the best day of the season and you don’t want to miss out.
And, of course, they’ll have an enduring respect for animals. Caring for a pony, both before and after hunting, is an enormous responsibility and gives children a real understanding about the importance of others’ needs. After a long day hunting, when a bath and bed can be very appealing, the pony’s comfort always comes first. The only grooming that goes on with children and trail hunting is when it comes to ensuring that every speck of mud is cleaned off their pony before it goes hunting again.
