The Crawley and Horsham Hunt

FAMILY DOG SHOW SUNDAY 15^th JUNE 2008
JUDGES MRS JANET MARSHALL & TERRY TANNER ESQ

DOGHOUNDS
Un-entered single 2^nd with Gordon
Un-entered Couple 1^st with Goblin and Gothic
2 Couple Class 1^st with Gordon, Gothic, Goblin & Goshawk

BITCH HOUNDS
Un-entered Single 1^st with Gospel
Entered or Un-entered Couple class 1^st with Sable and Sawdust
2 Couple Class 2^nd with Sable, Sawdust, Satin and Sapphire

C&H HUNT FUN SHOW - RESULTS
Saturday 10th November 2007
Royal Leisure Equestrian Centre, Henfield

Thank you to all of those who helped make this a great day. To date, well over £1200 has been made and still counting!

We are grateful to all of our sponsors, namely: JULIAN THORPE; LOUISE SINCLAIR JEWELLERY; THAKEHAM TILES (M&J DAVIDGE); HORSHAM & WORTHING BEDDING CENTRE (W TOMLIN); PANINOS; PAUL TEMPLEMAN; MATT STAPLES - DWCF FARRIER; NEW BARN FARM LIVERY STABLES; DI HOBBS, ARTEMIS AEROSPACE; JCB SECURITY - DOUG HINCKLEY; THE CROWN INN, DIAL POST; FABRICSANDPAPERS.COM and J&W HAWKSFIELD.

RESULTS
Working Hunter (under 15hh)

Surrey Union Inter Hunt Rescue Relay Sunday 21/10/07
Pacesham Equestrian Centre
The Crawley and Horsham sent a team to the inter hunt rescue relay organised by the Surrey Union Hunt on Sunday. Representing the C&H was our hunt staff team made up by Andrew Phillis on William, Freddie Morby on Rush and Justin Ellis on Wye. Justin kindly stepped in when our joint master Neill Millard was unable to attend due to lack of horse power.
The boys did very well considering that Andrew and Freddie have never jumped a set of show jumps before in their lives!! Freddie steamed round at a furious pace but unfortunately didn’t realise that he had to actually jump the fences as opposed to going through them and therefore knocked up a cricket score with 5 seconds added to the time for each knock down! His comment after the race was "You told me to go as fast as I could, you didn’t tell me I had to jump at the same time!"
Chef d'Equipe was Sara Phillis who spent most of the morning running round after the jockeys providing safety pins, spurs, plaiting horses and touching up bits of dirty tack! Jess was travelling head groom and turned the horses out beautifully. The boys moaned profusely when told by Sara that they must all wear full hunt dress, but it paid off as we won the best turned out prize (I knew that we had to win something!).
In the end we missed out on receiving the cash bonus prize for the highest placed hunt staff team, to the Surrey Union, who pipped us at the post with a 5 second lead (thanks Freddie!) Well done to the Surrey Union Hunt for organising such a fun event and well done to "Team Haverland"!!!
Check the Galleries page for pictures.
SP

HONITON HOUND SHOW 2/8/07 - SOUTH EAST RAIDERS!!
Wow! What a day we had when we made the 3 1/2 hour journey down to Honiton Hound Show for the first time. The weather caught us all out though and the trade stands quickly sold out of Wellingtons, coats and umbrellas!! But the wet weather couldn’t dampen our sprits as we took several classes with the dog hounds and the dog hound championship. We also did fantastically well in the afternoon with the bitches gaining the reserve championship with Gaynor. The very early start (3am) and the very long day (24hrs!) was well worth it. Congratulations to Andrew and Antony for breeding such a high quality pack of hounds for The Crawley and Horsham Hunt.

Terrier Show 17th June 2007, Supporting the Chestnut Tree Hospice
The terrier show was once again a huge success, and boy were we lucky with the weather! This year we introduced a pedigree dog show which along with the usual novelty classes provided a good number of entries and huge thanks must go to Denny Deering for all her hard work in organising this and thanks must also go to the judges Peter and Pat Banks for their excellent judging. Thanks also to Denny and Carlo for their sterling work as ring stewards. The terrier classes as always attracted a good number of quality entries and our thanks go to Michael and Val for their exemplary judging and to Jim for his excellent ring stewarding. Thanks also to Patrick and Sarah for being such organised secretaries! Once again the terrier racing (see the gallery HERE) was hugely popular and a good number of races were run. Thankyou to all those who helped before, during and after the show and thanks to all those who sponsored prizes for the dog show and those who gave so generously to the tombola. Also thankyou to all of you who donated to the Chestnut Tree Hospice, they are extremely grateful to you for your generosity. Thanks to Steve and Andrew for the hog roast, Annie and Norman for running the egg throwing, Paul and June for the BBQ, Stuart for the terrier racing, Peter for running the skittles, James, Ron and Stuart for running the bar, Sarita for running the whisky raffle, Sue and Pru for running the tombola, Roger and Pru for manning the merchandise, Sue for manning the tea tent, Andrew and Freddie for "Fetching and Carrying"! and Jengers bakery for donating the bread. The results for the show can be found below:-

Class 1. Jack Russell type dog or bitch puppy 6 to 12 months
            1st Ted Harris' Moe
            2nd Hazel Haffenden's Brockton Polly
            3rd Henry & Eloise Strong's Billy

Class 3. Lakeland/fell type dog or bitch puppy 6 to 12 months
            1st Keith Nickolson's Billy
            2nd Emma Dale's Shady
            3rd Ted Harris' Bess
            4th Dave Taylor's Aussie

Class 4. Jack Russell type smooth coated dog over 1 year
            1st Angus Mackay's Thistle
            2nd Rob Kellsall's Dexter
            3rd N Campbell's Charlie
            4th Lisa Mundy's Eric

Class 5. Jack Russell Type rough coated dog over 1 year
            1st Hazel Haffenden's Brockton Paddy
            2nd Ted Harris' Jock
            3rd Helen Francis' Geordie

Class 6. Border type dog over 1 year
            1st Sally Waller's Tufter
            2nd Mrs Blakely's Raffety
            3rd Harry Gorman's Biscuit

Class 7 Lakeland/fell type dog over1 year
1st Paddy - M. Ellard
2nd Tyson - M. Ellard

Class 12 Terrier type dog or bitch over 6 months the property of a C&H master, huntsman, whipper-in, official terrierman, footfollower, member or subscriber
            1st Buster - Freddie Morby
            2nd Teasel - Freddie Morby
            3rd Bumble - Justin Ellis
            4th   Misty - J. Morgan

Class 13 Veteran Class for dog or bitch over 8 years
            1st Glitter - Mrs. M. E. Humphreys
            2nd Barbour - S. Waller
            3rd Gordon - J. Gilroy
Joint 4th Napa - S. Stephens
            Sprout - J. Sowter

THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND HOUND SHOW AT ARDINGLY 7/6/07
The Crawley & Horsham hounds again did very well at The South Of England Hound Show and the results were as follows:-

The Crawley & Horsham hounds did extremely well on Sunday at the Surrey Union Invitation hound show and our hounds were placed as follows:-

CHARITY CLAY SHOOT 26/5/07
We had a very successful day at our first ever 50 Bird Sporting Charity Clay shoot held at Lee Farm, by kind permission of The Angmering Park Estate Trust. We saw 180 guns through, and the winning score was 46 won by Tom Hicks. A fantastic amount of money was raised for The Chestnut Tree Hospice, a final figure will appear here very soon. We would like to thank all the people who helped organise the day, set up and clear up before and after the event and also to our sponsors to whom we are very grateful for their support and generosity.

The Dartmoor Sponsored Ride 2007
85 HORSES RIDE FOR PAUL'S Son-Rise Prorgramme for AUTISM
The South Devon Hunt, Spooners&West Dartmoor, Mid-Devon, Lamerton, Dartmoor, East Cornwall, East Devon hunts were ALL represented. The East Dart Hotel Postbridge to The DARTMOOOR INN Merrivale and back! Local MP Geoffrey Cox was present and gave medals to all who took part. As an ex Mounted Policeman, Hunt Servant and then Nagsman it was wonderful see my old hunting friends help my son.
Gallery HERE
Allen Lewis Tavistock

THE FOOT-FOLLOWERS END OF SEASON BALL 10.3.07
The first Foot-followers End Of Season Ball was a huge success and was very much enjoyed by just under 100 people. The evening began with a champagne reception followed by a delicious 3 course meal. Andrew ran an excellent horn blowing and hollering competition which was won (With the help of Freddie!) by the Ellis table. An auction and raffle followed which made an excellent amount of money for the club and dancing to Brian and his Band continued until a little later than our hosts had anticipated! Many thanks have to go to The Wickwood Country Club for providing a wonderful venue and exceptional service. Thanks also to all of those who attended and made the evening such fun! Thanks to Aunty Bev for all her help and thanks to Brian for providing the fantastic music, it was just unfortunate that Andrew and Steve had to get up and sing "Knock Knock Knocking on Heavens Door" for the encore!!
See the gallery HERE
SP

March News
FOOT-FOLLOWERS ANNUAL DINNER 27/1/07
The annual dinner was once again very well supported and we were treated to an excellent speech by our guest speaker Nick Herbert MP. Many thanks to Mr Herbert for taking the time to attend and thanks to Joe and June for organising an excellent evening.
SP

VALENTINE BALL 10/2/07
The events committee hosted the first ever "Valentine Ball" on Saturday 10th February at Ardingly which was a huge success and I am sure will now become an annual feature on the hunts calendar. The event was superbly organised by Emma and Julia so huge thanks to them for all their hard work. Approximately 200 people attended and were treated to an excellent 3 course meal, live music and a casino.
SP

DUCKLING DANCE 24/02/07
The duckling dance had been re-introduced into the hunts calendar this year and was a hugely fun evening held at Dial Post Village Hall on Saturday 24th February. Youngsters enjoyed dancing, a horn blowing competition and a hollering competition which were judged by the huntsman Andrew Phillis. Jo took some wonderful photographs on the evening - prints can be ordered from her. Well done to Hannah, Emma and Jo for organising this event for our younger members and let's hope we can get more events like this into the calendar!

POINT TO POINT 17/03/07
Don’t forget our point to point is being held on 17th March at Parham, first race 12.30pm. Helpers are always needed on the day for car parking, stewarding, selling race cards and raffle tickets etc etc and also for clearing up on the Sunday. If you are able to help please do offer your services by e-mailing HERE.

CONGRATULATIONS ROCKET!!
Many congratulations to Rocket who attended his first opening meet mounted, having never ridden before in his life (Apart from having a lesson on Wednesday and Friday!) Rocket had to ride to the meet and stay out until second horses wearing traditional hunting kit and carrying a crop! Thankyou to everyone who sponsored him to do this, we raised over £1000 for the Hunt so well done! Thanks also must go to Rachael and Stuart for their help and support, to Rodders for the use of his coat, hat, crop and waistcoat etc and to the Masters for allowing us to borrow Blackjack for the day!
See below for Rockets itinerary for the day!

ROCKET ITINERARY

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 4TH 2006

6.45am Early morning wake up call after sleepless night of panic stricken fear.
7am Cold shower in the hope that it will wake you from this terrible nightmare.
7.25am Drag yourself downstairs in despair after the reality has hit you that this is really happening to you and that you are not dreaming.
7.30am Rock back and forth staring into space whilst you gingerly sip a cup of black coffee, trying your hardest not to be sick.
8am With your limbs now totally numb with terror, heave yourself back up stairs to change.
8.30am After 1/2 an hour of tying and re-tying your stock and having stabbed yourself several times with the stock pin, admit defeat and go back downstairs to sponge off the blood with vanish stain remover.
8.35 am Pour yourself a large glass of port and down in one in the hope that it will numb the pain. No it hasn’t, so pour yourself another one.
8.35am - 9am Pace the house until you have to stop because you’ve worn a groove in the floor and you think you might want to be sick again.
9am Reluctantly leave the house, knowing you are one step nearer to death.
9.15 Throw a whole box of nails over the driveway in an attempt to puncture every tyre on every vehicle so you cant go.
9.25am Get dragged kicking and screaming for mercy into someone's car and being driven to the yard while all the way scratching the glass in the window with your fingernails trying to escape.
9.30am Arrive in hell, no sorry, the yard! Take first look at the beast of Satan whose going to take you to hell and back over the next 2 hours.
9.40am Time for another large port, followed by a large whisky. You cry when you realise the drink hasn’t worked and you are still alive!
9.45. Nearly have a heart attack trying to pull your hunting boots on with a pair of hoof picks.
10am Putting your foot in the stirrup, wishing you were dead and looking around in desperation for any sign of rescue.
10.05 Leave the yard still looking for a way out.
10.10am A serious swig from the saddle flask.
10.20am Another serious swig from the saddle flask.
10.30am With death seeming ever nearer take another swig of the saddle flask and a swig from each of the hip flasks you have secretly stashed in every available pocket.
10.45am Arrive at the meet, request a clean pair of pants.
10.50am The first of Charlie Burrell's ports goes down a treat as does the whiskey mack and the glass of mulled wine you are offered, not to mention several swigs from the saddle flask and some sloe gin from Antony Sandeman.
11.15am Oh god, there's the dreaded son in law blowing his horn to say we are leaving the meet, visions of 4ft hedges and landing in them, on them or in front of them fill your mind. Another new pair of pants are required.
11.20am Hack away from the meet still wishing you were dead, your knuckles turning white from holding on to the front of the saddle for dear life.
11.30am Getting just about to the point of being able to take one hand off the reins to take another swig from the saddle flask.
11.40am Wish to god you could remember the way to the pub across country.
11.50am Wish to god that you had emigrated to Australia when you had the chance.
12pm Wish to god the clocks could go forward again and then it would be time to get off.
12.30pm Wish to god you hadn’t got so pissed that night in the pub and agreed to this harebrained scheme.
12.45pm Wish to god you could get off this devil worshiping animal that’s made the inside of your legs red raw and hoping that you will be able to feel your backside again one day
1pm The end is near, you can see the pub approaching after the next draw, to get there would mean this nightmare would be over forever.
1.30pm Arrive in heaven, dis-mount (If that’s what you can call it!) surprising even yourself that you could actually move that fast and get into the pub as quickly as your now crippled bones will carry you.
1.31pm Indulge in several large ports, sighing with relief with the happy thought that even if your body hurts so much now that you want to burst into tears and can hardly move, that you will be absolutely fine in the morning! (Oh dear! Poor mis-guided soul!)

The Crawley & Horsham Foxhounds hosted a kennel open day on Saturday which was a huge success. The weather was wonderful and the event was well supported by the public and hunt supporters alike. Andrew and Freddie did a marvellous job, introducing the hounds to everyone and giving guided tours of the kennels. Brian and his band from the Bridge House played live music in the background as people enjoyed a cold beer and something to eat. After the hounds were put to bed, the auction began with some excellent lots, including a half days hunting with Andrew which went for £200.00! (No he didn’t buy it himself!!) In all we had 62 lots ranging from jars of homemade jam and fresh, home grown vegetables, to a watercolour portrait of your dog or cat and a clay shooting lesson. The auction made an enormous amount of money for the hunt and we would like to take this opportunity to thank every one who, helped on the day, donated lots for the auction and everyone who supported the event.
See the gallery HERE.

A huge crowd filled the stands on Wednesday evening to witness history in the making. The prestigious skittles challenge trophy took pride of place (probably being used as an ashtray) on a table somewhere in the pub, while the epic battle commenced on the alley! The tension in the room was immense and the atmosphere was thick (with smoke and the smell of pizza). Never before had such tension been felt, the score was one game all and the pressure was on The Huntsman's team to ensure they won or else witness the sad effect losing would have on their team captain and also to avoid having to spend hunt funds on counselling sessions! The battle was a long and drawn out affair, although very exciting! The scores were level in the last game and someone needed to save the Huntsmans team. Surely the huntsman could do it himself, being by far the best skittles player in the universe! But alas, it was not to be, for he was sabotaged by a stray GSHC team member's foot on the run up to line and it was inevitable he should trip and fall, causing the ball to fly up into the air and away down the gutter! (That is Andrews version, we all know that he just plain missed!) However all was not lost and Nathan somehow managed to knock down 16 pins in one go (Had I really drunk that much???) and subsequently the hunt team held onto the coveted trophy for another year. Everyone went home having had a very enjoyable evening, except for Andrew who stayed on shouting "We are The Champions" and running up and down the alley doing back flips with his t-shirt over his head like David Beckham! (I wish!). No doubt he was expecting champagne in the hot tub and to watch the highlights of the match on Sky Sports, but alas after all it was just a game of skittles at the local pub and a great fun evening. Thanks to everyone who played and supported and thanks the Geoffrey Sparrow Hunt Club for organising the 3 matches. The hunt team looks forward to beating you again next year!!
SS

There was only one thing we couldn't organise for this party - the weather; it was an absolutely fabulous, balmy night. The palm trees waved gently in the breeze and our Hawaiian bar staff (Sue Mitchell, Sue Stephens and Peter Gordon) looked just the part! Cafe del Mar music wafted around as well as the wonderful aroma of sizzling pork and lamb. Beach volley ball was happily going on under the watchful eye of referee Jo Hawes and Derek and Vikki had queues of keen strikers, they said it was great doing the skittles and not having to ask for money, but to give prizes away. Pen Greenwood and her family did a fantastic job on the bottle stall and between us we managed to amass about 140 bottles. We also had a swing ball and a very hotly contended netball shooting game. Amanda Bentley and her team did a fabulous job decorating with such ingenuity and so little money. Simon Greenwood won the senior best dressed competition in a wonderful beach outfit set off with a pair of highland woollen socks!! All in all everyone who came had a really fun, easy time and at the moment it looks as though we have raised a good sum of money. We could have catered for about 100 more people but the idea was that we all got together at the beginning of the season to show our support to our hunt staff and masters. We hope that we achieved this, and to have raised money to give them has been a real bonus. Thank you so much to everyone who gave (time, money and effort) and a special thanks must go to the donor of our raffle prize (the airline tickets) and to the two girls who sold the tickets, neither of whom have ever hunted, but just wanted to support.

West Grinstead & District Ploughing & Agricultural Society
Annual Ploughing Match & Show on Saturday 17th September 2005
at Westons Farm, Itchingfield, Nr. Horsham West Sussex

Fun was had by all at the West Grinstead Annual Ploughing Match, held at Westons Farm on Saturday, where the Crawley & Horsham Hounds were in attendance with our very own hunt stand and 2 1/2 couple of hounds in a pen for the public to meet. Bandit, Lola, Measure, Locksmith and Hatchet enjoyed the attention from many people, some of whom had never seen hounds before and we received huge support from young and old alike. In the afternoon the terrier racing attracted a good crowd with Spike and Stuart in charge as usual. At 4pm Andrew brought the rest of the pack out into the main ring to meet everyone, which was very well supported by the public and well commentated by Antony Sandeman MFH. A lot of the children had a go at horn blowing and the best were Laura Healy and Jack Feakes who must have been practicing!

It was a great day and having a hunt stand there was a huge success, giving the public the opportunity to meet the hounds and the people who are most affected by the ban on hunting. The whole event was very well attended (many people saying it was the best ploughing match they can remember!) and other attractions included, gun dog trials, clay pigeon shooting, steam and tractor ploughing, local produce stalls, licensed bar and of course the livestock showing.

I would like to say thank you to Andrew, Spike, Stuart, James, Ron and Angus for helping to set up on Friday and also to Sue, Denny and Harriett for all their help on the day. Also a big thankyou to The Ploughing Match Committee for allowing us to attend their show.

After a 4am start we arrived bright and early at The East of England Showground with our 3 couple of hounds, Belfry, Berry, Measure, Landlord, Morpeth and Mortar having travelled in style in our big black shiny Mitsubishi Warrior! (The hounds will never want to go back in the hound lorry again unless they are provided with air conditioning and a Robbie Williams cd!) There was great support from The C & H with many people coming up on the coach and several more independently. The morning with the dog hounds did not go well, with not a single rosette to show for our efforts, not even Landlord saved us this time! but nevertheless we held our heads high in the knowledge that our hounds are top quality! Out of the 30 packs in attendance the dog hound championship was eventually won by The Duke of Beaufort's Gamecock. After a good liquid lunch we set about sorting the men from the boys with the bitch hounds, we were sure to do well with Belfry who won at Ardingly last month, but alas it was not to be. Never down heartened we brought out the secret weapon in the form of "Measure 02" for the last class of the day "The Brood Bitch class". Needless to say Measure showed herself beautifully and nobody could deny that she is a beautiful looking hound with presence, perfect conformation and movement and she won the class in fine style. There was no delay in bringing in the bitch hounds for the championship and there followed 10 minutes of sheer agony!, everyone held their breath while the judges made their painstaking decision. Finally they had chosen their champion bitch hound and the words "Crawley & Horsham Measure" resounded round the arena greeted by an immense roar from the crowd! It was a very emotional day for everyone and thanks must go to Antony Sandeman and Andrew Phillis for breeding such quality hounds and to the dedicated staff who care for them. After a very long day several bottles of champagne were enjoyed in the toast to "Measure"

Thank you to everyone who made the effort to travel up to support the Crawley, it was a truly worthwhile trip to see history in the making, The Crawley & Horsham having never won the bitch hound championship at Peterborough before! Well done!

Thanks also must go to Jessica, Jenny, Graham and Diane who all made the long trek up by horsebox to compete in the inter hunt relay which unfortunately they missed out on the fame by a couple of seconds, fter a spectacular fall from Jess (we do have the photo to prove it which will be posted here soon!) Well done to all of you for making such a huge effort for The Crawley & Horsham Hunt, it is greatly appreciated.

Due to the phantom bicycle providers, Andrew and Spike are now the very proud owners of two brand new bikes. We have a suspicion that several individuals in the Shipley area may be responsible for this very, very kind gesture by clubbing together and possibly robbing some pocket money, in order to provide the kennel staff with fully operational bikes and the trusted hound exercise "must have", the puncture repair kit! To these unknown individuals both Andrew and Spike would like to say a huge thankyou. New bicycles for the kennels means no more wearing out of the soles on ones Wellingtons trying to stop, no more broken chains and no more embarrassing bruises in unspeakable places! The only thing now boys, is that you cant blame your useless old bike when you fall off it!!

The terrier show was once again a huge success and combined with the kennel open day attracted a huge crowd and plenty of dogs. All the terrier classes were very well supported and judge Neil Staines had a tough time deciding in some of the bigger classes. The puppy championship was won by Norman Price, as was the dog championship. He also went onto win best in show. Sally Waller won the bitch championship with her border terrier and the Crawley & Horsham Class was won by Miss. C. Francis, with George Gorman receiving the runner up prize. Stuart Humber took the veteran class with "Spike" Forster's terrier "Grit". The family dog classes were also well supported and judge Denny Deering did an excellent job with some very professional judging. It was no surprise due to the unbelievably hot weather, most people were to be found, red faced in the marquee, queuing to get to the bar. The kids had fun with a merry-go-round, fun shooting range, skittles and the famous egg throwing game! Normally one finds it difficult to entice people into the stocks, but today, as it was so hot we had a job getting people out of them and the bucket had to be re-filled constantly! After the showing had finished, the hounds were brought out to say hello, gleefully jumping up and slobbering over everyone and the doghounds as always seeing who they can catch out when cocking their legs against the puppy show ring!! Of course several hounds jumped out and raided the tea tent and the barbeque. (much to Paul's annoyance!!) The terrier racing as always attracted plenty of interest with a good number of races run. At the end of a very long day, we sat in the marquee with a glass of pimms and moaned about our sore feet, sunburn and having to go to work tomorrow! All in all it was a great day and well worth all the hardwork. Thank you to everyone who helped make the day such a huge success.

The Crawley hounds, huntsman, kennel staff and hound show groupies were all up at the crack of dawn on Thursday, in order to arrive at the show in plenty of time. The mornings showing didn't go quite to plan! The judges Mr Vestey and Mr Jones had a tough time with a total of 16 packs attending the show and plenty of quality hounds to choose from. But Landlord came through and saved the morning by winning a 3rd prize in the hotly contested stallion hound class, the eventual winner, Heythrop Samuel went on to win the dog hound championship. The afternoon with the bitch hounds judged by Captain Farquhar and Mr Hill, looked slightly more promising when Belfrey won the un-entered bitch hound class which was fantastic news for all of us, especially Andrew whose hard work and dedication paid off. The bitch hound championship was won by The East Kent.

The boys and girls from the Crawley were up early again and off to the show for a second time along with two of the hunt horses who were pretty grumpy to have been brought up early from their summer holidays. The parade of local packs was a wonderful sight in the main ring and the hounds and huntsman were greeted by an excellent crowd. Along with the Crawley and Horsham, also parading were The Chiddingfold, Leconfield and Cowdray with Adrian (Sage) Thompson, The Ashford Valley with Neil Staines and The Old Surrey, Burstow & West Kent with Mark Bycroft.

Another early morning for us all after our failed attempts to miss the queues, inevitably we got there in the end and just in time to get the hunt relay team's horses off the lorries, tacked up and sprayed on both rumps with "Fight the Ban" After having won their heat on Thursday, they were back today to take on the West Street and Tickham in the semi final. All four competitors flew around the Ardingly Arena to immense screams and cheers from the crowd, to win in fine style. Next came the final and nerves were high, but the team was drawn well again to run on the commentators side of the arena. What a final it was! A little time was made up by the team after a slight delay at the gate, but unfortunately they missed out by a couple of lengths. Well done to Graham Mays, Jan Allen, Jenny Elgey and Diane Grinyer for their hard work and effort. Their prize money of £700.00 will be donated to the Crawley & Horsham Hunt and put to good use helping the fighting fund.

It was a non stop day for us on Saturday, as soon as the relay team's horses were away it was time to prepare the hunt staff's horses (and the hunt staff!) for the cavalcade. We managed to get through hundreds of Felix, fight the ban stickers, they were everywhere! The horses, hunt staff and even the hounds were covered in them! The hunt horses were also sporting the "Fight the Ban" slogan on their rumps and we managed to get most of the other hunt staff's horses sprayed up as well. What a reception the hounds were given when they entered the ring. There was a record 9 packs of hounds, and when they all came together it was the most amazing sight, a huge carpet of hounds around the feet of 9 huntsman. As they all galloped around the ring, blowing gone away, one could not help but find a lump in the throat and a tear in the eye, it was a very emotional sight. The crowd were fantastic, clapping, cheering and hollering! As they came in for the salute, 25 foot-followers from each pack made their way into the ring from opposite sides to parade and show how many different people this ridiculous law effects. The organisers had cleverly left a solitary fence in the arena and being the showmen that they are, the huntsman all jumped the fence several times with their huge pack of hounds, with the whippers-in following, and oddly there was only one refusal and one fall! I'm sure there is normally more than that on a hunting day! Thanks to everyone who attended and helped and most of all thanks to the hunt staff for all their hard work in making such a spectacular event happen. The packs in attendance were:- The Crawley & Horsham, The Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent, The Southdown & Eridge, The Surrey Union, The Ashford Valley, The Chiddingfold, Leconfield & Cowdray, The East Sussex & Romney Marsh, and The East Kent.