“The Unspeakable in Pursuit of the Inedible”

 

What would make you run those XC courses a bit quicker?

 

 

Probably all of those but imagine how fast you would run if you were being chased by twenty baying Bloodhounds?

 

I was asked recently if I would lay a trail for a pack of Bloodhounds; I didn’t have a clue what it would involve but thought it might be fun.  The pack is known as ‘The Three Counties Bloodhounds’ and is based at the Vale of Lune Kennels at Hornby.  The pack was purchased as an alternative to traditional hunting in preparation for the ban.

 

I originally assumed the trail would be laid by dragging a scented cloth but that would be too easy for these hounds, their noses are so sensitive that they can follow a ‘clean boot’, that it the scent of a person across open ground.

 

I met up with Clive, the huntsman and Alex, one of the Masters of the Hunt, together with a few other hunt members.  We spent some time planning the route that I was to run on the day of the hunt.  As we roared around the countryside near Out Rawcliffe on quad bikes I began to think that the distance might get the better of me so I contacted a few Wesham club members to see if anyone could share the running with me. Unfortunately the proposed date for the hunt clashed with the National XC in Sunderland and the Dentdale 14 so I was on my own!

 

The day of the meet arrived and I was feeling a bit nervous.  The riders gathered all dressed in their best gear; some of the horses seemed a bit flighty as they obviously wanted to get on with the job.  Clive introduced me to the pack; I walked amongst them and gave them a few biscuits, generally making a fuss of them.  Then I was off, I was to be given a 10-minute lead, which didn’t seem a lot! 

 

My job was to run around the edges of the each field, occasionally ‘zig zagging’ across the middle to slow the hounds as they tried to follow the scent.  If they were allowed to run in a straight line they would catch me in no time and they would leave the following riders behind.  Jumps had been prepared at some places, hedges trimmed, and wire rolled back to minimise the risk of injury to rider and horse. I crossed into the next field near this point so that the riders could follow the hounds.  At prearranged points I was to stop and wait for the hounds, these stops were to ‘check’ the hounds and allow the riders to regroup, and to give me a rest!.

 

All too soon after I set off I could hear the clatter of hooves on the lane as the hunt left the yard.  Soon the hounds were baying as they picked up the scent; it would have been worrying if I were an escaped convict being hunted! 

 

At the first check point I stopped and looked back to see the hounds on the chase following exactly where I had been with the horses strung out behind.  I was collected on a quad bike and taken to the next start point.  The lack of scent allowed the huntsman to gather the hounds and direct them to the next leg. 

 

Round the edge of a field the hounds followed easily - if I turned too sharp they could over-run and had to be called back.  The beauty of planning the route meant that the hounds could be led where we wanted; the following riders could take short cuts where necessary and a good view of the chase was possible for the followers on horse, quad bike and foot.

 

The ground over which I was running was mostly ‘moss’, the black peaty soil of which there is a lot Over Wyre.  It was wet and soft which made the running quite tough for both the horses and me.  During the course of the chase we had about 4 stops or ‘checks’ so the running was not too demanding.  According to my Garmin GPS watch we covered 7.2 miles in just over 1 hour of actual running time.

 

It was a great experience, a fun training run and one that I would like to repeat; it was fascinating to watch the hounds and the riders running in full chase. Everyone seemed to have a good time; a lot of the riders thanked me after the chase, saying that they had enjoyed their day.

 

If you want to find out more about the Vale of Lune Hunt go to: http://vlhunt.com/index.htm

 

Pictures by Tony Dowdall

 

Report written by: Richard Davies

Submitted: 12th March 2007

Edited by: Brenda J Earnshaw WRR Editor