Hunting Report Season 2014 – 2015

The Percy hounds enjoyed one of the most difficult scenting seasons for quite a few years but despite this we still had a good busy trail hunting season and managed to be out eighty six days in total. We once again never lost a day all season in what was a very mild winter. We began our Autumn Trail Hunting on Saturday 13 September 2014 and finished on Saturday 07 March 2015.

We had seven and a half couple of young hounds to enter this time and they all entered very well. One litter in particular, by Woolem ’09, went very well. One young dog, Alder, walked by Allan Morris, never missed a day all season and was very good. The best working bitch was Possible out of one of our best brood bitches, Porridge ’05, again by Woolem. This breeding also has two of the best Old English lines in it, Belvoir Poacher ’98 and Limerick Tenor ’97. Possible was walked by our longest serving puppy walker, Lynne Walker. Other hounds of note this season were Posie, Polaris, Portable, Poetry, Altitude and Albion.

We had our opening meet on Saturday 01 November 2014 and enjoyed a good busy day as we did for most of November. Other days of note throughout the season were from North and South Lyham, The Blue Bell, New Shoreston, South Bells Hill and Alnwick Ford.

As always at the kennels it was a massive team effort. Donna Cowens moves on from being stud groom with Phillip McCarthy joining the team to replace her. I am sure you have all seen Phillip out hunting already as he has helped a lot with our hunt horses this season so he will fit in very well. He has already made a busy start sorting out the tack room, stables and fields. Our new whip, Matthew Sewell, did a very good job on and off the hunting field and has settled in very well. As always our long suffering amateur whip, Allan Morris, was a massive help both out hunting and at the kennels. I think at last he may be getting the hang of it!! Also a big thank you to our unpaid kennelman, Stephen McCarthy, for all his help at the kennels week in and week out. He was also our main trail layer this season and did a very good job. Thanks also to Aimée Straughan, Chris Newlands, Ben Lambert, James Walker, Lizzie Howie, Lisa Halpin and Emma Howie for their help at the kennels and also thanks to Sam and Hazel Cowens for their help in the stables and to Ali Grey for supplying us with all the straw all year.

Sadly we have lost two of our kennel favourites this winter, Ripple and Worcester. Ripple was very good in her work and the only hound in the kennel who was not pure Old English bred being USA bred. She came with me from the Essex and Suffolk Hunt ten seasons ago. I am sure you all know what the late Alec Vickers used to call her!!

Worcester was also very good in his work and one of my first very good stallion hounds, he was also our first Peterborough Champion.

The Pre Puppy Show is at the kennels on Monday 22 June at 6pm, all are welcome.

We will again be showing hounds this summer but due to the success of the last two years we will be a bit light on hounds to show.

The Puppy Show is on Saturday 01 August at the kennels and I look forward to seeing you all there and over the summer months.

Robert McCarthy

Huntsman