It’s all about the hounds

PEOPLE hunt for all kinds of reasons, but how many go out with the sole purpose of focusing on the hounds? How many are there in the general hunting community for whom horses, fences, socialising and all the extraneous aspects of the sport are merely white noise?

Amateur whippers-in are a breed apart, enjoying as much involvement as they can with the hounds without actually hunting them. They relish the opportunity to take an active part in the day, accepting that it takes a level of commitment above the norm.

Many of them are appalled by the thought of hunting in the field – far too noisy, you can’t hear or see what’s going on – and happily confess that they would stop hunting altogether if that was all that was available to them.

“I would have been quite wealthy if I hadn’t hunted,” laughs John Cranage,