Leading the field
No one is too good to bea Master of foxhounds, if he is gifted with the average endowment of tact, administrative talent, power of penetrating character and all other attributes that form the essential equipment of a successful public man.” So wrote Richard Verney, 19th Baron Willoughby de Broke, in his 1921 book Hunting the Fox. But what about the successful public woman? In 2006, 26% of Masters of foxhounds were women. Today, it’s about 38% and rising. Indeed, as I began interviewing ‘lady Masters’ for this feature, each threw more names at me: “You must speak to so-and-so.” This is encouraging, but there is still more work to be done, says Countess (Susie) Goess-Saurau, one of the Vale of the White Horse Hunt’s three female Masters. “The hunting hierarchy, including the Masters of Foxhounds Association committee, is still very male-orientated,” she says. “There’s never been a lady judge in the main ring at Peterborough.” But “generally hunting has changed so that lady Masters are welcomed and accepted”.
The first
