Horse_amp_amp_Hound__06_February_2018
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HUNTING<br />
Covering<br />
the country<br />
The production of a meet card is the first indication for<br />
many of what the season holds in store. Polly Portwin<br />
explains what is involved in the planning process<br />
“DEVISING a meet card is<br />
like putting together a large<br />
jigsaw puzzle,” explains Tim<br />
Easby, director of the Masters of<br />
Foxhounds Association (MFHA)<br />
when asked to describe one of<br />
the most challenging — and<br />
important — aspects of the role of<br />
a master of a pack of hounds.<br />
“The fact is, things have<br />
changed considerably over the<br />
years and the majority of packs<br />
have moved on from issuing<br />
identical meet cards year on year.<br />
“The number of influencing<br />
factors is getting larger, effectively<br />
meaning the number of pieces in<br />
the jigsaw is increasing — and if<br />
one piece is missing, the whole<br />
thing very easily falls apart and<br />
you have to start again.”<br />
Every hunt country has its<br />
unique challenges and with those<br />
come many of the varying factors<br />
that influence the structure of<br />
a pack’s meet card planning. By<br />
the time that <strong>February</strong> meets are<br />
revealed, there is a likelihood that<br />
some of the most fashionable<br />
parts of the hunt country that<br />
have been hunted regularly<br />
since the autumn will no longer<br />
feature. Farming practices such as<br />
lambing, or environmental factors<br />
including waterlogging, may<br />
inevitably mean that some areas<br />
are simply inaccessible. However,<br />
the end of the shooting season<br />
often means that where one door<br />
closes, another one opens.<br />
The importance of getting<br />
a meet card together that satisfies<br />
the desires of all those who<br />
follow hounds, the landowners,<br />
the shooting fraternity and any<br />
others that may need to know the<br />
hunt’s whereabouts cannot be<br />
underestimated.<br />
Each master will know how<br />
often it is acceptable to visit<br />
a particular part of their hunt<br />
country. This will influence the<br />
rotation of draws to ensure that<br />
no one area is over-hunted, while<br />
other areas are covered sufficiently<br />
to ensure the country stays open.<br />
A pragmatic approach is vital<br />
to knowing when to accept that<br />
certain parts of the hunt country<br />
are perhaps no longer viable,<br />
while plenty of “summer hunting”<br />
around the country will help to<br />
avoid planning a meet where an<br />
entirely new housing estate — or<br />
solar panel farm — has been<br />
erected virtually overnight.<br />
As a child, the arrival of a new<br />
meet card was highly anticipated;<br />
within moments of arrival, the<br />
highlighter pen was usually in<br />
action with suitable dates written<br />
straight on to the family calendar.<br />
Seeing the much-heralded and<br />
traditional “Pony Club proficiency<br />
Picture by sarahfarnsworth.co.uk<br />
48 <strong>Horse</strong> & <strong>Hound</strong> 8 <strong>February</strong> <strong>2018</strong>