The Holderness Hunt recently (10 June) welcomed over 150 members and associates of the East Riding Young Farmers’ Club to their kennels where they were invited to learn more about the Yorkshire-based trail hunting pack.

The initiative, which was introduced by joint-master Gerrad Farmer, was intended to be a fun way to further enhance the relationship between the hunt and the farmers and landowners living in their hunt country.

Mr Farmer said: “We recognise the importance of building good relations with all generations and especially wanted to encourage the younger members of the rural community to learn more about life behind the scenes in kennels and to understand how trail hunting is conducted and organised within the law.

“One route that enables us to engage with the younger generations is through clubs which have a connection to rural community backgrounds, such as the Young Farmers’ Clubs and the Pony Club,” he continued. “We started with smaller groups at events organised by the local young farmers’ branches, and this has now developed into a regional event which moved to the Holderness kennels this year.”

Polly Portwin, Director of the Campaign for Hunting at the Countryside Alliance, welcomed the initiative and encouraged other packs to engage with their local communities:

“Open days and kennel tours provide a wonderful opportunity to demonstrate the high standards of hound and horse welfare which are maintained in kennels, while offering a platform to explain how hunts conduct their lawful hunting activities. It also enables visitors to understand the role that hunts play within rural communities, offering an insight into the social events and the voluntary countryside stewardship and maintenance they conduct. So much misinformation is shared about our activities on social media but being open and transparent, welcoming those outside our community to see for themselves what goes on behind the scenes in and around kennels, is the perfect way to dispel such mistruths – and can result in increased support.”

The East Riding Young Farmers’ consists of 14 active clubs with over 400 members within the area, so with nearly half of those members taking part in the kennel visit, it was necessary to split them into different groups during the event which took around two hours and ended with a bar-b-cue. This enabled them to see various aspects of kennel life while giving them an opportunity to ask questions in a friendly and sociable environment.

The groups, which were on rotation, each spent time in kennels with the huntsman, learning about the hounds’ feeding and exercise routine. They also discovered more about the impact the hunting community has on individuals in terms of physical and mental wellbeing and the important role hunting has as part of the fabric of the rural community.

A hound show environment was created - using the Countryside Alliance’s hound judging poster - which had been printed off for each attendee to help them understand the parts of a hound and what they are looking for in a good hound. Visitors could also watch an educational video about trail hunting, produced by the British Hound Sports Association.

Image credit: Sue Ellerington