Brightling Park
24th March, 2002

Hounds met at Brightling Park, by kind invitation of the Grissell family. It was a lovely sunny day, with a cool, light northerly wind. The field were plied with dutch courage before they left the meet, handed round by our hosts.

Hounds were taken down the road to the farm buildings, and laid on into the lambing field. They hunted across the field which was exceedingly wet, crossing below the ponds and up past the pheasant pens below the cricket pitch. Here the hounds swung round the forestry and hunted up the hill past one of Jack Fuller's follies, with the field by now well strung out and struggling in their wake. They crossed the gallops and into the novice event course water jump, which they took in grand style except for one tailender, who went to launch over the jump, realised there was a steep drop into the water and put on the brakes, landing straddling the fence.

Hounds then hunted round the event course fences to the top of the hill, past the steeplechase schooling fences and across the Brightling Road. They hunted on through the plough with a minor diversion on the footpath and crossed the road, jumping back into the park. Hunting into the deer park, they swung across the road again towards the observatory taking the quarry on the island on the duck pond. This was an excellent line, with some good post and rail fences. But the ground was very wet and we finished the hunt with a lot of tired horses and lost shoes.

Field master James Ramus and subscriber Richard Branwell found themselves as the lone male survivors amongst a field of women! Which would have seemed like heaven for Master Roger Manning, except that he had "sent himself home" as the going did not suit his horse, Murphy (a suspicious reason given the later reports of a horse which looked suspiciously like Murphy seen tethered outside The Swan at Woods Corner!!).

After a pleasant wait in the spring sunshine, with the field discussing the big jumps to come, hounds were laid on behind Old Holbens Kennels onto Hooks Farm. After a minor detour, and a good talking to by Nic, they hunted down to the river, jumping the trappy boundary fence onto Baker's Lane. They swept round behind Woods Corner Post Office, crossing Kiss Arse (yes, this IS its name) field. They then crossed the Brightling Road into Mr Young's, jumping out of the paddocks just below the Sugar Loaf, another of Jack Fuller's follies, onto Mr Robinson's land. Here hounds jumped into the wood and really flew down past Turner's Farm. One rider Nicky Hicks has offered to go back and cut an archway through the wood, as we had to gallop through with our heads so far down we were effectively blind and trusting to our horses to weave through the trees.

The horses by now were having to gallop really hard, led by James who was determined to keep the field in touch with the hounds. They raced on over Turners and jumped into the forestry without hesitation, leaving the field to jump the big telegraph pole into the wood. They ran through the forest jumping out at Darwell Hole and swung back up the hill to take the quarry on the edge of the forestry. An extremely fast and really excellent hunt, with hounds hunting at top speed - the sound of their cry in the forest was amazing. It was, however, a hard hunt with a great variety of jumps, which left quite a few of the field struggling. Only eight people completed the hunt. There were a couple of fallers including Chris Scott, who went one way as her horse went the other in its successful bid to avoid landing on the faller in front, always the worst nightmare out hunting.

For the third hunt hounds were taken up to Cold Harbour Farm and laid on into Giffords Farm fields. They hunted along the valley and then the hounds made an unexpected turn to the top of the hill. The huntsman decided they were hunting so well that he left them alone, which was just as well as the quarry had gone wrong at this point. An error which also gave the field some excellent jumping over post and rail and hedges. Hounds hunted in a big circle crossing into Giffords Valley, rejoining their expected route. They then crossed the boundary fence onto Rocks Farm and took the quarry just short of the pond. A difficult hunt for the hounds with numerous sheep in the fields but some of the better going for the horses that we had had all day, except for one tricky fence with a ditch in front of a post and rail which caused several people problems, almost marooning them in deep mud.

For the fourth hunt hounds were laid on at the bottom of Rock Farm. They hunted past Trinity Cottage, crossing Lakehurst Lane onto Colin Baker's Buckwell Farm (Colin was hunting with us for the day). They hunted up the side of Buckwell Wood, past the duck pond and checked in the field opposite Thorndale Farm, where the quarry had got lost. Here the horses encountered a large drop hedge which claimed whip Bill Boniface. The hounds then hunted down and out into the front field of Buckwell Farm, into the ponies where we escaped out of the gate. They were held down the front drive and picked up the line as they crossed the Ashburnham Road. Here they hunted into Wheeler's Wood to finish at the back of the kennels at Slivericks Farm.

It was a really hard day for the horses on drying ground. The hounds really flew and there were not many people left at the end and a lot less shoes than we started out with. James ensured an excellent day as field master, keeping the survivors up with the hounds, but ending the day with a very bloody face, as the second hunt had us galloping through very low hanging trees.

It was also advisable to check the horses' legs for thorns as as the horses had jumped a large number of hedges through the day. We then adjourned to the kennels for another excellent tea, although some of us were almost to tired to make best use of Angela's wonderful cakes!