At the end of each line hounds and horses are given a breather and not until everyone is accounted for will we move onto the next line.
The Mid Surrey Draghounds are a supportive bunch and help is always on hand for fallers and those in need of encouragement. Our days are suitable for experienced riders on bold horses, there are smaller days are designed for new riders and for those introducing new, young horses and for our point to pointers. If in doubt please ring Peter Webb or one of the other masters for advice on what lines are suitable for you and your horse. We want you to enjoy your days with us and suggest starting at the beginning of the season and
The Mid-Surrey Drag: The Member's Perspective by Jeremy Scott who farms at Ash, Kent
Reputations can be a lot of things and they can sometimes approach the crazy and improbable end of the scale. That is where many uninformed people would put the Mid-Surrey Drag; but they might be surprised that the members of this small and friendly band are people just like anyone else. Well, not quite like anyone else perhaps, because we enjoy the wonderful privilege of jumping prepared fences, which are sometimes big, in beautiful and unspoiled countryside, among friends. There are many advantages to drag hunting apart from the exhilaration of riding cross-country on a horse, which is really performing. A 1 p.m. or 1.30 p.m. start-time gives us a chance to do great deeds in the morning, or simply to get up late! A delicious tea after hunting, and the opportunity to recount how brilliantly our horses jumped, largely as a result of superb horsemanship, make up part of the fun!
We are always looking for new members, and if you are a
confident horseman/woman and have a horse, which likes
jumping, come and see if you enjoy what the Drag has to offer.
We operate under the close but benevolent supervision of the
best masters and field -masters in the business and we are
not involved in racing or over-riding hounds. The Linesman will
lay the line and hounds will follow fast or slowly, scent
permitting.
There will be between 3 and 6 lines of fences in
a day, with checks between each line allowing a breather and
probably a hack to the next field. It is not all compulsory and
you will receive advice about what you may or may not like to
do. It's just you, the horse, and the fences. Come along and
see if you like it.
A day with the Mid Surrey Farmers' Draghounds.
Drag hunting evolved to simulated the excitement of fox hunting with the emphasis on jumping and enjoying the challenge of riding across varied country.
Before a days sport is started the Masters, together with
Huntsman and linesman will have spoken to their farmers
and walked every line, trimmed or prepared every fence and
marked each with biodegradable tissues.
On the day whilst riders gather at the meet the linesman will
be out starting his afternoon's exercise laying a scent for
hounds to follow. At the end of each line he will have to
carefully ‘lift’ the scent to provide a finishing point to that line,
before he lays the next line, as we would not want hounds to
simply carry on without a breather.
For the riders the day starts with a convivial meet and then onto horses and a hack behind hounds to the beginning of the first line, this is usually a tense time, with much adjusting of tack and concentration on your horse, experiencing similar feelings to those experienced at the commencement of any demanding sporting day. The huntsman with then ‘lay on’ the hounds and once they are up on the scent will follow them over the laid line of fences. Our field master, David Robinson generally heads the field followed by the other masters and members of the field. We are a disciplined field, as our numbers are small we know and respect each other’s way of going and give each horse and rider plenty of room at each fence.