Some get it right. Stephen Hutchinson, MFH in a brave jump onto the road with the South Tyrone Foxhounds / Noel Mullins photo
I never cease to be amazed at the challenges of foxhunting in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. On a good hunting day, for many, it would be easier to ride in the Aintree Grand National. Such is the challenge of crossing this well-fenced countryside with its network of wire, drains, and hedges, that visitors seldom return a second time!
If there is any weakness in the hunt membership, it is that they have too many veterinary surgeons following and not enough physicians. In the course of this day’s hunting, every one of the vets was in trouble. Since Dr. Cathal Cassidy emigrated to New Zealand it has not been the same, particularly as he was a psychiatrist, which, given the cavalier attitude of the followers across the hunting country, is the branch of medicine most suited to the needs of the South Tyrone followers. In fact the horses look sounder than the riders.
And some don’t. Saffron Oliver, a bold rider, comes down over a ditch onto the road. / Noel Mullins photo
Speaking of horses, if you could build a grandstand around the South Tyrone foxhunting country it would be sold out every week. Too often we give credit to the riders who, with some exceptions, are mainly hobby riders. In reality, the reason hunt followers ever manage a safe day’s hunting must be attributed to the extraordinary talents of their field hunters, in this case the Traditional Irish Hunter who is faced with challenges of a sort seen in no other hunting country: wire fences, gates (which nobody in South Tyrone would be caught opening), ditches, hedges, double banks, and stone walls. Ireland is the only country in the world to breed hunters, so the Irish Hunter is an elite athlete in its own right and deserves more recognition, especially by the governing bodies of sport.
There was, to be sure, some serious riding talent out as well. Horse trainer Andy Oliver is a Joint-Master, and he has had considerable success on the track. Fellow Joint-Master Stephen Hutchinson is another strong rider, who has hunted hounds, competed in polo at the highest level, and is president of Hurlingham Polo Association, the governing body of polo in most countries. Also seen was top Irish point National Hunt producer Wilson Dennison who has a new batch of twenty to twenty-five young horses in training each season. Earlier this year he sold Flemshill at Tattersalls Sales for €480,000 to the late Alan Potts. Visiting from Kildare was farrier Shane Crabbe with one of Ireland’s top flat jockeys, Rory Cleary, attached to trainer Jim Bolger’s stable. Remarkably, he was hunting a three-year-old. He travelled up with Derek McCormack who spent three years in France riding over jumps with trainer Guillaume Mulcaire, where he had twenty-five winners. McCormack was hunting a four- year-old. Former jockey and honorary whipper-in Paul Kinane from the Kinane racing dynasty produces hunters from his new yard in Durrow. He has had considerable success supplying horses to the Czech Republic, with past winners of the Czech and Slovac Derbies. This year he supplied the winner of the Czech Guineas, Sir Sun by the Ballydoyle stallion Power, that sire’s first European Group winner, and Passepartout who won the Slovac Ledger. With his partner, University of Limerick Equine Science lecturer Amy Fitzgerald, they are presently building up their numbers of brood mares covered mainly by Coolmore stallions Australia and Gleneagles. University of Limerick continued its graduates’ successful records: Allison Brassel won Thesis of the Year in both Ireland and England this year on “Stallion Age Effect on Progeny Performance;” graduate Sean Flannery is Bloodstock Manager at Goffs; and graduate Amy Maher is Marketing Coordinator for Horse Racing Ireland.
Ryan Carvill is one of the few huntsmen able to withstand the pressure of South Tyrone, as almost every follower is such a strong rider there is nowhere to hide. And up front he had whippers-in Lloyd Parr on Dixie and Paul Kinane on Dexter, a seasoned eventer that could not take dressage seriously!
You don’t get many visitors hunting with the South Tyrone, but Lord Henry Waterford travelled up from the South and acquitted himself well. He finished with a spotless jacket which is difficult to believe unless he brings a spare for riding home in the evening, which is maybe what hunting Lords do! There were four hard riding ladies out, Saffron Oliver, Kerry Harrison, Sinead Cairn, and Amy Fitzgerald. Also in the field were Denis Canavan, Gilford, bookmaker Conor McDonnell, and veterinary surgeons Jim Slaine of Parklands Veterinary and Ian Moore. Raymond and Mary Carvill and Rebecca and Sean Patrick were following by car, as was Harry Clements whom I meet at hunts all over the country.
South Tyrone Foxhounds huntsman Ryan Carvill (centre) and whippers-in Paul Kinane and Lloyd Parr / Noel Mullins photo
The Hunting Day
Huntsman Carvill moved off with seventeen couple of foxhounds, including his Stradbally National Hound Show Champions—Hardy, Rascal, and Ransom—to the first draw at Alec Trotter’s, which was blank. But they had better luck in Joan Powers’ finding in Crilly Wood. Hounds were away in great cry towards Armstrong Banks where the fox set his mask for open country, only to decide to turn again and run all the way back to Armstrong Banks and to ground. There was drama as followers jumped out onto the Moneyneill Road, consisting of a ditch followed by a strand of wire followed by a bank and a drop. Carvill and Kinane were foot perfect and were away, but vet Ian Moore was deposited on the road as was Saffron Oliver. Though coming a cropper, she maintained a charming smile for my camera.
Wilson Dennison literally went to ground, eventually resurrecting himself with a bloodied face reminding one of the William Ernest Henley poem, “Invictus:”
“Under the bludgeoning of chance
My head is bloody but unbowed!”
His inflatable body protector stood the test as Master Hutchinson remarked, “Wilson won’t sink, anyway.” Countryman Duckie Farrell had a refill canister ready for Wilson who remounted and was away again. Point-to-point jockey Johnny Creswell jumped out beside the stricken Wilson, and did not delay, which could go against him in the future if Wilson has a few spare rides on offer!
As another brace had left twenty minutes earlier at Powers’, the huntsman decided to try back, and bang! They were away across Minterburn Road where deer were running in all directions, but the pack never lost concentration. Over Alec Reid’s and onto Creeve Lough where they marked him to ground. In the meantime Andy Oliver had what he described as a technical dismount, and flat jockey Rory Cleary disappeared into a drain. Amy Fitzgerald called down to him to see if he was all right, only to hear a lonely voice, “I’m trapped,” before he miraculously reappeared. Sinead Cairns was accumulating so many falls that, fortunately for her, towards the end she remembered very little. After a fall near the road, Amy Fitzgerald was seen going away in the distance, on foot, looking for her hunter, Obie.
There was an unbelievable sight of a flock of sheep never even looking up as hounds passed in full cry. It was nothing unusual for the sheep, as there are so many foot packs hunting in the area! Clint Carey who has his own foot pack read every line correctly all day. He must think like a fox. Other foot pack huntsmen Padraic McKenna, Martin Daly, and Micky Rafferty were following too. Shane Crabbe’s lovely grey hunter looked more like an Appaloosa at this stage, and Crabbe himself was carrying a large acreage of County Tyrone on his jacket! His girlfriend Gemma Donoghue will be busy getting him ready for his next outing.
As usual Mark English was busy filming all the spectacular events for his Facebook page. At the check, farrier Evan McKillian was called on to shoe the huntsman’s horse, and Master Stephen Hutchinson’s daughter Saffron swapped horses with him when he got a crushing fall. While the shoeing was going on, Hutchinson stood afoot and took the captive audience of followers through every ache and pain in his body, which he described as clearly as surgeon lecturing his students.
The next draw was Edgar Rogers behind the Black Doctor Yard. Nobody knows his real name except he is a genius at fixing all types of farm machinery. A fox was away from the thick cover in Sarah Waters’ and into a valley near Roy Rogers that is bordered by trees and gorse. Hound music filled the air as they ran to every corner of the valley with more deer getting in the way, but when this fox lost interest he went to ground. Yet another beautifully marked fox crossed right in front of me. As darkness set in hounds were called up, but not before Conor Ryan fell at the last obstacle.
Jockey Rory Cleary was in a hurry home so he rode his horse up into his truck. Huntsman Carvill described the day as, “Nearly happening,” meaning just short of a ‘red letter day.’ I thought it was a cracking day, as I got some great shots!
The South Tyrone Foxhounds in Minterburn, Northern Ireland—one of the oldest packs in the country—was reactivated in 1960 after disbanding in the post war years. The hunting country lies in South Tyrone, North Monaghan, and North Armagh. The hunt chairman is Creighton Boyd, and the Masters are Stephen Hutchinson and Andy Oliver. Huntsman Ryan Carvill is assisted by whippers-in Paul Kinane and Lloyd Parr. Honorary secretary is Tony Weir.
Posted January 17, 2018
Noel Mullins is a lifelong foxhunter and sporting photo/journalist. Visit his website for more articles and books.