blackmore and sparkford vale
UK Huntsman Not Guilty; Antis Push to Stiffen the Law
Peter Mark Doggrell, huntsman of the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale (UK), was found not guilty of contravening the Hunting Act of 2004 by hunting a fox with hounds. The case was heard at Taunton Magistrates Court on Tuesday, January 21, 2020.
Video evidence by three different cameramen was played in the court by the prosecution, and appeared to show hounds in cry before entering the churchyard of Church of St Peter and St Paul in Charlton Horethorne, near Wincanton and Sherborne, on Saturday, February 23, 2019. The footage also appeared to show a fox running through the churchyard.
A Dream Fulfilled
(l-r) Megan, Deb, and Marti
The inspiration for this trip happened quite by accident. While traveling with cousins in the southwestern part of England in May of 2012 , we happened to stop for a Sunday roast at the pub in the tiny hamlet of Highclere Castle, the home of the wonderful television series, Downton Abbey.
We had missed, by a day, a trail ride on the grounds of the castle. My cousin Marti and I have taken many riding trips and are always looking for a new adventure. We began to dream of a trip in England where we would ride in some of the places that we had read about all of our lives in English novels but had never seen. As we visited the Exmoor and the Dartmoor, the haunts of wild ponies and the characters of Daphne du Maurier, we became more excited. We did not, however, have any idea how to accomplish our vision.
A Dream Fulfilled
(l-r) Megan, Deb, and Marti
The inspiration for this trip happened quite by accident. While traveling with cousins in the southwestern part of England in May of 2012 , we happened to stop for a Sunday roast at the pub in the tiny hamlet of Highclere Castle, the home of the wonderful television series, Downton Abbey.
We had missed, by a day, a trail ride on the grounds of the castle. My cousin Marti and I have taken many riding trips and are always looking for a new adventure. We began to dream of a trip in England where we would ride in some of the places that we had read about all of our lives in English novels but had never seen. As we visited the Exmoor and the Dartmoor, the haunts of wild ponies and the characters of Daphne du Maurier, we became more excited. We did not, however, have any idea how to accomplish our vision.
