An International Flavour

Judging hounds overseas provides an invaluable opportunity to appreciate and learn from our hunting cousins worldwide, says Frank Houghton Brown

- Frank Houghton Brown

Puppy shows and hound shows, together with all the associated pomp and circumstance, are a very British tradition, one would think. Or are they? In fact, most people who have a love for their hounds also want to show them off, and this applies worldwide.

Captain Brian Fanshawe, a brilliant amateur huntsman and a much-respected judge of hounds, used to say that if he had his time again he would have hunted hounds in Australia. He eulogised about the rolling open grasslands near Melbourne that in many ways lend themselves to foxhunting as he knew it, without the pressures of overpopulation that we suffer within the UK.

Foxes are not native to Australia and were introduced in the 19th century especially for hunting. Likewise, the foxhound was an import from England, and Australian hunts still import hounds from Britain – and, more recently, from America – to freshen and improve bloodlines.

There is an Australian hound show, held near Melbourne at the Oaklands hunt kennels in October each year. There is usually an English judge officiating, but as October is not a good time for a busy MFH, the judge is usually chosen from the ranks of recently retired masters.

It’s a huge honour to be chosen as a judge for one of the big hound shows in the UK, and to judge at Peterborough is considered by many to be the pinnacle of hound show judging. An invitation to judge in Australia is pretty special, with complimentary air fares and perhaps an Antipodean holiday added in to the trip.