Bailey and Batten: huntsmen helping out in Kenya

Ludlow master and huntsman Henry Bailey and the United’s Nicko Batten made the most of last year’s truncated season, which provided a chance to see a very different sort of countryside

- Catherine Austen

USUALLY a week of hard frost instigates rogue behaviour from hunting fanatics – a quick dash to the Alps or a day’s visiting in a “softer”, less windswept country ensues. The Covid pandemic stopped all hunting activities last season and left two young huntsmen frustrated and bored.

However, a call for help came from 51 Degrees, a training delivery outfit for wildlife rangers specifically focused on antipoaching of ivory and rhino horn in Kenya. It was running a basic training and patrol medics course and needed some external consultancy support.

Well, Batten and Bailey provided the perfect duo, Nicko with his previous military experience (Major in the Royal Marines) and Henry with his in-depth background in mammal management (foxhounds, the handling and breeding of, and an incipient career as an amateur jockey). So with the shoes whipped off the horses for the season, we got out of the UK.

Fortune struck twice; on arrival in Nairobi we were able to witness the first-ever East African all-female polo tournament. If you think it takes courage to jump the upturned dandy brushes of the Shires, you haven’t seen ferocious horsemanship like these tough females. They are not to be trifled with: hard-riding at blistering pace and with precision skill.

With no planning, we launched from HQ, which was actually Jessie and Jamie Excell’s house in Karen. Our mounts for this trip were two 250cc Dutch-designed, Kenyan-made Kibos. These we rented from a company called I-Ride Nairobi which appeared to be based in the middle of an outdoor cocktail bar. If only they knew how we intended to ride them, the service might not have been so good.