Hounds on the flags

The hound showing season is underway; Alastair Jackson explains the process that culminates at the Festival of Hunting in July

- Alastair Jackson

ANYONE who has attended Peterborough Royal Foxhound Show will have memories of seeing the judges weighing-up hounds. Apart from the sense of occasion created by this greatest of all hound shows, there is the impression of the hounds themselves. The aristocrats of their breed, standing like statues, held in the thrall of their huntsman; then flying across the ring with effortless strides before racing back to stand foursquare again, neck outstretched, head slightly cocked, with eyes only for the man who is their friend and handler.

Later, the ring is a sea of colour, with the hunt servants’ liveries and gleaming boots mingling with the tans, pyes and mottles of the hounds. Soon the judges have dismissed all but the prizewinners. Perhaps a final losing-off of two or three entries to compare their movement, and then the results are announced. Polite clapping if the winners come from one of the more fashionable kennels, but occasionally wild cheering if they hail from a more modest establishment.

Dog hounds in the morning (the enticing smell of bitches beforehand might interfere with that vital concentration), starting with unentered hounds, through the various entered classes to the stallion hounds, before culminating in the vital dog hound championship.

A change of judges for the afternoon bitch classes, when the same format is followed. The aficionados of the foxhound – there are plenty and they are not all masters of hounds – will sit with full concentration throughout the day. Others will undoubtedly find time for a refreshing glass or two and an exchange of gossip, but nearly all will wish to be present for the electric atmosphere of the championship classes.

ALL-IMPORTANT QUALITIES

WHAT, then, do the judges see? How much can they tell about a foxhound in the artificial atmosphere of this great show?