Stanford Dingley 17th December

On a beautiful sunny, now proper winter's day (not globally warmed as we have become used to!), it was surprising and disappointing that not many turned up. It was an amazing day that you should not have missed  and even if you came, minus some essential kit, the Hempel's, who kindly gave us parking space, provided it - a girth was found for one who had made a 11/2 hour journey without! Although billed as Bucklebury, these two meets developed from the seriously long Bucklebury of Roger Palmer's day and the split remains somewhat experimental. With Stanford Dingley cancelled because of wet ground two weeks ago, David Fleming (the organising joint master) essentially had choice of all the lines, but again ground conditions were the deciding factor. New lay was out of the question and so a variation of what has become known as Stanford Dingley was the order of the day.
    The team took a serious knock with Ian Balding, our President and frequent fieldmaster, breaking his neck while schooling at Kingsclere on Friday - mercifully he is expected to make a full recovery - and our runner for the day being called away on Saturday. This left David having to run the lines and a somewhat depleted staff. Nevertheless, all went smoothly, hound control was good and they hunted the lines beautifully. The first line was, for the first time I can remember, stock free. Thus hounds ran without check and the gradually increasing challenge of the hedges flowed perfectly, over almost unpoached grass. A hack back past "The Blade Bone" (venue for tea) led to the second line, down hill to Stanford Dingley. This takes in some lovely sloping palisades, a couple of big hedges and some post and rails. Surprisingly, seemingly the wettest part of the whole day was at the top of this line! We then crossed the road and hunted through water meadows. A new set of rails built on the river bank caused problems for a few horses unwilling to test the depth of the river - trivial, compared to the one at Highworth and easily negotiable in canter, one stride after landing . There were then some lovely hedges to end the day. Well done to David for doing the running instead of enjoying the ride and for giving the hounds some challenge to follow over the penultimate piece of stubble. It was great to watch them solve the riddle!