Looking back on 60 years riding to hounds

Colin has hunted with the Bedale for an impressive 60-plus years. "I can't really add up the years exactly, as during the war we would sometimes only hunt once during a season," he laughed.

Colin is now 72 years old, so it doesn't take much to figure that this great hunting personality started riding to hounds at a young age.

Sitting in the house he was bought up in, Colin is surrounded with pictures and memorabilia of his family, his wife of 47 years, Joyce, and their children, Judith, Lucy and Giles. The apparent influence of his family and horses has made Colin the well known and highly respected hunting personality and family man that he is today.

He may as well have been born in the saddle, as it was soon after when he first sat astride a horse. "Horses were very much part of the farming life when I was a child and it was perfectly natural that my father taught me the skills of horsemanship. He was a great horseman", said Colin.

"After that I was extremely lucky to get 'polished' up by the Rev Walter Horton Fawkes and Dorothy Wright".

The Rev Fawkes kept a hunter, a driving pony and a governess cart, (which he used for visiting the parishes of Hauxwell and Finghall). Once a month he addressed one school and the same morning he would drive his pony to the other. "Occasionally I would be allowed to skip lessons and drive him", Colin remembered. "He fired my enthusiasm for hunting with his conversations on these journeys".

Dorothy Wright taught Colin and his sisters to ride too. Coming from the Beresford-Pierse family, near Bedale, she had grown up deeply immersed in the racing world and proved to be invaluable to Colin's future equine knowledge.

The first pony to carry him hunting was Molly, who was bought by Colin's father from some local gypsies. He was so good that he ended up being passed down through the family for many years. After Molly came another great all-rounder, Lord Buttons. He was a 14.2hh gelding who had many functions including hunting, show jumping and the pony club.

After the war the Pony Club recommenced and a young Colin eagerly attended as many rallies and events as he could. Speaking highly about the Pony Club system, he said "without doubt it is the best youth club in the world; those who contribute to it and make it work are truly valiant". His children and six grand children have followed in his footsteps, as this is something that he firmly believes in if you want to ride.

At the age of 25, Colin married Joyce and took over the running of the family farm, and although hunting was always at the forefront of Colin's equine interest, he also had a great passion for racing.

At the same age he started point-to-pointing, which was sadly short-lived due to a bad injury. This didn't, however stop him from breeding top class horses.

His foundation mare was Sundown. "She wasn't very big, but she was a prolific mare, I am now into breeding the third generation from her" said Colin proudly.

One of the many successful horses bred from Sundown's line was a horse called Charlie Fox. He completed Badminton, Burghley and many other events, and then made the British eventing team. At the same time Charlie Fox's two brothers were on the German and American teams.

"We had him put down last year at the grand age of 33 years. The previous year he carried my youngest grandson, Oscar, at a hunting meet held here", said Colin fondly. "It was exactly 30 years on the same day and meet, from when Charlie had his first day hunting with the Bedale" he added.

"Charlie was the main reason I got hooked on eventing - as a mature student", he said.

Colin was 35 years old when he started eventing. Elaine Straker, mother of the well known northern Olympic event rider Karen Dixon, taught Colin the fundamentals of dressage and cross country riding, whilst Dick Stillwell educated him in show jumping. This invaluable tuition launched him into a successful eventing period.

After some years and with first hand eventing experience 'in hand', Colin landed the task of running Catterick Army Horse Trails, taking over from Capt Mark Phillips and Hamish Lochore, which he did successfully for ten years.

Although his interest in horses is "across the board", Colin's passion is hunting. This very modest, reticent gentleman told me that "it is no great achievement to do 60 years of hunting; all you have to do us grow old and enjoy it. A lot of people do sixty years; Mrs Nancy Staveley from the Bedale did 70!"

"My sympathy is with the younger people whose fun and opportunity is being threatened by Westminster; the steeple-chasing fraternity, whose horses stem from hunting farmers, who also hunt to qualify for racing and the land they race on is threatened; the competition and eventing people who are among the shining stars of the British Olympic future, they will also be affected as most hunt their horses for the experience of going across country. There are many more independent equine aspects that people just don't realise will be hurt if they ban hunting", he continued.

He went on to talk about his beloved pack, the Bedale; "The Bedale Hunt always had good masters during my time" Colin said. "We have a cracking team at the present. I consider our young huntsman Charles Frampton, to be the best in the country. Brave on his horses and quiet with his hounds. His only flaw is he is not a Yorkshire man!" he laughed.

Two years ago Charles provided Colin with the best days hunting he has experienced. "We hunted into the dark, I wore out two horses and myself," he said. "We met with my friend David Ford, who was coming to the end of his successful mastership with the Bedale. David and his daughter, Katherine, myself and the hunt team were the only survivors from a field of 150 horses". It left me with a sad thought that the youth of today may not get the opportunity to reminisce like this.

It was a pleasure to sit with this enthralling gentleman listening to his thrilling accounts of hunting to hounds. His boots will get hung up when his body wears out or the Government ban his beloved sport, which ever comes soonest. For the meantime he reminded me that autumn hunting has begun, and he is as ready as the hounds are to greet in another fine season of fox hunting.

On closing my meeting he left me with some food for thought;

"Yes there have been a lot of changes. Nature itself changes things. Anyone who lives with nature knows this. Those who challenge nature have not lived with it. My father said; 'Anyone can create a riot, but it takes a wise man to quell one'. Let us all hope that the campaign does not become a riot".

Published: ??/??/2004