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Subscriptions 2021/22 Season

Subscriptions for the new season are now due and we are, once again, offering an Early Bird Discount if payment is made before 30th June. We also have a non-riding subscription for those who enjoy regularly following the Hunt. Please see the Subscriptions & Cap page of the website for details of prices. Please contact Jess & Sophie our Joint Hunt Secs if you have any questions

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So what does your subscription pay for? Staff College Drag Hunt is a 'not for profits' limited company run by a team of unpaid volunteers and ALL money raised from subscriptions (and other fundraisers) goes into running the Hunt - for example - feeding the hounds, employing Stephen our Huntsman, running the kennels and building and maintaining the fences for you all to enjoy jumping over on a day out in our wonderful country. We also have a policy of 'everybody pays' in this Hunt, which means that all of the Masters, leadership team and Hunt Secs pay a subscription the same as everybody else.  We all believe that our Hunt is something worth investing in and have enjoyed watching it go from strength to strength over the last couple of years.

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Despite everything that the 2020/2021 season threw at us, Staff College Drag Hunt continues to thrive and we are incredibly excited about the new season. We have you, our wonderful supporters, to thank for that and now can't wait until the Opening Meet!

Hunt Scurry & Inter-Hunt Team Relay

We are running a Hunt Scurry and Inter-Hunt Team relay on Sunday 12th September so do come along and join the fun!

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The Scurry will be run over approximately 2.5 miles with a mixture of approx 20 fences. All riders complete the course at the same time with the first over the finish line declared the winner!

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The Inter-Hunt Relay is open to teams representing hunts, riding clubs or pony clubs. Teams will compete in drawn order, two teams at a time, and jump separate identical courses in a knockout competition. There is a CASH PRIZE of £500 for the winning team!

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Schedule and link to entries on the Forthcoming Events page of the website.

Welcome to the 2021/2022 Season!

It gives us great pleasure to officially welcome everyone to the 2021/2022 Drag Hunt season!  Of course, it barely seems a few days since we wrapped up last season with a fabulous day out at Itchen Down Farm, but this season has been far from ordinary! 

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Work has already begun behind the scenes for the season in front of us, but before we get that far there is a very full program of events planned for this summer. Please do remember to check the Forthcoming Events page of the website and social media for updates. The dates for various beach rides and guided rides, along with the Drag Hunt camp and Hunt Scurry have already been announced with the dates for more events, notably the Puppy Show, and fingers crossed a Summer Party, to follow soon! 

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As all of you are well aware, the Drag Hunt does not organise itself! There is a huge amount of effort that goes on in the background to enable the organisation to function year-round. We are incredibly lucky to have such a hard-working and professional Huntsman in Stephen and along with Mandy and Ben the team at the kennels continues to do an outstanding job with the hounds. 

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As the Drag Hunt continues to grow, we have been fortunate for this coming season to be able to add some further support to several aspects of the organisational structure. 

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For a long time, the position of Chairman has been left unfilled, and we are excited to announce that Ash Hambridge has agreed to adopt this new role going forward.

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Caroline Bullen too is moving on from the Mastership after many years of dedicated service to enjoy her hunting without all of the additional duties that organising the day involves. Caroline has been a Master for many years, and the contribution that she has made to this hunt over that time cannot be overstated. Without all of her hard work and dedication the shape of the hunt would be very different indeed, and we would certainly not be in the rude health that we are today. On behalf of everyone at the Staff College Drag Hunt we would like to thank Caroline for the countless hours of work, commitment and generosity that she has shown over such a long period of time.

As a result of these two moves, joining the Mastership this season we have two faces that I am sure will be familiar to some, if not all of you! 

First of all, we are delighted to announce that Stuart MacTaggart has accepted our invitation to join the team. Stuart and his wife Vicky have a very long association with our drag hunt. They are one of our most supportive landowners in the Binfield part of the country and many of you will have ridden from their farm at Paley Street and experienced not only some nice hedges whilst on horseback but their fabulous hospitality at hunt tea! Stuart brings with him a wealth of hunting experience, bold horsemanship and a cracking sense of humour and we are sure we will have great fun as he leads us round the country! 

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Also joining the Mastership this year will be Jess Telford. All of you will know Jess from her many years of service as our formidable Honorary Hunt Secretary, and Jess will keep some of her duties in this area whilst taking on her new role. This is a very exciting move for Jess who for a couple of years was without a horse of her own to hunt on a regular basis, and who over the last two seasons has been quietly educating her cracking new horse Sam. For those of you out last season you will have noticed that Sam and Jess have taken to the role of Field Master fantastically, so expect to see a lot more of this pair up front! 

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Finally, we thought it would be a little unfair to ask Jess to fulfil both the role of Master and Secretary without any assistance, and so it is with great pleasure that we can announce that Major Sophie Gregory will be our new Joint Honorary Secretary. 

Welcome to your new roles all of you! We are sure you will agree this is a formidable team to lead the Drag Hunt through the seasons to come. 

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Thank you again to everyone who has supported our drag hunt and we are very much looking forward to seeing everyone over the Summer months and then out on the hunting field at Opening Meet in October!

Ash Hambridge

Chairman

Stuart MacTaggart MDH

Joint Master

Jess Telford MDH

Joint Master

Joint Hon Secretary

Major Sophie Gregory

Joint Hon Secretary

End Of Season Awards

For the 2020/2021 season, the Masters have chosen three awards to present: The Masters' Cup, Best Turned Out, and the Tumblers' Cup. Here are the results!

***WINNER - MASTERS' CUP ***

This award is for the horse that the Masters would most like to take for a day's drag hunting. The Masters have been carefully casting their eyes over the field this past season and looking out for the horse that always gives their rider a super day out and puts the biggest of smiles on their rider's face.

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The nominees were: Christie (Georgette Green), Pea (Holly Smith), Badger (Sophie Denovan), Banjo (Mandy Hall).

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The decision on the winner was unanimous - the Masters have chosen the much missed Banjo Hall as the worthy recipient of the Masters' Cup. Congratulations Mandy Hall, Banjo will be fondly remembered by all of us as the perfect hunt horse.

***WINNER - BEST TURNED OUT ***

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This award is for the person who always makes 100% effort to look their best on a day out with us. Being correctly attired on a clean, plaited horse is of the utmost importance when drag hunting - it is a sign of respect to the landowners and farmers who's land we are very privileged to cross and it upholds the traditions of our military affiliated pack. Thank you to everyone who makes the effort week in, week out - we know all too well the joys (!) of bathing horses in the winter months and cleaning mud splattered tack and riding kit.

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The nominees were: Sarah Hayward, Laura Wright, Juliet Pascall, Sarah Edmunds, Andrew Potter, Holly Smith.

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The Masters are delighted to announce that they have chosen Juliet Pascall as the winner of the Best Turned Out Award. Juliet is always looks fantastic, with not a hair out of place, a perfectly tied stock and polished boots. She drag hunts on a bright chestnut horse who sports the most beautiful, neat plaits. Congratulations Juliet, and thank you for always making such an effort!

***WINNER - TUMBLERS' CUP ***

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There are always a large number of contenders for this award and we thank everyone who has drag hunted, and face-planted from their horse, this season!

This award can be given to someone who has fallen many times during the season, or to someone who has only fallen off once, but done it with great style.

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The nominees were: Sasha Randall, Daveyjoe Smith, Perdy Dabliz, Laura Dickson, Will Kelly, Georgie Warden, Ellie Lethaby.

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The winner is the faller that showed supreme commitment to maintaining the correct riding position, even when inverted by 180 degrees.  So it gives the Masters great pleasure to award the 2020/2021 Tumblers' Cup to Perdy Dabliz for her fall over the famous (infamous?) Swan's Farm hedges. As you can see from the photo, Perdy provided Ellie Osborne with the opportunity to capture the perfect riding position, albeit completely upside down. Huge congratulation to Perdy and thanks for always being such a good sport!

That's a wrap folks!

With our Closing Meet on 25th April, we are now approaching the end of the 2020/2021 season. For the second year running, we have had a rather challenging time of it so must offer huge thanks to everyone who has made it possible: to the Masters who have fought tooth and nail to put on as many drag hunting days as possible, to our wonderfully supportive farmers and landowners who allow us to cross their beautiful country, to our Huntsman Stephen Hall who has kept the hounds in tip top condition, to the Directors, Hon Sec, HSC and everyone behind the scenes who keep the cogs turning and, of course to our fantastic Subscribers who support us through thick and thin. Thank you everyone for making a day out with our Drag Hunt the most fun thing you can do on a Sunday! Roll on next season!

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Photos by Ellie Osborne from the last 4 Meets we managed to squeeze in:

Avington

Herriard

Heckfield

Itchen Abbas