UNITED HUNT CLUB.

Evening Post, Volume XLI, Issue 83, 9 April 1891, Page 4

UNITED HUNT CLUB.

♦ THE RUN AT MIRAMAR. Deßptte apostponomont, which is generally regarded as fatal thereto, yesterday's tirnt moet of tlio United Hunt Olub, at Kilbirnin, and subsequent " run "on tho Miramar Flit, must bo rtgnrderl as a deci'lod sucnoßß— n.t any rate from ft hunting standpoint. The wcatlier uaa certainly not of the best, but oningtotlio rapidly dryhiff wind tho £fo ! rfC nm fimlv pnnrl, (}io nttondnnoo of hunti'is men on i'xit'l. Nt in< ui.ts B<ili fv.tnry, an-1 tho nitons'. UiUen I), tl.o imb!n' !•■ tha opof- G"P 'in riiiv .\<t tho honr lifd for Hn M it die / ri«h, ft prooes-io i of velii' !<•*, fr. lit Mir \-oH a,.p <ii.t»d i-nrii.-ij;-an 1 pair to »h'- hni'.bl' iuarl ct cait wono\ d itawavt'ioni eitj iird s-ibnrbs to tho -ccn • <A the hunt, utopping «»ly tor ft minute 01 no by the Kilbirnio Keservo en route to tako in a pretty pioturo ot tho houndn, with Huntsman Dick Koako and Whipper-in " Joe " Hnghea, and, if we mistake not, the Master of the Hounds, Mr. H. D. Crawford, being photographed as a group. Over the Flagstaff Hill, and via Newtown, too, a goodly number of pedestrians mado thoir way b ?n t on roaobing Miramar heightß before the hounds " threw off," and, altogether, bo lively waa tho soeno along road and stretch of sand at Evana Bay that the occasion might well have been mistaken by one foreign to the mattor as that of some suburban race meeting rather than the more genteel, and generally less attractive, pastime of a drag hunt. As indicated, the locale of the " run was the Miramar flat, and, of course, the high ground immediately to the left of the home farm on the estate, and just contiguous to the road, supplied an excellent aite from which to view the whole prooeedinga. Hero, aooordingly, a general halt was made by the eifjht-aeers, though tnt>ny equestrians, iiuioDgst whom was a sprinkling of the fair »*x, piooeeded down to the low ground, evidently with the intention of having a moJest run on theic own ucoount along the l oul crossing the flat, and thuH meeting the Liintiujr pnrty in their ronrao aloDg tho foot of tho intther ntußo of hills. 'I ho nwjority of 'h"-M, nrd tho Rroater number of thoae w.io h-m! nfcurod positions of vantage on the at lo of tho kroii referred to, were, however, doomed to disappointment, lor juat as t!io houuds threw off a fieroe and blindiog rain poured reloiitlessly down, causing nearly every one to tako shelter either in the farm buildings or the closed o images, and it was not until the run waa over that the weather cleared again. Even ti thoso who bravod the elements, tho view of tho hunt was almost totally obaonred by tho donae mist rolling down tho valley as the wind drove the rain before it, and only the wraiths, hb it wero, of distant horsemen c mid bo faintly distinguished. This contretemps waß most doplorable, not only beoause most of the oxoiting incidents of tho hunt woro lost to tho onlookers, but also booauße it, spoilt tho riding for a good many of the riders thomfolvos, who had to faco for fully three-fourths of the distance— a good five nitloß— a porfect galo of wind and a drenching and blinding rain, and negotiato more or lean s'.iff foncea with reina that slipped through tho fingora at tho oruoial moments. THE BUN. It was getting on for 4 o'clook before tho hounds threw off, when it was seen that tlioso intending to follow numbered oloso on 30, tho fair cox not being represented on thia occasion. Conspicuous, of course, among tho field woro those members of the Hunt Club who had donned the handsome uniform of the Clnb, consisting of hunting oap, blaok coat, aoarlet waistcoat with brass buttons, white breeches, and orthodox riding boots. From tho firßt it was apparent that tho pace, clsspito the opposing high wind, Wits to be a lively one, and the hunt soon developed a well-definod " second line " and "tail." The throw off was from the Lyell Bay end of tho flat, and the course was thenco to the Chinaman's gardens under the signal station, bo along tho foot of the far hills towards the northern end of the valley, and from there homo to the windmill near tho farm along the baso of the hilla on this Bide. The general exoellence of the mounts was evidenced by the sterling manner in which the fenoes wero negotiated by a large proportion of the riders. Indeed, among tboae keeping well up with the huntsman wore some notably good horses, suoh as Sultan (ridden by the Master, Mr. H. D. Crawford), whioh won the Point-to-point Sf-ceplflobase at Feilding the other day ; tho Druid (riddon by Mr. Lingard, tho olnb's loorotary), the winner recently of the Uunedin Hunt Club's Stoepleohase ; and (ridden by Mr. J. Mills), a Blonheim horae of some repnto. But on tho wholo the riding waa very good, although thero were a few empty saddles at a stiff post and mil fonoo on the far aide, when a littlo over a quarter of the distance had been traversed. It was hern that one borso oamo down heavily, giving his rider a very nasty fall. Fortunately he waa unhurt, and as he mounted again and took all his fences afterwards aa they came, he shall be namoless ; but it may bo remarked that it was scarcely the courtesy of tho hunting field for ao many of his fellow-ridera to almost ride over him in their headlong course, and afterwards not to pull np to proffer naoh assistance as might bo required. It is an unwritten law— at least, the otiquotte —of the hunting field to always stand by a companion in ttoublo until it is manifest he can shift for himpolf. Little amenities of this kind should always bo remombored and praotisod. THB " DEATH." The soene waa exciting enough as the field, after disappearing from view at the north end for a short while, made their appearance coming over a low spur on this aide, and thonce down a straight piece of running home with the hounds in full ory. Tho hounds " killed " just by th« windmill, and by this time tha hunt waa decidedly straggling, and the numbers considerably fined off. A well-known local horse-trainer was amongst the first in "at the death," and a mighty laugh ascended from the onlookers as this doughty horseman, having safely pissed over tho danger, so far, jumped his horse ovor a paltry little ditch, and, the animal atumblinir, came head over heels out of hit) saddle on to mother earth. He was unhurt, however, and apparently was fully alive to the humour of the situation. The conaensus of opinion of master, huntsman, and members waa that the rnn hnd boen a capital one, tho country travers rl fairly good, and that one and nil had creditably acquitted themselves. Tho only hitch— a slight one — was tho ovor-running by tho bounda where a oheuk had boen intended in the (arly part of the hunt. Our own opinion was — for what it may be worth— that the pace waa rather fast. There is in all tbeao drag hunta a tendency to steeplechase rathor than hunt, and it is a tendency requiring to bo rigorously ourbed by the moro experienced mombera of the olub. One very satisfactory feature was that out of the 10 or 11 couplo ot hounds out yesterday, six oouplo were this year's entries, and these ran well with the old hounds. After the run, on the invitation of the Master, there was an adjournment to Mr. H. D. Crawford'a residenoe, where tho membera of the Hunt Club and a number of the visitors were moat hospitably entertained prior to theic return to town, THE RBNNKLB. It is not generally knonn that the Miramar kennels have the name of being the beat appointed konnoh in Now Zealand. They are situated at the extreme northern end of the flat, on the site where Mr. Gillies' house used to stand, and woro oreoted for the olub by Mr. Crawford himself. They oonaist of threo " lodginghouaea " for the hounds, each opening out into a concrete yard 10ft x 40tt. In a lean-to aro looated the copper and cooler, used in proparing the hounds' meat, &o. ; close by the huntsman (Mr. Diok Boake) has a two-roomed cottage, and a stable furnished with two Btalls and one loose box. A oreek flows between the kennels and the stable, thus bringing an ample water aupply quite handy. At present there are in the kennels 14V couple of hounds. The Olub are justly very proud of their kennels, and they may also congratulate themselves on their extremely happy location. A better site oould hardly have been selected, more especially aa it ia so close to the residence of the Master, whose interest in the welfare of the Club nnd all appertaining to hunting aa a sport is well known.