BIRCHWOOD HUNT CLUB.

Western Star, Issue 1574, 27 June 1891, Page 1

BIRCHWOOD HUNT CLUB.

On Tuesday, the 16th inst., the Birch wood hounds were to have met at Wairio, but King Frost reigned supreme, and the run was made a fixture for the following day, Wednesday, 17th, next morning. There was a wonderfully rapid thaw, and although the hoofs rang hard on the shady side of the gorse fences, there was a fairsized field collected round the popular squire of Birchwood, mounted on his upstanding clipped bay, Wry Pecker, rider and horse fit and full of going. The meet was at Mr farm, and at 2 o'cclock there was quite a large gathering of on-lookers. The huntsman (Mr F. McKay) on Golden Moth, had out eight couple of hounds, and a very level looking lot they were. Mr M." McKay was whipping-in on Tally-ho. Mr Carnegie Gardner was on Wings, Miss M. Gardner'on Honest Peter, Mrs Spencer on Kitty, Mr Spencer on Norah, Mr Euright on Juno, Mr Caicutt (by the way, we had our first run with hounds on his father's estate, Goodwood, twelve years ago) on a plucky chestnut pony, Mr J. Laicllaw on Fairy—a very nice looking clipped pony' of Mr C. Gardner's. Another gentleman whose name I did not know was on a brown. _ He went straight and well to the bitter end, when he had the misfortune to turn turtle into a ditch on the landing side of the last gorse fence. But there ! At a word from the Master, the hounds are laid on, and picking up the line of scent in a stubble paddock in front of Mr Ford's homestead, they raced away towards a line gorse fence on top of a sod wall. Finding his hounds were at fault in a corner of the next paddock, the Master gave them a cast over the paddock, and spreading fan-like the whole pack, presently echoed Minstrel's and Mentor's music, and away we went towards another hedge of the same description—" Ware ditch" as we cross some heavy ground drained by a big ditch half concealed by rushes, up"" a rise across some ploughed ground to a double across the road, and into an uncommonly deep paddock, where the canny riders pulled into a trot, as they saw a big post and rails at the end of the field. Over Golden Moth, who is fencing brilliantly for a youngster, and then Wry Pecker to our astonishment blunders at a stiff rail, and gives the Master a heavy fall, incapacitating him from joining further in the tun. A. shake at 50 and a shake at 20 arc two different things, as -we thought a little later when we saw young Caicutt taking his pony at a gorse and wire feuco at a rattling pace—not high enough to clear it, though, and away the boy shoots as the pony comes a cropper. Into another long stubble, over a big double across the road, into some heavy plough, and then we face a rasping big gorse, which s ifely negotiated, we made the pace a little faster to be in at the death : but tiist we have another double across the road with a bad landing. Here it was our straight riding friend on the brown got his fall, and we had much pleasuie iii seeing him pulled out from beneath his horse. Considering the heavy coiug and the slippery landings, there were very few falls, and \v« weio unanimous in declaring it a very jolly little run, and in thanking .Air Ford for his liberal hospitable treatment, and in giving, at the request of the Master. three' cheers for him and .Messis McAncliy, Clifford (and another "•entleman whose name we did lift know) for their trouble in procuring us such a ctood afternoon's sport. Wasp. June 18th, 1801.