A HUNT secretary is nearly everyone’s first point of contact with a hunt. That first impression is vital, and will never be forgotten, however well someone may get to know the hunt’s other officers and characters.
It is not a glamorous role, filled as it is with paperwork, organisation and getting people to hand over money, but it is perhaps the essential grease that keeps the engine functioning smoothly.
To have been the four-day-a-week Beaufort’s hunt secretary for 17 years is therefore an achievement of considerable note; to remain popular and unruffled, as Nigel Maidment has, in all that time, is almost worthy of a medal.
“If you want a job doing, the Maidment family will do it,” says Ian Farquhar, who was master of the Beaufort for 34 seasons. “I knew that the Maidments were very efficient, and helpful in the most charming way and got on with everyone. They also have very good brains.
“Nigel and his wife Valerie had been district commissioners of the Beaufort branch of the Pony Club [ and had run our hunt supporters’ club from 1996 to 2003], and had done each job very well. Nigel is a working farmer so got on with our farmers, but also with the subscribers and the foot-followers.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 17, 2020 من Horse & Hound.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة December 17, 2020 من Horse & Hound.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Super subs
Can a huntsman take on a different pack of hounds for a day and produce good sport? It can indeed happen,as Andrew Sallis explains
Welsh star is on the dot
A delightful Welsh section A leadrein contender is the best of a super-strong novice supreme on his winter championships debut
Edwards' remarkable home-soil hat-trick
The Welsh wonder Mark Edwards dazzles on home soil and a syndicate horse does his owners proud
The King retains his crown
Global superstar King Edward joins the ranks of such legends as Milton and Shutterfly as a back-to-back World Cup winner
Kittel takes thriller
Patrik Kittel becomes the second Swedish rider to win a World Cup Final, while the British favourite is eliminated
The start of something special
Royal Windsor is often a show horse's first experience of an electric atmosphere. Alex Robinson learns how the pros use the prestigious fixture to see if an animal has what it takes for the big league
Sore jaws
True pathology of the temporomandibular joint is an uncommon cause of a number of relatively common signs. Robyn Graham MRCVS explains how the problem is identified and treated
Safari guide
Natalie McComb owns Nile Horseback Safaris, leading expeditions through the Ugandan wilderness
Access all areas Tim and Jonelle Price
New Zealand's premier eventing couple are in their second season based at the impressive Chedington Estate. Pippa Roome finds out how they work together and their plans for this Olympic year
Running at a loss, even if you win
Jodie Hall McAteer weighs up the pros and cons of jumping abroad