A touch of show business'

Hound parades at shows and events are very popular with the public - but take a lot of organisation and a willingness to suffer public humiliation, advises Andrew Sallis

- Andrew Sallis

FOR the climax of the hound parade, Dr Olivier de la Bouillerie would dismount and swim with his hounds in full cry, up the ornamental canal to his chateau, trompe bell aloft and resounding fanfares. More than 20,000 visitors attended his Fête de la Chasse at Breil in the Loire and lined the canal banks for the pre-fireworks parade, holloaing in excitement at “le drag”, a feature of a French hound parade.

On our side of the Channel, hound parades have also been at the heart of country shows, and while some huntsmen might still recoil at the idea of including a trail-hunting demonstration in the hound parade, times may be changing.

Polly Portwin, director of the Countryside Alliance’s Campaign for Hunting, points out, “Country shows and other public events, such as point-to-points, provide the perfect opportunity to showcase our high standards of animal welfare and our lawful trail hunting activities to members of the wider community, many of whom may not have encountered hounds before.”

Many huntsmen would be consumed by horror at the thought of encouraging their hounds to hunt out of season and in such a confined space. Hounds racing in dizzying circles around a ring in full cry is the stuff of a traditional huntsman’s nightmare. What could go wrong?

“Everything!” they’d reply.

And with good reason, for they spend the summer months managing hound exercise in order that they reach the first day’s autumn hunting in peak condition, without boiling over and achieving an unwanted four-mile point.