A touch of quality

A traditional pack, the Midlands-based Grove & Rufford offers proper country and exceptional resilience

- Octavia Pollock

Hunting has been put through the wringer in recent years and few know better than the Grove & Rufford (G&R) what it’s like to be on the wrong side of a hunt monitor’s camera. The convictions of three of its members under the Hunting Act were overturned on appeal last year. It is a testament to the hunt’s renewed health that the 2018/19 season was as good as ever, with rising subscriptions, excellent sport and a Peterborough champion. The thousands of people who lined the streets to cheer on Boxing Day were proof that this pack, with its varied country stretching across south Yorkshire, north Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, is back to its best.

Much of this success is due to huntsman Paul Larby, in office since 2008. Growing up in a non-hunting family in Farnham, Hampshire, he saw hounds crossing a stubble field as a small boy and made his mind up that he wanted to work with them. “I sat my last O level in the morning,” he remembers, “and started work for Mr Goshen’s hounds that afternoon.” From there, he went to the Heythrop as second horseman, teaching himself to ride: “I’ve never had a riding lesson in my life.” He credits Tony Collins as an inspiration and is one of the last protégés of Ronnie Wallace to be in service. ‘God’ was responsible for his next job, at the Eggesford in Devon. “I was one of Ronnie’s boys and he used to shuffle us all about.” It was a good move, giving Larby 14 happy years. “It was fantastic, so many good days. We didn’t even have to let the farmers know we were coming, they all loved seeing hounds.” From there, the North Staffordshire and the Meynell benefitted from his skill before David Lewis MFH invited him to the G&R.