Peter Collins - of the Seavington Hunt
THE SEAVINGTO NEWS - JULY 92
VILLAGE PEOPLE - A SEAVINGTON NEWS PROFILE
PETER COLLINS
Peter Collins is in his forth season as the huntsman in charge of the Seavington Hounds. He comes from a farming family, and was born near Chard. In order to acquire the considerable skills needed for this specialist job, Peter has moved around the country quite a lot, having spells with the Heythrop hunt (Oxfordshire), the Ferney Hunt (Oxfordshire) and the Chiddingfold, Leacon Field and Cowdray hunt in Sussex. He was working in Broadway, in the Cotwolds, when he was offered the huntsman’s job here.
Peter is in charge of the day to day running of the kennels and stables in St Mary, and in full control of the hounds on hunt days. The Seavington is one of over 500 packs of foxhounds in Britain, each of which has its own hunting country. The Seavington hunts as far south as Eype, and as far north as Langport and Somerton.
The hunt year starts on 1st May. Hunting ends in early April, and the hounds rest for a few weeks, before gentle exercise resumes in the late Spring. Puppies are born in the Spring, and, when they are old enough, are “walked” by people happy to have a young hound for a few months, so that they become used to being with people and domestic animals. One year old dogs join the pack the following year. The pack is large currently 47 1/2 couple, ie 95 hounds, and 17 1/2 couple of puppies). New recruits are tied to experienced hounds for exercise walks, and this form of training takes about a month.
As summer wears on, Peter, and his kennelman David Foot, gradually increase the milage covered for exercise form 3 miles to 20 miles. By August cub hunting starts with the young hounds, and in October the main season begins.
The relationship between a huntsman and a working pack of hounds is extremely close, and based on a high degree of mutual trust. The collective power of a pack of adult foxhounds is impressive. They are large, very fit, dogs, and it is essential that they are properly trained and controlled. Foxhunting has many critics, but reported examples of packs getting out of control are rare to the point of nonexistence: a great tribute to the skills of men like Peter.
Over a season Peter reckons that the hounds kill about 32 brace of cubs, and about 50 brace of foxes. 9 out of 10 encountered in the hunts get away. Those that are killed are often old, diseased, or wounded (often shot but still alive). Death, if it comes, is instantaneous.
The hunt members own the hunt premises in St Mary and, between them, finance the hunt through the year. This year there is a new Master of Foxhounds - Mr Rutter of Allowenshay. Peter says that Seavington is a friendly hunt. Those who ride to hounds enjoy an increasingly rare opportunity to ride, in company, across the countryside. The riders (the filed) rarely take a particularly active part in the hunting. The work of a hunt is done by the huntsman and his hounds. Peter knows the character of each member of the pack. He carefully selects those who will hunt on any one day. He normally takes about 20 couple on each hunt. There will be more bitches where speed is required. Each hound covers about 70 miles on each hunting day.
The hunt has a very close relationship with the farmers who control the land which it covers. Apart from the obvious problem of access to the land on hunting days, there is another important link that is often forgotten. Farm animals die from a great many causes. Something has to be done with the carcasses. It is not the British practice to leave them where they die in the fields. This is where the hunt steps in. The farmer’s problem is the hunt’s gain. The hounds eat 1,000’s of carcasses each year, often collected by the kennel staff.
Peter and his wife Kate, have two daughters, Hailey and Lucy. They enjoy living in Seavington. Peter finds it hard to think of major improvements, apart from a speed limit in the village!