PETERBOROUGH ROYAL FOXHOUND SHOW 2009 With some very stiff competition from packs across the country throughout the day the Beaufort hounds still managed to shine. Doghounds Doghounds Best Couple of Unentered Hounds won by Doublet and Doynton with Doublet going on to take the unentered Doghound Championship. Third in the Best Two Couple of Entered Hounds with Fagan, Gloucester, Ringwood and Rival Farrier 07 won the Stallion Hound class and in the same class Gaddesby 07 was Reserve Farrier (at right) then went on to win the Doghound Championship Making this the eighth Peterborough Doghound Championship in the last ten years. Bitches Patience was Reserve Champion Unentered Bitch Hound Best Two Couple of Entered Hounds won by Gannet, Duty, Garter and Galaxy Dubious was 4th in the Brood Bitch class Duty was Reserve Champion bitch
WALES AND BORDER COUNTIES HOUND SHOW 2009 Builth Wells - Photo at right courtesy of Sarah Farnsworth One of the highlights of the Hound Showing year is the annual trip to the Welsh Hound Show at Builth Wells set amongst the hills in stunning countryside. With the sun blazing down the doghounds did well in the morning with the results below: Doghounds 1st in the Best couple of unentered dogs with Doublet and Doynton both by Bailey 03; with Doublet taking the special prize. 3rd in the Best Couple of entered doghounds with Ringwood 08 and Rival 08 both by VWH Rival 02. 3rd in the Best two couple of entered doghounds with Rival, Ringwood, Gloucester, and Fagan. 1st and 2nd in the Stallion hound class with Farrier 07 and Gaddesby 07 respectively. Farrier is by VWH Darius 04 and Gaddesby is by Beaufort Gambler 04 The Doghound Championship went to Duke of Beaufort`s Farrier who then went on to win the Supreme Championship at the end of the day. Captain Farquhar was judging the bitch hounds in the afternoon so we did not show any bitches and when the Supreme Championship came to be judged, MFHA director Alastair Jackson stepped in and did the honours.
HONITON SHOW 2009 Thursday 6th August saw the Beaufort hounds off to the West of England Hound Show, the last show of the summer season. Held at Honiton as part of the annual Agricultural Show, the weather forecast the day before was promising. How wrong they were! The heavens opened in the morning making both showing and judging a more than soggy and muddy task. The doghounds shone in the morning and the bitches looked a picture in the afternoon. Results: Doghounds Best Couple of Unentered Doghounds won by Doublet and Doynton, with Doublet taking the Special Prize for the Best Unentered Doghound. Best Couple of Entered Doghounds won by Gaddesby and Grappler Second in the Best Two Couple of Entered Doghounds with Ringwood, Rival, Gloucester and Fagan. Stallion Hound Class won by Gaddesby with Goshawk in second place. Doghound Championship going to Gaddesby. Bitches Best Couple of Unentered Hounds won by Patience and Dolphin Second in the Best Two Couple of Entered Hounds with Duty, Garter, Galaxy and Grannet Dubious was second in the Brood Bitch class
HISTORY Hounds have been kennelled at Badminton since 1640 but the pedigree records have only been kept up since the mid 1700's. The furthest back an individual hound can be traced generation for generation is 1743, 54 generations in all. This makes the foxhound one of - if not the - most chronicled animal in the world today. During this time they have been systematically bred for the sole purpose of hunting the fox with an emphasis on nose, stamina, and character. All the puppies bred at Badminton are put out to walk on farms at 6-8 weeks and some of the puppy walkers are the 3rd and 4th generation of families to do so. The fact that they live with a family for their formative months helps bring out their genetic friendliness. Anyone who has visited a kennel or seen hounds at a show surrounded by children can vouch for this. Hounds are the most magical animals to work with. The Beaufort Hounds are also famous for their conformation - in particular their size and quality. They win prizes at all major hound shows and their blood lines are in demand in many other kennels in this country as well as America, Canada, Australia and Europe. Their consistent size and quality owes much to the fact that they have been bred by one family since their inception, and to the selective breeding programme carried out by 'Master' the 10th Duke for sixty years. He controversially introduced a Welsh outcross in the 1930s through a Brecon Bitch Petrel 32, now one of the strongest female lines in the Kennel. More recently there have been a number of Welsh outcrosses, in particular Plâs Machynlleth Miller 63, through New Forest Medyg 69, an outcross which produced a famous stallionhound, and Peterborough Champion Duke of Beaufort's Monmouth 77. When Captain Ian Farquhar arrived from the Bicester in 1985, he brought another Welsh outcross with him, from a pack called the Vale of Clettwr, passed down notably in the Beaufort Kennel through Farrier 84 , who also has the New Forest Medyg line. The Welsh blood has recently been added to again by using a stallionhound from the famous David Davies Welsh pack, Bouncer 94.
In 2004 the Duke of Beaufort's celebrated its 50th Peterborough championship win. This is quite a feat, the nearest rival the Heythrop with 27 champions over that time since 1887. Since 2004 the Beaufort have added five more championships to the tally and indeed scored a unique consecutive run of Doghound championships from 2002 to 2006 inclusive. Below is a list of those champions from Badminton and they year they were made champion. The year or numbers after their name denote the name they were entered, which is important and saves confusion, for example in 1960 Duke of Beaufort's Palmer 59 was champion while his name sake Palmer 02 was champion in 2003 and another Palmer 83 was champion in 1985. Being champion does not necessarily mean they are the best working hound, but it does mean that the judges at the time considered them the best looking hound. However, it has always been Capt Farquhar's policy to breed from only the best workers. ( Martin Scott)
Bobcat with Halifax at Left with Halifax on Right (Photos courtesy Emma Farquhar)