Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2007 | Page 84
life
EQUESTRIAN
Puppy
Parade
proves
great
success
This year’s Isle of Wight Fox
Hounds Puppy Show held at
Gatcombe in early June was
again a great success and
over 150 guests sat in the
sunshine, reviewing the fox
hound puppies born last year.
The work which Huntsman
Stuart Trousdale and his wife
Zoe put into the preparation
of the kennels and Hounds
for this important day is
phenomenal. The flowers
bordering the freshly mown
grass, and the stables and
kennels crisp in their new coat
of white paint looked stunning.
There are 28 and a half couple
(57 hounds) currently kennelled
at Gatcombe. Seven and a
half couple puppies were on
parade plus the best working
84
hound from last year and the
best working hound in kennels.
Since the hunting ban, the
future of hunting has been in the
balance, and Stuart Trousdale
is firmly thinking in the future:
“David Cameron has pledged to
bring in a one line Bill which will
repeal the act and it’s looking
fairly likely that he’s going to
get a crack at it. I think it’s
looking as promising now as it
ever has. What we are doing
now is a stop gap to keep the
infrastructure in place until the
law changes, which it will.”
But if Labour were to
be successful at the next
general election, what would
that mean for hunting?
“We would keep going as we
are, hunting within the law until
such time as it is repealed,”
he answered resolutely.
One of the two judges at this
year’s show, Rory Knight-Bruce
from Exeter, the current Horse &
Hound Hunting Correspondent
said in his address to the
guests: “I never need an excuse
to come to the Isle of Wight.
When the reason is to judge
the IW foxhounds I come even
more quickly. The importance
of hou nds to the island and
the farming community cannot
be understated and the
followers are fantastic, they are
hospitable, friendly, courteous
and, most importantly, legal.
“The puppy show today,
which has gathered so many
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