98 GOOD SPORT 



ceeded Lord Charles Bentinck in the mastership 

 of the Blankney, at the end of season 1908-9. 

 Sir Robert Filmer was one of the foremost riders 

 with the Leicestershire packs when hunting from 

 Grantham, and in 1904 won the Belvoir hunt red- 

 coat race, riding his horse Blair, a grandson of 

 Blair Athol. A representative following included 

 Lady Charles Bentinck, the Duchess of Sutherland, 

 Major J. H. Rennie, Mr. Ernest Chaplin, Captain J. 

 Reeve, Captain Roger Tempest, Miss Tempest, Mr. 

 W. Fane, Mr. and Mrs. E. Royds. Owing to the 

 prevalence of fog, the greater part of the day was 

 spent rousting up numerous foxes in Stapleford 

 Wood, a famous covert with the best of grass rides. 

 Major Tempest's term of mastership had one short 

 break, the Earl of Lonsdale coming to Blankney 

 from the Woodland Pytchley, and the hounds he 

 brought into the kennel made their mark in sub- 

 sequent pedigrees. Especially distinguished was 

 Lord Lonsdale's Villager ('84), a nice dog in his work, 

 and on the flags, coming into the pedigree of Belvoir 

 Vagabond ('99) and other notable sires. 



The Blankney is a riding hunt, having the ad- 

 vantage of being within distance of Leicestershire, 

 and a strong contingent of well-mounted farmers, 

 the Saturday fixtures in the best country near the 

 Vale by Wellingore, attracting good representative 

 fields from two or three counties. An off-shoot of 

 the old Burton country, the short history of the 

 Blankney is linked with most historical associa- 

 tions and Lord Henry Bentinck's famous pack. 

 Their blood is the foundation of the Blankney kennel, 

 and many masters of hounds swear by the strains 

 for work and excellence in the field to-day. Sir 

 Reginald Graham, in a volume of hunting experi- 

 ences, gives an interesting note of the famous pack 



