SPORT 



the 7th Dragoon Guards selected a course at 

 Brook, near Wye ; the Shorncliffe Drag Hunt 

 were at Brabourne ; and the 20th Hussars 

 at Pestling. At each of these functions the 

 usual features, regimental, farmers', and 

 open races, were on the card. The East 

 Kent Hunt in recent years have chosen Smeeth 

 for their point-to-point meeting, whereas the 

 West Kent adopt the perpipatetic principle, 

 Kemsing being the venue in 1906 and Leigh 

 in 1907. The Eridge meetings, held on Easter 

 Monday, are chiefly associated with followers 

 of the West Kent, and the names of many well 

 known amateur riders figure in the Calendar 

 returns. Two owners of Derby winners^ 

 Mr. J. W. Larnach and the late Sir James 

 Miller — have been successful over the Eridge 

 country, and two well known horsemen of 

 the present day — Mr. George Thursby and Mr. 

 H. M. Ripley — have been seen on winning 

 horses. The Mid-Kent Stag Hunt holds a 

 point-to-point meeting annually at Ulcombe. 

 By far the most important gathering in 

 Kentish hunting circles in recent years was 

 that brought to a successful issue near Eden- 

 bridge on 20 April 1907. The Old Surrey 

 Hunt, in conjunction with the East Kent, 

 Eridge, Burstow, South Union, Crawley 

 and Horsham, West Kent, and Tickham 

 Foxhounds, Mid-Kent and Surrey Stag- 

 hounds and West Kent Harriers, joined forces 

 with the members of the Stock Exchange, 

 whose annual steeplechases were included in 

 a strong programme of Inter-Hunt and 

 farmers' races. As may be imagined, the 

 attendance at Mowshurst, the chosen country, 

 was a remarkable one, and a splendid 

 afternoon's sport ensued. Although a trifle 

 holding, the going, which was over 3J 

 miles of capital grass land, was better than 

 had been experienced for some time pre- 

 viously. The first event, the Stock Ex- 

 change Light Weight Challenge Cup, went 

 to Mr. L. R. Carr's Warwick (owner up), 

 which only beat Mr. J. E. Steven's Larry 

 by half a length. Next came a light-weight 

 steeplechase confined to Old Surrey sub- 

 scribers, and here the successful horse was 

 Captain E. H. Trotter's Khalifa II (owner 

 riding). There were only three competitors 

 for the Stock Exchange Heavy Weight Chal- 

 lenge Cup, but Mr. G. N. Murton's Ballin- 

 keele, which had won the Cup in 1906 and 

 had just previously finished eighth in the 

 National Hunt Steeplechase, frightened away 

 nearly all opposition and won easily. Mr. 

 H. W. Boileau's Glencoe and Napper Tandy 

 were ist and 3rd respectively for the Old 

 Surrey Heavy Weight Steeplechase, but the 

 winner had hard work to shake off Mr. C. 



Leveson Gower's Utility, which only suc- 

 cumbed by a neck. The Tenant Farmers' 

 Steeplechase was marred by a nasty accident 

 which necessitated the destruction of one 

 of the runners. The winner, Mr. A. Haw- 

 kins' Chittenden Lass, was skilfully handled 

 by Mr. Slyfield, a well known follower of 

 local hunts. A big field mustered for the 

 concluding event, an Inter-Hunt Sweep- 

 stake for horses owned by subscribers to any 

 of the hunts concerned in the day's sport, by 

 officers quartered in Kent, and by tenant 

 farmers within the boundaries of the various 

 hunts. Mr. A. N. Watts, riding his own horse 

 Starlight, beat by two lengths another animal of 

 the same name, ridden by Mr. E. Shackle, 

 but owned by Lord Hardinge, who, on Car- 

 low, was one of the unplaced competitors. 

 Mr. H. W. Boileau, the popular master of 

 the Old Surrey Hunt, during the afternoon 

 entertained no fewer than 600 farmers and 

 friends, and from start to finish the whole 

 proceedings went with a rare swing, testifying 

 strongly to the popularity of the various 

 packs represented. The gathering will long 

 rank as one of the most memorable in the 

 annals of point-to-point races held within 

 the county, and it is to be hoped that the 

 venture will be often repeated. 



DRAGHOUNDS 



The county can only boast of one Drag 

 Hunt, the Royal Artillery, but this pack is 

 one of the oldest in the kingdom. It was 

 established by Veterinary Surgeon-Major 

 Thacker, R.A., in 1866, three years after 

 the famous Household Brigade Drag Hunt, 

 which appears to have been the first of its 

 kind. The pack hunts in various parts of 

 Kent and also occasionally goes into Essex. 

 Fixtures nearest home (the kennels being 

 at The Camp, Woolwich) are in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Chislehurst, Bromley, Eltham, 

 Orpington, Farningham, and Foots Cray, 

 but some good lines with plenty of jumping 

 are reached in the Tonbridge, Westerham 

 and Sevenoaks districts. The pack consists 

 of fifteen couples of hounds, and meets on 

 Tuesdays and Fridays. Captain H. Roch- 

 ford-Boyd, R.F.A., is master (since 1906), 

 and previous masters have been Captain 

 ' Sam ' Lynes, Captain Albert Williams, Major 

 Hale-Wortham, Captain Winyates, Captain 

 A. E. Turner, Captain R. Alexander, Captain 

 Isaacson, Lieutenant Eustace, Lieutenant 

 Torkington, Major Ward-Ashton, Captain 

 Tyler, Major Hickman, Lieutenant the 

 Honourable A. E. Allsopp, Major Jeffreys, 

 Captain de Roebuck, Lieutenant Courtenay 



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