THE Wicklow Foxhounds met at Eilis and Jack Kavanagh’s Golden Anchor Bar in Castletown, Co Wexford, which is the hub of the community, hosting everything from community meetings and music to discos and quizzes. They are the main sponsors of the local football, hurling and camogie teams at Castletown GAA club. I met an old acquaintance of mine, sheep farmer and hunt committee member Mervyn Sunderland, whom I first met over 20 seasons ago, who was sporting a new hat - either rust or burnt orange in colour - that Connemara pony producer Martin Nee had gifted to him at Maam Cross Mart!

As a farmer’s pack, they are a no-nonsense club and very professional. There were two dynamics going on all day. One, the serious business of hunting and the other that the road followers have put their stamp on, great friendships, watching out for the hounds, and parents staying out and making sure that their children are enjoying themselves.

Stephen and Marie McDonald, who stand the Connemara pony stallion Weststar Sunny, had a pop-up café in the boot of their jeep with coffee, tea and cakes that some said were fairy cakes, others cupcakes, and the younger followers referred to as muffins. Obviously a generational thing! With a bottle of something stronger, Marie offered a small one to those who were not driving.

Young riders

It was remarkable how many young talented riders were hunting who have achieved both in equestrian events and playing for their local Castletown GAA club at local and even county level in hurling, football and camogie who have been county champion three years in a row. Ravi Daly O’Toole has won the Junior Antler Challenge twice and has just received his race riding permit. The work ethic of these young people is to be admired, as Ravi rides out a few lots in Dominick and Robert Sheehy’s Stables at 7am and still gets to school on time. Similarly, the McDonald children - Kerri, Ryan and Casey - have an early start too, exercising, mucking out and feeding their ponies before school, really character-building.

The same applies to Kitty Byrne, Brendan Noctor, Abbey Kavanagh, Kayla Coade and Nessa Lucey. Doran Daly O’Toole and Conor Fanning were away playing for their county in hurling in the game before Cork and Wexford in Pairc Ui Chaoimh. Noreen O’Connor, who stands the Connemara stallions Agharanny Minstrel and Rebel Mick, was at the meet. Her daughter Edwina has a string of wins and Connemara pony championships in Dublin and Clifden, and her granddaughter Ciara won a European team eventing bronze medal in France.

The huntsman’s son Frank Kavanagh played rugby for Lansdowne, but keeps the yard at home organised so his father Brendan can arrange hunt country and hunt hounds. Another talented rider is Cian McHugh, who rides for Cooley Farm, and there’s Sara Anne Law, whose brother Jesse is now riding in New Zealand. But then, they have great role models in Wicklow huntsman Brendan Kavanagh, who played senior hurling for Wexford, and he and hunt chairman Doran O’Toole have completed both The Antler Challenge and The Ledbury Golden Button in Herefordshire.

Masters and hunt staff

The standard of hunting and horsemanship is top class as the country is so challenging, with double and single banks and drains of every type and width. The Wicklows have a very strong committee led by the masters Frank Redmond and Tom Kelly and the chairman Doran O’Toole, who is so enthusiastic about his hunting, and together they have a club to be envied.

The huntsman Brendan Kavanagh is in his eighth season after 15 seasons whipping in to three huntsmen. He is a superb horseman and he has a wonderful pack of hounds looked after by Larry Kavanagh, who is as proud of the pack as if they were his own family. Whipper-in Patrick Goland had four Irish Draughts hunting and all for sale! They have an equally strong team on the ground, with the huntsman’s brother John, who is the essential road whip in constant contact with the huntsman. Also helping with hounds in the summer - together with Abbey Kavanagh and Liam and Brian Cushe - are Marie Kavanagh and Annette McCarthy, who collect the hounds at the end of the day.

Stephen McDonald and David Grandy help on the road and Mick Goland supports the huntsman with fencing and provides the hunt hirelings. Interestingly, both the huntsman Brendan Kavanagh’s horse and Doran O’Toole’s are by the same sire, Walter Kent’s Lansdown.

Followers

Mounted and following were Austin Fanning, Shane Darcy, Brendan Noctor, Saranne Law, Brian Fortune, Gareth Byrne and Kevin and Mary Coade. Also following were Tom Berrigan, Billy Stephenson and his son Garry, who is the Killinick huntsman, as well as Richard Nolan. Jason Freeney was resting his smashing young Irish Draught hunter by Ballylarken Silver, but he told me that Young Washington was being filmed in the area and, on a visit to Elvis’ home in Memphis, he spotted a dinner set made by Arklow Pottery.

https://foto.ifj.ie/fotoweb/archives/5006-Irish-Horse-World/Irish%20Horse%20World/2020/-%20-%20Wi_3287_wn.jpg.info#c=%2Ffotoweb%2Farchives%2F5006-Irish-Horse-World%2F%3Fq%3Dwicklow

Wicklow huntsman Brendan Kavanagh and hunt chairman Doran O'Toole moving between draws at The Wicklow Foxhounds meet at Castletown \ Noel Mullins

Hunting

The huntsman had 12½ couple of mainly home-bred hounds with 1½ couple of first season including a couple of broken coated, Music and Miller, that are so effective in thick cover. There was also a couple from the Tipperary, Bobby and Bobbin, that have been a great asset to the pack.

The first draw was in Sean Cousins’ where hounds found in The Grove in Tom Berrigan’s, who used to look after the hounds. They circled back by the Old Kennels through Pat Kelly’s and back over Cousins’ again, where the huntsman stopped them at Pat Purcell’s Caravan Park on the Cloone Road.

They covered quite a bit of country over some stiff double banks in heavy ground off the Coast Road in Peter Fogarty’s and over former master Phil Ivanoff and his son Philip’s farm and Murray’s, but there was nobody at home.

They crossed the road into Harold Stephenson’s, who is well known in the cattle trade, where there were some big, tricky, challenging double banks over Richard Kinsella’s where there was a huge drop over a ditch and a gaping wide drain with no proper take off in Sydney Hall’s to negotiate. The maize stubble had horses knee-deep, so caution was necessary. But hounds immediately found at the back of an old shed covered in ivy. This was the start of a cracking run, a fast 40 minutes all the way to Clogga, where the pack marked him at the imposing Arklow Rock.

The huntsman drew though Mick and Ann Kavanagh’s and into Louis Hanlon’s and Jodie Shaughnessy’s, but it was blank. The huntsman was far from finished, as he gave the followers a smashing lead off the Kilowen Road over a double bank in Dec Merrigan’s in Monagarrow, whose family put up the Andy Merrigan Cup played for at the local GAA club. There, riders had to negotiate through two trees standing closely at a 45-degree angle and get a horse’s hindquarters underneath him for take-off over a wide drain on the far side.

What a display of horsemanship, but there will be many with sore knees the following day. Finding in a bank in Sunderland’s Knock, what followed was a nice run through Ted and John Shaughnessy’s with big jumping country in John Hagan’s and on through Bernard Condren’s, and accounting on top in Bobby Kavanagh’s

The going was so deep all day, especially in the marl clay-based ground that is deceptive as it has a great covering of grass, yet the water line is so high that it is ideal for grazing in the summer but in winter it is testing, so the huntsman sensibly blew for home.

The followers washed off in the Irish Sea, where a few went for an involuntary swim. But they were revived with refreshments, courtesy of Jack and Eilis Kavanagh in The Golden Anchor.