Days out with the Pytchley inform much of Sophie Harden’s work, though a trip to Africa has provided fresh challenges, she tells Janet Menzies
Harden's experience of riding thoroughbreds informs a lot of her work.
The great hunting painters of the past would approve of Sophie Harden – her work is informed by her days out with the Pytchley. But it was a trip to Africa that presented a fresh challenge, as she tells Janet Menzies.
For more sporting artists, the sculptures by Tom Hill are made by sport, for sport. And Geoffrey Sparrow offers hunting and country scenes from an insider’s perspective.
SOPHIE HARDEN
It is actually a legal requirement that a hunting artist must hunt regularly. No, really, Raoul Millais got it accepted as a tax deductible expense while Dr Geoffrey Sparrow used his hunters to go to work as a country doctor. So it is wonderful that, despite her very contemporary approach to her subject, Sophie Harden is fulfilling her obligations as a sporting artist by getting out with the Pytchley as often as possible.
Meanwhile, she has recently been on an artistic safari to Africa, which has filled her sketchbook and camera with unforgettable images to work on back home in her Northamptonshire studio. The trip was something Harden had been hoping to do for several years: “I had gone out to South Africa in my gap year and ended up spending six months there,” she remembers, “so when the opportunity came up to go out to Kenya, to the northern part of the Mara, I was thrilled. We were lucky to stay with friends who live and work in the area and they helped us to find the game. On the Mara River we saw hippo and crocodiles.”
Harden’s safari got even more exciting as she drove onto the Laikipia plateau to stay at Sosian camp: “The previous year there had been a lot of tension with nomadic herdsmen but things had relaxed, so I was able to go out on horse safari in this very wild area. At one moment there were antelope and zebra running alongside us, disturbed by two lionesses.”
Kiboko in Water.
Even more exciting was sharing a morning drink with an enormous herd of elephants at the Mugie camp: “We were out early in the morning and the elephants came to the lake and drank – a herd of about 50 – babies, mothers, big bulls. We just sat there and couldn’t take our eyes off them.” But one of the young adult males took exception to being stared at: “He did a false charge at us. He was just flexing his muscles, and I got a brilliant shot of him turning side on.”
CAPTURING A MOMENT
Back in the studio, capturing this moment was one of Harden’s first challenges. “I have done a big charcoal study of him – it has turned out to be a metre and a half across. Now I have to work on translating that into the oil-painting version. I have just completed a huge rhino, which I saw where they are doing a big anti-poaching project. I took a lot of photos and did a lot of sketches and I’m still going through all the material now. One of the things that helped a lot was just hiring a car and getting advice from local guides and going it alone – it meant I wasn’t under the same pressure to keep moving on so I could really observe the animals. My style of just using white for these African pictures is working really well because of the early morning and late evening light, which has a monochrome feel to it.”
Harden’s style is indeed distinctive. Racehorses gallop across a single colour ground, their movement highlighted in just a few white brushstrokes. She explains: “About a year or so ago I was just fiddling around in my studio and I started doing an oil ground, thinning it down with turps as a wash and leaving that to dry and then going on with just one colour. I found you could change the perspective. I think of the background as the darker colour and then building up the white brush strokes on top to show the light. The light alone builds up the rest of the image in the viewer’s mind, even though it may be only suggested. I’m pleased that it gives a lot of movement. Now I am experimenting with other colours, like orange and pink. I’m not sure these have enough depth, but for the African work they seem to capture that red of the soil there. I am also experimenting with two colours in the wash, but I must be careful not to over-complicate the colours.”
The technique works especially well with Harden’s racehorse paintings, which reflect her long experience of riding thoroughbreds most days. “I used to ride out for a point-to-point yard and ended up doing a charity race at Ascot, which was amazing. So point-to-pointing is on my bucket list. But for now I am just sticking with my hunting. You meet so many great people out hunting. I’m often chatting to people and networking.”
Those hunting painters of the past, Lionel Edwards and Alfred Munnings, would certainly approve of this new generation of sporting artist.
Sophie Harden is planning several exhibitions in 2019. For the latest news, call her on 07740 777488, check out her website at www.sophieharden.co.uk or visit The Mall Galleries at www.mallgalleries.org.uk
It has taken a while for the Italian car manufacturer to enter the SUV market, however, Charlie Flindt thinks that it has been worth the wait
A hint of Quattroporte in the styling.
If you can live without noise-based nostalgia, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is an SUV that was worth the wait, says Charlie Flindt.
For more on Alfa Romeo, read Charlie Flindt’s review of the Alfa Romeo Giulia.
ALFA ROMEO STELVIO
It took some time for Alfa Romeo to jump on the SUV bandwagon but now that it has, it’s come up with a cracker – the Stelvio.
The first thing to strike me as ‘just right’ was at the front. Some years ago, Alfa chose to plant a dirty great shield/grille on the front of all its models, and we’ve been waiting for the car that matches it. On the Mito it looked plain daft; on the Giulietta and Giulia, slightly less silly; but on the Stelvio, it looks the right size – although it still necessitates a symmetry-destroying numberplate shift.
Overall, it is very beautiful, with a hint of Quattroporte in the styling, and only the bright yellow callipers marring the side view. Mind you, I spent much of my wedding weekend trying to find and mend the inboard brakes of a chum’s Alfasud. (Who said romance was dead?) There would be no such problem with my test Stelvio.
A boot to alarm a flatcoat.
It’s curiously snug on the inside. The front is OK but the back would be a struggle for decent-sized adults, even though the rear seats are oddly low, and the boot is small enough to inspire panic in a flatcoat’s eyes as the tailgate shuts. The small rear window does little for the view out the back, too.
But there’s a good reason for these compact interiors: the Stelvio is heavily based on the Giulia, Alfa’s four-door saloon that has been such a hit. And once you get in and up and running, the Giulia’s road-going qualities shine through. The Stelvio feels exceptionally solid and secure in the late-autumn downpours, helped, of course, by the four-wheel-drive.
The only sadness is how eager the Stelvio is to change up a gear. My youth was full of Alfa engines that soared to the red line – the flat four of the Sud or the legendary V6. The Stelvio’s inline four has hardly moved away from idle when it changes up. Fiddling with the gimmicky ‘DNA’ system improves things a bit but hardens the suspension too much. I could use the enormous paddles, but I don’t; horrid things.
Dashboard lights that flash no more.
Tear yourself away from the noise-based nostalgia and the Stelvio is a delight on the road. The Giulia fundamentals mean body roll is limited and that 4wd grip combines nicely with the diesel’s grunt to give a drive that does stir some memories. Even the dials, set deep in chrome-lined cowlings, remind you of Alfa dashboards of old – but without the Christmas tree of warning lights that so often decorated the one on my own Sud.
Banks of flashing warning lights: for many, sadly, that, and early MOT failures for tinworm, is still what Alfa is known for. But as every year goes by, the Alfa cliché of rust and unreliability fades into the distance, helped by huge improvements in quality and a run of new models that really catch the eye. The Stelvio may only be a recent addition but it will go a long way in boosting Alfa Romeo’s image.
Don't let game fester in the freezer - Philippa Davis' grouse stroganoff doesn't let anything go to waste. Use the meat for supper, and carcass for stock
Don't let anything go to waste - use the meat for supper and carcass for stock.
Philippa Davis’ grouse stroganoff gets leftover game out of the freezer and onto the table. If you don’t have any grouse left, partridge or pheasant work just as well. Remember, the meat on two grouse or two partridge is the equivalent of one pheasant.
Stave off the post-season blues with game suppers from the freezer. The Field has plenty of inspiration. Our pheasant Keralan curry makes a warming, weekday supper. Or try partridge hot pot and forget about the sides – it’s a meal in itself.
GROUSE STROGANOFF
When making grouse stock only simmer the carcass for 30 minutes, then strain and reduce to intensify the flavour, otherwise you get
a bitter result.
Serves 4
4 grouse, skin removed, breasts and leg meat taken off the bone and cut into the strips
4 tsp plain flour
1 tsp paprika, plus a little extra for serving
2 tbsp olive oil
250g shallots, peeled and finely sliced
200g button mushrooms, chopped in half
50g butter
4 tsp Dijon mustard
4 dsp brandy
400ml grouse stock
4 tsp sour cream
1 heaped tbsp finely chopped parsley
In a bowl, season the grouse and mix with the flour and paprika.
In a pan on a medium heat sauté the shallots in the olive oil until soft. Add the mushrooms, season, then cook until they are just soft. Scrape the pan out into a bowl.
Place the pan back on the heat, add the butter and fry the seasoned grouse with all the flour until browned.
Return the shallot mix back to the pan and add the Dijon, brandy and grouse stock, then season.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes, then take off the heat and stir in the sour cream and most of the parsley.
Serve straight away with a sprinkle of paprika and the extra parsley on top. Delicious with rice or pasta like tagliatelle.
The drive for low prices and uniformity has resulted in the closure of numerous butcher’s shops and local abattoirs. Tim Field reports on the current situation – and how to improve it
In 1971 there were around 1,900 red meat abattoirs and today there are just 249.
Huge pressure for low prices and uniformity, alongside bureaucracy, has seen the close of many local butchers and abattoirs. Tim Field considers how the current situation could be improved – for the farmers, high street and consumers’ gain.
The butcher is a local focal point for any market town or high street. On sussing a new territory, I am always drawn to scope out the butcher. Why go to this trouble? Quite simply, if I wanted some consistently average, nondescript animal protein I’d go to a supermarket; for a cut of meat with interest and flavour, I go to a local butcher. It presents the opportunity for discussion on breeds, aging process, curing recipes, unusual cuts and a bonus shinbone for the dog. Unless buying direct from the farm, this level of provenance is unique to a good butcher’s counter.
Unfortunately, the industry claims that of the 15,000 UK butchers around in 1990, just 6,000 were still in existence by 2015. With shifting consumer habits, cooking a cut of meat in the home is on the demise and ready meals, dining out and falling red meat consumption have taken their toll. And when we do buy, the convenience of supermarkets is overwhelming. Thankfully, there is cause for optimism as farmshops and farmers’ markets are on the rise, with the latter doubling in the past decade and farmshops increasing threefold. However, they still only account for 4,000 outlets.
Whether it’s a good local butcher, farmers’ market, farmshop or maybe you are a family that fills a freezer with your own or a friend’s animal, there is a common link: a reliable abattoir. But like butchers, the rapid rate of closing is of great concern. A third have
disappeared in the past decade. According to the Sustainable Food Trust, in 1971 there were around 1,900 red meat abattoirs and today there are just 249. They are getting fewer in number but larger in size; the small, local abattoirs are disappearing.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ABATTOIR
Having grown up with a small abattoir in the village and now working in a food enterprise that runs one on-farm, I understand the critical role they play to provide provenance to quality meat. For a small farm, farmshop or direct-selling enterprise that sends a handful of animals but wants to take back a carcass, going through a large abattoir is virtually impossible – it is not worth risking interruptions to a valuable contract with a demanding supermarket chain. And those wanting to retain their own offal are presented with an even greater challenge.
Quite rightly so, there is a huge pressure to handle and slaughter livestock humanely and hygienically, which involves highly skilled operatives and an on-site vet. Lairage and handling should work to keep animals calm, whilst facilities need to tick requirements for the high-risk food environments of temperature control, segregation and waste. Add the bureaucracy of livestock passports and movement papers, the operating and human capital required is considerable.
The bureaucracy contributed to the demise of Laverstoke Park Farm abattoir in Hampshire. The challenges were apparent in 2015 when it declined to take small numbers of animals from single holdings due to the disproportionately high burden of paperwork. There is no doubt the centralisation of supply chains and efficiency of larger abattoirs has contributed to cheaper meat, but the increasing dominance of supermarkets has caused low and even negative profitability in the sector.
The large-scale abattoir and supermarket drive for uniformity with an over-simplified carcass grading classification does not help farms producing heritage breeds, organic, grass-fed or free-range with local provenance. A long trip to an abattoir with a few animals, only to undersell the true value of the carcass’s worth, is a double hit on the farm. And when the true cost of high quality is added to the other challenges faced by independent high street retailers, the price at a butcher’s counter makes it hard to compete with supermarkets.
The best butchers and small abattoirs survive but there are plenty of voids across the country to be filled. At Daylesford we are fortunate to have reached a critical scale of customers and livestock numbers to justify an on-farm abattoir, but that is a rare situation. For others hoping to strengthen the supply chain for local farms, abattoirs and quality meat, the Sustainable Food Trust is calling for UK legislation to follow the precedent of other European countries, New Zealand and North America, which embrace the concept of mobile abattoirs. With a bit more progressive policy, farmers, the high street and discerning consumers are all set to gain.
A working vet, Gillian Taylor was introduced to fieldsports by the Pony Club. Now a shoot regular, through the pastime she supports the WPA
Gillian Taylor, a working vet, now assists with fundraising for the World Pheasant Association.
Gillian Taylor, a working vet, was introduced to fieldsports by the Pony Club as a child, and took up clay-shooting in her thirties. Now a shoot regular, she has taken on all aspects of the shoot – from beating to acting as secretary – and is also on the fundraising committee for the World Pheasant Association.
For more sporting Dianas, seriously sporting ladies offering advice and encouragement, Louise Farmer hopes to inspire the next generation as a regional officer at BASC. And Clare Mills co-founded Anglian Muzzle Loaders to share her passion for powder.
GILLIAN TAYLOR
I come from a non-fieldsports background but when my family moved to Eskdale Green in Cumberland I learnt to ride. Most of my youthful weekends were spent at a local farm riding their ponies and backing youngsters. I attended a couple of West Cumberland Pony Club meets and have vivid memories of trying not to overtake the person wearing the red coat. Our local fell pack was the Eskdale & Ennerdale, which I followed and sent in the occasional report to Horse & Hound.
Watching the farmer’s sons prepare deer carcasses may have been what prompted my interest in becoming a vet. Whilst at university in Liverpool I dabbled with .22 rifle shooting but my main sports were badminton and Vets Mixed Hockey (a fieldsport in its own right). As a student, getting cattle practice with friends near Waberthwaite, I dabbled with fly fishing for brown trout on the River Esk and often chatted to Hugh Falkus, who would pop round for tea.
In my thirties I took up clay shooting, deciding my knees needed a break from competitive badminton. Attending a small corporate day with my husband, Paul, and seeing the clays turned into powder had me hooked straightaway. I have always shot 12-bore, feeling happy with the weight and feel of this calibre. Starting with a Miroku skeet gun I progressed to my current Browning 525. It has served me well for both clays and game – and, on a girlie note, it has a lovely walnut stock and beautiful engraving, so what not to like?
When we moved to rural Hampshire in the mid-1990s, Paul bought a day’s game shooting at a local auction of promises for me. The donor was so surprised that it was for a lady that the words ‘Annie Oakley’ were used. The bid was honoured and I had a fantastic first day out, never to be forgotten.
Soon after that I replied to an advert in our local shop window for a beater at a nearby shoot. The gentleman answering the call sounded a little perplexed at a female enquiry but agreed to interview me at a neutral venue, a pub car park. Choosing my clothing carefully (my oldest wax jacket), I also took along our greyhound, who thought she was a lurcher. Fly and I both passed the test and became regulars on the shoot. For a sighthound she had an excellent nose and would find birds in deep cover, but they had to be quick off the mark. Later I became a half gun at that woodland shoot and have many happy memories of my time there.
She became hooked after a corporate, clay-shooting day.
I am under no illusion that my profession has helped enormously in my fieldsports endeavours as a female. Being a working dog-friendly vet – whether that be lurchers, terriers or gundogs – has given me both a wide network of contacts and credibility.
Through a client I was invited to join a ‘working man’ DIY shoot. This involved work parties to prepare pens, feeding of the birds on a rota system and shoot days where you stood and beat on alternate drives. At that time, as the only lady in the group, I tended to oversee disinfection, health and safety paperwork and later became secretary. It was a learning curve but allowed me to see all aspects of keepering and shoot management. This has stood me in good stead over the years as a gun. Comprehension of how shoots work and how this relates to shoot safety has also been helpful now I am a qualified loader. I am certified and have been given some opportunities this season. I hope to get more work in the future but know it will take time to become trusted as a reliable team member.
Training my black labs to work at shoots is so satisfying. I attended a local shoot as a regular ‘hobbyist’ with Ghillie, my first lab, and this season I have been beating at three shoots, loading at another two and had about a dozen days shooting. These have ranged from walked-up days – the pressure of the one bird over your head scenario – to amazing driven days in stunning countryside.
For me, any day, in whatever role I am assuming, is about the company and countryside. People make the day and we should all remember not to take that for granted. I am also involved with the fundraising committee of the World Pheasant Association – The Field is one of our regular supporters. As a relatively small conservation charity the annual shoot and auction is one of our key fundraisers. Our work ranges from education and conservation in Nepal to black grouse projects in the UK and preservation of the black-necked pheasant in Greece.
TOP TIPS:Make sure your dog is warm and watered during the shoot lunch. If loading, have spare sunglasses with you. When beating, don’t ‘borrow’ the flags. Always be courteous, it’s a small world. What happens on a shoot stays on the shoot. If a guest why not donate a sum to charity in lieu of birds shot?
To take your dog into a public place it must be properly attired, writes David Tomlinson, looking at the latest options in canine neckwear
Dogs are required by law to wear a collar with identity tag when being exercised in public.
It is a legal requirement for dogs in public places to wear a collar, with the name and address of their owner. David Tomlinson considers the best gundog collars.
There’s one law that I suspect most owners of sporting dogs have broken on numerous occasions, and that’s the legal requirement for a dog in a public place to wear a collar with the name and address of its owner engraved or written on it, or engraved on a tag. A telephone number is not required but is advised. Failure to so equip your dog can leave you liable to a fine of up to £5,000, although I would be astonished if anyone has ever been charged such a sum.
Like all good laws, there are exceptions. Emergency rescue dogs and registered guide dogs are exempt, as are dogs being used by a member of HM Armed Forces, the police or HM Customs and Excise. Sheep and cattle dogs are allowed to work without a collar, and so are hounds and gundogs. However, do note that gundogs can only go collarless when they are actually working; if you take your dog for a stroll across the common, or even into the pub, it should be collared and tagged.
There’s a good reason why working dogs are exempt from wearing a collar and that is, of course, the risk of them getting caught or hung up while working in thick cover or even navigating their way over or through a fence. I have seen many working gundogs wearing collars over the years but never yet seen a dog get trapped by one, although it clearly can happen.
There is a common misconception that a microchipped dog doesn’t need a collar. Since April 2016, all puppies have to be microchipped before they are eight weeks old and the onus is then on a dog’s new owner to update the information to the relevant database, of which there are several. Microchipping is a great advance but it isn’t 100% reliable. Chips can migrate and so be difficult or impossible to read, while specialist equipment is needed to read them. This is a case where old technology scores over new. A lost dog wearing a collar and tag is easy to return to its owner.
I’ve been fortunate enough to have never lost a dog, and for years I was lax about insisting that my dogs wore collars when being exercised. Like most gundog owners, I’ve always used rope-slip leads, so there was no need for a collar to clip the lead to. What made me change my unlawful ways was a wayward spaniel that on a couple of occasions ran off while on a walk (she was pursued and eventually retrieved) and another spaniel that became deaf, so was prone to heading off in the wrong direction.
THE BEST COLLARS AND TAGS FOR GUNDOGS
Twelve years ago I invested in a pair of top-quality, bridle-leather collars for my spaniels. Bridle leather may cost more but it repays in the long run. These collars have been remarkably durable and are just as good today as when I bought them, though they have been cleaned regularly with saddle soap, the secret to such longevity. The dogs now wear them all the time unless they are working.
There are numerous makers of dog collars, as I discovered when looking for one for my sprocker, Emma. Her nylon puppy collar was due for replacement but she needed a smaller size than the springer collars I have. After a great deal of research I eventually bought her a pair of collars (one round, one flat) from Bellman and Flint, having seen the company’s advertisement in The Field. Very smart they are, too.
Conventional round engraved tags that attach to the collar with a metal ring may be cheap and cheerful, but they have a remarkable ability to wear through and get lost, so you can all too easily end up with a collared dog without identity. The best solution I’ve come across is the Indigo Collar Tag. These are indestructible engraved metal tags that slide onto the collar. They don’t rattle, can’t fall off, don’t rust and the engraving doesn’t fade. Like the collars, mine have lasted 12 years and still look as good as new. Indigo Collar Tags are guaranteed for the life of the dog, but they should last much longer: mine are now on the next generation of dogs.
A relatively new development in the canine world is the tracker collar, using a GPS system so you can see from a map on your smartphone or computer exactly where your dog is. If you’ve got a well-trained dog with good recall this is something you don’t need, but if you have a dog that likes to hunt in the next county it’s a useful piece of kit. It also has practical uses in the sporting field. Many falconers use tracker collars on their dogs so they can locate the dog quickly when it is on point. It’s also invaluable with dogs used to find wounded or shot deer.
The cost of GPS tracker systems are relatively modest, starting at around £50, plus subscription fees – the GPS requires a mobile network to send the location of your dog to your smartphone. These fees vary, but expect to pay around £50 a year. The only drawback to the system is areas with poor mobile coverage. I once encountered a couple who had lost their tracked (rescue) dog, but as there was no mobile signal they were frustratingly unable to locate it. Modern technology is wonderful, but not infallible.
Outstanding workers, family gundogs, the best and the naughtiest, The Field Gundog Awards judges have now picked the winners. David Tomlinson talks us through the winning entries
This year's winners line up at Burghley Horse Trials, where they were presented with their prizes.
The Field Gundog Awards 2018, kindly sponsored by Skinner’s Pet Foods, was hotly contested, with exemplary retrievers, fine family companions, surprising breeds and wicked gundogs. But after much back and forth, the judges picked nine, very worthy winners and all convened for a highly enjoyable, celebratory lunch at Burghley Horse Trials. David Tomlinson, one of The Field’s judges, talks us through the winning entries.
Do you know a super picker-up worthy of recognition? Perhaps your gundog excels in the family home as well as the field? Or has a single-mindedness that makes them deserving of Naughtiest Gundog? The Field Gundog Awards 2019 are now open and we want to hear from you. Sponsored by Skinner’s Field & Trial, the winners will receive a year’s worth of dog food and an invitation to the Winners’ Lunch at Burghley Horse Trials, where The Field will be holding a gundog demonstration in the main arena. Find all the details here, and to enter email gundogawards@ti-media.com.
THE FIELD GUNDOG AWARDS 2018
You would expect a dog with a name like Newt to be good in the water, but Anthony Sheppard’s three-year-old flatcoat demonstrated extraordinary underwater swimming skills while out shooting in Northamptonshire last December. His amazing retrieve followed an exciting drive, with birds falling in the flooded lakes behind Sheppard’s peg. Newt swam out to retrieve a cock, while his master walked out on the causeway between the two lakes. Suddenly, the dog disappeared under the water, as if sucked under by a giant pike.
Edward the lab, a puissance specialist, during the gundog demonstration.
Then, Sheppard reports, “there was splashing from behind me on the other side of the causeway and to my total amazement he bounced up to the surface like a cork out of a champagne bottle still with the cock pheasant in his mouth but looking very bewildered”. His bewilderment was understandable, as he had been sucked through a 3ft by 50ft pipe that ran under the causeway. Now rechristened The Submarine, Newt’s feat won him the prize for the outstanding retrieve by any breed in The Field’s Gundog Awards, generously sponsored once again by Skinner’s Pet Foods.
This was the second year of the awards, which are now an annual fixture. Though they are for exceptional work by both dogs and handlers, they are aimed at normal dogs, not the super-trained trialling dogs that seldom get the chance to enjoy a proper day’s shooting. I’m one of the judges, so can confirm that selecting winners is often difficult, but Newt’s retrieve stood out in a hotly contested class, eclipsing many brilliant but conventional retrieves.
I was delighted to meet Newt at Burghley Horse Trials in August, when the winners are invited to a prize-giving lunch. He seemed a modest sort of chap, unsure of what all the fuss was about. He was one of a fine but motley assortment of dogs that gathered outside the lunch marquee, ranging from Pepsi the cockapoo (the best dog not to belong to a gundog breed) to Dixie the blind springer (best work by a spaniel during the past season). Having spent hours pondering over the awards, I already felt I knew all the dogs individually.
Adrian and Caroline Slater in the demonstration ring.
Field readers like their spaniels, especially cockers, so the best work by a spaniel category was another section with a strong entry. But rather like Newt with his underwater retrieve, Dixie stood out as a worthy winner by overcoming adversity, having gone blind virtually overnight. In November 2016 she was picking up on a Saturday with her mistress, Vanessa Tate, when it was apparent she was having trouble with her eyes. Diagnosed with acute glaucoma, she had both eyes removed the next day but within a week was back in the beating line. She worked all of last season, too, prompting Tate to remark, “never give up on your dog as they will never give up on you”. What was delightful was to find that Dixie was clearly a happy dog in wonderful condition.
A STRONGLY CONTESTED CATEGORY: BEST FAMILY GUNDOG
While some winners simply jump out at you (if you will excuse the pun), others are not so obvious, invariably because the standard of competition is so high. Though many of us claim to have working gundogs, the truth is that most are part-timers, for though they may work hard during the shooting season they spend much of the year being a family pet. Thus it’s hardly surprising that the Best Family Gundog award attracts numerous entries, and this year it was the category I found hardest to judge, such was the strength in depth of the contestants. Here several labradors and spaniels and even a spinone reached the short list, but the deserving winner was Remi the cocker spaniel, owned by Laura Croft.
Laura Croft met her partner, Martyn Long, through Best Family Gundog Remi.
Remi not only helped her owner cope with the stress of a family breakdown but was responsible for bringing together a new family – it was through Remi that Croft met her partner, Martyn Long, at the Thoresby Game Fair. In her first season she proved to be an excellent picking-up dog, and she has also introduced Croft’s four-year-old daughter, Georgia, to the delights of country sports. As she is also a keen sofa dog, always ready for a cuddle, she certainly qualifies as a top family dog.
Laura Wolfenden has been married to a grouse-moor keeper for three years but when she announced to her husband that she wanted to get a gundog of her own to work on shoot days, he recommended something easy like a retriever. I’m not sure what he said when a Hungarian wirehaired vizsla puppy appeared, but any doubts must have long since evaporated as Dora (nickname Dora the Moorland Explorer) has proved an outstanding success and, in her mistress’s words, “an absolute joy to work and learn with”. The duo won the award for outstanding work by any pointing breed during the 2017-18 season, not only picking grouse and tracking wounded foxes but returning the day after a shoot to look for a snipe and finding it straight away.
Judges Jonathan Young and William Delamore with Laura Wolfdenden, owner of vizsla Dora.
Dora has proved to have beauty as well as brains, coming second in the Hungarian Wire-Haired Vizsla Club of Great Britain’s breed show, winning her entry into the Kennel Club’s stud book and qualifying for Crufts for life. However, perhaps most important of all, Wolfenden reports, “that my husband has actually started listening to me a little bit when it comes to dogs, which I’m sure any gamekeeper’s wife will agree is nothing short of a miracle”.
RARE BREEDS AND TREND SETTERS
Have you ever heard of an épagneul de Pont-Audemer? I had, but only because I have a book of French gundogs, but until Burghley I’d never met one. It was Laura, Larry Wilks’s épagneul bitch, who won the award for outstanding work by a rare breed. There was certainly no disputing Laura’s rarity (the épagneul de Pont-Audemer is little known even in France), but there was no question that she could perform, too, despite being a Christmas present who wasn’t destined originally to be a gundog. Her training went well and “it became apparent she had an exceptional nose and a willingness to work”, but the ultimate test of her ability was a trip to Brittany, to Château Val, where she impressed everyone by pointing and retrieving Reeves’s pheasants. The local Chef de Chasse was so taken with her that he offered to buy her on the spot.
Rare Breed winner Laura, an épagneul de Pont-Audemer.
According to Paul Cumming of the Common Leys Shooting School, who has shot over Laura, “she is only a small package but huge spirit and a willingness only found in the happiest of dogs”. Larry Wilks and his wife, Brenda, have been so pleased with her that they have imported a brother to Laura, but from another litter. Who knows, perhaps Laura is a trendsetter and the épagneul de Pont-Audemer will become established as a working breed in the UK.
Many of us, I suspect, could make a good case for our own dog winning the naughtiest dog award, but this is the trickiest class of all to judge. There are hundreds of untrained dogs that you might think could be worthy winners, but being naughty is not the same as badly trained. The winner, Trigger the fox-red labrador owned by Polly Mazzarella, is a dog who knows how to behave and what to do. However, his enthusiasm to retrieve the same manky rabbit repeatedly showed a single-minded determination never to leave game behind, even though he did have to ignore the instructions from his mistress because he was convinced that he was right. Trigger is the first dog that Mazzarella has owned, let alone trained: she admits that they have learnt a lot together.
Pepsi the cockerpoo, best gundog that isn’t a gundog breed.
In contrast to Trigger, Pepsi the cockerpoo hasn’t had any formal gundog tuition. According to her owner and handler, Jools Bolton, she has “learnt her trade from our old black lab without any training at all”. She has clearly learnt well, as she is now a regular picker-up on the Underley Estate, Kirby Lonsdale, where Bolton’s husband, Stephen Rogers, is a member of the shooting syndicate. There were, not surprisingly, raised eyebrows on the shoot when Pepsi first appeared but she’s now “everyone’s favourite gundog and is often called on to find the elusive runner at the end of a drive”. Apparently she usually comes up trumps, which helps explain why she won the award for the best gundog that doesn’t belong to a gundog breed.
A HUMAN WINNER AND THE BIGGEST ENTRY OF ALL
There is only one category for a human rather than a canine winner, and that is for the picker-up of the year, won in 2018 by Peter Smith. He dispels the myth that to be a top picker-up you have to have half-a-dozen sleek black labradors walking at heel: Smith is a spaniel man, working with his springer, Bella, and a friend’s cocker, Hope, who he trained. It’s not just the picking up he excels at but, according to James Mulleneux, on whose Sussex shoot he works, “it’s a pleasure to have a picker-up on our shoot who can identify all the bird songs and calls, and can tell us that the elusive bird calling in the woods is a bullfinch, or the distant sad song is a mistle thrush. It all adds up to the pleasure of a shoot day at Holbeam Wood. We can’t imagine a better picker-up.”
The Editor with Best Amateur Picker-up Peter Smith and William Delamore of Skinner’s.
Last comes the category with the biggest entry (more than 300): the Gundog Photograph of the Year, though by the time it came to judging the entry had been whittled down to six magnificent finalists. Five of the six were beautiful portraits of proper working gundogs and it was difficult simply to judge the quality of the photograph, not to opt for the most handsome dog. But it was Francesca
Allen’s photograph of her springer, Paddy, bringing back a cock pheasant that was the winner. Crisp and tightly composed, it’s a cracking photograph but not a simple one to take: great retrieving photographs require skill, patience and just a little luck. It’s a shot I would have loved to have taken.
Adrian Slater hosting The Field’s gundog demonstration in the main ring.
Full details of next year’s awards can be found at this link, so keep an eye out for the outstanding retrieve, the most impressive spaniel or even the naughtiest dog, and don’t hesitate to nominate them. The winner of each class receives a bottle of Pol Roger champagne and a year’s supply of dog food, courtesy of Skinner’s, plus an invitation to one of the most enjoyable lunches of the year. Go on, have a go.
With the arrival of spring, it's time for lighter dishes and fresh flavours. Philippa Davis' portuguese-style mussel stew with watercress, garlic, white wine and coriander makes for the perfect early spring supper
Fish stews are perfect for when spring has not quite sprung.
It’s time to move away from hearty, meat feasts and embrace lighter suppers and fresh flavours. Philippa Davis’ portuguese-style mussel stew with watercress, garlic, white wine and coriander brings spring ingredients into the kitchen, but is warming enough for those chilly days. The hot and peppery watercress livens up the dish, while the garlic, coriander and wine give depth.
PORTUGUESE-STYLE MUSSEL STEW WITH WATERCRESS, GARLIC, WHITE WINE AND CORIANDER
Fish stews are one of my favourite early spring suppers. They are lighter than the hearty, meaty, winter versions but can still have lots of bold flavours and provide the right level of comfort and satisfaction until the weather properly warms up. The watercress adds a bright, clean flavour while the boldness of the garlic, coriander and wine give it depth.
Serves 2
2 tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, peeled and thinly sliced
8 large cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed with the back of a knife
2 red peppers, deseeded and each chopped into eight
150ml dry white wine
2 medium potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into six
4 bay leaves
400g tin chopped tomatoes
2kg mussels, cleaned
50g watercress, roughly chopped
In a large saucepan, gently sauté the onion, garlic, chopped coriander stalks, jamon and peppers in the olive oil with some seasoning until softened, about 15 minutes.
Add the wine, potatoes, bay leaves and chopped tomatoes. Rinse the can out with cold water and add this to the pan, too.
Season and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are just soft, stirring often.
Check the seasoning then add the mussels and cover with a lid.
Cook for about 5 minutes or until the mussels have opened, then stir in the watercress.
Bridget Lansley explains to Janet Menzies why she has put the people back into paintings of shoot days
Following the Gun Cart.
Despite the importance of people to a shoot day, the guns, beaters and pickers-up are rarely featured in our sporting art. Bridget Lansley tells Janet Menzies why she is putting people back into her shoot day paintings.
For more sporting artists, the greats would approve of Sophie Harden, who is inspired by her days out with the Pytchley. And the sculptures by Tom Hill are made by sport, for sport.
BRIDGET LANSLEY
Traditional sporting art, hanging little noticed on the wall as you eat your shoot lunch, relies heavily on depicting the quarry. Grouse burst out of the canvas towards an unseen gun in his butt. Partridges nestle under a hedgerow. Pheasants wing their way up into a frosted blue sky. Given that there are at least a dozen friends sitting round the table with me, and another 20 or so eating pasties in the beaters’ room, it leads me to wonder where the people are in these paintings?
Going to the Third.
They are in Bridget Lansley’s paintings, that’s where. Lansley’s 21st-century shooting paintings actually depict a shooting day rather than what people are shooting at. The only birds you see are dangling from the hand of a picker-up. Instead, there is a flood of recognition as you look at the backs of two guns walking ahead of you to the next drive, deep in conversation and shoulder-to-shoulder. Beyond is the hill, vibrating in colour that is really, surprisingly, there when you raise your eyes.
Lansley explains how this came about: “For my partner’s birthday I copied a photograph that I had taken in the shooting field – I don’t normally copy photographs but this was him and his son and so I did the painting and he loved it, and he said do some more. I did another one and took it to the framer and a woman walked in and bought it straight away to give to her husband. So that’s how it started. Since then I have sold masses – they just go. I think what people in the shooting world like is that they can relate to these paintings. They love that it is from behind, which is how you always are on a shoot day. And then you get the landscape and the terrain beyond and people really identify with it.”
Bridget Lansley. Queue Here.
Her pastel colour palette is equally important. “I carry the images in my head and when I start a shooting painting I think of the shape of the people and the composition, and gradually it evolves. But the harmony of the colour is most important: if that goes wrong the whole thing is awful. When I started I was not really conscious of deliberately taking a different point of view but I love landscapes and then I wanted to put people in the landscape.”
THE HEYDAY OF SHOOTING AND HUNTING
The Victorians and Edwardians in the heyday of shooting and hunting weren’t interested in people at all. Instead, they had an almost psychopathic obsession with numbers – how many brace in the bag; how many miles in the ‘point’ of the fox’s run – that contributed much to the public antipathy towards these sports in the next generation. This is reflected in their art, with notorious paintings such as The Monarch of the Glen showing a stag and, for today’s eyes, an unseen and unspoken backdrop of the humans displaced in favour of red deer. Lansley’s empathetic work puts people right back in the foreground of sport, depicting the whole experience of a shooting day: the camaraderie, the beauty of the scenery, the connection between humans and their environment. She has a modern sensibility that is true to shooting as we experience it today. Her titles complete the story told by each painting: Across the Moors; Turn for Home; Following the Gun Cart. “The titles are important to me,” explains Lansley. “I feel it brings the painting to life and it helps people relate to the work, so it’s part of the painting.”
Now Lansley plans to take her work beyond the shoot and inside to the dining table. “A friend commissioned me to do a dining scene and I found this really interesting so I am thinking of doing more of these. The dining table is a wonderful opportunity to observe people interacting with each other – across that space that is the table.”
The Start of the Season.
Investigating space is important to Lansley’s work. She trained as a still-life painter with Robin Child. “We painted bottles and chairs, and you are told to look at the spaces in between. As an artist that is what I do, and more than that I am interested in the spaces in between in life.”
So it is no coincidence that much of her work captures ‘in-between’ moments: walking between drives; watching a dog on a retrieve; waiting for the start of the next race. These are not the grand scenes of pheasant flushes and winning posts, but a much more intimate narrative of our sporting life. This must surely be the right story to tell people about country sports today.
Bridget Lansley will be holding a solo exhibition later this year at Cricket Fine Art of Chelsea and Hungerford, visit: www.cricketfineart.co.uk. Her work is widely available in galleries and through her website: www.bridgetlansley.com
Make use of spring's pink stems with Philippa Davis' rhubarb, ginger and fennel strudel
Rhubarb adds tartness and a herbaceous sweetness, together with the fennel seed.
Pink stems are just one of the signs that spring is on its way. You can’t go wrong with a rhubarb pud at this time of year. Philippa Davis’ rhubarb, ginger and fennel strudel is ideal for a spring supper party.
For more inspiration on how to use your pink stems, try our chocolate and rhubarb brownies – a favourite sweet treat guaranteed to please a crowd. Or you can’t go wrong with a rhubarb crumble.
RHUBARB, GINGER AND FENNEL STRUDEL
Rhubarb is a vegetable and is in the same family as sorrel. The aromatic flavour of the fennel seed works really well with the tartness of the rhubarb and adds a herbaceous sweetness.
Serves 8
Filling
350g rhubarb, cut into 2cm pieces
2 apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp lightly crushed fennel seeds
100g demerara
60g breadcrumbs
30g ground almonds
1 tbsp cornflour
Casing
80g melted butter
4-5tsp demerara sugar
5 sheets filo pastry
1 tsp ground fennel seeds
Icing sugar to serve
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
In a bowl, toss together the filling ingredients.
Line a flat baking sheet with non-stick paper.
Brush one sheet of pastry with melted butter and sprinkle with a tablespoon of sugar.
Lay the next pastry sheet on top and brush with more butter and a sprinkle more sugar. Repeat until you have used up all the filo.
Form a log of the filling along one of the long edges, leaving a gap of about 4cm from both short ends.
Tuck the two short ends just over the filling then roll the strudel up, resting it seam side down on the baking tray.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle the top with a little demerara sugar and the crushed fennel seeds.
Bake for 45 minutes on the middle shelf of the oven.
Leave for 10 minutes before dusting with icing sugar.
Not another two-wheel drive claiming to be an SUV, sniffs Charlie Flindt, who is then surprised to find he’s reluctant to hand the Honda HR-V back
The HR-V looks fantastic.
Charlie Flindt is prepared to roll his eyes at another two-wheel drive posturing as an SUV. But when the time comes to return the Honda HR-V, he finds he has become rather attached to it.
For more motoring reviews, the Alfa Romeo Stelvio is an SUV that was worth the wait.
HONDA HR-V 1.6 I-DTEC EX
As is usual when presented with something claiming to be an ‘SUV’ with only two-wheel-drive, I was rather sniffy about the Honda HR-V, dismissing it as nothing more than yet another oversized five-door hatchback. And, Lord knows, we’ve got enough of them floating around.
It wasn’t long, however, before the little Honda began to grow on me. For a start, it looks fantastic – especially in lovely dark blue – with clever curves, a total lack of bling (except on the front grille) and stylish hidden rear door handles. Probably best not to mention which writer/farmer’s wife found the rear door handles just a little too hidden – I’d get a smack round the head. And because it is indeed an oversized five-door hatchback, it’s immensely practical. It’s easy to get in and out, interior room is vast and the boot is huge, too. Honda is keen on its ‘Magic Seat’ system in the back, which is a fancy name for a seat that flips and folds like a deckchair in a Carry On film, but does give all sorts of extra luggage-carrying options.
The engine pulls strongly from low revs.
It was a bit of a shock to find the controls less than perfect; it is a Honda, after all. Yes, the gear change was short and snappy but the steering was pretty stiff (not good for someone anticipating a shoulder operation now the shooting season has finished) and the clutch travel was long and fairly chunky, too.
The 1.6-litre diesel is good, however, and in a thoroughly old-fashioned way, pulling strongly from low revs and, once the cold clatter had gone, making a fantastic noise in the mid-range. Fifth and six gears seemed ridiculously long, and often I’d done most of a non-motorway journey in fourth before I realised – and that in itself is a sign of how quiet the warmed-up diesel was. Still, it all helps to minimise the use of that heavy clutch and promises useful economy – if you remember to keep changing up.
If you like driving tech, then you’ll love the HR-V as it comes with all the latest driving aids, some easier to understand than others. The creepy one is the one that links speed-limit signs to the car’s inbuilt speed limiter. Voluntary, for now, of course, but a glimpse of the future, folks.
Less than perfect controls.
No-one could describe the HR-V’s driving characteristics as a hoot, with softish suspension and a high-ish centre of gravity, but it’s practical and sensible, with just enough vim to eliminate boredom. If you’ve bought it expecting a Type R or an S2000, you’ll be disappointed.
As I started clearing out the clutter to send it back, I realised how fond of the HR-V I had grown. But old habits die hard: I couldn’t help thinking how handy it would be to have it in four-wheel drive – available elsewhere in the world, but Honda has chosen not to make it available in the UK. What a great little countryside runabout it would make – as well as elevating the HR-V from the 2wd pack. There I go again, getting all sniffy.
Tim Maddams shares his favourite wild food recipes for the Country Food Trust, who create long life, game ready meals for food banks and are now keen to get fresh and frozen game into charity kitchens
Spicy partridge 'cowboy' beans and garlic crust, by Tim Maddams for the Country Food Trust.
Try these super Country Food Trust recipes to serve wild game for supper, created by Tim Maddams for the charity feeding people in need with game. The spicy partridge ‘cowboy’ beans and garlic crust are guaranteed to impress, while the quick pheasant and broccoli pasta is the perfect midweek supper.
The Country Food Trust was set up to ensure everyone, regardless of economic circumstance, has access to a balanced and nutritious diet, by feeding people living in poverty using countryside produce. Their aim is to feed 1 million people in food poverty in their first five years. To find out more about the Country Food Trust’s super work, and to donate today, visit their website.
THE COUNTRY FOOD TRUST RECIPES, BY TIM MADDAMS
I have been involved with shooting almost as long as I have been involved with food. Both are a fascination but food comes a close first for my attentions – and wild food is a passion. This month we will be reaping the bounty of spring’s wild greens – wild garlic, sorrel, alexanders, sea beet and more.
Shooting, stalking and fishing are a natural extension to foraging for me, so rabbit, rook, venison and pigeon will be making an appearance on the menu as soon as I get all that leftover game out of the freezer (I like to capitalise on the glut of pheasants during the season). Excess gamebirds should never be an issue but as the sport grows and the market for some shot game takes its time to catch up, there is the consideration of potential waste lurking in the background. It is never right to waste food and certainly not with so many people in need of a meal.
The Country Food Trust has been feeding people in need with its delicious, game-based meals for years. As well as creating long-life ready meals for food banks it is keen to get charity kitchens using fresh or frozen game. To that end it has teamed up with a host of well-known chefs who have come up with tasty, simple recipes that anyone can make from the kind of ingredients likely to be on hand in a charity kitchen. The brilliant James Murphy has donated his time and that of his staff and studio to create the images, some shown here. Enjoy the wild harvest and the places it will take you this year – I know I will.
SPICY PARTRIDGE ‘COWBOY’ BEANS & GARLIC CRUST
Serves 4
8 partridge breasts, thickly sliced or diced, or 350g diced partridge/pheasant
2 tins baked beans or cooked beans or chickpeas
1 dsp treacle
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp ground allspice
1 tsp each of ground coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper
1 dsp smoked paprika
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 small tin chopped tomatoes
8 slices of bread, well spread with garlic butter
In a large casserole, heat the beans and add the rest of the ingredients bar the partridge.
Cook at a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the partridge.
Top the mixture with slices of garlic-buttered bread and bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes.
QUICK PHEASANT AND BROCCOLI PASTA
This quick pheasant and broccoli pasta is the perfect, midweek supper.
Serves 2
250g minced pheasant meat
100ml olive oil
1 head broccoli, stem finely sliced, florets roughly chopped (other greens can easily be substituted, cabbage, chard, courgette, spinach, and so on)
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 large onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 tsp dried mixed herbs
500g dried pasta
Salt
Grated cheese to serve
Allow the pheasant meat to come to room temperature for half an hour or so.
Place a large pan of salted water to boil on the stove.
In a large saucepan, warm the olive oil and begin to sweat the broccoli stalks, chilli, onion, garlic and herbs in the oil.
Once the broccoli stems and onion have softened a little, turn up the heat and add the pheasant meat and tender broccoli florets.
Cook the pasta in the salted water.
After the pheasant mince and florets have cooked turn the heat off and add a ladle of water from the cooking pasta pan.
Once the pasta is ready drain it and add it to the pheasant and broccoli mix. Toss well, adding more oil if it looks dry and a squeeze of lemon, grated lemon zest and chopped parsley if available.
In the kitchen, there is definitely nothing humble about the pigeon. Ewan Davy speaks to top chefs about how they are getting their favourite meat back onto diners' plates
While many readers will harvest their own pigeon, dressed birds and breast fillets can be bought online.
The pigeon is far from humble in the kitchen. Sustainable, inexpensive, lean and, above all, delicious, Ewan Davy speaks to top chefs about why we absolutely must cook pigeon this spring.
Long a favourite among the ancient Egyptians – both as a carrier of vital messages and as a meal – the humble pigeon can be found in art dating as far back as 2,900BC. From the Middle Ages, the dovecote became a common sight in mainland Europe; an outbuilding on estates, considered by their owners to be a ‘living pantry’. In harder times, pigeon, alongside rabbit, was a staple. Today, the woodpigeon can be found throughout the UK. A scourge to farmers but loved by many sportsmen, it has a mixed reputation – though not on the plate. Taste-wise, many consider it one of our finest ‘gamebirds’ and it can be found on many exclusive menus.
Opinions are divided on the best time to eat pigeon. Michel Roux Jr, who runs the Michelin-starred Le Gavroche restaurant, believes that although pigeon can be eaten throughout the year, its rich flavour lends itself to the cooler months.
Pigeon can be eaten throughout the year, but are at their best in autumn.
Nick Weston, founder of Hunter Gather Cook, a foraging and cookery school that specialises in game butchery and outdoor cookery, believes that spring is good but autumn is best, when they revert to a much wilder diet.
Michelin-starred chef Michael Caines, who runs the Lympstone Manor overlooking the Exe estuary in Devon, holds that pigeon should be celebrated throughout the year but in different ways. Over the summer months, Caines favours a salad of woodpigeon breast with hazelnuts, mangetout and apple as a starter. At other times of the year he prefers serving pigeon breast with a rosti galette and madeira sauce. In spring, he uses pea purée as an accompaniment, changing this to wild mushrooms and asparagus from late April into mid-June, sweet corn purée at the end of summer and kale cooked down with bacon and garlic in the colder months. He also serves his pigeon pithivier, best described as a pigeon Wellington, where the breast is wrapped in a mousse of mushroom and truffle within puff pastry, which is baked in the oven.
Mike Robinson, who is due to open The Woodsman in Stratford-upon-Avon this month, claims to have cooked more than 170,000 breasts of pigeon in his time, and estimates that he serves in excess of 300 pigeon breasts a week, cooked on a charcoal grill and wood-fired oven. For him, pigeon salad is a favourite, where he sears the breast in a pan with a little butter and oil for 90 seconds on each side, flashes it in the oven for a minute, then deglazes with sherry vinegar until it goes sticky. He rests the breast for two minutes, carves and serves with seared, crumbled black pudding, super-smoky little bacon lardons and crumbled shallots on top.
THE BEST OF SUSTAINABLE GAME
Arguably, woodpigeon represents the best of sustainable game: readily available year-round and in good numbers. It’s lean, inexpensive, rich in iron and is a great source of protein. It’s also quick to cook, dresses beautifully as a starter or a main course, and works beautifully in salads, stews and slow-braised in a game pie.
Many Field readers can, of course, harvest their own pigeon and it’s worth remembering their value. While professional chefs can purchase a breast for around 75p and a carcass for between £1.50 and £2, most game dealers will offer the general public dressed carcasses at around £2.40 to £2.50, and breasts for upwards of 80p.
The Dorset Game Larder currently offers a pack of two dressed pigeon carcasses at £4.90 and a pack of six breasts for £4.95. By comparison, the same dealer offers a dressed pheasant at £3.25 per carcass and charges £4.95 for a pack of four breasts.
Oven ready pigeons. The plump birds become more widely available from September.
The online Wild Meat Company offers boned and stuffed woodpigeon with a choice of gluten-free apricot and walnut or apricot, apple and ginger stuffing at £6.95 per bird, or £5.95 for a pack of four breasts; so it’s worth shopping around. And don’t forget to ask your local butcher, especially from September, when these plump birds become widely available having spent a summer on corn and other cereal crops.
Partly because it’s incredibly good value, but also because it’s tasty and surprisingly diverse, chefs adore pigeon. “Pigeon has something of a poor reputation,” says Caines. “It’s seen as a pest, especially in urban areas and, for many, it’s a meat that has links to tougher times; so there’s a stigma there. It’s our duty to reintroduce woodpigeon to the public; to help diners fall in love with a meat that’s tasty, healthy, sustainable, attractive on the plate and readily available. As chefs, we need to think of increasingly creative ways to tempt the tastebuds, whet the appetite and encourage more diners to fall in love with this wonderful source of protein.”
Michel Roux has long had a love affair with this versatile bird, stretching as far back as his childhood. “My father used to rear squab pigeons,” says Roux. “I grew up as a child in Kent helping him look after them. From a young age I learnt how to pluck and prepare them. I even used to give them names but it never put me off eating them. Pigeon is quite simply one of my favourite meats. I often order it when I eat out and it is regularly on our menus at Le Gavroche. I adore it lightly poached, grilled on the barbecue and accompanied with blackberry and pepper sauce. Sublime!”
WOODPIGEON VS SQUAB
For those chefs who prefer woodpigeon over squab, the diversity of its wild diet, which often includes berries, green crops, seeds, acorns and buds, provides a more complex earthy, woodland taste.
As Roux says: “Woodpigeon has bags of flavour and can be prepared in so many different ways. It can be roasted solo or paired with adventurous accompaniments, such as a lobster salad. As a dark meat it can take strong flavours and pairs well with good wines. It’s ideally suited for pies, pâté or broths.”
Weston, who takes wild game fans on a journey of discovery on his summer courses, treats pigeon as a star of his courses and banquets. “I love the fact that this great wild meat is available all year round,” he says. “It has no closed season and is a fantastic red meat that responds well to a huge range of ingredients. When cooked right, it gives fillet steak a run for its money.”
Many chefs prefer squab to woodpigeon.
For consistency of size and tenderness, squab (young pigeon) wins the day for many chefs. Although Roux wouldn’t be drawn on his personal preference, he does believe that squab is the better for roasting and for special occasions.
Robinson argues that the two are wildly different ingredients: “Squab is a milder, softer ingredient, more like a piece of steak with beautiful fat on it. It’s the difference between a muntjac and fallow deer. I love them both. The squab is stunning; an amazing ingredient – although very expensive.”
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
While you don’t need to be a professional to cook woodpigeon, there are a few tricks worth knowing. For the uninitiated, a simple and delicious approach is to sear the boned breast rapidly for about a minute each side. Left to rest, this will be soft and succulent with the fine grain of a prime steak.
If you are grilling over fire, Weston advises to leave the breasts on the crown to keep them nice and moist. He takes the legs off to confit but goes even further, keeping the heart and livers for snacks and the body for stock.
Michel Roux’s top tip is: “Stick to the classic techniques, and always use butter.”
Caines advises to marinate the legs in a little bit of salt and pepper, tied in bay leaves, and then cook in fat.
Weston advises pairing pigeon with a good Malbec, but he also believes in using strong flavours to make the most of the bird: “Wild horseradish grated straight onto breasts works well, and sorrel is a beautiful, citrusy addition as it cuts nicely through the meat.”
Caines agrees: “As pigeon is a rich, dark meat, robust flavours really work. It’s great with lentils as a main course and it takes spice well – curry spice, in particular. Pigeon is also great for wine selections, especially good red wines; you’ve got a lot of flavours to work with.”
Whatever your personal preference, or indeed your culinary skills, the humble pigeon is quite definitely a surprise package that deserves a second look, so don’t turn down the chance to bag some this spring.
Anastasia Sparrow followed a fashionable start in the US by immersion in country sports in Surrey – and the chance to shoot alongside Team GB
Anastasia Sparrow became immersed in fieldsports after moving to Surrey.
A move to Surrey saw Anastasia Sparrow become completely immersed in fieldsports, hunting with Surrey Union and shooting as a member of a ladies’ syndicate. Now she is thrilled to shoot alongside Team GB in her training for Olympic Trap.
For more sporting Dianas, seriously sporting ladies offering advice and encouragement, working vet Gillian Taylor is raising funds for the World Pheasant Association. And Louise Farmer hopes to inspire the next generation as a regional officer at BASC.
ANASTASIA SPARROW
Wow, how did I get here? Well, I’m proud, I’ve spent 15 years living in this amazing country and now I can say it will be home forever and that I’m British, having taken my nationality oath last spring.
Growing up in Connecticut and New York I enjoyed spending time with my father, a quiet, cool guy who always reminded me of Clint Eastwood. He had a passion for handguns and time with him was shooting at the range and making ammo in the cellar.
At one point I felt inspired to join the New York Police Department as I was always active outdoors and loved law and helping others. As fate would have it, I was scouted and recruited instead by Ford Models in NYC to become a fashion model. I spent the next seven years globe-trotting to Japan, Australia and many other wonderful countries before finally settling down in Los Angeles.
It was here that I met my future husband, a Saudi sheikh from Eastern Province in Dhahran. I spent 10 years there raising three beautiful children. In 1994 we experienced a terrorist attack by al-Qaeda in our neighbourhood, which made us think about the future of our children.
Within a few days we were in Surrey, England, where I was introduced to the pleasures of shotguns and horses.
I hunted with the Surrey Union for five years and it gave me a deep appreciation of what beauty was in my own back fields, neighbouring farms and estates.
My greatest inspirations have been Surrey Union Joint Master and event rider Alice Dunsdon and Lulu Hutley, two of the toughest and bravest women I know.
Being the only lady gun starting out on a rough farm shoot for 10 years gave me roots and I had so much to learn. Since then I have travelled all over the country shooting as a member of a private and respected ladies’ syndicate and enjoyed personal days locally.
She has travelled the country shooting as part of a private and respected ladies’ syndicate.
Snipe are at the top of my list – difficult to find, difficult to shoot. I shot a couple two years ago in a neighbouring field, which sit cased on my dining-room table.
Clothing styles for lady shooters have improved and it is always well received when I look smart in a skirt. I always wear a tie, showing my respect to the sport and in keeping with Ol’ School tradition.
I shoot with my Perazzi 20-bores early in the season on partridges and move on to my Perazzi 12s later on. I’ve shot lots of English Sporting competitions over the past seven years, with moderate success, and in 2018 I was pleased to win the ladies’ Surrey Supreme championship.
In February 2018 I decided to change my discipline to English Skeet. The style and pace can often improve your Sporting targets. After a few months on Skeet I asked my coach, David Dale, about having a go at Olympic Trap. I train most days at the National Clay Shooting Centre at Bisley and all the trap disciplines are there. After a few rounds, David just looked at me and said, “I don’t think you should bother with the England Skeet selection shoots as I see you have a knack for this.” I did persevere with Skeet and even shot the Open, finishing on a 90. However, I was just itching for Olympic Trap.
David put me forward to Chris Dean, one of the top coaches for the GB team and British Shooting Association. Chris’s expertise and personality are what inspires me every day I train. I am fortunate enough to train four or five days a week with competitions on weekends. I am honoured to be able to shoot alongside some of the top GB shooters in training. The likes of Charlotte Hollands, Steve Scott and Peter Wilson are pure inspiration.
Confidence is everything and doubting yourself, I hate to say, creeps in. Training wheels get put back on and you push yourself to get it right. Chris’s mantra to me is, “Working on the process; do it right and you’ll get the reward.”
TOP TIP:Be respectful of the quarry, your host and other guns. Be confident and you will succeed, take advice with a pinch of salt at times and take note of the words of my previous coach, John Heagren: “Trust yourself. I can. I will. Watch me!”
Start to make use of spring ingredients with Philippa Davis' sorrel and spinach malfatti with caramelised butter and parmesan
Malfatti roughly translates as 'badly formed'.
Spring has not quite sprung, but certain ingredients are appearing in the kitchen to signal that it is on its way. Sorrel is a fantastic herb, full of flavour and great for adding freshness and lightness. Philippa Davis’ sorrel and spinach malfatti with caramelised butter and parmesan are guaranteed to impress. Malfatti roughly translates as ‘badly formed’, and hails from the Lombardi region in Italy.
For more inspiration for a spring supper party, our Portuguese-style mussel stew is a lighter option to hearty, winter feasts – yet is still comforting enough for when the temperatures are low.
SORREL AND SPINACH MALFATTI WITH CARAMELISED BUTTER AND PARMESAN
Malfatti, roughly translating as ‘badly formed’, are from the Lombardi region in Italy and are similar to gnocchi. The sour tartness of the sorrel adds a freshness and lightness.
Serves 4
500g spinach
100g sorrel
250g ricotta
100g semolina
60g plain flour
1 egg, lightly beaten
80g grated parmesan, plus a little extra for serving
¼tsp grated nutmeg
Half a lemon
80g butter
Set aside a small handful of spinach leaves then gently wilt the rest with the sorrel in a pan. Leave to drain and cool in a sieve.
Squeeze any excess moisture out of the spinach and sorrel then roughly chop.
In a bowl, mix together the ricotta, 60g of semolina, flour, egg, parmesan, nutmeg and zest from the lemon. Add in the chopped spinach mix and season with salt and pepper.
Dust a flat tray with the remainder of the semolina.
Form the ricotta mix into fairly rustic balls and spread out on the tray – you should make about 20.
These can be kept in the fridge until you are ready to eat. They will last a couple of days but are best eaten within 12 hours.
On a low heat, melt the butter in a frying pan, fry the reserved spinach leaves until dark green then drain on kitchen paper. Don’t wash the pan.
Bring a large pan of lightly salted water to the boil, add the malfatti and wait for them to bob to the surface (this will only take a couple of minutes). Gently simmer for 2 minutes then scoop out with a slotted spoon into the pan with the butter from the fried spinach.
Gently sauté the balls for a couple of minutes then squeeze over the lemon juice.
Serve straight away on a warm plate with extra grated parmesan and a few leaves of crispy spinach.
Gundog working tests are seen as the poor relation of today’s immensely popular field trials, says David Tomlinson, despite being more affordable – and fairer?
Field trials are held exclusively on live game, which makes them expensive.
Field trials have never been more popular, but they can be an expensive and frustrating process. David Tomlinson considers gundog working tests, both more affordable and fairer, and why it’s time to stop seeing them as the poor relation.
A few years ago one of my shooting friends made up his labrador bitch to Field Trial Champion (FTCh), a remarkable achievement for a man with just one dog and no previous experience of gundog competitions. He was justifiably proud of the achievement but also remarkably modest about it. He found that most of his shooting friends had no idea what it took to make up a FTCh, with several even unsure about the difference between a test and a trial. He also discovered that many of the triallers he met had little or no interest in shooting, despite their passion for working gundogs.
To understand trialling today one needs to look back at its history. The very first field trial with live game was held for pointers and setters in April 1865, but it was to be another 34 years before the initial spaniel trial was held on the Sutton Scarsdale estate in Derbyshire. Organised by the Sporting Spaniel Club, it was called a working trial; today we have working tests but field trials. Despite a modest entry the trial was a relative success, but there was much debate in the sporting press (most notably The Field) about what spaniels should be expected to do, with no two handlers agreeing. Judging must have been a daunting experience.
The early years of the 20th century saw retriever trials start in earnest, though they were very different affairs to those today. Usually invitation only and based around a country-house party, the competing dogs were invariably handled by professional dog men or keepers. The rewards were substantial. A trial held at Horstead Hall, Norwich, in 1906 offered a first prize of £50, with £30 to the second placed dog and £15 for third. Fifty pounds then is the equivalent of more than £5,000 today.
No one runs in modern trials for the prize money. The winner of the Retriever Championship, for example, receives a cheque for £100. Substantial sums of money can be made from the stud fees of champion dogs but most people compete because they enjoy the competition, not because they hope to get rich. My friend reckoned that making up his FTCh had cost him several thousand pounds in club memberships, entry fees, travel and accommodation.
It is claimed that early trials aimed to improve the quality of working dogs by establishing the best animals from which to breed but they also became widely held because people enjoyed the challenge of competing with their dogs. Nothing has changed. Trials have never been more popular, with both retriever and spaniel trials typically oversubscribed. It’s not unusual for a retriever trial to attract more than 100 entries and the difficulty of getting a run is usually the biggest complaint of regular competitors.
A LENGTHY AND FRUSTRATING PROCESS
Making up a FTCh is a lengthy process: dog and handler start by competing in novice trials before moving on (usually via all-aged stakes) to opens. The exact championship qualifications vary depending on the breed: for retrievers, a minimum requirement is winning at least two 24-dog open stakes under three different A-panel judges. Many dogs win one open, earning the unofficial title of FTW, but never get the elusive second win.
Trialling is a frustrating sport. The pursuit of live game, on which trialling depends, is unpredictable, so good or bad luck plays a huge role. You may well have the best dog in the trial but if it has a blank run with no game found it’s unlikely to impress the judges. Compete often enough and your talented dog will surely win one day, but you might never get sufficient opportunities for it do so.
Field trials are held exclusively on live game, which makes them expensive. Though some generous landowners still offer trialling grounds for free, field-trial associations increasingly depend on bought days on commercial shoots, recouping some of the costs by charging the guns. This has the potential for a conflict of interests if the guns are more interested in shooting than dogwork.
Despite their popularity, trials keep a very low profile, with few reports even reaching the sporting press. However, in recent years trialling has come to the attention of the Hunt Saboteurs Association, with its website declaring that: “It is sickening that large numbers of factory farmed birds are gunned down simply for dog trainers to win themselves medals.” The Kennel Club, which oversees all trials held in the UK, responded (unofficially) to the threat by introducing a subtle but important change to its rules: any club applying for a licence to run a field trial has to agree that the trial ground conforms to the Code of Good Shooting Practice. Whether many clubs do so remains a moot point.
The alternatives to field trials are working tests. These are not only much more affordable but offer equal opportunities for every dog competing, so are arguably much fairer. Most gundog handlers regard tests as a poor imitation of the real thing, echoing the Kennel Club’s view that they are, “a means to an end rather than an end itself”. However, they have the tremendous advantage of being both uncontroversial and inexpensive. There are many handlers who believe that it’s high time that they were taken more seriously. Is there any good reason why we shouldn’t have a WTCh (working test champion)?
Make your pigeon Michelin-star worthy with Michel Roux's pigeon roti et petits pois a la Française
Pigeon is far from humble with Michel Roux and Le Gavroche's stamp of approval.
There is nothing humble about pigeon, especially when it is Michelin-starred chef approved. Michel Roux is putting pigeon back onto his diner’s plates at Le Gavroche, so take inspiration and do the same home. This pigeon roti et petits pois a la Française, taken from the Le Gavroche Cookbook, will seriously impress your guests.
It shouldn’t be a surprise that top chefs are championing pigeon. Sustainable, lean, inexpensive and, above all, delicious, pigeon is no stranger to top restaurant menus. Ewan Davy speaks to chefs serving their diners pigeon in why we should cook pigeon, the chef’s favourite. And for more pigeon recipe inspiration, take a look through The Field’s website. Woodpigeon sausage rolls are a long-time Field favourite and great place to start.
MICHEL ROUX’S PIGEON ROTI ET PETITS POIS A LA FRANÇAISE
From Le Gavroche Cookbook, reprinted to mark the restaurant’s 50th anniversary
Serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour 10 minutes
4 pigeon (450g each)
4 carrots, peeled and julienned
12 cocktail onions, peeled and kept whole
200g ventreche or pancetta
600g shelled peas
200g butter
500ml chicken stock
1 round lettuce, shredded
Salt and pepper
Prepare the pigeons for roasting: season inside and smear with oil. Roast in a hot oven (210°C/410°F/Gas Mark 6) turning on all sides for 7-8 minutes. Leave to rest before taking off the bone and trimming.
Blanch the vegetables and refresh in iced water, keeping them firm. Blanch the ventreche for 5 minutes then cut into small lardons. Put the peas in a pan with a little butter.
In a separate pan, gently fry the ventreche until just starting to colour then add the onions and carrots. After a few minutes add the peas and just enough stock to moisten. Simmer and mix in some cold butter to thicken and enrich. Finally, add some shredded lettuce to wilt.
Flood the plate with the stewed peas and place the pigeon on top.
From the Godolphin Arabian and Red Rum to Pegasus and Black Beauty, Sarah Fitzpatrick selects the 20 horses – real and fictional – that continue to capture our imagination
Arkle needs no introduction, he became known as simply 'Himself'.
The 20 most famous horses include a legendary showjumper, cartoon favourite and courageous army horse, as well as champion steeplechasers, the mount of a monarch and the celebrated equines of art and literature. Sarah Fitzpatrick selects the horses, real and fictional, that continue to capture our imagination.
This magnificent steeplechaser needs no introduction. He was a true champion and came to be known simply as ‘Himself’ and would receive postal tributes addressed to ‘Arkle, Ireland’. He won three consecutive Gold Cups, the Irish National, Whitbread and Hennessy Gold Cups and romped home in the Gallagher Gold Cup to smash the course record by 17 seconds carrying 16lb more than his rival, Mill House. In Ireland, handicappers had to change the rules to take account of his supremacy, however, he still managed to win, even carrying two stone more than his rivals. This charismatic Irish national hero remains the brightest star in steeplechasing’s firmament.
BLACK BEAUTY
Black Beauty, by Lucy Kemp Welch.
Anna Sewell’s novel, written in 1877, is part of our cultural heritage, a universal. Written in the ‘first horse’, it is among the top 10 children’s books of all time, a bestseller cherished by generations that has inspired television series and feature films, too. Black Beauty has an idyllic start and the relief of a relatively happy ending but it was not written as a sweet tale for children. Sewell wrote to “induce kindness, sympathy and understanding in the treatment of horses” and achieved some real success by shining a light on inhumane practices. In particular, the book contributed to the use of a bearing-rein on hard-working carriage horses falling out of fashion.
BUCEPHALUS
Alexander the Great mounted on Bucephalus.
The unmanageable black stallion that became the favoured mount of Alexander The Great was peerless in battle. Young Alexander tamed him by turning his head towards the sun, thereby dispelling his own shadow, which had frightened him – a great comfort to all who fantasise about their spooky mount becoming a champion. Alexander’s father was so impressed he adjured him, “O my son, look thee out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for Macedonia is too little for thee.”
BURMESE
HM The Queen rides Burmese, a gift from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) gave Burmese to HM The Queen in 1969 and Her Majesty cut a truly elegant figure riding the mare sidesaddle for 18 years at the Trooping the Colour parade. The mare proved her mettle and showed off Her Majesty’s famous riding skill when, in 1981, six blanks were fired at them. Feathers barely ruffled, the pair were settled in seconds. After 21 years’ service Burmese was retired to Windsor, where she is now buried. Her Majesty presented the RCMP with a specially commissioned rocking horse replica of Burmese by Stevenson Brothers after her 90th birthday celebrations.
CORNISHMAN V
Cornishman V and Mary Gordon-Watson compete in the show-jumping at Badminton Horse Trials in 1972.
Cornishman V was a family hunter who carried Mary Gordon-Watson for her Pony Club A-test; competed in point-to-points, working hunters and team chases; and was the equestrian star of International Velvet and Dick Francis’s Dead Cert. But we know this Jack of all trades and master of some as an eventer. He reached advanced level in just two events and took Olympic Team Gold Medals in Mexico 1968 with Richard Meade and Munich 1972 with Mary Gordon-Watson, as well as winning the World Championships in Punchestown by 60 marks for a team and individual gold. The young Mary Gordon-Watson on 17hh of handsome horse inspired a generation of eventers.
DESERT ORCHID
Desert Orchid winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 1989.
Dessie was a true celebrity and captured the heart of the nation. Home-bred by James Burridge in Leicestershire in 1979 he was grey and a front runner so easy for even a part-time punter to pick out. He was loved for his personality. Four of his 34 wins were in the King George VI Chase and his 1989 Cheltenham Gold Cup win in filthy going remains an epic race and a testament to the horse’s indomitable spirit, earning him three cheers in the winners enclosure. There were only five finishers from a field of 13, in what was voted the greatest race of all time in a Racing Post poll. Dessie, through Midge Burridge, maintained a popular fan club throughout his retirement, making guest appearances and raising money for charity into what should have been his dotage. Desert Orchid died peacefully at the grand age of 27 in 2006; his ashes are buried by his statue at Kempton.
ECLIPSE
Eclipse, undefeated over 18 races.
The godfather, and literal father, of modern racing, this 18th-century stallion was unbeaten in his 18 starts (which included 11 King’s Plates) and can be found in the bloodlines of just about every racehorse and, indeed, thoroughbred today. Thankfully for racing, the horse’s temperament was addressed not by gelding but through hard work with a rough rider. Almost unmanageable, he is thought to have covered 25ft in a single stride and was so far from being beatable that at the end of his career no-one could be found to bet against him. Eclipse, first; the rest, nowhere.
FRANKEL
Frankel, unbeaten during a 14-race career, now at stud.
Frankel, foaled in 2008, was the top-rated racehorse of his generation and arguably of all time. To be unbeaten in 14 starts, 10 of them in Group 1 races, is an astonishing record but even that doesn’t totally reflect his form. To see the distances he won by and his unbelievable acceleration in action gives a better indication of his quality. This stunning stallion impressed as a foal, as a colt, and is now continuing to impress in the next stage of his career at stud. His name is certain to live on in the bloodlines of champions to come. We will see if he can pass on his star quality.
JOEY (WAR HORSE)
Michael Morpurgo’s Joey, brought to life by the National Theatre.
Michael Morpurgo’s 1982 novel has been called a modern Black Beauty and its equine narrator has become a household name. Joey was brought to a larger audience by the National Theatre’s production, its life-size puppets causing a sensation when it opened in 2007; it is still touring today. Joey has since been given the full Hollywood treatment by Steven Spielberg. He survives cavalry charges, enemy fire, barbed-wire and draught work to be reunited with young Albert. For most war horses, however, there was no happy ending. Joey brings to mind the millions of horses that went to war; we should remember them.
KIPPER
Thelwell’s Kipper and ‘rider’ Penelope
Norman Thelwell’s Penelope and irrepressible steed, Kipper, first appeared in the 1960s in a strip cartoon in the Sunday Express. Kipper strikes a chord because although horses are “difficult to draw [my father] was good at them, they are realistic despite being cartoons, have character without being cartoonish”, David Thelwell explains. Kipper is the first pony every ‘Penelope’ had or wanted. Many of the cartoons are delightfully instructive (Thelwell’s background was in teaching) but with an irresistible humour and always kind. That Thelwell’s creation is so instantly relatable is especially impressive as he was not ‘horsey’ himself, just possessed of a brilliant eye.
THE MALTESE CAT
Kipling’s creation, The Maltese Cat, a fiend on the polo field.
The master of short stories, able to anthropomorphise without saccharine and beloved from the cradle to the grave, only Kipling could create the perfect polo pony, and the most brilliant polo game, in The Maltese Cat. He might have started life pulling a vegetable cart in Malta but The Cat was a tactician and poet of polo and he lived to be welcome in the officers’ mess and have £3,000 offered for him at the end of a match… The Past Pluperfect Prestissimo Player of the Game.
MARENGO AND COPENHAGEN
The Duke of Wellington on Copenhagen.
The chargers of Napoleon I and the Duke of Wellington have much in common. Both were named after battles, were prized for their stamina and lived into a remarkable old age. Copenhagen was well bred, being related to the great Eclipse, and was raced before finding his way to the Duke’s stable and carrying him for 17 hours at Waterloo. He was buried, with full military honours, at Stratfield Saye.
Napoleon I on Marengo.
Marengo was small, at just over 14hh, but his Arab blood allowed him to stay for 80-mile gallops from Valladolid to Burgos in five hours. His skeleton is displayed at the National Army Museum, Chelsea.
MILTON
John Whitaker riding Milton.
Show-jumper Milton was picked as a winner and started by Caroline Bradley. After her tragic death he came to fame under John Whitaker. Their partnership was legendary: jumping seven consecutive double clears in the Nations Cup; three gold medals at the European Championships; a silver and a bronze at the World Championships; and they won two FEI world cup finals. When Milton retired in 1994, he was the first horse outside racing to have won more than £1m (not including the value of cars he won) and his place in the pantheon of great horses was assured. The grey (always a popular colour) seemed to float over fences, rarely incurring a fault and maintaining a loyal following through a long career and beyond.
PEGASUS
Perseus rides Pegasus while carrying the head of Medusa.
The winged horse of Greek mythology was born of the Gorgon Medusa, springing from her decapitated body, and Poseidon. This rather revolting beginning is eclipsed by his heroic deeds, including carrying Bellerophon to triumph over the Chimera, drawing thunderbolts for Zeus and his large constellation, visible in both hemispheres. Pegasus must be the most frequently depicted horse of all time and a demigod, though we would love him anyway – he is a white horse, with wings.
RED RUM
Tommy Stack riding triple National winner Red Rum.
Red Rum was still the best-known horse in the UK 11 years after his death, named by 45% of the public in a poll and beating Black Beauty. The exceptional steeplechaser never fell in 100 starts and is widely credited with saving the Grand National, a race he dominated throughout the 1970s. The course was in danger of development when Red Rum captured the country’s imagination and helped bring Aintree and the National back to the heart of the sporting calendar. He broke the course record and remains the only three-time winner, also coming second twice. Television appearances included BBC Sports Personality of the Year, delightfully ‘pricking his lugs up’ at the recorded voice of his jockey, Tommy Stack. An active retirement included switching on the lights at Blackpool and there was outcry at the prospect of his sale to a Japanese/American restaurateur – one of Rummy’s fans is reported to have assailed him with a cry of: “Remember Pearl Harbor!” Red Rum remains at home, buried not far from the Southport sands where he was trained, at the National’s finishing post.
SECRETARIAT
Secretariat and Ron Turcotte after winning the 1973 Kentucky Derby – the first leg of their Triple Crown.
This American icon was as versatile as he was fast, decimating opposition on dirt and turf, breaking course and world records as he went. A fine-looking horse with exceptional confirmation, Secretariat was a cover star that lived the American dream, breaking the course record in each of his Triple Crown wins and screaming home in the 1973 Belmont Stakes to win by an astonishing 31 lengths – widely considered one of the greatest races ever. Disney made a film about him and he has passed his huge heart on through his daughters to produce more champions.
SEFTON
Sefton, back in action after his injuries.
The Hyde Park bombing in 1982 claimed the lives of four soldiers and seven horses of the Household Cavalry. Sefton survived horrendous wounds after hours of surgery and, even more remarkably, was able to return to service. His courage and resilience captured the imagination of the British people, a symbol of resistance against terrorism at a time when the IRA’s bombings were at their height. Seven more soldiers were killed in a second bomb that day at Regent’s Park. Sefton served for 17 years before his retirement and remains a figure of stoic courage in the public imagination.
VALEGRO
Valegro in winning form at London 2012.
Valegro brought dressage to the masses. He swept all before him, latterly breaking world records with almost every outing and winning gold for the home crowd at London 2012. Blueberry, as he is affectionately known at home, has come up through the ranks with Charlotte Dujardin. It’s a fairytale of girl and horse conquering the world. This ‘once in a lifetime horse’ with ‘a face like a seahorse’ has enchanted the public as well as his doting rider. His farewell performance at Olympia was a sell-out and earned him a standing ovation. He is still inspiring and meeting fans with appearances and master classes.
WHISTLEJACKET
Whistlejacket, immortalised by George Stubbs.
A fine racehorse with creditable wins under his girth, including a strong four-miler at York, Whistlejacket remains famous not for his speed but for his image. Stubbs’ life-size portrait of the Marquess of Rockingham’s stallion is instantly recognisable. The painting is probably the most famous work by the best equine artist of all time. Stubbs elevated animal painting and portraiture to a genre of art. The scale and spare composition were unprecedented in the 18th century and still awe inspiring today.
THE FOUNDATION SIRES The Byerley Turk, the Darley Arabian and the Godolphin Arabian
Creating the thoroughbred line, the Byerley Turk.
Although a number of stallions were imported in the 18th century, three are credited with developing the thoroughbred that we know today. The Byerley Turk gets his name from Captain Robert Byerley, who captured him in Hungary and may have subsequently ridden him in the battle of the Boyne in Ireland.
The Darley Arabian.
Thomas Darley brought his Arabian back from Aleppo at the start of the 18th century; the stallion is the great grandsire of Eclipse.
The Godolphin Arabian.
Lord Godolphin’s Arabian had been a gift to the King of France from the Emperor of Morocco and the name is now doubly famous in racing as the global breeding operation of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
Pigeon is a lean, red meat and perfect for carpaccio. Try Nick Weston's woodpigeon carpaccio, from his new book Hunter Gather Cook
Pigeon is lean and lends itself perfectly to carpaccio.
Pigeon is far from humble, especially on the plate. It is an excellent, lean red meat and lends itself perfectly to carpaccio. Have a go at Nick Weston’s woodpigeon carpaccio, from his new book Hunter Gather Cook.
Weston’s pigeon carpaccio recipe comes from his new book, Hunter Gather Cook, published in April 2019.
Carpaccio is actually rather a recent taste sensation, having only been with us since the 1950s. The dish was born when one Countess Mocenigo walked into Harry’s Bar in Venice (also the home of the Bellini) and informed the proprietor that her doctor had recommended she eat only raw meat. The dish that Giuseppe Cipriani, the then owner, produced was so named because the colours of the final dish reminded him of the paintings by the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio. So now we’ve all learnt a little something, let’s cook – or not, in this case.
Woodpigeon being a lean, red meat is perfect for carpaccio. We’ve found that an overnight soak in some veg and herbs really elevates the final dish and essentially works as a bit of a cure.
Serves 4
6 pigeon breasts (skin off)
For the marinade:
150ml olive oil
50ml cider vinegar
1 small bunch wild garlic or 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
1 stick celery, roughly chopped
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
Good twist black pepper
1 tsp salt
2 sprigs rosemary
4 bay leaves
Mix all the marinade ingredients together, add the woodpigeon, cover and refrigerate overnight – or for at least 12 hours. Put the breasts in the freezer for 45 minutes before construction so you can slice them wafer thin.
Arrange all the ingredients on a large plate or platter, season to taste and serve with fine red wine and crusty bread.
Labrador or spaniel? Traditional or rare breed? How does one go about choosing that perfect companion for shoot days, asks Janet Menzies
Springer spaniels received the highest rating in our table of traits, scoring 81% overall.
The Kennel Club recognises thirty-eight breeds as gundogs, making the choice of shoot day companion a wide ranging and difficult one. Would you prefer a labrador or a spaniel? A traditional or rare breed? Do you value reliability or personality? Janet Menzies discusses how to go about choosing the best gundog.
Even when you have selected a breed, there are more factors to consider. For example, which coat colour should you choose? We weigh up the options in best gundog coat colour: colour coding. And should you choose a spaniel there are six breeds to choose from, so read best spaniel breed: a new companion.
THE BEST GUNDOG
Thirty-eight breeds of dog listed by The Kennel Club are recognised as gundogs. The official gundog group includes Munsterlanders, large and small; German pointers (in three different hair types); Slovakian rough-haired pointers (one hair type); Braques d’Auvergne; and, of course, that pub quiz winner, the Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever. Doubtless, if there are duck to be tolled, the Nova Scotia is your ideal gundog. Or if you are shooting in a marshy area in Spain, then the Spanish water dog is obviously the only breed to have – though if you cross the border into Portugal, you would have to switch to a Portuguese pointer.
This cornucopia of furry willingness tells us something about gundogs – that there is basically no such thing as one ideal breed or type of gundog. It all depends on the terrain, the type of shooting and local traditions. Yet certain breeds have come to dominate the shooting field, while others have been consigned to the show ring or left behind in Europe. So some dogs are obviously more ideal than others. Let’s face it, those smarter than your average dogs are usually retrievers (especially labrador retrievers); springer spaniels; and, increasingly, the Continental hunt/point/retrieve dogs. Despite the growing trend for various spaniels, especially cockers, the most popular dog in the field today is still the labrador retriever.
In our table of traits, the labrador retriever came second with 76%.
Springer spaniel man Ray Dermott wanted to find out what all the fuss was about. “At the end of the drive the horn goes and all the labradors start picking up the game that has been shot, so I thought to myself that I would fancy training a labrador and got Redd as an eight-week-old puppy.” It took Dermott a couple of years to form a team with Redd but, he stresses: “Redd was very quick learning and now he has matured into a handsome, loving dog. He never lets me down and always wants to please. He is a joy to be around. He has fathered two litters and his pups have been the same. Redd has it all: a very handsome, loyal, lovable gundog – a great representative of his breed.”
For Dermott, Redd is the ideal gundog but does that make the labrador retriever breed as a whole ideal? Or are there other more ideal breeds? Another spaniel man, Nathan Hawkins, went down a different route when he decided to branch out from springers. Hawkins explains: “I wanted to try training a different breed of spaniel but I liked the idea of investing and contributing to a rare breed rather than just getting a trendy cocker. So I now have a Clumber spaniel, Roux. Personally, I think Clumber spaniels are an incredible breed with more than 250 years of history behind them. It gives you a sense of wonderment, going back to the infancy of our sport walking behind them. At times Roux has been challenging but she’s improved immensely and impressed some field trial judges, which I’m massively delighted with. I don’t think working-bred Clumbers are slow nowadays. Their nose is spectacular and they must find what’s on the end of it. Roux has bags of drive getting into cover – put a pheasant under her nose and boy, does it kick up a gear.”
One of Meryl Asbury’s pointers finding grouse.
If you are looking for a gundog with the charisma and rarity value to match its working performance, then a Clumber is more ideal than a labrador retriever, the many qualities of which do not necessarily include being a talking point on the shoot. This begs the question of what exactly we are looking for in the ideal gundog. I turned to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), where the gundog officer, Kate Dymock, pointed me to their objective view on gundogs, which reads: “BASC strongly recommends that anyone who goes shooting should be accompanied by a trained and competent gundog. Using a well-trained gundog ensures that everything possible has been done for the humane recovery of the quarry and shows a responsible attitude.” It is a timely reminder that, despite our personal preferences for companionship, ease of training, willingness to bash cover or field trialling success, the primary quality of the ideal gundog is to put game on the table.
ST HUBERT’S WINNER
Using this criterion, Newmarket-based vet Rob Gould officially has the ideal gundog, in that he and his German long-haired pointer, Djynn, are the current World St Hubert Champions. The St Hubert Championships, which were held in Spain last season, test every aspect of game shooting – for both dog and handler. Unlike British field trials, the competitors run singly, shooting over their own dog as a partnership. The rules include everything from obedience and drive of the dog to safe handling of the gun and shooting knowledge, and require the dog/handler team to show, “their understanding and ability to hunt the ground respectfully and thoroughly”. Gould says: “Djynn and I spend a lot of time together. We do a lot of rough shooting. The teamwork aspect of St Hubert’s is really important and the great thing is that it is what we are doing naturally, and what we enjoy doing at home. It is a great pleasure to work Djynn. You wouldn’t go hungry with this dog. We eat game all year round here. If I had to live on what I shot, this is the dog to have – I know she will put food on the table.”
Djynn is far more than just a super-efficient game provider. Gould lists her qualities: “She is so exciting to watch. She has also a great hunting instinct – and it is a question of controlling that. Her retrieving is very good and she is very good on runners. She is good on grouse. She has bags of energy; during the season I was working her for guns for three hours at a time. She is very keen to get out with the gun and yet she will curl up at home and would be a lap dog if she could.” Gould concludes: “You can win trials by being steady and not taking risks, or you can do it with some style.” Which sums up in a nutshell why, although many would consider the labrador retriever the ideal gundog, others prefer a German long-haired pointer like Djynn. Yet the Kennel Club was at first reluctant even to acknowledge the breed, as Gould explains: “When I applied to register Djynn, the Kennel Club didn’t recognise the breed and you had to have enough of them to show. It took me more than four years to get the Kennel Club to change its mind.”
A flatcoat retrieving a pheasant – the breed rated third overall, scoring 74%.
No matter how hard we aim for objectivity, even the ruling bodies can’t avoid the subjective elements of defining the ideal gundog. Meryl Asbury is president of the Pointer Club and captained Team GB in the World Championships for Pointing Breeds and the World Championship St Hubert competition. She also sits on the Kennel Club’s Field Trial Committee. She doesn’t believe there is an ideal breed of gundog but, instead, stresses: “The ideal gundog for me is the one you like best. If you really like a dog you will put in the endless hours of training, love the good points and forgive the weaknesses and idiosyncrasies your dog may have. There are numerous breeds of gundog, each with its own characteristics to suit different owners’ personalities, preferences and types of shooting. Owning a gundog is such a delicate balance between the temperament of the owner and the temperament of the dog. What suits one person may not suit another.”
So the ultimate ‘ideal’ is probably in the eye of the handler. Yet Asbury agrees that there are objective considerations to take into account: “Having owned different breeds of gundogs for 40 years, there are some general essential traits that make an ideal dog. First and foremost a dog must have a good temperament. This is essential – a good temperament affects the dog throughout its whole life, as to how it behaves in the company of other dogs and people.
A German shorthaired pointer accomplishes a water retrieve during a trial.
“This then leads into the second essential trait, which is trainability. Dogs with the combination of a good temperament and trainability will bring years of pleasure. The next vital ingredient is natural ability and intelligence. Once a gundog is trained and starts to build on its experience, it is such a delight to watch.
“Lastly, I love what I call the ‘Wow factor’. When a dog is fully trained and experienced, they often will do things that make you think, ‘I could never have taught my dog to do that.’ This usually comes under the category of game sense and gun sense. Some dogs develop these traits to a remarkable degree. Breeders have bred for these traits over centuries and if looking for the ideal gundog it is essential to acquire a well-bred dog.”
PERSONAL PREFERENCE
For Asbury personally, this all adds up to the pointer. “My perfect day is shooting grouse over pointers and setters. A day spent in good company with the grace and agility of a pointer ranging over the moor, coming to a sudden point with nostrils flaring, motionless until commanded to go in and the grouse lifting from the heather is still so thrilling. The bag may be small at the end of the day but each bird is hard earned. But it is a specialist breed and it’s no accident that the labrador retriever is still the most popular gundog of all – they are such an adaptable breed.”
Annette Clarke has every reason to agree about labradors, as she had an amazing 2018/19 season with her labrador, Bertie: they were selected for the England gundog team; were fourth in the IGL Retriever Championship; and Bertie became a champion (FTCh Castleman’s Gobi of Garronpoint). Yet Clarke, too, points out: “There is no such thing as the ideal gundog. Last year I would have said Bertie didn’t have much nose and probably not thought he would have gone on to achieve what he has. He is a real character, we love him, but he is really fast. I couldn’t hold him in the working area in competition – I had gone to five trials and walked the walk of shame. But then I worked all year on holding the area and this season has been a delight. He goes everywhere at a thousand miles an hour and he says, ‘Yes, Mum’.”
It all points to one thing: the ideal gundog is your gundog. There he is, sat in the back of the vehicle, full of ideal potential. Now all you have to do is become the ideal gundog handler – but that’s another story.
How does your dog measure up against these criteria for the ‘ideal gundog’? There’s probably no such thing, but the debate is fun.
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