COULD THIS BE THE LAST TIME....

Certainly didn't feel like the last time on Monday morning. Two hundred riders and at least a thousand supporters. A really beautiful spectacle. Not a protester in sight. Looks like the Heythrop Hunt will be in Chippy for a good few more years yet. And not necessarily because the crowds were all strongly pro-hunting...but talking around because a big majority is getting sick of the nanny state and being told what to do. Whats next There is really strong popular backing for a group of people who are refusing to take it all lying down and are cutting up rough...and demanding to be allowed to carry on doing what they have been doing for ages. Good luck to them we say.

One of the joint masters of the Heythrop Hunt, Tonya Wood, described the mood at the Chipping Norton meeting as buoyant. She said: "We came out today because we knew there would be so many people there, although we couldn't really hunt as the frost would have damaged the horses legs. "We'll absolutely be here next year. I think the political will is going to fail. It's all very well in the hothouse at Westminster but it won't work in reality. They think we're all foaming at the mouth and we dress up to kill foxes. If I was dressing up to kill a fox, I'd wear a boiler suit." Penny Little, of the Oxfordshire Branch of Protect Our Wild Animals, believes the legislation will be carried through. She said: "It's excruciating waiting for the ban, knowing they're still committing these atrocities. "The hunters are doing what they do so well, shouting extremely loudly and behaving in an arrogant way. They're trying to create confusion but it should really be pretty straightforward. "I'm afraid they're going to have to wake up to the real world, when they'll find out they're not above the law and they're no better than a kid on a council estate committing antisocial behaviour.
 

2003 NOT A PROTESTER IN SIGHT....

Chipping Norton gave a genuinely warm welcome back to the Heythrop Hunt at their meet in the Town Centre on Boxing Day. Hundreds of spectators burst into loud applause as they set off along West Street. There must have been well over 100 riders including many young people. Great spectacle. Great Tradition. Eat your heart out Mr Blair!

People in the centre of Chipping Norton gathered to watch the meet of the Heythrop Hunt. The hunt returned to the centre of the town after meeting last year in a field. The hounds were led into the Market Place from their kennels in the town by Heythrop huntsman Anthony Adams. There were about 150 mounted followers and several hundred people on foot. Town mayor Jo Graves greeted the hunt outside the Fox pub, which provided the stirrup cup. Mrs Graves said: "This is a traditional and very convivial occasion and much better than last year." Joint master of the Heythrop hunt Liz Wills said: "We came back into the town centre by popular demand."