We had our last hunt this morning.

Even though it was our last meeting, we still had new people join us, which is always great! There were about 35 to 40 beagles today. It was very hot out there! The beagles struggle quite a lot in the heat. Luckily the lines weren’t too long though. Lots and lots of beagles finished the lines, and no-one went off on their own mission again! It was great. I even heard Lucy finished a line for the first time today – well done girl!

Looking back over the 2009 season, it is so encouraging to see the dogs who started out as “newbies” earlier in the year are now running the lines like pro’s! The parents of 2009-first-time-hunters Denver, Basil, Ace, Jet and  Maya should all be extremely proud of their hounds who have done incredibly well this season and have fitted into the group wonderfully and are now really part of the furniture – so to speak. The other new guys who have become regulars have also done really well – for lack of time and space (and for fear of leaving out a name or two) I won’t mention everyone by name…! – but you know who you are, and should be proud! The guys who joined us later in the season, and are still catching on are showing great potential too – next year will be your time to shine!

It’s always a bit sad at the last hunt for the season… we have such great fun with our hounds throughout the year. I know I miss it in Summer time!

Next Sunday, at 7:30, is the Top Ten challenge. Anyone is welcome to come and watch – with leashed beagles, of course! The line for the Top Ten is about 6km long… and there is only one line – not 5 x 1km lines like we normally have.

After the hunt we’ll have a breakfast again (R20 per person, please email me if you want to stay for breakfast!)

** Watch this space for: **

• Top Ten announcement this week
• Details of End of Year Prize Giving Ball announcement this week
• Placing of the Top Ten Next Sunday!
• Details of social Beagle meet-ups in Summer

Each hunt brings us closer to the end of our season

Check out some photos here – they have been updated!

We had a really big turnout today! Even a few new faces. The hunts went off so smoothly it was ridiculous! No dogs went off on their own mission, we didn’t have to send our “search party” after anyone! Made a lovely change.

I also managed to get some good group shots of everyone lining up and getting ready to release (thanks mom!).

Lots and lots of beagles finished all the lines. Although there is not really anything to report about this morning’s hunt, it was a very successful day for all the beagles. I’m sure you are all tired of hearing how fantastically Maya is doing, so I won’t mention it again! :p Congrats to Avon, who finished her first line (I think it was the first time!). Also a well done to a new beagle Gerry – I heard his name being called out a few times, but I never got to meet the boy!

We were really feeling the change of season… it was very very warm! The poor beagles were also suffering a bit with the heat. Now we can see why our season is only during winter.

Look how exhausted poor Harry is (only halfway through the morning!)

After the hunt we had croissants and cold meats, cheese and fruits… Supplied by Jane. It was great to have some time to chat to everyone, and see the beagles without their hunting bibs on – they are SO much cuter naked (hee hee!).

Special thanks to Jane for supplying the breakfast – everything was great! Also, thanks once again to Shaw, and his team for laying the lines for us!!

Our last open hunt is on 13 September at 7:30… you can sign up here.

*** IMPORTANT NOTE *** Anyone who won a trophy last year, needs to have it engraved and RETURNED AT THE NEXT HUNT so we can start organising everything for the prize-giving evening (probably held in November some time).

After all the rain, hail and freeeeeezing cold in Jozi yesterday, I was ready to stay in bed and give hunting a miss this week! The thought of my beagles being stuck inside all day again made me get up in the pitch dark and drag myself off to the hunt though

It was probably the smallest group this season – only about 20 beagles. I have a feeling the rest of our crowd spent the day curled up under the covers. Despite the cold the day before – Sunday turned out rather pleasant.

A few new faces… Copper the Beagle was one new face. Copper arrived and was a little bit unsure of all these other hounds – but he quickly relaxed and started wagging his tail. He even completed a couple of lines! Can you believe it! On his first day – very impressive – well done, Boy!

The lines went off very well – with little newcomer Maya deserving a special mention! She is continuing to do brilliantly – coming in first place on every single line. It’s phenomenal to see a new beagle doing so well on pure instinct. She is one of the smallest beagles in the group – but she is a total hunting machine! Her dad, Roelf, must be very proud of her.

Bella was doing very well today – surprising George and Linda (and most of us too!). Basil is also doing very nicely – he is becoming more constant in his hunting performance. I noticed Bentley (who has only been to one or two hunts before) is also finishing lines – which is very impressive.

Basil having a rest with his dad

It was actually quite nice, in a way, to have a small group for a change. Although, even with a small group we managed to have some beagles go off on their own mission. Annie and Avon (very uncharacteristically) went for a loooooooooong walk in the wrong direction. They refused to come close to Trevor to be leashed and returned to their mom – naughty girls! (Trevor said he is used to girls running away from him though! Hee hee ). The girls were reunited with their mom – tails wagging very fast! Our new boy, Copper also went for a walk about – following after Oscar and Harry who were going off for some brotherly bonding!

Oscar howling his little beagle lungs out!

It was a great morning as usual. The wind even stayed away for most of the morning.

Thanks to everyone involved in the organising and laying the lines!!

Our next hunt is on 16 August… sign up here

JUST A FRIENDLY NOTE: Our hunts are a Beagles Only Event. A lot of our beagles have brothers and sisters of different breeds – but if everyone were to bring all their dogs along, it would be too chaotic. We have had a few “non-beagles” at some of our events and we have let it slide… But we, unfortunately, can’t have this becoming the norm. Please understand that your “non-beagle” dogs will need to stay at home on the mornings of the hunts. – Thank you for your understanding in this matter!

Charlie, Marmalade and Snoopy

Yesterday was a HAPPY FATHERS DAY HUNT!

We have been so lucky with the weather this season… I mean, we are at the end of June and we haven’t had a *freezing* morning yet (touch wood). It was lovely, sunny and warm.

We had about 35 beagles, I guess… so not as many as the last few weeks. Still, we had a few new people.

The morning went off without anything particularly noteworthy happening. Other than Marmalade doing her disappearing trick after a line. Oscar has also met a new partner in crime, in little Denver! They are attached by Oscar’s tail to Denver’s nose! They came running back to us after they completed a line… only to SPEED off together, to do the line AGAIN – all by themselves! And they did the same thing on the next line!!
I don’t know about Denver, but Oscar is STILL recovering from yesterday

After the very last line A LOT of dogs went back on the line to try and find us… so when we got to the end, we had to head out to look for them. It felt like a loooooong search! The grass was also really long in this area, so it was quite tricky. But everyone was found and went home filthy and exhausted!

It was another fun morning out on the highveld!

Sign up for the next hunt on 5 July here. Lets hope the weather keeps on like this!

Remember that Beagles.co.za is now selling Frontline Tick & Flea control at discounted rates… click here for more info & prices

Until next time!
-Happy Beagling,
Tanya

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Oscar

Yesterday we met up for another beagle hunt and a social get together afterwards for boerewors rolls and a chat.

It is getting colder every week and waking up is getting more difficult every time! Some of us have more trouble with the early mornings than others. While most of us arrived on time and properly dressed… Poor Roti seemed to have had a very tough time leaving the comforts of his basket at home, and he arrived in his Pyjamas! Can you believe it
Trevor kept trying to convince us that Roti was actually wearing his “Racing Silks” but we know better! – I mean, seriously – that face has “EMBARRASSED” written all over it! hee hee!

Roti looking all embarrassed in his PJs

Every week seems to set a new record with the number of beagles! Again, we had between 45 and 50 beagles! Some new faces again, which is always nice… especially when the new faces are in the form of a super cute 8 week old puppy called Zoe

8 week old Zoe

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Another new face, was this one… although we weren’t too sure how he fitted into the mix at the “BEAGLE Hunt” … oh well

I hope no one notices I'm not a Beagle!

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The hunt went well… with some long tough lines. The new dogs who have joined us this season are continuing to do rather well. The beagles did much better with the terrain than we did – their legs are so much shorter than ours, but they have so much more energy than we do – running and running and running through the veld!
Look how exhausted Charlie looks

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Afterwards the guys braaied wors for all of us, and we tried our best to keep all the greedy beagles out of our food! I also did a few sales of T-shirts, stickers, flasks and badges from the BeagleShop (remember a portion of proceeds is donated to charity!)

Thanks to Jane for organising the meat, rolls, plates etc. Everyone seemed to have a good time!

It was the last time we’ll be seeing Leanda for a while – she is due to have her baby girl in 3 weeks! We wish her and Gary all the very best! Can’t wait to meet the little girl! (or at least see some photos!)

Our next hunt is on Sunday 21 June at 8am… sign up here

Our third hunt was held this past Sunday, 10 May. It was Mothers’ Day as well, so I think we were missing quite a few beagles due to that. I hope they all brought their mom’s breakfast in bed!

The weather has been quite uncharacteristic of the Highveld in May. We had some rain this week, and Sunday was very chilly! When we arrived there was a lot of mist in the valley and the grass was really wet. I think most of the beagles were soaked and filthy before we actually began! We were missing our regular guys who lay the line, so we improvised! Thanks to everyone who volunteered to walk up front and lay the line, special thanks to Gavin (he laid the trail) who got his exercise in for the next week or so!!

The lines were pretty good, even in the long wet grass. The spectators had a pretty great view most of the time. I think we have some very strong contenders in the running for top spot this year, if today was anything to go by… In most of the lines, the 4 dogs who came in the first group were: Poppadom, Roti, Jesse and Oscar! I am going to call the “The Fearsome Foursome” from now on! Watch this space!!

There were a couple of snarls and growls between a few of the testosterone filled male beagles this Sunday. While this is quite normal behaviour for dogs forming a pack, it is still unpleasant and quite stressful to us humans! Remember to keep your dogs on short leashes when adrenaline is running high. Also, a point to remember next time, if you have an un-neutered male, try and keep a bit of distance between him and another un-neutered male… especially if you think he might be a bit grumbly.

We had a few new faces we hope to see again! I have uploaded some pictures from today’s hunt in the Gallery as well as pictures from our last meet up (19 April)

Our next hunt is on 24 May… Sign up here See you then!

Happy Beagling, Tanya

Right – so this Sunday was our second hunt of the season, and the first competitive hunt, where scores were recorded. It was a good turnout again (between 45 and 50 beagles I would guess). Things ran rather smoothly – everyone knows the drill now!

Most of the new faces returned for their second time! It’s nice to know we didn’t scare TOO many people away The new dogs are doing a little better each week I think. Quite a couple of them actually finished a few lines, which is great! The competition is going to be very tough this year.

Hope to see you all in a few weeks, on the 10th of May at 7:30

Thanks again to everyone involved in the organising, and especially to Shaw for laying the lines! The fast walks through the mountains must be exhausting! — Thanks Shaw!

So, yesterday was the first hunt for the season!

Quite a few people got there nice and early, luckily it’s still nice and warm… we should enjoy the weather while we can.

There were loads of new faces and it was great to meet all the new beagles, as well as catch up on news from our friends from last year. We got to meet little Matthew (Bruce and Wendy’s little one) who seemed to enjoy his first hunt, before he decided he needed some breakfast! Congratulations to Leanda and Gary who are expecting their second little girl. Between two kids and a horde of Beagles, I wish them GOOD LUCK and much strength!!

Back to the Beagles though…

I’d just like to give a quick welcome Ahhhrrooooooooooo to the new people who joined us:

Bailey, Sasha, Denver (cute little Denver got his dad to bring along his monster camera!), Basil, Snoopy (who also joined us last year, but is now old enough to compete), Boogaloo, Keerah, Vince (Harry and Oscar’s gorgeous brother… ok, I am biased!),  Bart & Ralph (who joined us last year, but are now old enough to compete), Ruby & Nooga (who also joined us last year, but are now old enough to compete), Ace (who did very well for a first timer), Loni, Nelson & Aimee (who were also puppies with us last season), Dexter, Dee Dee, Chuck & Norris (insert giggle here), Ozzy, Gypsy, Benji, Gina, Coco,  Baxter and Maggie. If I have left any one out, I do apologise!

It was quite chaotic trying to organise everyone and distribute bibs to all the dogs and collect the annual fees from everyone… but I think everything went relatively smoothly.

Shaw gave us all a run down of how the hunts work and then we started the morning with a long walk out to the valley where we would hunt.

All the dogs were scented… and the Huntmaster and the rest of the people who walk upfront were on their way. The grass is REALLY LONG at the moment! All the beagles were pretty excited, new and old – whether they knew what was going on or not! Only a few dogs finished the line… I think the beagles are quite out of practice, and maybe a little bit unfit! … I won’t get into the fitness of us humans… I felt myself puffing and panting more than I’d like to admit!!

We only ran 3 lines in total, as this was more of a practice for the “oldies” and an introduction to the “new guys”.  A few dogs went wondering off on their own mission, but they were all found pretty quickly by our “search party”.

I hope all the new people had a fun morning and will be back next time. It does take a while for the Beagles to get the idea and follow the trail all the way to the end… But it will happen. The feeling you get when your dog finishes his first line is amazing…! You think you will burst with pride!!

Anyway, the morning was a success… my dogs slept ALL of Sunday!

I hope to see you all next time (19 April).  Click HERE to book

Until then, Happy Beagling!

-Tanya

Hi all just a quick News update: Directions to the hunt on the 5th April have been updated

Please Check the directions under Field Days

Thank you to everyone who came to the meeting to offer feedback and to help make this year bigger and better than ever before! Also, thank you to everyone offering to help in any way they can.

This is just an update for what was discussed at the meeting, for those who weren’t there.

VENUE: We are going to hunt at the original venue, which is about 1km before where we hunted last year. It is the same venue where the  2008 Top Ten was held. It is a bigger valley and should provide the dogs with a good run, and a good view for the spectators.

DATES AND TIMES: The dates have been finalised and can be found on the Field Days Page. The times will be finalised soon * EDIT 17/03/09 Times are finalised *. The hunts will start at 7am, 7:30am or 8am – depending on how deep into Winter we are. Please make sure you are there at least 15 minutes BEFORE the scheduled time.

DUTIES AND GENERAL ADMIN: Graham and Shaw have volunteered to continue their roles of Huntmaster and laying the lines. People may join them to walk the line and help score the dogs as they come in.

Lyn is going to continue keeping score for the hounds through the season.

A lot of people  have expressed that they would like to see the results published on the website after every hunt. The reason this has been kept a “secret” before, is to create excitement for the end of the year function, where all the results are announced. We have decided to compromise, by putting up the standings halfway through the season. That way you can see if your hounds need a little extra work!

FEES: The annual fee per family (regardless of number of dogs) is R150. This fee needs to be paid at your first hunt! We have decided to grant 2 grace hunts for new people who may want to come and check it out before making a commitment to join us on a regular basis. Dana has offered to be our “Debt Collector”  Please make sure you find her as soon as possible and pay your fees.

BIBS AND NUMBERS: Every dog needs to have a bib AND a number to participate. The club is going to be getting a lot of new bibs made, for people to use if they don’t have their own. It is encouraged that you have a bib made for your dog, or you can buy one off the website for R80 (and R10 for a set of numbers).

Your hound will keep the number he/she was running with last year. If you do not have a number, please E-mail Tanya to be issued a number.

RULES: Shaw has typed up a comprehensive set of rules which can be found on The Field Day-> Rules Page. Please familiarize yourself with them… ESPECIALLY if this is your first season!

WEBSITE: Peter and Tanya are continually working on the website to make it as comprehensive and interactive as possible. They are working on an official registration form which will need to be filled in by EVERYONE participating in the hunts. This is to help us keep track of everyone and to know which hounds belong to which people. Once the form is ready, a mail will be sent out to ask everyone to complete it.

Automatic Hunt Reminders will be sent out via the website, to take the pressure off Jane having to remember to remind everyone.

We have been approached by the Western Cape Hunting group and we are going to be including their details on the site soon as well.

FUNCTIONS: We have decided to have 2 breakfasts this season. They will be on 7 June and 16 August. We have them after the hunt and it’s a good time to socialise and get to know one another a bit better (The beagles also enjoy it as they more often than not get a little morsel of bacon or sausage!! 

Claire and Dilene have volunteered to organise the end year function.

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Once again, thanks to everybody concerned.

If you were unable to make the meeting and feel that you would like to be more involved, please find one us during the season!

See you guys soon!

- Tanya