Feildmg Hounds at Tawa Flat

Feilding Star, Volume XII, Issue 30, 26 August 1890, Page 4

Feildmg Hounds at Tawa Flat

Tie : announcement i [that the Wellingtou Hunt Club would hold a meet .■■at Tawa;Flat on Saturday- whs foltflbw^d by iho still iuoieista t. g one —that visitors troui town. woutU be able to ..witness the hunt from the windows of v a -special train which the ■Weilingtou and Mauawatii KuiUvay Ooinp.uiiy, intended to run on that occasion. . ! .There was. an assemblage of about 700's(»ul9 nib the railway station in the afterntion eager for .. the" unwonted-ex-. ':■ tiiteiheht. " Aleuibers of both Housed Of the Assembly- attended, and the Usual contingent of pleasure-goer.-, with a large sprinkling of ladies. All these tilled a train of thirteen double /carriages, which', with -three engines, Vteamed off at 1 40: for Tawa Fiat,' nuda smart run brought the train opposite to .Mr : • Edi p's residence, -'where- the meet took place. Around^ Mr^Earp's hbuse were a score or so of '-horaein'en ready- for the- fray. Oh the i-oad were a hundred or more, while "brakes and vehicles of ; mauy descripiiims madti tip a total of 1000 visitors -by riaad atid rail. , ■ ■ AtSM ; " Dick " Eoake, the well"k'liojyn Eeildingf> huntsman, I with his coat of bottle, green and his boot toji.of- raahogauy, blew a merry f ; uture : on his horn, quickly answered hythrt • deep^ ; baying" of his noisy - . pai-.k-i- o ; hounds ; a crack of his whip ; another 1 upon his; horn-— ''Ware away ' there' '-—an dawayi: dashed the. hounds r Jrom~their.ken.neL quickly, followed by " ".boot and asi a^scbre of . Mmtisnien,{ with couple or so of well v.mountea ladies, .cantered across: the firstj paddock. At first the hounds -■■Bc i atter'edj& -" which : lay exceedingly keen on those - cfauip lowland meadows^ was i quickly picked up, Then a toot oh the horn - uie;ant real hard lwork, and away went with i a rush) the whole field. At the eanie time the multitude" on the road raised great clouds of dust in their ■ wild Anxiety to :te ; iU at the death. .THe.train.i: which .stood for some time - opposite Mr. . Earp's .'Started at the • Ba.me; time as ; the^ uhunt, and \ the 'edg'ineers very creditably kept pace witE Htie bulk of the. : horsemen ; the whole distance, so tkat the spectators in the train had all ; the novelty of ■ actually following the .hounds from ■ start; tb } finish,-, the, course convenient ly lying ;alougside the 'railway line from : Tawa Flat to Porirua. ■■'■-■ The ground was exceedingly heavy, -and^tolid so much on tne horses that • the 'pace was not a brilliant one. The ; •"'jumpy jwere numerous. The falls > were 'numerous, but little damage was ~- done beyond the discomflture of mud :=. and •crushed heaclgear. , Beyond the. actuar members of the hnnt and their i :: friends numerous outsiders joined the -*■; sport, t and -many ■•:• > of ;.;. those - people imagined that - iwork and reck--less^ridingw.asfto be the! order of-the day v^ The ;^result> was: that these -.rough horsemen, s! reckless of the con-s..----sequences, rushed at each jump belter "i skelter,^^sometimes' ''''cannoning, against ; -other riders; :; In this .way Mr E. - O'EOrke came to grief at an early stag§ of the sport, "^t the last fence . Miss Webb, while gallantly attempting, a stiff piece of timberi was run ini;o bygone of the rough gentry, with :■: - the, result that the horse fell lieavily, Miss:Webb being underneath. A cry of terror rang from the train. A score of gentlemen- rushed in hot haste to her She ' was quickly extricated' .from her uncomfortable position, and as soon as it was seen - that she was unhurt and 'able to walk -comfortably away* aloud cheer broke r^from the hundreds of spectators at - her lucky escape. Amongst those following the hounds Webb and Miss 0. Webb, \)f the Lower Hutt, the latter riding the /well? known hunter Lyric, the property of Mrs D. Riddiford Both iladies rode gallantly throughout, ■taking 'their jumps in magniffuent .style.^ Another lady, whose name we were unable to obtain, also rode exceedingly; well. Amongst the gentlemen riders were Dr Cahile, Dr Oharlton, Messrs D. H Crawford, Lingard, <t. Baldwin, B. O'Rorke, Pearce, Dwyer, H. VVooda, Bbyd, and others. A most enjoyable afternoon's sport was brought to a conclusion about -4.30. and a few minutes later the train Heft Porirna station for town. The -success of such an undoubted novelty as a hunt by train will long be re- , mom he, red by those who witnessed it. - — Tiuies.