THE CARMARTHENSHIRE HUNT CLUB held their annual New Year’s Day Meet in Guildhall Square yesterday (Jan 1). This was the 130th occasion that the Hunt had met in the Square since their formation in 1889.
Although the day was slightly overcast this did not stop the hunt’s supporters from attending in large numbers to cheer the 71 riders as they made their way from Richmond Terrace, via Mansel Street, to Lammas Street where they paraded through the good wishes of the crowd to the Guildhall.
A Hunt spokesman said that at a conservative estimate around 600 people attended the Meet as well as a number of people who were protesting against the hunt who were corralled by the police behind barriers in the Square.
“The popularity of the Hunt has not waned in the years since the Hunting Act became law in 2005,” he said.
“Since that time we have conducted a trail hunt with the full support of farmers within the county.”
“Our hunts are continually monitored and on no occasion have we been found to do anything but comply with the current legislation as it stands.”
He added: “It is a great shame that those who protest are, in the main, not local people and they only visit on New Year’s Day to chant and make a noise. The vocal support we had from those in Guildhall Square and Lammas Street just showed how much our community supports the Hunt.”
“As for the claim that they succeeded in keeping the Hunt away from the steps of Guildhall it was, in fact, a Health and Safety matter agreed with the Town Council in order to protect the horses. With the police having to erect barriers it was feared that horses might have injured themselves by accidentally putting their hooves through the palings.”
The spokesman concluded: “We know that support for us within Carmarthenshire is very strong. The rural and farming communities are our strength and their help allows us to continue the traditions and enjoyment experienced by the generations of the past.”
At the start of the Meet in Lammas Street the riding members of the Hunt gathered outside The Boar’s Head Hotel where the owner, Meinir Hunter, and her staff passed around glasses of warm punch (known as stirrup-cups) and sandwiches to sustain the riders before they set off for a day’s trail hunting.
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