A young show producer has started a new project amidst the Coronavirus lockdown.
Harry Moore of the Moore show team has ventured into crafting bespoke handmade canes and whips for the hunt field and show ring.
Harry is known for riding and producing show horses alongside his brother Jack at their base in Cheshire.
“I recently started helping out at the Cheshire hunt kennels a few mornings a week,” explains Harry, who creates under the name H.M Bespoke Canes and Whips and showcases his creations on his Instagram page.
“Steven Ashworth (huntsman) and Lucinda Craven (whipper-in) explained that I would need a kennel whip for the hound exercise and they kindly gifted me a spare one. That’s when I started looking at how canes were made and thought I’d try to make one my myself. I’ve always been creative and I enjoy making things from scratch so I started doing some research and asking various people in the market from advice.”
Lockdown presented Harry with the time to master the technique: “I do the canes at night after I’ve finished off the yard and will spend a few hours sorting them out,” adds Harry, who has made various other sticks such as hiking and showing canes as well as Welsh whips.
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The creations has proven popular among fellow show riders, including Simon Charlesworth, Olly Burchell-Small, Frazer Atherden and worker specialist Danny Carroll who is now huntsman of the Rockwood Harriers. Robert Walker has requested a kennel whip for his son, Sam, who also walks out with the Cheshire kennels most mornings.
“Each cane takes a couple of weeks to make as you have to get the correct shape and balance,” says Harry. “The nylon thongs I use are heavy and all the keepers are handmade out of bridle leather. The binding is one of the hardest parts to perfect; there can’t be any gaps so it’s a slow process to make sure it’s all together, but it’s worth the time when you see the end result of the cane.
“I’ve got a lot of orders for children kennel whips as they are a lot more robust than a classic hunting whip.
“I’m hoping I can build this passion into something big for myself in the future.”
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