A foxhound from the Suffolk Hunt has been found safe and well after 10 days of being on the run.
Foreman had escaped from the Suffolk Show showground after being startled while waiting to parade on Wednesday 27 May.
Part of one of the most popular attractions at the show, the Suffolk pack’s hounds had already taken part in a parade in the grand ring with other local packs of hounds, and were due to parade again in the President’s ring.
While they were waiting for the in-hand harness horses to exit the ring, a horse nearby kicked a stable door. The loud noise made two hounds suddenly leave the rest of the pack.
One of the missing hounds was Garland 09 who later returned to the hound lorry, however her son Foreman 12 (by Duke of Beaufort’s Farrier 07) was nowhere to be found.
Despite blowing the hunting horn and staying out late long after the show had finished to look for Foreman, hunt staff from the Suffolk Hunt were unable to locate the doghound.
Throughout the 10-day period when Foreman was missing, various sightings were reported and visits made to the location where he had been seen, but he did not reappear.
A further sighting was reported on Saturday (6 June) and hunt staff immediately went to see if he could be found. Although Foreman did not come to the call of the hunting horn, while searching land within the vicinity, he was found curled up asleep under a tree, around 100 yards from the entrance to the showground from where he escaped.
A spokesperson for the Suffolk Hunt told H&H: “It was such a relief to find Foreman. He looked surprisingly well after running free for 10 days but he was certainly glad to get back to kennels.”
Packs of hounds are regular attractions at local or county shows and the incident has not put the Suffolk Hunt off parading again — they were out again at the Rural Pastimes Event at Euston Hall on Sunday 7 June, the day after Foreman returned safely to kennels.
