PART IV: THE PRESENT DAY

For the last eighteen seasons, Mr and Mrs Nigel Peel have been Joint Masters, with Mr Peel carrying the horn. They were joined for five seasons by Mrs Chrissie Down, who is the current District Commissioner of the North Cotswold Hunt branch of the Pony Club. The Hounds go out three days a week during the season and continue to have the widespread support and encouragement of the farmers, landowners and shooting fraternity for which this country has been famous.

Over the years the country has inevitably changed to reflect the changes in farming practice. After the 2nd World War large areas of grassland were ploughed up, and the introduction of wire, and of chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers all had an impact on the hunting. The Broadway Vale country, once a sea of grass, is now more arable, and sheep farming "on the top" is very much a thing of the past. However, the Cotswold escarpment which runs from Ilmington to Winchcombe, some 12 miles, is still very much as it must have been in 1868. The North Cotswold, which covers 250 square miles, continues to show great sport in its varied and challenging country.