The Melton Hunt Club

Visit The Fox & Hounds

MHC RIDE 2024

The 2024 MHC Cross Country Ride was held on Sunday 10th November 2024 at 12 noon
The Ride was kindly sponsored by the Fox & Hounds
6 Somerby Rd, Knossington, Oakham LE15 8LY
(W3W: What3Words: ///stag.jugs.stocks)

Results are available here

WANT TO TRY HUNTING IN LEICESTERSHIRE?

GO RACING AT THE BEST POINT TO POINT COURSE?

WATCH THE FAMOUS MELTON CROSS-COUNTRY 'RIDE'?

THEN READ ON...
(to pause on a slide, mouse-over it)

For nearly 350 years, Leicestershire and the neighbouring counties have been home to the most famous names in hunting: the Belvoir, the Cottesmore, the Quorn and more recently the Fernie (originally the 'South Quorn') and the Atherstone Hunts.

The Belvoir, Cottesmore and Quorn have 'countries' that converge on Melton Mowbray. They run independently but are closely linked with Melton Hunt Club (MHC).

MHC organises limited reduced-rate days ('caps') with the three Hunts with the aim of getting more people to try hunting in Leicestershire and the surrounding area.

MHC also runs the internationally famous and highly competitive Melton cross-country 'ride'

Lastly, it maintains the UK’s best point-to-point racecourse at Garthorpe at which the three constituent Hunts and MHC itself host race-days each spring.

This website, together with its associated Facebook page, Twitter account and smartphone app (see here), is MHC's 'official' presence. But because MHC's activities span several distinct fields, racing at Garthorpe has its own website, Facebook page and Twitter account, and the MHC Ride has its own Facebook page.
(Remember: to pause on a slide, mouse-over it)

If you want to book a reduced-rate day with one of the four Hunts, you must first be a current hunting member of MHC and must pay by standing order. Click here to join.
Then book your reduced-rate day here.

	Melton Carnegie Museum		Hunting boxes (lodges)		Hunt clubs
			Other points of interest

MAP

This map shows the country of MHC's three foundation Hunts and their geographical centre Melton Mowbray. Zoom your mouse's scroll-wheel (with Ctrl pressed) or using the +/- buttons. Drag the map in any direction. As Melton comes into view when you zoom in, markers for some of Melton's hunting lodges, hunting clubs and other points of interest will appear. If you click your mouse over a marker, a pop-up box will give more details and often a photo. The traditional division of the Quorn's country into four parts is shown, but after the 2013-14 season the QH ceased regular hunting on Saturday, with some of the Saturday country now being hunted on Tuesday. Belvoir Thursdays alternate between the two sides of the A1 – hence the two markers. Though the boundary of the Quorn country is well-established, the eastern boundaries of the Cottesmore and Belvoir are less clear. Notionally, both countries extend to the east coast around The Wash, but the Cottesmore/Belvoir boundary beyond Pinchbeck and the Cottesmore/Fitzwilliam boundary beyond Crowland are ill-defined. Lincolnshire's South Forty-foot Drain and River Glen are, for practical reasons, the usual eastern boundary although the Cottesmore does meet further east during Autumn hound exercise and the Belvoir hunts trails on the far side every few years and has met there at least once in the last twenty years. The eastern Belvoir and Cottesmore boundaries are thus shown on the map as straight lines connecting the eastmost 'definitive' boundary points. The Meynell and South Staffs ceased hunting in 2023 and the Atherstone in 2019. The Atherstone country was then divided between adjacent hunts. The Quorn was allocated country from Stanton by Bridge (just north of Melbourne) westwards to Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Measham and thence to Cosby Spinnies south of Blaby

MHC caps

MHC reduced-rate caps for days with the Belvoir, Cottesmore and Quorn are booked with MHC, but when you come to pay you will be switched automatically to the payment system of the appropriate Hunt. Any requests for refunds or 'banking' for cancelled days with Belvoir, Cottesmore or Quorn must be made direct to the Hunt concerned and not to MHC, but tell MHC Secretary nevertheless so that your 'number of MHC caps' allowed is not debited.

SMARTPHONE? TABLET?

Via MHC's popular smartphone 'app' you can now make online payments for MHC reduced-rate caps and other items, although MHC subscriptions must be paid by standing order, and you can also email the MHC (and the BH, CH and QH) Secretaries – all from within the app. This is complementary to the online payment pages of this website - you can use either, whichever is more convenient - and they offer the same facilities.
See the Newsmedia / Newsfeeds page for more details.