Lady Shovehole's Cirsute Hunt is cut short

Boxing Day saw Lady Shovehole's huge ancestral spread once again play host to the Cirsute Hunt. The event nearly ended in disaster after spectators, who had turned out in their hundreds, spooked keen horsewoman Jules Misdrinker's big colt Trojan, causing her to go down. Shaken but unhurt, Misdrinker swallowed her pride then remounted, to finish a now shortened course.

This year's hunt, likely to be the last before the ban is overturned, attracted an unprecedented crowd of both protesters and supporters in equal numbers.

"It's my pre-laid scent," said the recently engaged and soon to be Helena Smarry-Monk, Hunt Organiser. "Clearly it took the hounds and riders too close to onlookers, but despite the fall sustained by Jules, the day has been a huge success and we are all looking forward to next year's event already."