‘Always trust your hounds’
catherine.austen@futurenet.com
ON 1 May this year Andrew Cook is retiring as master of the Dumfriesshire and Stewartry Foxhounds after 15 seasons. It is a big change after 30 years in hunting – a good stint by any standards.
When asked why he is stopping, he bats the question away with a swift, “because my wife told me to”, followed by a hearty cackle.
Andrew is not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. Nor does he enjoy talking about himself. But when pressed he is clear: “I have been in hunting in one way or another since I was 16. I have done 15 seasons here and if I want to do something else, I need to do it now before I get too old.”
Rather pointedly, he adds: “We’ve all seen people who have carried on too long. I don’t want to make that mistake.”
Andrew didn’t hunt as a child, but he grew up with hunting all around him.
“The VWH kennels were across the fields from my family
