THE traditional sight of horses and hounds at the Holcombe Hunt’s annual Boxing Day meet at Rivington has been snowed off.

The hunt was due to go out under the leadership of new master Sue Simmons.

Instead, the master and huntsman will parade the hounds at Rivington Barn at noon today.

Hunt secretary Kath Smith said: “Even though it looks like a picture postcard it could be very dangerous for the horses on the tracks and byroads.

“Even if it starts to thaw, any patches of ice could cause a serious accident.”

It is only the second time in 30 years that the hunt has not been mounted on Boxing Day.

Sue, aged 44, took over from the previous master, Arnold Greenhalgh, earlier this year, although her official tenure only started in May.

A Horse of the Year show finalist, Sue’s equestrian background is impressive —as is her ability to juggle mastership of the hunt with a full time job and two young sons.

“I’ve done that thing that most people can’t — I’ve managed to get 48 hours into every day,” she says.

“I never have a day off, but then I wouldn’t ever want to not be doing anything.”

The Holcombe is thought to be one of the oldest hunts in the country, dating back to around 1086.

Its hounds are believed to be direct descendants of the “Blue Gascoignes”

which were brought over to England by the Normans.

The hunt has 40 hounds, referred to as 20 couple, which are looked after by professional huntsman Steven Ashworth and his wife Diane at the hunt’s kennels in Bury.

They hunt across the whole of Lancashire, but their Boxing Day meet is traditionally held at Rivington.

Now Sue aims to help the hunt thrive.

She said: “There is a trickle of history left in the hounds — I want to keep that going within the law.

“The worst thing would be if we were wiped out because people didn’t adapt.”

Hunting live quarry with dogs was banned in 2005, after the Speaker of the House of Commons controversially invoked the Parliament Act to force the legislation through.

Now hunts lay scent trails for the hounds to follow.

Five years on from the ban and Sue believes that hunting is healthier than ever.

“Change has made it easier and better because you can plan, you can use smaller areas of land and it is easier to control the hounds near the roads,”

she said.

“All the farmers and landowners are still supportive of the hunt going over their land. I think they like to see us, they take it as part of the countryside way of life.”

As for the people who claim that hunting is an outdated sport and purely the domain of toffs on horseback, Sue says they could not be more wrong.

“Everyone has a right to their opinion but we have farmers, builders, schoolteachers — people from all walks of life,” she said.

“We’re a family friendly hunt.”

And she has stern words for people who think that computer games are a substitute for getting off the sofa and being active.

“One of my pet hates is people who sit indoors playing on their Wii when they should be outside in the ‘green gym’.

“And then people wonder why they’re overweight!”