Each year the Holcombe Hunt has met in Rivington for its traditional Boxing Day Hunt, which now also attracts a great many other horse riders, their followers and members of the public, alongside the more usual visitors to the area.

The team has also traditionally maintained a public profile in the area on this day, with today being no different.

Two team Land Rover Mountain Rescue Ambulances were out and about, with a total of nine team members aboard.

With such a lot of visitors to the area we obviously drew a lot of attention and interest.

A large family group from Malaysia visiting relatives in Bolton stopped to chat, with others thanking us for the work we do in our local community, and one even enquiring about joining the team.

A surprise for us was Mrs Karon Foster out with her husband Kenny and their two daughters, from Warrington, who stopped us to wish us all festive greetings and thank us once again for her rescue in April this year when she fell rock climbing at Cadshaw Castle Rocks, Turton, resulting in her being flown by Air Ambulance helicopter to hospital once we had evacuated her from the base of the rock face. (See website ‘news’ report Incident 31-2011, dated Good Friday April 22nd 2011 and Saturday 30th April 2011)

We also met up with former team call out list members, husband and wife (who met whilst in the team) Daniel and Claire Lewis (formerly Morrissey) who both left the team on Friday 1st July 2005 (See website ‘news’ article dated the same) who were out with their young daughter and family for a Boxing Day walk. (Dan and Claire now live in Somerset)

Another former call out list team member we met up with was Alan Livesey, who left the team on Thursday 5th July 2007 (See website ‘news’ article dated the same)