History

The Cape Hunt follows a long tradition of riding to hounds in the Cape, going back over a 195 years. The Cape Hunt holds the distinction of being the oldest of the ‘new world’ hunts dating back to 1822. The first Cape Hunt foxhounds originated from the English Beaufort Hunt and were imported into South Africa by the then Cape Governor, Lord Charles Somerset. They were originally kept in kennels at Lord Charles Somerset’s Hunting Lodge. This Lodge is now the Somerset House Primary School.

Some interesting historical Cape Hunt documents