Goodwoof: 'The remarkable thing is how few incidents of biting there are, from dogs and owners'

'My dogs? They're home,' says the Duke of Richmond. 'They are SO tired!' Winston the Goodwood dachshund, Charles Gordon-Lennox tells me, is especially beat, what with this year’s event being dachshund-themed, with a hilarious, hundreds-strong dachshund parade and bow-tied dachshunds everywhere. Some days last longer than others, as another famous Winston once said.

We are here in Goodwood’s delightful Kennels pavilion, on day two of Goodwoof, the glorious mid-May weekend of dog-day afternoons, now in its fourth year, that people are calling “the Canine Glastonbury”. Sunday tea-time, to be exact, so spot of Earl Grey and a clotted cream and jam scone. A Negroni chaser cooled by hound dog ice cubes, made bespoke by the Connaught Hotel’s mixologists may well follow.

To the Duke’s right, under the tented shade, are Barkitecture judges Clare Balding, and Grand Designs’ Kevin Mcloud. To the left, Barkitecture designer Sebastian Conran (he designed a fabulous dog house made out of cork 'which is actually a bark', Sebastian reminds us), Sussex Spaniel Harry and his owner Jeremy Hackett, of the eponymous menswear titan and also patron of the Sussex Spaniel Association ('they are rarer than giant pandas!').

Here’s Goodwoof ambassador James Middleton wheeling a bicycle truck filled with children and cocker spaniels Zulu, Inka, Luna, and Nala. In the corner, deep in conversation with Bill Bailey is a bone-afide superstar — Seamus, the pony-sized Irish wolfhound with his Irish Guardsman owner resplendent in scarlet, Home Service Dress uniform. If this is the doggie Glastonbury, the sunday line up is looking very strong.

Country Life (CL)

Tell us about Winston the dachshund

Duke of Richmond (DoR)

Winston was a Covid dog — my daughter bought him during lockdown so I’m afraid he’s never socialised with other dogs particularly well. We love him but he is…his own person. Quite angry but also the inspiration for this year’s celebrated breed. For the first year of Goodwoof we did Spaniels (the duke’s family also has a working cocker called Leto) then poodles, Labradors and now daschunds. Next year the theme is going to be rescue dogs.

CL

Goodwoof is now in its fourth year. How did it get started... and how has it grown?

DoR

We are lucky at Goodwood to have all sorts of passion streams and they just come out of the enthusiasm of the family — our mantra is horse racing, motor racing, fly fishing, golf, shooting and cricket. We do all these things at quite a high level. So we thought why not dogs.

CL

Hang on…cricket?

DoR

No one really knows, but we actually have the oldest written rules of cricket in the world, from 1727, in our archive. The first ever (official) game of cricket was played on a pitch right here at Goodwood in 1702. The second duke was one of the founders of cricket and the fourth duke (Colonel Charles Lennox) lent Thomas Lord the money to build Lord’s cricket ground. So quite a lot of history.

The dog thing was inspired by Goodwood recording the first ever fox hunt (the Charlton Hunt) on the estate in the 1670s, and these kennels which were built in 1787 for the 3rd Duke of Richmond, Charles Lennox, who loved fox hunting and hunting dogs. He got (18th century architect) James Wyatt to put up this lovely building for the hounds — probably the most luxurious kennels in the entire world. It had central heating — large iron plates, warmed from behind by roaring fires — 100 years before the main house. The Kennels building is certainly a finer piece of architecture than the house. Much more expensive too.

CL

Do other countries behave like us?

DoR

People ask that same question about our car events. Do we celebrate our passions and buy into them more than other countries perhaps? Maybe we are a nation that hides our emotions and stays away from other human beings, preferring to spend more time with our horses and dogs. And cars. Much easier!

CL

The cover of the most recent Sunday Telegraph magazine is asking: 'Does Britain have too many dogs?' What do you think?

DoR

Well…post Covid the numbers are certainly up aren’t they? [The UK currently has 13 million dogs]. Anyone will tell you that their dog becomes a big part of their lives. Dogs get you out of the house, they are good company, they love you, you can stroke them!

If you come to Goodwood we have dog yoga (Doga), dog meditation and a dog disco (the Ministry of Hound). The Gnawlands Nannies will also take your dog for walk.

CL

Goodwoof is a pun-heavy environment…

DoR

It is! We can’t resist it! When my wife came up with the name Goodwoof, I said that is so terrible we can’t use it! But it stuck. It is so bad, it's good, and worked straight away.

CL

The photo booths are the most popular stalls. People love taking pictures of their dogs. As an ex-photographer yourself, how do you take a good shot of a dog?

DoR

You need treats and meat! I did quite a lot of dogs for advertising campaigns when I was a photographer. I also shot black panthers for a cigarette ad. They were very angry and had a beady eye on my four-year-old daughter, who was in the studio at the time.

CL

What challenges did you face when Goodwoof first started?

DoR

There was a lot of trepidation about poo, barking, biting, bad behaviour, etc. We really didn’t know what to expect. The remarkable thing is how well behaved everyone is, how everyone picks up their dog’s poo and how few incidents of biting there are. Dogs and owners.

CL

Goodwood is an entertainment behemoth. How many people come here every year?

DoR

With 20 days of horse racing, several car events and everything else, about a million people a year. Goodwoof is around 20,000 people… and 12,000 dogs.