Hunt Saboteur Who Accused Dorset Huntswoman Was Previously Convicted of Attacking Pensioner
A Dorset hunt saboteur whose assault allegation against a huntswoman ended in acquittal was previously convicted of attacking an elderly hunt supporter.
Alexandra Dennis, of North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, was the complainant in the case against Sophie Tuffin, who was cleared by magistrates in August.
The Tuffin case
In August 2026, Dennis appeared at Weymouth Magistrates' Court as the complainant against Sophie Tuffin, 40, who was hosting the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt on her family's land on 10 December 2024.
Dennis alleged that during a dispute over a right of way at Hile Farm, Puxey, Tuffin struck her in the face with a mobile phone and then knocked her over with her horse. Tuffin denied making any contact and said she believed Dennis had fallen while walking backwards.
Dennis was wearing a body-worn camera, but the footage did not capture the alleged contact, only showing her falling to the ground. Under cross-examination, the defence suggested she had been there to provoke an incident, which Dennis denied. Magistrates found Tuffin not guilty.
The Holnest conviction
The Tuffin trial was not Dennis's first appearance at the same court. On 18 December 2021, while the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt was out trail hunting near Holnest, she attacked pensioner Richard de Pelet. Footage shown in court captured Dennis lunging at Mr de Pelet as he went to pick something up from the ground behind her, and striking him on the head with a video camera lens. Mr de Pelet fell to the ground.
Dennis denied assault by beating but was convicted following a trial. The bench, chaired by Dominic Brittan, fined her £225 and ordered her to pay £100 compensation to Mr de Pelet, £600 in costs and a £34 victim surcharge, a total of £959.
Speaking on his behalf, the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt said Mr de Pelet had recovered physically but "remains emotionally scarred by the violent actions of Alexandra Dennis." The hunt added that following hounds remains an important social activity for many older rural people, often one of the few in isolated areas. Mr de Pelet, a former hunt chairman, was later reported to fear reprisals from saboteurs.
More footage from Mappowder
There is also video footage of Dennis involved in another confrontation in Mappowder, Dorset, in 2023.
After a landowner asked Dennis to return to the public footpath, she allegedly punched him in the face before other hunt members began filming. The footage that follows shows Dennis pushing the landowner backwards into a quad bike as the confrontation continues, whilst hurling abuse.
The footage records part of the confrontation. It is one of a number of filmed clashes between hunts and saboteurs in recent years.
For a movement that routinely accuses hunts of intimidation and violence, the repeated appearance of hunt saboteurs in confrontational incidents presents an uncomfortable question: how much of what happens in the field is being driven by the very tactics they claim to oppose?
