Britain's most famous huntswoman has made a desperate plea for the safe return of her two whippets after they went missing from her rural home. Influencer Callie Coles, dubbed 'The Huntswoman of Instagram', told her 1.1 million followers the animals ran off while being walked in the grounds of their Devon farmhouse.
Ms Coles made a moving plea for help, describing one as 'my best friend' who is 'rarely further than a few feet away from me'. She added: 'I don't know what has happened to them. It's killing me. I am so desperately worried. They ran off while being walked at home. Near Roadford Lake. We have looked everywhere, walked miles and miles, searched all around us, phoned all the vets and the dog wardens. Nothing. Now [I'm] really very worried. Missing them desperately. If you hear or see anything, however trivial you might think. Please let me know.'
Ms Coles, 42, regularly posts pictures and videos of her white and brown dog Marmalade, while the other brown whippet belongs to her artist husband Toby, 40. She confirmed both dogs are microchipped and spayed, and while Toby's dog is wearing a tracker, it isn't working. She urged fans not to message asking for updates and promised: 'If I have any news I'll let you know.'
Social Media Support and Family Life
Friends quickly jumped in to offer their support, including model and TV star Jodie Kidd, who said: 'Oh Cals I'm so sorry did they go missing in West Country or Scotland? What can I do from Sussex to help? Praying for swift return to you all.'
Ms Coles, who first created the Instagram page as a 'memory box' for her children Jesse, Merlin, Pippin, and Peregrine, said she had never intended to reach social media fame, calling the whole affair a 'happy accident' after a computer crash erased years of family photos. The family's four-bed home at Woodley Park Farm, which also includes two separate two-bed homes and 24 acres of land, was recently placed on the market for £875,000.
Previous Loss of Beloved Horse
Last year, she wrote movingly on Instagram about her sorrow at her beloved horse Warrior's sudden death from a heart attack during a drag hunt. Mourning the loss of 'the best horse in the world', she shared the sad news with her Instagram followers, saying: 'What I would do to be able to put my arms around you again. To kiss your velvet muzzle. To rest my head against your cheek. To feel your warm, soft breath on my face. I love you. I miss you. I love you. I miss you. I love you. I miss you. With every broken heartbeat.'
Describing witnessing Warrior's final moments, Callie posted: 'Kneeling beside you in the mud. It was the unthinkable happening, the thing I had most dreaded. A heart attack in the midst of doing what you loved. Hounds running. The whicker of affection from your laboured nostril intended to reassure even as you died. I have to remember the joy that you brought into my day, for nine years. Almost a quarter of my life. You gave me such confidence, sitting up behind those periscope ears - you changed my life. You singled me out and I was yours. You tenderly nannied the children despite your tendencies for overexuberance. You looked to me for love and sought me out. I feel truly honoured. My broken heart will hold you in it until we meet again. I owe you everything. I love you.'
Idyllic Country Life
The huntswoman's pictures - perfectly mustering the idyllic quiet life away from the city bustle with her family - have won a legion of followers. Among the videos shared was another of their horses Sparky - full name Mr Glitter Sparkles - helping out at bathtime for Merlin and Peregrine. 'It all began when Sparky escaped his stable and banged on the boot room door, and we let him in. He's got no shoes on and they're hard stone floors so it's completely harmless,' Callie previously told the Telegraph.
Other pictures show picturesque rides across Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor, fearless jumps above metre-high hedges, and her ponies, which are treated like house pets and even roam around the home. Another post, shared on Christmas Day, shows a pony standing in front of a roaring log fire.
Before moving to Devon in 2021, the couple lived in a six-bed stately home near Callie's mother in Dorset while Toby was South Dorset hunt master. The mother-of-three revealed that the boys loved the pony coming in and that she only allows him to do so on special occasions. The couple share idyllic details of their business manufacturing basket saddles and also rent out holiday accommodation in their 24-acre grounds, which they describe as 'a place of sanctuary for our family to run wild'.
Lifelong Passion for Hunting
Ms Coles has taken part in hunting trails since childhood. After she 'begged and pleaded every day for nearly five years' she received her very first pony aged seven. She rode Warrior up to eight months pregnant with middle son Merlin. In an interview with countryside bible The Field, she revealed Warrior had previously belonged to her husband. She said: 'When I married Toby I managed to snaffle his best horse, Warrior. Warrior is my horse of a lifetime, one of the lights of my life. He is arguably the best hunter in England and although I cannot believe my good fortune, I thank my lucky star for him every time I sit upon his back. He just loves the job. Woz and I have that wonderful bond that I only dreamed of until I found him.'
Toby also paid his own tribute, posting: 'Warrior, the name says it all. Without a shadow of a doubt the best hunter I have ever seen, and the safest pair of ears for my amazingly brave wife to sit behind. You have taken a bit of all our hearts with you. You could quite literally jump the moon and in my case a motorway, yet quite happily totter around with our boys on your hallowed back. Even if I could never bloody catch you I will forever be grateful for the joy you have brought into our lives. Even in death you were kind, making sure your true love was safe. The fields of Elysian will be a better place having you in them.'
