Female fox hunter used mobile phone to assault saboteur before knocking her over with horse, court hears

By ANDY DOLAN, GENERAL REPORTER Published: 13:48, 12 August 2026 | Updated: 13:51, 12 August 2026 A huntswoman used her mobile phone to assault a female saboteur before knocking her over with her horse, a court heard. Sophie Tuffin is alleged to have smashed the device into the face of Alexandra Dennis as the pair argued over a right of way. Tuffin, 40, was hosting the Blackmore and Sparkford Vale Hunt on her family's estate in Dorset when members encountered Ms Dennis and other hunt saboteurs in a neighbouring farmer's field. The farmer's wife rode up to Ms Dennis and told her she needed to get out of the field and back to the lane. A court heard that Tuffin leaned over to show the complainant a map on her mobile phone to show there was no public access. The mother-of-two then allegedly hit Ms Dennis with the phone, leaving her with bruising to her face. Her 750kg horse is said to have then made contact with Ms Dennis, knocking her to the ground. The saboteur suffered bruising to her toes and lower leg from where the horse had stood on her, the court heard. Tuffin denied hitting Ms Dennis with her phone or her horse. Her lawyer claimed the saboteur was there to provoke members of the hunt. She pleaded not guilty to a charge of assault by beating at Weymouth Magistrates' Court. Her trial on Monday heard the incident happened at Hile Farm in the hamlet of Puxey, Dorset, on December 10, 2024. Ms Dennis is a member of North Dorset Hunt Saboteurs, a group that monitors hunts to ensure they do not chase after foxes under the guise of trail hunting. She had a body-worn camera on her which recorded the incident. Sophie Tuffin, on her horse at the time of the incident, is alleged to have smashed the device into the face of hunt saboteur Alexandra Dennis Miss Dennis, pictured leaving court, said she was on a public footpath when the alleged assault took place She said she accessed a neighbouring farmer's field on a public footpath that ran through it when the hunt approached her. After being told to leave she argued that she was on a footpath and tried to show hunt members the OS map on her phone to prove she was in the right. The court heard that the son of the huntmaster initially dismounted and ordered Ms Dennis to 'get back to the lane' before Tuffin intervened. Ms Dennis said: 'She came over trying to show her phone which didn't show any footpath. She was inches from my face. She hit me in the face with her mobile phone.' Charles Nightingale, prosecuting, asked her: 'Was there any doubt in your mind you were on the footpath?' Tuffin denied shoving her phone in Ms Dennis' face and said she 'must have fallen over on her own accord Ms Dennis said: 'No doubt whatsoever, I had my OS map and GPS.' He asked: 'Was there any need for any force to be used at all?' Mr Nightingale said even if the complainant had been on private land there was still a requirement to show necessity to use force in getting her to leave. In cross-examining Ms Dennis, Sarah Barnard, representing Tuffin, asked her if she considered that she was not on a footpath. Ms Dennis said: 'No not for one second. They say that kind of thing all the time to get you to leave. I have the map and I know my rights of way.' Ms Barnard suggested the defendant had not hit her in the face and she had fallen over herself without the horse touching her and made up the assault. Ms Dennis said: 'No, it's literally on video. She smashed me in the face with her mobile phone, you can hear it.' The court also heard from Detective Constable Steve Allen who used the longitude and latitude recorded on Ms Dennis' bodycam footage to establish the location and said he believed she was on a public footpath. When interviewed by police, Tuffin denied shoving her phone in Ms Dennis' face and said she 'must have fallen over on her own accord'. She told the court they had organised the hunt across their land and neighbouring farms with the landowners' permission. They did not believe Ms Dennis was on a footpath so approached her and asked her to leave. Mr Nightingale said: 'You put your phone in her face saying there's no footpath.' Tuffin replied: 'I can't reach her face from my horse.' Mr Nightingale said: 'It clearly shows you reaching down and pushing the phone towards her. Why are you showing a phone that doesn't show a footpath? 'This person is engaging in an activity you didn't approve of. You didn't care whether or not she had rights to be on that footpath. 'There's absolutely no way you could know where exactly the right of way was when you had no right of way on the map you were using.' Tuffin, who lives at Bagber, Dorset, replied: 'Not that I'm aware of. She was walking backwards and fell over backwards.' But she said she had not actually seen Ms Dennis fall. The trial was adjourned and will resume on September 21. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.