Thank you to Marian for the photos

The Gay Gordens? Don't mind if I do!

Thank you to Alec Steele for the photo

David will be a sad loss to our sport, to the bookmaking fraternity and most of all his friends and family. In these trying times, love from everybody.God bless.

From The Jeynes Family and Team Spring :

Being fairly new to Houndtrailing I was always unsure as to how the relationships with the bookies was, but after a few trails I made contact with Dave. He always gave me encouragement and advised me on a few trails I should maybe try. He also asked me how my dogs were running especially at St Helena. He always gave an impression of being a joker yet there was a serious side to him that had the interests of the sport at heart. He talked sense and spoke of how things should be done. He was respected by many. I will never forget his last words to me at Millstone moor when he said " is that joe out in front on his own, oh shit I am done for" all said with a rye smile. The sport has lost one of its ambassadors and a well loved man.

Thanks to all hound owners for continuing to provide the rest of us with better entertainment than will ever be seen at Old Trafford or the new Wembley stadium.

There was a remarkable example of scent-following in 2011 .A few hundred sheep being driven down Rydal arrived at the trail just as the Ambleside Sports Open Seniors came along . The dogs got themselves sorted out after a few seconds of confusion . The main thing was that after the sheep had been shepherded along the trail for a few hundred yards and then off it the Senior Maidens followed it without a moment's hesitation as if nothing had happened.

The highlight of most years is when the leading hounds cross the A591 at the end of any Grasmere Sports trail and 2011 was no exception . Huntsman's Dazzler shot across Gray Crag as if his life depended on it . People call that Butter Crag but Butter Crag is another hump out of sight a quarter of a mile to the N.N.E. according to the Ordnance Survey map.

Apart from seeing Mountain Ringlets on the High Street range en route to Loadpot Hill for the Dog Produce trails at Helton the other highlight of the day was the panoramic vierw of the Senior Maidens - a long line of dogs wriggling across Moor Divock with the Eden Valley and The Pennines in the background . Beat that . I didn't see any of the official scouts on the top . There had been a request on the H.T.A. website that there should only be official scouts on the fell.

The three Kendals in October were more pleasant than they would normally have been thanks to the mild weather . The hounds ran up a couple of fields and across a lane at Underbarrow having the time of their lives . If anybody wants to be in three parishes at the same time I can show them which nearby wall to spreadeagle themselves across.

A worrying incident was when two Rydal Puppies were swept down Scandale Beck for five yards . They dropped a foot down a miniature waterfall with just their heads showing above the torrent before making it to the far bank.

David Howson

If we’re being brutally honest it was a dark season in many ways for hound trailing, particularly by not staging the international in the HTA handing this prestigious event to the border for three consecutive years. It’s a good job the BHTA could be bothered or we wouldn’t have had an international at all.

Low crowds, poor fields, repeatedly running at the same venue, poor value for punters due to predictable results and little chance for the few bookies that remain standing like lambs to the slaughter at race tracks. There are simply too many meetings, not enough dogs, not enough folk and not enough bookies. The sport isn’t promoted properly, we should be promoting Lakeland venues days in advance with a big poster glamorising the sport at and around the venue. Most of the time the millions of visitors to the lakes wouldn’t have a clue there is a hound trail on, or how to find it. Anybody who enjoys their sport or likes a flutter would surely want to pop along as part of their holiday? We should have an advert along with fixtures in the glossy Lakeland magazines as standard.

The best solution to our current plight I have heard suggested is to cut the fixtures to three a week with one big trail every Saturday in alternating areas. That would mean all the dogs taking each other on over every terrain and every Saturday like a big do. Expenses would be down for us all and the quality of racing infinitely superior, with better value for punters and bookies alike. Promoters would see profits instead of losses and maybe if and when the sport has recovered its popularity we could consider putting extra fixtures on.

I have no doubt that most will dismiss the idea out of hand without realising it is probably the best way forward for our sport.

All is not lost, the odd fixture was just like the old days. With the excellent promotion and running of the Cold Fell Festival the Whitehaven area showed what could be achieved. A massive crowd turned out, the prize money attracted fantastic entries and betting turnover was very good due to many races being 5-1 the field such was the competitive nature of the racing. The meeting that followed was also well supported, but after a while people were complaining about the venue due to dogs becoming too familiar with the course and accusations of dogs cutting etc. In other words, it was becoming yet another “race track” and crowds and entries dwindled.

Regardless of having plenty to moan about, it was an enjoyable season in the main for us fanatics who still follow the sport everywhere. It would seem that my season has been a constant running battle with one of the shrewdest and hardest hitting punters in the game, and the little ******* has turned me over with alarming regularity. It all started early in the season at Helton with a hefty punt on Quiet Swift who won very easily indeed and continued throughout the season. Even when I thought I had him beat the leaders would run off and he would get divine intervention from somewhere. The less said about one particular incident the better I would think, although that was hardly his fault. I’m looking forward to doing battle again in 2012, even though I’m sure he is the living example of the Devil looking after his own.

Don’t reach for your hankies but it’s really hard now for the bookies, the days of the “mug punter” are long behind us, and nearly everybody in the betting ring is very knowledgeable about hound trailing and really know their stuff, so it’s a fascinating battle of wits in the main throughout the season.

Highlights of the season?

Watching Darling toying with the opposition at Oulton was breath-taking stuff. A worthy champion again who has won on all sorts of running and has an amazing set of gears.

Sparrowmire Jill progressing into a top class hound. Who’s saying her maiden win at Gaisgill in 2010m was a fluke now? She would be 1-100 in a maiden race there these days! She’s a credit to Robert and Emma.

The Cold Fell Festival, proving that the sport can survive if managed and promoted properly.

I have to laugh now at how I went for a pint with the Cleator Moor boys before the Shap Summit trails. I had asked them to let me know when they were having a go because I thought Hot Flush was a good thing for a maiden race. I then walked out to my car not even noticing Hot Flush clipped, bathed and raring to go in the car next to me. Who did they stick on with? Yep, my own fault I suppose. There’s no friends in the betting ring!

The crack is still good among enthusiasts, although the loss of Eric Walker was a massive blow to us all.

The emergence of some young trainers and helpers. If only we could encourage more young people into the sport. I am particularly struck by Jo-Jo Satterthwaites enthusiasm for the game, I hope she won’t be embarrassed by me saying so. We could do with a few more like her.

The dedication shown by some promoters in certain areas is admirable in the face of adversity, although sadly quite the reverse could be said about others who don’t appear to give a toss. Without those dedicated souls we wouldn’t have a sport at all and we should all be grateful. I was particularly saddened when Maurice Bewley told me he was stepping down, even though he did once threaten to throw me in the beck at Low Place!

Let’s hope our sport can start to move forward out of what has seemed like terminal decline. This will only be achieved by people talking and more importantly peoplelistening. I am hoping against hope we can have a new venue for the Mayday trails for starters, the turn-out of runners and people last year was extremely disappointing.

Think positive people, there are plenty of pups next year. Hopefully we will see more new faces coming into the sport.

Thanks to all for your custom over the season, even you Mr Tinnion. Roll on next season.

 

 

 

As is often the way in hound trailing, 2011 has been an up and down sort of a season for our kennel. We set off promisingly and had high hopes for our pup Destiny, a winner at Askam during the first week but unfortunately she sustained a serious muscle injury to her shoulder and after two wrong diagnoses and more than four months on the sidelines it was October before she returned to the trail field and one of my highlights was winning with her at Rosthwaite during the final week - it was just reward for Martin who had put a lot of work into getting her fit again. Hopefully we will have better luck with her next year. Desire also had a good start to the term and she won five out of five senior trails at Lamplugh (what a good venue for the May Day trails or the Festival haha!!) as well as wins at Low Place, Kentmere Hall and Buttermere but once again her hormones got the better of us and she broke down at the beginning of August so her form suffered somewhat after that. 

Davina has had another fab year and although she is not a prolific winner you are always guaranteed a good run with her. One of my lowlights was at Ambleside Sports, a venue she loves when she came with a few yards in the maiden trail and got run off by the sheep on the top and only finished fourth. Those bloody sheep, I was cursing them for days after!!! I would say the star of our kennel this year though has been Della. What a great little hound, she always gives 100% and she exceeded our expectations by winning six senior trails, two at Low Place and one each at Kentmere Hall, Rusland, Latrigg Top and my favourite of all at Eskdale Puppy Show in September. The crack that afternoon was particularly good.

The biggest lowlight of 2011 was losing our much loved mate Eric Walker in June - trail fields are not quite the same without him and he very sorely missed. I would like to congratulate all the champions and runners up and their owners and trainers and in particular John & Heidi who have had a magnificent season. Also well done to Nick, Trish & Steph with Tiagress, I feel like I have lived every moment with you all and took much pleasure in it! Hope you all winter well and here's looking forward to 2012, I can't wait :0).