COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS
(Clause :These are the views of the said author, and not the site owners, thereby we are not liable or responsible for these comments, thank you)
Received from Neil Wesbster - Tuesday 17th March
Dear HTA Membership.
Observations / My thoughts for the first quarter / Open letter
I have read the letters from various members and while I would agree to disagree with some of what is said I have to say I have also even enjoyed reading what members have passionately put to print.
So early in the season and so disappointing so soon, that is my deliberation at this youthful stage of the 2011 developments.
Fortunately however, I am not talking about the fantastic racing we have so far witnessed, and will undoubtedly continue to do so through to the end of October, but I fear already those efforts are being diluted by a light spray of internal strife.
Surely a line has to be drawn somewhere so that we can all move on. If it's not All In trail's its fixtures, if it's not the International its the dead hand of tradition.Whenever and wherever the show is staged at the moment the only phrase that is repeated time after time is, "the game's finished."In my opinion, (and no doubt a lot of others) its not finished, its a long way from being finished.Also, I am surely not alone in thinking Barry is running a one man show in being here, there and everywhere every night or weekend for every trail.
Baz, the Judge, Baz, the Cameraman, Baz, the defence correspondent Baz, the one man show. This admirable dedication to his duty means he is taking on the issues and problems almost single handedly and that is a big battle to fight for one person. (That is not to forget all area committee members)
There are times when I have to pinch myself and remember that HT is not controlled by some outside autocratic body that is alien to tradition or unsympathetic to individual concerns, it is in our hands.
The sport, our sport, when we care to remember is under our own membership management, there are a lot of people who put in tremendous amounts of work to bring about a nightly or weekend meeting, sometimes at financial cost to themselves.
How can it be that there are willing promoters that will put in the hard work and then cannot get a meeting supported?, how can it be that a more supportive and common ground cannot be found?, not just on the odd occasion but continually.
Perhaps I am being naive in my thoughts, perhaps I am being naive in allowing this to go to print but what the hell, how uplifting it would be for once to hear something more positive being spoken or at least hear something and feel a corner has been turned.
Read into this what you will, but what I guess I am saying is, lets all try to go forward, talk it up, promote it up and as Curtis Mayfield said, Move on up.
Neil Webster
Received from David Howson on Tuesday 17th March:
I feel I should respond to Barrys correspondence regarding Sundays pup result.
Nobody was questioning anybodies integrity. If you recall my daily report from Gamelsby, I quote....
"the judge thought Artisan had won, consultation with the camera couldn't split them so credit where credit is due, the judge insisted on the right result rather than his opinion and withheld the result until the image could be blown up on a big screen at home".
What I was getting at was that all anybody wants is the correct result, and credit to the judge for insisting that everybody got the correct decision at the end of the day.
Now on Sunday, everybody stood to the right of the line didn't think it was close, it looked from where we were stood that Kerrymore had held off the late challenge of Annies Bay, even though Annies Bay was clearly in front after the line. I am the first to say that unless you are right on the line you cannot possibly be certain, and it was clear that was the case again here as those stood at the other side were saying Annies Bay had won. This isn't the first time this season angles have been deceptive. Earlier in the season at Askam those of us stood on the road were certain Chantelle had won, I was actually quite amused when Buzz said he thought Destiny had won as it didn't look close from where we were, but again, credit where it is due, the result was withheld until the picture could be blown up and the result confirmed.
Result? It's there plain to see, just as at Gamelsby. Everybody is happy, nobody can argue. It cemented the fact that angles can be deceptive and people can make mistakes, even on the line.
This is what I said to Barry as I left the field, I felt that the result should have been withheld until the result could be sorted without any semblance of doubt. Any talk of the camera not working etc is bound to lead to howls of derision from disgruntled owners, punters and indeed bookmakers. If Barry assumed I was questioning his or anybody elses integrity I can assure him I wasn't and apologise if I gave that impression. What I am saying is anybody can make a mistake, including judges. The camera however does not lie and in this instance as in the past, should have been used to establish the outcome of the race. If we have to wait 24 hours it matters not, everybody only wants the correct outcome. Thankfully, the camera in this instance proved we got that, well done to Annies Bay and the connections.
Lynn and Jayne;
Re: Sundays puppy trail at Kendal
The Judge gave a decision that Annies Bay had prevailed over Kerrymore. I asked her if she would refer to the camera,which she did. On looking at the camera, I found that the image of the finish was compromised (lines on the film) - therefore the only course of action was that the Judges decision stood.
On getting home, I tried to clean the film, the result was that the finish was now viewable. On the small screen of the camera it was impossible to split the hounds therefore if that had been available on the field the Judge would have had to make a decision whether to stay with her original decision or give a dead heat.
The photo of the finish was transferred to a large screen television (computer unavailable). After numerous plays, backwards, forwards,stopping and starting, in front of two independent witnesses, it was clear that Annies Bay had won by a nose.
I hope this clears up any mis -apprehension about the integrity of the officials that were in charge on Sunday .
From Barry Laidler (camera man) and Jackie Steele (judge)
Received on Friday 13th May : In reply to Stanley's comments.
The ship isn't sinking, it has a few holes in it and isn't floating too well. So let’s try and put things right.
The problem with fixtures:
As you well know the fixtures are based on tradition. Stanley quotes Rosthwaite as being an established fixture, but up to 2009 the last Saturday in May was Arlecdon Church trails. Rosthwaite ran on the previous Thursday. When leave was unobtainable in 2010 for Arlecdon, the Whitehaven area tried but couldn't find a venue to fulfil their fixture therefore Rosthwaite moved to the vacant Saturday.
Moving on to 2011. When the fixture committee met in April, a full six weeks before the end of May , the Whitehaven area again claimed the last Saturday in May but with an unnamed venue knowing that Rosthwaite had also claimed the same date.
I am all for enterprise and that is what Rosthwaite did when it took up the date that the Whitehaven area vacated. But now due to lack of communication and pigheadedness, we end up with two fell trails on the same day, one disgruntled farmer and promoter.
Perhaps the fixture committee is to blame? I can assure all members and promoters that this will be fully discussed at the next meeting on Friday.
Yours in sport , Barry Laidler HTA Chairman.
PS, I recently said that perhaps the International trail might be better moved to the third Saturday in July. I have been informed that this Wath Brow's date and has been for 60 years, so think again.
Received from Stanley Jackson - Thursday 12th May
I feel I must write to express my concern and dismay at the recent inclusion of Low Place in the fixture list on the 28th May. Unfortunately in this day and age, two fell trails or indeed two field trails on the same day are unviable.
I have a great deal of admiration for the promoters of the trails at Low Place and know how much hard work they do raising money for vaious worthy causes but I must question their decision to go ahead with trails against an already established fixture ie Rosthwaite. We had no choice but to cancel these trails because obviously they would be poorly supported. Trailers haven't the heart to run two trails for just a handful of hounds and bookmakers/punters likewise, have no interest and also any tourists that turn up would think we haven't much of a sport and it wasn't worth the entrance money!
Very worringly, Grange had a similar experience earlier in the season and when you look at the fixture list nowadays the natural wasteage is serious. Could these two good venues be joining that statistic, the sad answer is yes as things stand today. Other Whitehaven area members say they had no involvement in the promotion of these trails at Low Place but I think area committees should have more involvement and more thought put into the necessity of these extra fixtures for the good of the sport as a whole. The Whitehaven area already have trails at Crag Farm on the 25th and Kirkland Leaps on the 30th, please give somebody else a chance!
Lastly Barry, I have a lot of respect for you but you are the captain of a sinking ship so please try and do something about it
Yours Sincerley, Stanley Jackson
Ex hound trailing fanatic
Received from Neil Webster - Friday 1st April:
Personally I am not interested in the continuing HT tittle tattle over All In trails.
The internal politics of this subject albeit entwined in one common good are bewilderingly divisive in the long term.
What I am shocked about is the fact that Eileen Robinson (Lakeland Trailhound Trust) felt the need to write that letter I have just read on your site, it positively disheartened me.
If her invaluable work has been criticised by people within HT (and it must have been, else why the reason for the letter) then what is the answer to the LTT not being there.
In the present and continuing climate of single issue protest groups this organisation is one of the lynch pins connected to our sport.
It could in future times, providing there are people far sighted enough be held as a beacon for care and continuation of a countryside sport that is a compassionate example of modern thinking towards animal sporting welfare.
The letter has a lot of personal feeling attached and I am sure she must feel totally disillusioned by the careless opinion of some people.
I applaud the work of Eileen and her team and wish them all the success their hard work deserves.
Eileen Robinson, Lakeland Trailhound Trust :-
It has come to my notice that there have been comments on facebook about the Trailhound Trust and how it is run.
I would like to point out that firstly it is Lakeland Trailhound Welfare and has been for nearly three years now as stated in the Hound Trailing Annual every year.
It has also been said 'why do we need a Trust when the Dogs Trust re-home them all'. This is completely untrue. Yes hounds go to various centres for re-homing at the Dogs Trust but not all of them by a long way. How do people think they get there in the first place? A lot of hard work goes into getting available kennels and then arranging transport to get them there. I ask owners for a donation of £30.00 towards petrol costs for transporting the hounds which are often going to Norfolk, Middlesex, Salisbury, Worcester or Gloucester and we often run at a loss on this.
I dont take any money for Lakeland Trailhound Welfare at all and it is run entirely on donations I receive, support from the HTA and area committees when funds allow. We also do car boots to raise funds and over the years I have used my own money to keep it going. I know that a lot of people support Lakeland Trailhound Welfare and many of you reading this will have had a trailhound re-homed in this way, As usual a minority of people make sweeping statements about things they know nothing about. If you dont understand something, please feel free to ring me at anytime and I will explain it all to them.
When I send a trailhound for re-homing to Worcester for instance (not a Dogs Trust Centre) I also send a cheque for £100.00 with that Hound. This is towards costs of spaying/neutering. micro chipping and booster vaccinations. If I re-home a trailhound privately direct from Cumbria then Lakeland Trailhound Welfare pay for the spaying/neutering costs etc which can sometimes reach nearly £200.00.
Apart from the financial side of things, every trailhound that comes under the care of Lakeland Trailhound Welfare is then monitored by me until it gets re-homed and then I am here for advice for the new owners on house training, training to recall and any problems the new owners may have. It has taken me years to build up relationships with all the centres I deal with, promoting trailhounds as pets and indeed promoting the sport. Sue does fantastic work raising money and transporting trailhounds all over the Country and I know it is an important part of Hound Trailing to be seen to be concerned about our trailhounds when they retire or are no longer able to run.
If anyone has any concerns about how Lakeland Trailhound Welfare is run, I would be delighted to speak to them.
From David Howson - Thursday 31 March
I understand fully the reasoning behind all-in trails Baz, and as I said last season if they were used solely for dogs coming back from injury or broken down bitches fair enough, but last seasons all in trails were taking the majority of the runners on the day as I pointed out, the first Kirkbride trail had less than twenty old dogs, twenty odd pups and fifty odd in the all in.
I am aware I sound selfish here talking mainly from a betting point of view, but I wish I had a fiver for every time I've heard a punter say "I'm not travelling all that way just for two trails."
Like Baz says, we need to try and keep everybody happy, which as we know in this sport is impossible, but at far extremes of the county, putting on a two trail meeting on a weekend seems like madness to me, absolutely fine for those who want to run in an all in but hardly worth the effort for a bookie or punter from outside the area to start his car.
You reckon the all in winner won't come from the all in trails Baz? I do. I would also wager a pound to a penny that this race for "dogs coming back from injury etc" is a far, far faster time than the pups, in fact I think I can name the winner now!
15 all in trails in the first month of the season is far too many, how the hell are so many dogs coming back from injury when the season hasn't even started? Throwing one in after a three of four trail meeting might not be so bad, apart from the fact it would decimate the runners in the proper races. Like I said last season, we always managed without all in trails before, I'd be happy to see the back of them altogether, mainly because the sport as a SPECTATOR sport is being made less attractive. On holiday earlier in the year I read in JC's book about a crowd of 7,000 at a trail at Lorton. Where has everybody gone? Thirty odd bookies and thousands of spectators, somebody has been doing something wrong tover the years to lose the massive attraction this sport used to be.
By the way Baz, you can have a lift to Kirkbride with me on Sunday with pleasure, I'll be going anyway, but we'll be heading straight back after the pups.
From Dean Pepper -
i totally agree with david (mind you i dont feel sorry for any bookie) i thought all in trails were to help dogs coming back from injury or unfit dogs? yet the all in trails are usually the fastest on the night and thats by dogs that are unclipped? surely if there that fast with hair on they would be ok in the hounds or other minor trails . saying that if people dont run them in these trails and have there own trails then bring there dogs to the races they get called aswell. cant win i personally run trails because i enjoy keeping fit .(im off to run 1 in 1 hour ) .its a sport i love but this last year ive thought why do i bother. ive taken time off work. ive changed a trail because dogs were getting injured , ive gone out in my own time 2 be shown trails. (just like every other trailer).i dont ask for anything and i dont take payment 4 any practice trail(apart when victor forces me too) i used 2 do it because i loved it . but i dont anymore . im sick of all the back stabbing and calling . in the past ive bitten my lip so many times but after this last year id had enough and let people no i wasnt happy. mark my words ive made big mistakes and i will again, we all do trailing has got lots of great people in the sport but also lots of bad losers .people who speak when there winning but dont when there losing . but the worse people are the ones who lose and who have lost money aswell . the worse thing is people say stuff thats wrong and others believe it ,human nature i suppose this is the best sport in the world but it time the right people were looked after before its too late good luck all for the coming season you'll need it xxxxx
received on Wednesday 30th March
The season hasn't even started! In answer to David’s e-mail, let's get a few points answered. Last one first. Whether it be "laugh or cry" the simplest question would have been to ask "why". Hound men have more than one hound in their care and the simplest solution to help them was have two senior trails. OK, so it was called an All-in, it was in-fact a second senior trail.
The HTA has everybody's well-being in mind but it's like a three-legged stool, hound owners and trainers, bookmakers and supporters, promoters and committees, kick one away and the bloody lot falls over.
Why are there "All-in" trails? especially in April. The Hound men want them so the promoter obliges! The Promoter wants them so the hound men oblige! There are numerous different reasons why they get supported and I'm positive that one isn't to keep a hound under the Bookies radar so it can win an open non-winners at Kirkbride.
In conclusion, I have every sympathy with David. His heart is in hound trailing and if I could magic-up a solution to the All-in problem I would! The only thing I could suggest is you park your car at my house on Sunday. Go with me to Kirkbride that should save at least £30 of diesel.
By the way no stopping on the way there or the way home - Baz Laidler
Correspondance from David Howson - Wednesday 30th March 2011;
Oh dear, once again the first month of the season has no few than 15 all in trails. When is anybody going to consider hound trailing as a spectator sport and look after the people who want to go and enjoy competetive racing and have a bet? Kirkbride on Sunday, a 170 mile round trip for me and about £40 worth of diesel, the venue is poorly supported as it is (it never used to be) but what is the point of travelling all that way in a three hour round trip for two trails? I will go to the first one as not to let my customers down, people like the option of betting all in and without three, in most venues in the HTA myself, Ian and the few other remaining books will provide this facility, but for goodness sake why are we sacrificing competetive races for practice trails in which the spectators have little if any interest? I have already had the response from one person from the Wigton area of "I take it we won't be seeing you there then" way to go, drive away the only dedicated bookies left.
Unfortunately it seems that these events have become a bit of a cash cow which raise a bit of revenue and give dog owners a look round the course at the expense of the enjoyment of the betting public, who I am now convinced the HTA don't give a toss about. It seems many people in the sport don't care if there are bookies and punters in the sport or not.
The first three Kirkbride trails? H, P and AI, the first three St Helena trails? H, P and AI. Kirkbride then has an ONW, after three free flogging sessions the winner and placed dogs should all be obvious by then, the same will apply for the short trails at St Helena at the end of the month, the bookies might as well just throw the towel in.
On top of that, we have two all ins at Helton, another two race meeting at the expense of another all in at Gamblesby which will be another waste of time and fuel, two at Setmabannming, one at Borrowdale, one at Bower House and one at Askam.
Goodness me, there must be some injured dogs recovering, and the season hasn't even started! I had to laugh, or I would have cried, at the putting on of all in trails at practice trails, my dear god, a practice trail within practice trails.
The sport is on it's knees, and it is no wonder.
