HOW THE CHAMPIONSHIPS WERE WON
Senior Maiden & Open Maiden
As well as winning the puppy championship with Hello Dolly, John Grisedale & Heidi Messenger also won two other grade championships with Roulette. The bitch hound was homebred by the popular couple out of their useful bitch Midnight Express and she became the first hound to win both the open maiden and senior maiden titles in the same season.
The four year old gained fifteen tickets in each grade and took both titles in comfortable style. Her open maiden tally of 62 points included wins at Ennerdale Show and Keswick’s Old Golf Course and she ended the season nine points clear of nearest challenger, Lisa, Edward, Jonathon & Warren Crosby’s Temperance – the 2010 junior maiden champion.
She had a quiet start to the season in senior maiden trails but from the beginning of July onwards she barely missed a ticket and her haul included places at the May Day Meeting, at Cold Fell Festival, Ambleside Sports, the October Trails at Haverigg and the Westmorland Classic at Grayrigg. Her total of 62 points was ten more than the eventual runner-up Joanna Satterthwaite’s Thorn Girl who got the better of the reigning champion, the Pawley, Burrow, Hodgson & Bell’s Davina by one point on the last day of the season at Millstone Moor.
Junior Maidens
The early pacesetter in the puppy maiden championship was the McMaster, Hindmoor & Baxter’s Silver Spangle. The Dearham based bitch earned a good few points in the first three or four months of the campaign but wins at Cold Fell Festival and Cockermouth Show put a halt to her challenge and this left the way clear for her litter brother Keith Lynch & Darren McMaster’s Crusader. Both hounds were bred by Dairy One out of Silver Stream and Crusader, also based in Dearham, began ticketing consistently from the beginning of July after being affected earlier in the season by a serious toe injury.
In the end the dog hound took the title unopposed with a total of 53 points. His ticket haul in this grade amounted to 14 and included a third at the International, third at Cold Fell Festival and a win at the Michael Renney Memorial Memorial Meeting which was held at Bank Farm, Lorton in September. He finished in the first three on no less than ten occasions and also performed very well in many open puppy trails. His second puppy maiden victory came in emphatic style at Millstone Moor on the last day of the term when he won by a distance.
The Oldcorn & Petersen partner’s Pip’s Lad was a very worthy runner-up much to the delight of his connections. He earned ten tickets which converted into 33 points and he held off the challenge from the Airey, Mellon & Pattinson’s Cracking Performer on the last day when finishing fourth.
Open Non Winners
Patrick & Jane Laidler & Ken Bunting’s Hey Jude took the open non winners accolade for 2011 with a total of 22 points – just one more than the Appleby youngster Cracking Performer. The Windermere based bitch was bred by the Border hound Jackpot out of Reg Smith’s Alfresco and her five tickets in this grade included three second places. The puppy then went on to win in the best possible style, leading throughout at Shap to triumph impressively.
Veteran Championship
The 2011 HTA veteran championship – open to all hounds of six years of age and over – was dominated by the father and daughter team of Victor and Christine Brownlee with their litter sisters Mayfair and Momento. The pair, who were bred out of Joe & Sheila Smith’s former senior champion Max out of Reg Bell & Stephen Hornby’s Danni were veteran champion and runner-up respectively – going one better than they did in the junior championship of 2006 in which Mayfair was champion with 44 wins and Momento ended the season in the third place in the table with 20 wins.
Neither hound competed in any of the first five veteran events that were held during April and May and it was the Wilson, Westmorland & Stainton partner’s Bonny Lass that emerged as the early leader of the competition. However, the pair rarely missed a ticket in this grade during the remaining five months of the campaign and soon made up the deficit to gain the upper hand.
Mayfair earned 15 tickets, eight of which were winning ones and amongst these were major successes at the Bitch Produce Meeting at Tallentire Hill in June, at the Festival of Hound Trailing in July and at the Grayrigg Westmorland Classic in October. These performances yielded a total of 76 points – just five more than Momento whose 16 ticketing appearances included three wins. The duo recorded 1-2’s on no less than seven occasions and they were also very versatile, ticketing in six of the seven HTA areas in their quest for points.
The Open Restricted
As well as the major titles for the senior and junior championships there are also the various contests calculated on a points basis throughout the seven month campaign for all the lower grades of trail. The competition for top honours in these are just as keenly contested as the major prizes and often result in much friendly rivalry as hounds are only permitted certain numbers of wins in each grade so it is imperative to retain eligibility as long as possible.
The Troutbeck partnership of Nick & Trisha Wilson, Steph Stainton, Yvonne Wilson and Roger Westmorland took much pleasure in winning the 2011 open restricted title with Tiagress. The bitch hound was homebred by Maurice Bewley’s Agenda out of one of their old favourites Howe Bess and she followed up a very consistent junior season in 2010 by earning 31 tickets in open restricted events this year which translated into a remarkable tally of 130 points to take the title unopposed.
Tiagress led the competition right from the start of the season and performed with great consistency throughout the whole campaign. She was also incredibly versatile, earning places at venues in all seven of the HTA’s areas and her ticketing exploits also earned her both the Ulverston and Keswick area competitions. The two year old finished in the first three on no less than 23 occasions and this included being second 12 times.
Her connections maintain that her kennelmate Bonny Lass played a crucial part in her success as she beat Tiagress into second place on two occasions in less than a week in June at Staveley Head and Newlands, Keswick allowing her to maintain her eligibility for a further three months. Her wins came at Rusland in May, Threlkeld’s Birkett Field in September and finally at the Westmorland Classic which was held at Grayrigg in early October and by then she was completely clear and assured of the honours.
Tiagress ended the campaign 44 points clear of the eventual runner-up Alan & Yvonne Wilson’s Kentmere five year old Toytown who held off the challenges of both Ian Fleet’s Snow Peak and Spud Murphy’s Newtown Ghost towards the end of the term. Toytown also performed very creditably and consistently and her total of 86 points was gained from 24 ticketing appearances and she won the Westmorland area points.
The Junior Championship
2011 has been a magnificent season for John Grisedale & Heidi Messenger – one they will remember for many years to come. The couple turned out three hounds from their Cockermouth kennels, namely Hello Dolly, Matador and Roulette and they all played their part winning between them no less than 38 trails on the way to earning three different grade titles and two major trails. Along with the Taylor & Baxter’s White Diamond, the trio also made up ‘Adam’s Army’ who in the Team Competition scored a first by winning both Division One and Division Two – another tremendous achievement.
Their three year old Matador began the season as a maiden and had a terrific term – he scored both of his open maiden victories at Lamplugh on consecutive Saturday’s in May and made both his senior maiden victories count as they were forthcoming at the May Day Meeting at which was held at Lazonby and on Dog Produce Day at Helton in July. As well as this he finished a very creditable second in the senior maiden trail at the International Meeting in June before going on to be second at Ambleside Sports behind the Bland & Barrow’s Huntsman’s Dazzler in the senior trail. He then scored his first senior victory at Lorton Hound Show and ended the season with an open restricted win at Rosthwaite.
Meanwhile, Roulette ticketed consistently all season in both open maiden and senior maiden trails and became the first hound to win both HTA points contests in these grades in the same season. Her achievements will be highlighted in more depth next week.
Undoubtedly the star of the show was their junior hound Hello Dolly, who is co-owned by Gordon & Mary Benson. She dominated the puppy championship from an early stage and went on to claim the crown quite comfortably in the end. Hello Dolly earned 49 tickets, 28 of which were winning ones and she ended the season eight points clear of nearest rival Reg Smith’s Artisan. The pair are litter sisters bred by Arthur & Irene Temple’s former senior champion Dairy One out of Ian & Barbara Telford’s Border bitch Jigsaw.
In many ways the battle for the junior title mirrored that in the senior grade as similar to Darling, Dolly asserted her authority during the first half of the season and in contrast Artisan recorded 80% of her victories in the final three months of the campaign. Hello Dolly hit the ground running, registering five wins from five outings at Kirkbride during the first fortnight. These victories took her straight to the head of the table where she would remain for the next seven months.
Her excellent form continued throughout the rest of April and she scored regularly up until the end of July by which time she had improved her tally to 23. After this her form was more patchy but during the last three months she scored on five more occasions and this was more sufficient to take the title. She was very versatile scoring wins on all types of terrain including the moss, open fell and rough fell – she won at ten different venues in all but her favourite proved to be Ennerdale’s Crag Farm, the scene for six of her victories but she was also very successful at the afore-mentioned Kirkbride (5), Lamplugh(4), Oulton (3) and Cold Fell (3).
Hello Dolly is a front running hound who likes to be up with the pace but she is also strong in the closing stages of races and both of these attributes were demonstrated perfectly when she won at Latrigg Top in July. She was prominent throughout and very determined on the run to the line and this in my opinion was one of her outstanding performances of the season.
Reg Smith’s Artisan was the epitome of consistency all season and barely missed a ticket. Remarkably, the Kendal based hound earned no less than 68 places, including 20 wins and she finished in the first three on a staggering 56 occasions. During the first three months, despite her consistency, she only scored four victories and it wasn’t until the middle of July that she began to climb up the championship table. Amongst her early successes were wins in the open pups at Tallentire Hill on Bitch Produce Day and she also won the open pups at the International Meeting.
Once in a winning stride she made good progress but Hello Dolly’s advantage was a bridge too far. Artisan was also very versatile and the youngster was successful at fifteen venues spread throughout five of the HTA’s seven areas and was also equally at home on all types of terrain. Her ticketing exploits earned her the Bert Sowden award for most championship points as well as the top ticketing junior hound and she shared the Tot Kelso Trophy with Frank & Claire Waite’s Brevity for most points at major trails.
Another youngster to catch the eye – especially during the final weeks of the season was the Bland & Barrow’s Huntsman’s Gambler. The home bred Patterdale based dog hound put together a championship winning style sequence – scoring 12 trails from 15 appearances during the final two months to take his overall tally to 16. He finished a very creditable third in the championship table and took the honours in the Dog Produce Stakes which were held at Helton – a very good performance after an interrupted build up due to injury.
The Senior Championship
The 2011 HTA senior championship was dominated from a very early stage by Westmorland area hounds and at the end of the season bitches from the area filled no less than five of the top eight places. The top three, Darling, Gentle Lady and Sparrowmire Jill are all residents of Kendal.
This year Darling, a homebred bitch sired by Some Man out of Quinton earned 38 tickets, 23 of which were winning ones to retain her 2010 championship crown and in doing so completed a hat trick for Kevin and Penny Swanton following the success of Show Girl in 2009. The four year old ended the season nine points clear of nearest challenger, Liz, Joan & Charlotte Stobbart’s Gentle Lady who in turn was just one point ahead of Robert Reid & Emma Blenkharn’s Sparrowmire Jill.
Darling had her best ever start to a campaign, winning no less than eight trails in the opening month – almost a third of her final total. Once again she excelled in the north of the county and in particular the Aspatria & Wigton area and four wins from five outings at Kirkbride were quickly followed by two wins at Oulton and four at Gamelsby to put her in control at the top of the table by the middle of May.
Early competition emerged in the shape of Gentle Lady and also Denis Peare & Jackie Gill’s Valhalla who produced some good form at Whitehaven area fixtures. However neither could match Darling’s consistency and by the beginning of August, Darling had drawn well clear with a tally of 19 wins. At this stage, the 2010 runner-up Denise Bland & Dennis Barrow’s Huntsman’s Dazzler, who had been sidelined by a toe injury, began to find some form. He put together a string of victories in July and August including a tremendous Westmorland area Show trail four timer and looked like the biggest threat until his injury recurred and an operation put an end to his challenge.
For most of August and during the first couple of weeks of September, Darling struggled to add to her tally and Gentle Lady got to within seven points of her but she returned to winning ways with a very easy victory at Shap and this was quickly followed by triumphs at both Scawthwaite Close and Sandale during the next week and this effectively put her in an unassailable position and she regained her crown. Her only other win after this came at the Westmorland Classic at Grayrigg in early October and then shortly after this she was retired for the rest of the term.
Darling won at eleven different venues within four of the HTA’s seven areas and once again Oulton proved to be her favourite setting the scene for six of her victories. As she has matured her ability to judge a race has played more of a part in her success and she is particularly strong during the second half of trails and she will once again be a force to be reckoned with next season.
Gentle Lady has had an excellent season and has given her connections much pleasure in earning the runner-up accolade. The four year old was also sired by Some Man but by Outrageous has performed well all year and her ticketing exploits have resulted in her winning the points contests in both the Ulverston and Keswick areas.
Sparrowmire Jill has also excelled and has emerged as this season’s senior revelation. The three year old, bred by Dairy One out of Kinniside Gem was formerly owned by Alan & Debbie O’Brien and ran as Halcyon. She was given to Robert and Emma at the end of her puppy season and they changed her name and she achieved success for them last year as a maiden and in open restricted trails. She made her first appearance in public on the last day of April at Cold Fell Gate where she won the open restricted and she was then campaigned in senior trails. The bitch hound ticketed regularly and won her first at Crag Farm in mid June. After this she never looked back and she went on to earn 45 tickets, 13 of which were winning ones and gained many admirers on the way for her sharp turn of foot on the finish. She won the points contests in both the Westmorland and Carlisle & Penrith area’s and is considered a live title hope for 2012.
The 2012 senior championship looks to have all the ingredients to be a fascinating affair – the older contingent of Darling, Gentle Lady, Velvet and Huntsman’s Dazzler will all figure strongly barring injury and there are also several two year old’s including Tagget, Colleen, Westgate Gyspy, Jacob McClink and Blackbird that have progressed well in the senior ranks towards the end of this season. It will also be interesting to see how this year’s crop of pups fare over the longer distances of senior competition. Ooo the anticipation – I can hardly wait!
