Well, we set off to Holkham Hall gamefair yesterday really looking forward to the lurcher racing, and felt very let down from the moment we arrived.
There was no parking set aside for those with lurchers so we had to park in the public car park and walk quite a distance to reach the course. This meant that those with several dogs were unable to leave those not racing in the car.
When we reached the booking in tent, there was no draw to determine the order of running dogs, instead it was on a first come, first serve basis, meaning in effect people could predetermine who their dog would run against.
The course itself was a really well thought out course with a wide variety of turns. It is just a shame the lure had not been tested before coursing commenced. This meant the first dogs running had two attempts at chasing the lure before they had a clear run with no problems. These poor dogs were therefore disadvantaged before the coursing even began.
Once the coursing did begin, there seemed to be no consistent marking as to which dog won. In some cases it appeared to be the dog who reached the lure first, and in others the dog who coursed the lure closest to the course it took. There were no gates so obviously this made the marking of the course much harder.
Add to this the fact that fresh dogs were brought into the course after the first heats, leaving them with an obvious advantage over those dogs who had already run the lengthy course.
It is such a shame that the event was so mishandled as it had the potential to be a wonderful day out. There was a large area set aside for the coursing, and the course itself was varied and interesting.
I feel very let down by the National Lurcher and Racing Club and shall be reluctant to attend any further events run by this group as this was the second day of the gamefair and so I would have expected any teething problems to have been identified and addressed on the first day.
There was no parking set aside for those with lurchers so we had to park in the public car park and walk quite a distance to reach the course. This meant that those with several dogs were unable to leave those not racing in the car.
When we reached the booking in tent, there was no draw to determine the order of running dogs, instead it was on a first come, first serve basis, meaning in effect people could predetermine who their dog would run against.
The course itself was a really well thought out course with a wide variety of turns. It is just a shame the lure had not been tested before coursing commenced. This meant the first dogs running had two attempts at chasing the lure before they had a clear run with no problems. These poor dogs were therefore disadvantaged before the coursing even began.
Once the coursing did begin, there seemed to be no consistent marking as to which dog won. In some cases it appeared to be the dog who reached the lure first, and in others the dog who coursed the lure closest to the course it took. There were no gates so obviously this made the marking of the course much harder.
Add to this the fact that fresh dogs were brought into the course after the first heats, leaving them with an obvious advantage over those dogs who had already run the lengthy course.
It is such a shame that the event was so mishandled as it had the potential to be a wonderful day out. There was a large area set aside for the coursing, and the course itself was varied and interesting.
I feel very let down by the National Lurcher and Racing Club and shall be reluctant to attend any further events run by this group as this was the second day of the gamefair and so I would have expected any teething problems to have been identified and addressed on the first day.
