Music Montages and Memorials

Memories of Riley

"I Lived" by OneRepublic

Maddie's First Year

"Home" by Phillip Phillips

Memories of Katie

"Beautiful Goodbye" by Jennifer Hanson

Memories of Travis

"Never Say Never" by The Fray

Snow!

It was unbelievable! Many parts of Georgia had the first white Christmas in over 100 years. Around noon Christmas day, the snow started falling and it did not quit until nighttime. Soon everything was covered with beautiful white frosting. It is very exciting for those of us in the south. The next day, I took pictures of the hounds playing in the snow.

Reagan says, "Are you ready for me to run?"

 "Check out my assets!"

 Seven hopes to be going inside soon.

Later on, I took Seven and Riley out to our private property hiking spot for more fun.  The girls had a blast.

Twas the Day After Christmas

Five years ago today (2005), the day after Christmas, Stephen and I took our greyhounds to a private property hiking spot we have permission to use. At the time, I had Katie, Travis, and Teresa and my husband had his three, Stacker, Allie, and Julie. The area is mostly wooded

with trails winding around the trees, through the creeks, and down to a lake. The hounds enjoy chasing errant squirrels who quickly escape into the trees.

Katie was especially fond of this activity. We were all traveling along the trail that circles the lodge when Katie caught sight of a squirrel and gave chase down into the valley below the trail. The squirrel escaped into a tree and the game was over. Suddenly the stupid squirrel leaped from the tree and Katie resumed the course never allowing it to get more than two feet from her nose. A moment later she caught the squirrel and I presume killed it instantly as there was no struggle.

Katie never broke stride, but continued running with prize in hand... I mean mouth and galloped up the other side of the valley to a trail running parallel to ours and headed for the main driveway.

I generally do not attempt to call my greyhounds off of a squirrel chase since I could be ignored in the peak of a high prey moment and a trick to training really good recalls is not to put yourself in a position for your dog to learn he or she can ignore you. Most greyhounds quit running when the chase is over, but Katie just galloped away with her squirrel and was quickly out of earshot.

I left Stephen with all of the other greyhounds and ran a fraction of Katie's speed toward the main driveway and up the hill to where we were parked. I got to the top and saw no sign of Katie. I stopped and listened, but heard nothing. It was about 4:30 PM and it was cold and getting dark. I decided to run back to Stephen and the other dogs, load them in the van, and start looking for Katie. I was concerned.

In the meanwhile, Katie had simply done a huge loop and circled back to Stephen and the other hounds with her dead squirrel. He leashed her up and did his best to manage six greyhounds and a dead squirrel. Suddenly, two guys in a pick up truck eased up the driveway. Stephen thought that maybe they would stop and help him sort out his situation. They did not. In hindsight, they probably thought this crazy guy was out hunting squirrels with six greyhounds... overkill.

Stephen was able to unlock Katie's jaws around the squirrel and place it in the woods. I hope it provided a free meal to a fox or a coyote. About this time, I make my way back to see the reunion and we called it a day.

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Georgia saw its first white Christmas since the 1800's. Its beautiful here.
I am hoping to get out for a hike with Seven and Riley a little later for snow pictures.

A Break From Relatives

For those still reading blogs over the holidays or needing a break from the relatives, here are the funniest blog posts I have read all year. They just happen to all be from the same blog. Enjoy!

Dogs Do Not Understand Basic Concepts - Click Here

God of Cake - Click Here

How a Fish Nearly Destroyed my Childhood - Click Here

The Party - Click Here

MADOC Agility Trial

Riley and I traveled to an agility trial in Alabama a week ago. She was wonderful again! Such a pleasure to run!
These are the two runs Riley and I ran clean. The first was a very tricky jumpers course. There was no where to relax with challenge after challenge. She earned first place and the final leg of her Excellent Jumpers title. The second run is a Standard course and we earned a second place.

Riley is now competing at the highest level of AKC agility (Excellent B) in both classes (Standard and Jumpers). This means we can start working on her agility championship. A Master Agility Championship (MACH) is earned by accumulating 750 MACH points and 20 double qualifying scores. A MACH point is awarded for each second under the stated course time that the dog completes the course in a qualifying fashion. A double qualifying score is running clean in Standard and Jumpers in the same day.Master Agility Championship Tally: 60 MACH points, 690 to go. Zero double qualifying scores, 20 to go.

Another bonus to the weekend is that Riley did very well at the hotel. In the past, she seems to be okay for the first night and then freaks out just outside the room. This has happened at every hotel we have stayed at and she does not improve during our stay once it happens. However, this time was a freak-free stay.

Totally Fetching - Part 2

Part 1 - Click Here

At this point, your dog should be very interested in his toy and offering teeth grabs. If not, keep working at it. Do you need a more attractive toy? Maybe you need to drag the toy faster and further to stimulate prey drive. Are you clicking & treating (C&T) frequently? Do not let too much time pass between clicks or the toy's value to the dog will not grow. Make the dog feel really awesome about all silly interactions resulting in a C&T. I did not show much of that with Seven in Part 1 because she was quick to offer the teeth grab so I focused on that.In this video, I raise my criteria for Seven. I am no longer satisfied with teeth grabs as I want to her to pick up the toy. So I C&T when the toy is lifted up off the ground. Secondly, I would like for her to pick up the toy without me having to move it. I want her to pick it up just because it is in front of her. Gradually, I reduce the amount of movement until the toy is sitting still, but the dog is still motivated to pick it up. At the end of this video I remove the leash from the toy.

If at anytime, your dog becomes confused. Take a step back. Continue to drag the toy and C&T for touches or teeth grabs. Do not let even a half a minute pass without C&Ting your dog for some success. Continuous positive feedback is important. It is what gets your dog excited about participating and playing with the toy.If your dog is doing a great job of lifting the toy up off the ground, start trying to put your hand on it. C&T as soon as you grasp the toy that is in your dog's mouth. Again, do not allow for a lot of time to pass between C&Ts. If you miss grabbing the toy a time or two, go back to C&Ting teeth grabs and pick ups. You do not want your dog to lose interest in the game.

Recall this in Part 1 - My dog is extremely interested in the toy and tries to run off with it. Skip Part 1 training. Your dog can start at a later step that I will point out in Part 2... Here is me pointing out your starting point.

Put your dog on leash so he cannot take off with the toy. Drop the toy and as soon as he picks it up, put your hand on it and shove a treat in his mouth. If you are super organized, feel free to use a clicker, but it is not necessary with a super toy motivated dog that is picking up the toy as soon as you drop it. Its more important that you use your hands for holding the leash, grabbing the toy, and shoving a treat in his mouth so he has a reason to let go. You are basically teaching him to trade the toy for a treat.

If my greyhound is a toy snatcher, I will yelp and make a big fuss if he touches me with his teeth. I do not wait till it hurts. I do not tolerate and will disagree with carelessness. He has to be careful around my skin.

At this point, the goal for everyone is to teach the dog to put the toy into your hand. You should start to notice your dog holding the toy if you are slow with your hand. Or if the dog drops the toy, you may notice him immediately pick it up and try again.

Hopefully this will keep you busy over the holidays. I will finish this series once the hustle and bustle is over.

Totally Fetching - Part 1

Hounds are not usually known for their retrieving abilities. Few exhibit it naturally. Travis was a freak of greyhound nature with his retrieving especially in the water (Click Here if you never saw his dock jumping post). Except for Travis, I have had to teach the other five greyhounds how to retrieve. And even Travis had to go through a similar process for a formal dumbbell retrieve.I have been wanting to do a post on how to train your dog (especially a hound) to retrieve for a very long time, but it is much easier to show if I have videos of the process. I have them now thanks to Seven. Initially, she showed some retrieving tendencies, but her toy drive turned to mush when she tasted the goodies in my pocket.In these videos, I am teaching Seven what I call a "play" retrieve. I think it is easier to teach a play retrieve with a fun toy first and then move to other objects or a dumbbell if that is your goal. Otherwise, a play retrieve is a great way to exercise the hounds and is a lot of fun.

First, you will have to find 5 - 10 minutes a day to train. I am going to give you a lot of information, but this is not rocket science or an attempt to cure cancer. This is just teaching a dog to retrieve 5 - 10 minutes per day. Yes, you do have time.

Step one, you must teach your dog the clicker training concept. If you and your dog are not familiar with clicker training spend a few days working on this exercise - Click Here. Once your dog can touch an object with his nose for a click and treat (C&T), you can begin teaching your retrieve.

Let us get started. Pick a stuffy toy that is very easy to pick up. Not too big and not too small. With greyhounds, you have to consider the long nose. You do not want something that the greyhound smashes his nose into the ground as he picks it up. The toy in my video is a good example.

Step two, teach your dog to touch the toy. You can do this several ways, but I really like the method I am going to show you. I attached a leash to the toy so I could stimulate her interest by moving it around. Use the smallest amount of movement it takes to generate any interest from your dog. It might just be a head turn, a nose touch, pouncing, or a grab. C&T for all forms of interest and interaction with the toy. You want to add value to the toy and make it very special because it causes so many C&Ts. I was lucky with Seven because she has a high prey drive and offered a grab with her teeth almost immediately so I focused on that. Ultimately, you want a teeth grab, but make sure you C&T for all interest in the toy initially.

Take your time at this step. You really want your hound's interest in the toy to increase significantly. Once you complete a 5-10 minute training session, put the toy away. The toy should only come out for training or retrieving sessions for now on. Now for some troubleshooting.

My dog has no interest in the toy even if it is moving. Clicker train your dog to touch the toy with his nose. I am assuming you have already taught your dog to touch a cup with his nose... do the same exercise, but use a toy. Put the treat on top of the toy and C&T as your dog takes the treat or you can touch the toy right to his nose and C&T.

My dog is extremely interested in the toy and tries to run off with it. Skip Part 1 training. Your dog can start at a later step that I will point out in Part 2.

My dog does well at first, but then loses interest in training. Shorten your training session. You want to end your training session while the dog still wants more. One way to accomplish this is to put 5 treats in your pocket. Once you have given them out, your training session is done. You may also need a better treat. Use real meat and cheese.

Happy Training! Let me know if there are any questions.

The Little Greyhound That Could - Part 3

Part 1 - Click Here. Part 2 - Click Here.

The buzzing crowd grew silent as Waterloo Cup Committee chairman David Midwood called for “a bit of hush.” As the name of each dog was “called over,” Charles Blanning recited a brief resume of the Greyhound’s coursing career. When “Cashel’s Evening” was announced, Blanning said, “This is the American bitch who has coursed jackrabbits in Wyoming.” The first bookmaker gave her opening odds of 100 to 1. Cindi quipped, “C’mon – make it higher!” Sir Mark Prescott, the dean of the British coursing community who was presiding, asked Cindi how much Evie weighs. “50 pounds” came the reply. The next bookmaker put Evie at 200 to 1, and that became the consensus opening odds for her.

When Cindi arrived at the Withins with Evie for the opening day, she was amazed at the size of the crowds and the amount of media present. Before long, she was being interviewed by one of the regional television networks. She got a kick out of the country clothes of the coursing community – the tweeds, woolens and wellies, and went to shop the vendors before things got busy.

Evie’s run was at the top of the second half of the card, so Cindi had time to watch some of the coursing before reporting with Evie to the slip steward with her identification papers. Needless to say, this young woman with her American dog was quite the novelty. “Everyone was so nice and helpful to me,” Cindi said.

Finally, it was time to run. Cindi made her way with Evie to the “hide,” the screened area that serves as the paddock for the “on deck” dogs. She waited there with John Bromiley, the droll, diminutive trainer of Paddy’s Toy. “He joked with me and really put me at ease,” she said.

The course was called up, and into the slipper’s shy they went. Evie, in the red collar, was on Arron Atmore’s left and Paddy’s Toy, in the white collar, was on his right. A hare to the slipper’s liking came up the coursing lane, and they were off. Evie came out of slips well, but Paddy’s Toy was off like a shot and won the run-up by 8 lengths. But then, the hare took a lucky turn for Evie, and the work began, with Evie in control, turning the hare again and again as it made its way back from the cover at the end of the field and toward the beat. The hare escaped into cover, and Judge Bob Burdon pulled his red handkerchief to signal Evie as the victor! It had been a course of 88 seconds, longish for the first day at the Withins.

Cindi ran to retrieve Evie, who comes back to a whistle. “Everyone was congratulating me,” said Cindi. Even opponent John Bromiley, who teased her, “Your dog is possessed – that wasn’t natural!” Cindi walked out Evie and was relieved to see that her rear foot and problem toe were okay.

After accepting more congratulations from trainers and owners in the dog van park and getting Evie settled in for a rest, Cindi looked ahead to the daunting challenge of Evie’s running against 2004 Waterloo Cup winner Why You Monty, trained by the no-nonsense Irishman, Michael O’Donovan, who has several Waterloo Cups to his credit.

As they made their way to the hide, O’Donovan was polite but all business. When she turned Evie over to the slipper, Cindi bent down and kissed her Greyhound on the head. Arron Atmore said to O’Donovan, “Michael, aren’t you going to kiss your dog?”, to which O’Donovan replied, “I’ve never kissed an effin’ dog in me effin’ life, and I’m not about to start now.” (This story, the accuracy of which Cindi confirmed, was told and re-told the second and third days of the Cup, to the great amusement of all).

The course started with Evie in the red collar coming out of slips well, but again losing the run-up by a wide margin, this time 6 lengths. Monty turned the hare several times, and at one time was 7 ½ points clear of Evie. Suddenly, Evie drove forward to take possession of the course as Monty flagged and fell back, and it was “nothing but Evie” thereafter for a marathon course of 122 seconds that once again went back to the beat. As the Judge pulled his red cloth and the red flag went up, a great cheer arose from the crowd. “I could hear the crowd cheering all the way at the end of the field,” said Cindi. “A BBC reporter came up to me and asked, ‘Do you know what your dog just did?”

As Cindi made her way back up the field with Evie, everyone in the gallery was clapping and shouting “well done!” John Bromiley took Cindi aside and told her that Michael O’Donovan had said, “I’ve never been beaten like that.” Cindi and Evie were greeted back at the vans by our American contingent, all of whom wanted to see how Evie had fared. She was none the worse for wear, and it was clear that the reason for all the hubbub was lost on her. She got a drink of water and hopped into the backseat of the van for a snooze. Later, back at the hotel, Evie enjoyed a supper of steak and kidney pie.

Evie’s victory over Monty galvanized the crowd. This little American Greyhound who had not been given a snowball’s chance was now a contender and had made it to the final 16. One bookmaker put her at 12 to 1 at day’s end. Over dinner that evening, our American group was now emboldened to speculate about what would actually happen if it was an American Greyhound who won what may be the last Waterloo Cup. Comparisons to Master McGrath, the first Irish Greyhound to win the Waterloo Cup (and to whom Evie actually bears some resemblance) were irresistible.

The buzz and excitement carried over to the second day at the field known as the Lydiate, a larger, more wide open field that has come to be called “the graveyard of the Irish” because it tends to favor work over the speed that the Irish dogs are famous for. Would this be where Evie’s stamina and agility could pay off and advance her a step further toward the Cup? Everyone stopped by to see how she looked, and she seemed bright and ready to run. The bookmakers had come down to earth somewhat, and now had her at 16 to 1. Cindi reported that some of them had asked what Evie had for supper the night before; perhaps that entered into their calculations.

Evie, this day in the white collar, was now paired against Going Rate, a brindle dog in his second season. By now, everyone was keen to watch the American dog, and Cindi could hear people in the crowd pointing out Evie as she made her way to wait at the slip steward’s station. The PA announcer made a special point of introducing Evie as “the American Greyhound” as Cindi made her way to the slipper’s shy, and he told those who had not been present the first day that they “were in for a treat.”

As Evie and Going Rate were slipped, it became clear that Evie was a quick study and knew how to pull out of slips effectively. She initially led in the run-up by several lengths, but Going Rate, who some thought was initially unsighted, came up quickly and passed Evie to win the run up and force the first turn of the hare and thus lead by four points. Evie then came up to work the hare and seemed to be in control, but the hare was executing wrenches (turns of less than 90 degrees), which earns only ½ point. Evie still had plenty left in the tank and continued coursing the hare, but the half points just were not enough to make up the deficit, and at the end of the course, Judge Burdon pulled his red handkerchief to signal that Going Rate had won the course of 45 seconds. The crowd seemed almost to deflate somewhat, and even the announcer sounded disappointed as he announced that Going Rate had gone through.

However, no one had told Evie that the course was over. Though by now it was a tail chase as the dogs had tired, Evie still had the hare in sight and was determined to soldier on. The hare jumped one of the drainage ditches bordering the field, and Evie went after her, landing in the stagnant water at the bottom and coming up on the other side to be caught by one of the beaters and held there for Cindi. As Cindi led the dripping wet Evie past the gallery on the way to the dog van area, the spectators began clapping, and some even shouted to Cindi their disagreement with the judge’s call of Evie’s course.

As this was the “coffin round” of the Cup, from which there is no consolation round, Evie’s run for the Waterloo Cup was over. But her celebrity was just beginning. On the third day, back at the Withins, Cindi and Evie returned as spectators, but became the focus of attention during lulls in the action. Parents approached Cindi and asked her if their children could pet Evie and have their picture taken with her. An old man who had been attending the Waterloo Cup since 1947 told Cindi, “Your bitch made me remember why I love coursing.” Another old veteran told Cindi that Evie’s success reminded him of Waterloo Cup days of old, when owners rather than trainers brought most of the Greyhounds to Altcar, and speed was not so heavily emphasized over stamina and agility. “The attention to Evie and me was just overwhelming,” Cindi said. “People would come up and say the nicest things.” Offers to buy Evie were forthcoming, and inquiries about breeding her were made (no such luck; she’s spayed).At the presentations ceremony, Sir Mark Prescott called Cindi and Evie forward for special recognition, and made a remarkable statement. Of the thousands and thousands of courses he has witnessed over the years, he said, Evie’s run against Why You Monty will be one of the four or five he will always remember. That is high praise indeed.

If this was to have been the last Waterloo Cup, it will be one that lives on in the memories of those who remember the little American Greyhound with the big heart. Not a bad way to go out; not bad at all.

Evie recently turned ten years old and lives with Cindi and her adopted greyhound brother, Flash. She can be found at this blog - Click Here.
Videos courtsey of Michael Ferris and Karen Frederick.

The Little Greyhound That Could - Part 2

Part 1 - Click Here

These new Waterloo Cup dates were one week before Cindi was to take the Washington State Bar exam. Could she study for the exam while taking care of all the myriad details of getting herself and a dog to England, much less get Evie ready for the rigors of the three-day Waterloo Cup? Was Evie’s toe injury from Thanksgiving healed sufficiently to put her into training?

A return trip to the vet and new x-rays revealed solid healing of the toe. It was decided that training would be a swimming regimen to get Evie in good fitness while keeping stress on the healing toe to a minimum. She was taken to the All Dogs Spa for swimming in an indoor pool, 30 minute sessions twice weekly for 3 weeks. Then, the last week before departure, Evie was run on straights of 300 – 400 yards with a lure machine 2 or 3 times during that week.

Travel arrangements were not so simple. Evie would be admitted into England under the new Pet Passport system that eliminated the 6 month quarantine requirement. The Pet Passport protocol involved updating Evie's rabies vaccination, microchipping, and rabies titer testing. She must fly only from and into certain designated “gateway” airports that were set up to receive animals under the Pet Passport system. Add to this the fact that Cindi wanted to fly on Northwest Airlines to take advantage of frequent flyer miles, and the travel arrangements were such as could keep a travel agent busy full time.

Next, it was time for a crash course in British coursing. Diana Brodie put Cindi in touch with this writer (John Parker) as an American who had come over frequently for the Waterloo Cup in the last several years. I gave Cindi a short course on the methods, customs and traditions of the Waterloo Cup, and sent her video of a recent Cup. It was my impression that she initially thought of the Waterloo Cup as just another “hunt,” in the American lingo, but as time and more conversation progressed, the magnitude of what she had gotten Evie and herself into sunk in.

The big question mark was how Evie would do in the double slips used by the professional slippers in British coursing. Would she acclimate to being “barreled up” alongside another Greyhound, who was likely to be much bigger than her? Would she know how to pull ahead and come cleanly out of the slips when she was sighted on the hare? Some practice seemed to be in order, so I put her in touch with Waterloo Cup slipper Arron Atmore, who would be at the field the day before the Cup began and graciously agreed to practice Evie in his slips to acclimate her to this new method of release.

When the plans were finalized, Cindi and Evie would first fly to Paris, a “gateway” city to which Northwest flew, on the Thursday before the Monday start of the Waterloo Cup. They just had time for a little sightseeing, including Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, where Evie enjoyed a ham and cheese baguette. Cindi and Evie then took a train to Calais, where she rented a van and took the ferry across the English Channel to Dover. Due to some delays in the ferry’s departure, they arrived in Dover about 11:30 pm, so Cindi set out in the dark for a 5 hour overnight drive to Chorley, where she had found a hotel that accepted dogs and was relatively close to Altcar, home of the Waterloo Cup. Nothing was to be easy about this trip!
On Saturday, after a few hours of sleep, Cindi found her way to the Withins, the Altcar field on which the first and third days of the Waterloo Cup are run, there to meet Arron Atmore and practice Evie in slips. She waited, but did not see Arron, so after giving Evie a look at the historic grounds, Cindi returned to her hotel to get ready for the Call Over in Southport and to feed Evie a dinner of lamb tips, which she had purchased at a local farmer’s stand. As it turned out, Arron arrived at the Withins at the appointed hour, but Cindi was going by the clock in her rental van, which was on Paris time. She was an hour early, and so Evie’s first experience in slips would be her first run in the Waterloo Cup!

The Call Over at the Prince of Wales Hotel in Southport was standing room only. Cindi arrived early and got a front and center seat. Cards showing the drawn pairings of the 64 nominated Greyhounds were distributed, and the news was not good for Evie. Her first run would be against Paddy’s Toy, winner of the Waterloo Plate the previous year. IF she won that course, she would then run against last year’s Waterloo Cup winner, Why You Monty.

The buzzing crowd grew silent as Waterloo Cup Committee chairman David Midwood called for “a bit of hush.” As the name of each dog was “called over,” Charles Blanning recited a brief resume of the Greyhound’s coursing career. When “Cashel’s Evening” was announced, Blanning said, “This is the American bitch who has coursed jackrabbits in Wyoming.” The first bookmaker gave her opening odds of 100 to 1. Cindi quipped, “C’mon – make it higher!” Sir Mark Prescott, the dean of the British coursing community who was presiding, asked Cindi how much Evie weighs. “50 pounds” came the reply. The next bookmaker put Evie at 200 to 1, and that became the consensus opening odds for her.

The Little Greyhound That Could - Part 1

If you are not familiar with coursing in England, read this post first (Click Here).

"Cashel’s Evening Runs Into Coursing History as the First American Greyhound in the Waterloo Cup" written by John Parker

It is a story right out of the movies, with pieces of Seabiscuit, National Velvet, and The Natural all rolled into one. A smallish racing Greyhound who washed out before her first official race and the owner who adopted her, whose combination of naivete and chutzpah put her in the right place at the right time to get her dog a coveted nomination to run in the Waterloo Cup, the Blue Riband of coursing.

The story begins at the ASFA International Invitational (I.I.) in Falcon, Colorado in June 2003. Cindi Patterson, recently graduated from law school, was attending the I.I. and was introduced to Anne Sheridan, a racing Greyhound breeder in Colorado. In the course of their conversations, Anne told Cindi about Cashel's Evening or “Evie,” an October 2000 Greyhound who had washed out of official schooling and whom Anne wanted to place in a good home. Cindi was looking for a companion for her Greyhound, Newell, so she agreed to have a look at Evie the next day. She liked the look of her and told Anne she would like to have her. Since Cindi was in the middle of a move, she arranged to pick up Evie and take her home on July 4th.

Cindi started Evie on a dual athletic career in the autumn of 2003, entering her in lure coursing in Colorado and open field coursing in Wyoming. Evie ran in the 2004 ASFA I.I. in Iowa, placing third in the Open stake both days. She earned her Field Champion title in June 2004.

Evie open field coursed in Wyoming 10 weekends in the 2003 - 2004 season. Her open field coursing career was not without a bump in the road – she dislocated an outside toe on a rear foot in the early part of 2004, and the damage to the ligament was so extensive that the decision was made to amputate the toe.

Evie’s road to the Waterloo Cup begins in January 2004, when Cindi, a self-described “Internet freak,” was “surfing” and found a reference to the Waterloo Cup on the National Coursing Club’s Web site. She knew nothing of British coursing, and in fact had misgivings about whether the hares were released artificially. More Internet research revealed that the hares live naturally on the coursing lands in England, and are driven to the coursing field by beaters who rustle the bushes and tall grass.

Cindi decided it might be fun to look into entering Evie in the Waterloo Cup. She had no idea that Greyhounds run for the Cup only after being nominated, that there are only 64 nominations to be had, and that no American Greyhound had ever run in the Waterloo Cup. She posted a question to the GreyTalk discussion list: “Anybody ever heard of this Waterloo Cup?” Pam Davis, who had attended several Waterloo Cups, responded and told Cindi about several hurdles she would have to get over to even get Evie considered for nomination.

In March 2004, Cindi sent an e-mail to Charles Blanning, Secretary of the National Coursing Club (NCC) and Keeper of the Greyhound Stud Book, to ask him how to get Evie considered for the Waterloo Cup. He told Cindi how to get Evie registered with the NCC and gave her the addresses of Waterloo Cup Secretary, Diana Brodie. Cindi then sent a letter to Ms. Brodie, enclosing a photo of Evie and telling her about Evie’s American coursing career.

Time passed without a reply, but finally a month later, Cindi received an e-mail from Ms. Brodie, acknowledging her letter and telling her that it was uncertain whether there would be a Waterloo Cup in 2005 because of the pending hunting ban legislation. She suggested that Cindi stay in touch and keep abreast of the situation in England.

Stay in touch she did, sending Diana Brodie e-mails throughout the rest of 2004. “I was afraid I was being a pest, but I figured I needed to take Diana at her word and keep reminding her of our interests” said Cindi. In September, Cindi registered Evie with the NCC and let Ms. Brodie know she had been registered. “I figured that would let her know I was serious.”

Evie encountered another bump in the road while open field coursing in Wyoming over the 2004 Thanksgiving weekend. She dislocated another toe on the same rear foot, although this dislocation was not as severe as the previous one. A trip to the vet resulted in some good news – the joint capsule was intact, surgery was not indicated, and three months of rest was the prescription.

Despite the good news on the medical front, Cindi had decided that Evie’s chances of running in the Waterloo Cup were between slim and none. The ban on coursing had become the law of England with the invocation of the Parliament Act, and the Waterloo Cup was now in jeopardy of cancellation. Nevertheless, she e-mailed Diana Brodie again to say she was still interested. Ms. Brodie e-mailed back: “We’ll let you know.”

Then it came in January, the long awaited e-mail from Diana Brodie : “Congratulations. The Committee has given a returned nomination to Cashel’s Evening. She will be the first American Greyhound ever to run in the Waterloo Cup.” It would be run a week earlier than usual, February 14 – 16, to come just before the effective date of the ban, February 19.

These new Cup dates were one week before Cindi was to take the Washington State Bar exam. Could she study for the exam while taking care of all the myriad details of getting herself and a dog to England, much less get Evie ready for the rigors of the three-day Waterloo Cup? Was Evie’s toe injury from Thanksgiving healed sufficiently to put her into training?

To be continued...........

Coursing in England

I want to tell the story of an American greyhound that competed in the 2005 Waterloo Cup in England. I finally have photos and videos to accompany the post, but first I must educate you about coursing. Most greyhound and other sighthound owners have heard of lure coursing, but in England they course actual hares.

Live hares? Rabbits? My knee jerk reaction was one of disapproval. My opinion was that lures provided perfectly good coursing for greyhounds and using hares was not necessary.
However, I learned that fields were specifically set aside for hares. Normally considered a pest, hares were often shot or poisoned. Coursing enthusiast themselves, farmers or estate owners would protect hares for coursing clubs. They accepted the damage the hares would do to crops and even planted winter cereals for the hares to use for food and shelter during the colder months.

The coursing fields are familiar to the hares and are lined with tall grass or scrub brush that provide the escape for 90% of the hares. Sir Mark Prescott, who is the dean of the British coursing community, said "We take care of the hares year 'round -- we protect them from the gun, poachers, poisons, and disease, we plant crops sympathetically to them, and all we ask of them is that they run like smoke once or twice during the coursing season, with a 90% chance that they will escape unharmed."

The greyhounds run in braces (pairs) and are slipped (turned loose) by a professional slipper. It is the slipper’s job to make sure the hare is in good physical condition as he passes the blind and ensures the hare has an adequate lead of 100 yards. Each hound wears a red or white collar and the judge, on horseback, raises a red or white handkerchief to signal the winner. The winner moves on to the next round. The judging is based on awarding points to the dog that wins the run up (the race to the hare)and then for turning the hare. Unlike a lure, the hare changes direction based on the position of the greyhounds. No additional merits are awarded to a greyhound that catches a hare. Everyone wants the hare to escape… except maybe the greyhounds.

Unfortunately, the Waterloo Cup, around since 1836, has been a target for animal rights activists for many years and they finally succeeded in passing a ban on hunting that took effect February 2005. While I understand animal rights activists wanting to protect the hare, the ban has had the opposite effect. Once respected and taken care of, the hare is now shot and poisoned by the thousands.

Please enjoy the following videos of greyhounds demonstrating their original purpose. I promise not to post any videos of any courses resulting in a hare being caught.

Do you remember Basso Profundo from my Greyhound Downs 101 (Click Here)? He was the winner of the 2005 Waterloo Plate and 3 other stakes in his rookie year. Basso ran 16 courses that year and won 15 of them. He was imported to the United States in 2006 and lives on the farm I sometimes spend the weekend at. Here are some of his runs from the 2005 Waterloo Cup. He is the white and black greyhound.

Do you remember Hardy Admiral from my Greyhound Sits 101 (Click Here)? Admiral was the runner-up in the 2005 Waterloo Cup and won the Roecliffe Invitation Stake. He ran 19 courses and won 15 of them. An interesting fact is that, other than the Waterloo Cup winner (Shashi) Admiral's littermates were the only other greyhounds to defeat him in coursing. That is one heck of a litter! Here are some of his runs from the 2005 Waterloo Cup. He is the black dog.

You may not approve of coursing and that is okay. I am not debating the subject. I simply wanted to give you some background before telling the story about Evie, the American greyhound.

Videos courtsey of Michael Ferris and Karen Frederick.