Hi Hopefully of interest to many- Here is some history of the birth of Lure Coursing. Note the faults to be avoided...still too true today... Ta Carol
At 12:43 PM +0000 3/15/05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: >"It is important to note that the Borzoi Club of America's support was >most helpful and sympathetic in the efforts to establish modern day >organized coursing [note: reference is to open field coursing] as an >activity around the breed." > >"THE LURE IS BORN - After realizing the veritable impossibility of >extending live game coursing trials to all corners of the country, my >husband, Lyle Gillette, began experimentation with the powered line as >used in Whippet racing. Pulleys were placed in a pattern that caused the >lure to turn and dart here and there, as planned. Two Borzoi were >released, and they took up the chase - it looked good! We could see >that with a little inventiveness and imagination the general actions of a >wild creature trying to evade capture by a pursuing hound could be >duplicated." > >[note: this is all referring to drag lure, not continuous loop] > >"In this program, good durable equipment is a necessity and skill in >operating the power unit is required, so that the relationship in >distance and speed between the hound, the lure and the next pulley is >such that the hound can be inspired to give its best. Without >knowledgeable and skilled operation, the course can be ruined, revealing >nothing of worth regarding the hounds' coursing abilities. @@@@@@@@@@@@ >Some of the >faults to be avoided in setting up and running a trial are: courses that >are too short, pulling the line too fast as so to unsight the hounds, and >making the turns more than 45 degrees at any one pulley." @@@@@@@@@@@@@ >"In lure coursing, the game or "lure" is used in a predetermined >environment in such manner as to permit scrutiny of the field; a power >unit that could make the artificial game reflect some reasonable >facsimile to the live creature, including capture. As the first >hand-powered take up wheel and a piece of fur simulated the imagination >of the viewers and participants, so out of every neighborhood came >workable and unworkable contraptions, but none surpassed the battery and >a D.C. motor with takeup reel, to provide the power and speed the sport >demanded." > >"For two years Lyle travelled with the old original hand-operated takeup >reel and pulleys to all four corners of our vast country, implanting the >idea that "lure coursing" could provide real fun with the hounds and at >the same time a beginning to test the speed and coursing abilities of our >dogs." > >"Finally enough interest was aroused to sustain an organization to really >promote the sport. Then the American Sighthound Field Association was >born. It was established in 1972 in Concord, California, with a meagre >half dozen San Francisco Bay Area sighthound organizations and the >support of the Borzoi Club of America. This new body met and elected >it's first officers." > >"It is true that lure coursing today [note 1977 publication date] is not >an exacting test for the stamina and other factors that prove the >worthiness of a coursing hound. However, this sport with all its present >failings has brought coursing into the lives of many Borzoi and their >owners where it had never before existed. It has provided a means by >which thousands of good running hounds could be released after a moving >object for an invigorating run. It has proved to be a practiceable >enterprise where people can gather to watch the various breeds perform. > It has given us a gauge by which to witness the mellow disposition of >most of the breeds, showing what compatibility can really mean to working >hounds. Lure coursing really exposes the true temperament of the hound, >aiding us in selective breeding. It also assists the alert breeder by >revealing how various structural defects affect the total performance of >the hound." > >"With the limitation of open field coursing as to terrain and the >existence of live game and favorable weather and game laws, lure coursing >has become "a gift of the gods" for the hounds, as such trials can be set >up in almost any area of the country .... " > >"But the sport itself seems also to have limitations. It suffers from >poor equipment, which still plagues the efforts of trial giving clubs. >They also have to contend with arbitrary rules and cumbersome procedures, >and in some respects a leadership which wholly lacks imagination and >initiative to develop these trials into genuine tests of the whole >coursing ability of the hounds as it was organized to be by it's >founders. Some of the leadership also fails to draw into participation >a greater percentage of owners to place their young mature dogs in >competition." -- Creative Clutter is Better Than Idle Neatness! ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/rkgkPB/UOnJAA/Zx0JAA/PJ_qlB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SCA_Coursing/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
