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There are several sports that Irish Wolfhounds can compete in, but there are two sports that IW's really like: Lure Coursing
and Straight Line Racing. Although there are no events here in Arkansas, you only need to go to our bordering states to find
events to enter. Texas, Oklahoma, and Missouri, offer the most events and all three states have a good variety of sports to
choose from. Soon, we are hoping to start Lure Coursing here in Arkansas that our club sponsers.
| Irish Wolfhound Veteran -Senior Courser- Harlow |
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| Afghan Hound Club of Dallas AKC Trials 2005 Glen Rose TX |
Lure Coursing is a running sport open to all sighthounds. Sometimes they are refered to as gazehounds.
Sighthounds/gazehounds are dogs that use their eyes to hunt game animals. They chase the game by eye sight rather than smell,
like other hunting breeds do with their noses to the ground. These dogs prefer wide open grass lands with clear fields of
vision to hunt in, rather than forests or brushy cover. For this reason, lure coursing requires about five to ten acres of
fields for the hounds to run in.
Three hounds, each wearing a colored blanket, chase a fast moving lure that travels over the fields by means of a strong
nylon string being pulled along by a fast electric motor. The blankets are pink, yellow, or blue. The judges go by these colors
when scoring the hounds. The hunt master starts the lure running and shouts "tally ho!" You release your hound and the hounds give
chase. The string is a continuous loop that is strung over pulleys that hold the line in place. Although it is a loop, the
course zig zags and twists with long straight stretches and sharp corners. The "lure" is actually three white plastic
bags tied to the string. As the string speeds around the course the bags whip and pop in the wind. The hounds see the lure
and most IW's will chase it. Unfortunately, some hounds won't give chase, especially males, who obviously have better things
to do than chase white bags for several hundred yards. You'll never know if your hound will chase it until you take them out
to a coursing event. The IW's that want to chase will practically pull you down and drag you onto the field in excitement
for the chase. I have even seen IW's break leashes and run onto the field after the lure. For this very reason you must have
a good handle on your hound at all times. The hounds are judged on how well they course. If your hounds cut across the field,
rather than staying behind the lure, they are penalized. They are judged by the enthusiasm they show for the chase, and
they are also judged on how well they follow the lure. Below is a picture of two courses for a two day trial held in
Glen Rose, Texas by the Afghan Hound Club of Dallas. Lure coursing will be sanctioned by either the AKC
or ASFA, which stands for the American Sighthound Field Association.
| Here is a sample of two courses |
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| The course changes each day of the trial. |
AKC Lure Coursing Regulations Nov.2005
http://www.akc.org/rules/lure_coursing.cfm?page=14
Chapter 13: Titles
Section 1. Testing Titles
(Suffix to a hound's name)
A. Junior Courser (JC)
A
hound running alone shall receive certification from a Judge on one date, and a second certification from a different Judge
at a later date, stating that the hound completed a 600-yard course with a minimum of four (4) turns. The hound must complete
the course with enthusiasm and without interruption. The two runs can be on the same date at or in conjunction with a National
Breed Specialty.
B. Senior Courser (SC)
(1) Must be eligible to enter the open stake. See Chapter IX, Section
1.
(2) The hound must run with at least one other hound.
(3) Must receive qualifying scores at four (4) AKC-licensed
or member trials, under two different Judges or judging panels.
C. Master Courser (MC)
The Master Courser
title will be awarded to hounds that have acquired the Senior Courser title and that have earned an additional twenty-five
(25) qualifying scores (with competition) in either the Open, Open Veteran or Specials stake at AKC licensed or member club
lure coursing trials.
Section 2. Field Championship (FC)
(Prefix to the hound's name)
In order to be recorded
as a Field Champion, a hound must be an AKC registered hound and obtain fifteen (15) championship points; included in these
15 points must be two first placements with three points or more, under two different Judges or judging panels and at least
one point must be earned in competition with a hound of the same breed.
A Field Champion may be designated as "Dual
Champion (DC)" if it has also been recorded as a Show Champion.
Any dog which has been awarded the titles of Champion
of Record, Obedience Trial Champion and Field Champion (TC) may be designated as a "Triple Champion."
Section 3.
Lure Courser Excellent
Any dog that has been awarded the title of Field Champion and has earned 45 additional championship
points will be awarded the suffix title of Lure Courser Excellent (LCX). The title of Lure Courser Excellent is a cumulative
title, each time the dog accrues an additional 45 championship points it would be eligible to receive the next title level.
(LCX II, LCX III, LCX IV, etc.)
Straight Line Racing (LGRA)
The other sport that IW's really like is Straight Line Racing. In this race, four hounds chase a "squawker" which is
a furry lure with a tail. Every time it bounces along the ground, as it is pulled along, it squawks. The race course is a
200 yard straight line. Four hounds line up at the start line. They may have a starting box your hounds to start in,
but usually IW's don't fit in the boxes. The hounds chase the squawker as it is pulled very quickly down the course on
a string by an electric motor. Each hound wears a blanket either white, red, yellow, or blue. There are judges at the end
of the race course who write down the order of dogs as they pass the finish line. The fastest hound wins. For this sport,
the hounds must wear a racing muzzle to keep them from destroying the squawker at the end of the race. This type of race is
usually refered to as "Leg-ra", which stands for LGRA, the Large Gazehound Race Association.
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