Lure Coursing - Foothills Gazehound Club

I spent an incredible weekend photographing a Lure Coursing trial hosted by the Foothills Gazehound Club.  I had never seen Lure Coursing before and there were lots of breeds there that I rarely, if ever, see so it was a pretty fascinating weekend. Everyone was so friendly and really made Jo and I feel welcome.

So for those of you like me, who aren't that familiar with the sport, I'll give you the quick explanation - courtesy of Wikipedia.

Lure coursing is a sport for dogs that involves chasing a mechanically operated lure. Competition is usually limited to dogs of sighthound breeds. This past weekend there were 8 different breeds competing - Afghans, Basenjis, Borzois, Greyhounds, Ibizun Hounds, Salukis, Whippets and an Irish Wolfhound.  In lure coursing, dogs chase an artificial lure across a field, following a pattern that is meant to simulate live coursing. A typical lure course is between 600 and 1000 yards (548 to 914 meters) long. The course must have a minimum number of turns in order to simulate prey (the jack-rabbit or hare) changing direction in a chase. Sighthounds generally have no need to be trained or enticed to chase the lure since the desire to chase is instinctual. However some breeds may require lure play at a very early age to encourage them to follow an artificial object with enthusiasm. Dogs must be at least one year old to compete; the hard fast turns are tough on a dog's developing joints and lure coursing before the age of one can cause joint problems later in life.

There are lots of videos to be found on YouTube if you want to see what it is like.  It never even occurred to me to take a video or two and now I'm kicking myself! You'll really get a sense of the speed if you watch some videos.

The dogs are judged on more than speed. They also take into account: endurance, agility (how well they can corner and turn), enthusiasm and follow (how well they follow the lure).  The first dog to the finish line is not necessarily the winner.

I'm going to blog about the various breeds one at a time as I have a tonne of photos. They aren't breeds you see everyday, so I thought I could share a few more photos of each one this way. First up tomorrow will be Irish Wolfhounds.  There was a gorgeous girl there named Lady that had some very nice runs.