In 1969 the Cumbrian-inspired sport of hound trailing broke new ground by introducing an international meeting into the programme.
The HTA joined with the Border Association and enthusiasts from Ireland, as well as from Yorkshire in what was acclaimed as a perfect showpiece for the development of the sport.
It had been 1906 when the HTA was formed, followed by the Border Hound Trailing Association in 1933 and later the Yorkshire Hound Trailing Association and associations in County Cork and County Kerry.
From those halcyon days of the sport numbers of members, hounds and followers have dwindled but the international meeting still holds a special place in the trailing calendar.
Since 1969 the international has not been staged only twice – for obvious reasons – foot and mouth in 2001 and COVID last year.
Tomorrow it’s the Border Association’s turn to stage the event at Greenhead near Hadrian’s Wall.
There are six trails and 230 hounds have been entered, although there’s only one each from Ireland and Yorkshire.
The Irish runner in the seniors is Silvemish Spring, owned by Damien Wade while the Yorkshire hound is Black and Tan, owned by H Richardson.
The HTA provides 172 entries and the Border have 56.
It’s still an attractive proposition for owners though with £2,100 in prize money across the six trails.
The Irish runner in the opening senior trail will be up against 20 HTA and 10 Border while the sole Yorkshire representative is in the biggest field, for open restricted – 65 with 51 HTA and 13 Border.
The senior trail gets proceedings underway at 1.30pm when there’s £510 up for grabs and the Joe Miller Memorial Trophy.
Following on are: Senior maidens (£310) at 2.15pm; Open pups (£410 and Tom Barclay Memorial Trophy)at 3.30pm; Puppy maidens (£310) at 4pm; Open restricted (£310) at 4.30pm and Six years and over veterans (£310) at 5pm.
One seasoned trailer said: “It should be a good day as all the races are wide open as it’s a neutral trail and nothing stands out as a winner.”
