A new trophy will be introduced at this year’s Grasmere Sports and Lakeland Show in memory of one of its stalwarts.
Chris Swainson was the show’s hound trail manager and had been involved with the show for 50 years.
He died during the coronavirus pandemic and organisers wanted to pay tribute to the contribution he had made to the show.
The Chris Swainson Trophy will be awarded to the best young handler on the day – technically aged under 30 but likely to be a child who has assisted with preparing, slipping and catching the dogs for the races.
Preparing a dog for a hound trail will entail ensuring they are in tip-top condition, having followed a healthy diet and got into good physical shape for the task ahead. That task is one of navigating the undulating fells terrain, following a specially laid aniseed trail, and completing the trail from start to finish in the fastest time.
Slipping the hound can be translated as letting the dog loose, as the starter announces the start of the race. Catching the dogs means making sure the dog is recovered and correctly allocated any placing in the race, once it has completed the course and crossed the finishing line.
Grasmere Sports and Lakeland Show’s sports and field manager, Deborah Black, said: “We were so saddened by the passing of Chris, at a time when Grasmere Sports was forced to cancel due to COVID. However, we are delighted to have our new and special trophy to commemorate him and we are sure his family are very proud.
“Chris’s legacy lives on through our new hound trail manager, Mike Thornton, and our hound trail races remain in great hands. We shall be delighted to see the Chris Swainson Trophy presented to one dedicated young handler.”
There will be four hound trail races at Grasmere Sports and Lakeland Show, which takes place on Sunday, August 28.
In the first three – the Puppy Trail, the Open Restricted Trail and the Veteran Trail – the hounds all run a distance of five miles, with finishing times typically being between 18 and 22 minutes.
In 2019, the last time the show was staged, the Puppy Trail could not be run, due to weather conditions, but the Open Restricted winner – Manna – completed the course in 24.02 minutes. The Veterans Trail race was won by Tommy’s Legacy in a time of 21.08.
The fourth hound trail race at Grasmere Sports and Lakeland Show is the Senior Hound Trail – the prestige event, which again takes dogs from the showground and up and down the fell but this time over a 10-mile course. Amid lots of shouting, calling and banging of dog bowls, the winning time here is usually between 32 and 34 minutes. In 2019, Bedazzle won in a slightly slower time of 37.07, perhaps suggesting a slightly trickier trail that year.
Trails are laid by trailers who head to a halfway point together and then separate, with one laying the trail to the start and the other completing the trail to the finish line. As the trails are specially laid, there is no chance of any practice sessions being held on the fells in advance, so it is all down to the strength, stamina and scent detection skills of a hound on the day.
