The first of the weekend’s main events got underway yesterday at the Teviot Head Show in the Borders.
It hosted a four-card meeting with the senior hounds getting things underway with a slip of 13 hounds.
Championship table leader Winterfell was sent off favourite but nearest rival Miterdale Duchess had travelled up to take him on as time is running out in the race for the title.
As the hounds dropped in and down the fields towards the finish it was the favourite Winterfell who was leading followed by kennel mate Ron.
After they jumped the last fence Winterfell came away and crossed the line a few yards in front of Ron.
Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough were chuffed with his performance as was Tom, Sarah and Ryan Bell who train Winterfell and also run Ron so a good performance all round for the kennel.
Willie and Daphne Mark’s Summer Spirit finished well in third place with Denton Shamrock for Sandra Mordue and Lee Wall finishing in a respectable fourth place.
The last two tickets went to Hunter’s Flame, who hasn’t ran much of late, and Silver Streak who is just returning from a pulled muscle.
Miterdale Duchess finished just outside the ticketing hounds.
The open pups had 11 runners with Rodney Raider favourite in the bookies ring and Embrace being second favourite despite his win earlier in the week at Fellside.
As the hounds dropped in it was a very good race with the majority of the hounds altogether when they came on to the finish.
The first four hounds had gained a little ground as they jumped the last fence and it was a good race to the line with Embrace, the second favourite. just getting up to cross the line first for Andrew, Joel Bulman, Laura Steele and Ian Rumney.
The win takes him to 14 wins now, just six points behind Rodney Raider, and looks as though he’s going to give the table leader a run for his money over the closing weeks.
Artisan finished well in third place for Paul Airey and Joanne Hodgson, and she also seems to becoming into good form.
She was followed home by two more of the Joe Abram and Nicole McMaster Dearham kennel Sarah Jane and Silver Dream.
Then Bill Mellon and Co took the sixth ticket. This may be one for the history books but all six ticketing hounds were from the same litter – Silver Dusk and Miterdale Copper, which has certainly proved its worth this season.
So far over the season the litter has notched up nearly two hundred tickets just in the open puppy championship.
The majority of the other top ticketing pups come from the litter bred by Denise Bland out of Jenny’s Aura by Foxparke Billy Elliot. Both litters have run well this season.
After the excitement of the open pups the open maidens were up next with a slip of 14 and as they came back onto the finish it was just as an exciting race with the majority of them showing together as they dropped down.
As they jumped the last fence there was three or four hounds in with the chance of winning but it was the 8/1 shot Christopher Henderson and Frank Dockeray’s Light Up who just managed to get straightened up to take the win from Ashley Horn and Sarah White’s Flightline who had ran an excellent race.
David Clifford’s Eden Romina finished in third, gleaning another four points towards his bid to take the open maiden points competition with Marti Borthwick and co ‘s Castle Clansman taking fourth place.
The last two tickets went to the Hill’s Buster Moon and the Neale and Bryden’s Eagle Love.
Last trail of the day was the open restricted race with 13 runners and it was Ian Fleet and Jayne Petersen’s Chapel Stile who crossed the line first having finished well in front of David Clifford’s other hound Eden Rayna.
Colin Satterthwait’s hound Thorn Pop finished in third place with Brian Graham and Eleanor Chisholm’s hound Eleanor’s Lass taking fourth.
The Neale and Bryden kennel bagged another ticket with Eagle Rock and Brian, Joy and Cathy Lister’s Dream Catcher took sixth.
At the end of the trails there was a trophy presentation for the kennel with most points and this went to Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough’s and Tom, Sarah, Ryan Bell’s Winterfell and Ron who claimed first and second in the senior hounds.
September 16 – Teviot Head Show
- Hounds – 1. Winterfell; 2. Ron; 3. Summer Spirit; 4. Denton Shamrock; 5. Hunter’s Flame; 6. Silver Streak. 13 ran, time 29.27.
- Pups – 1. Embrace; 2. Rodney Raider; 3. Artisan; 4. Sarah Jane; 5. Silver Dream; 6. Artist. 11 ran, time 15.58.
- Open Maidens – 1. Light Up; 2. Flightline; 3. Eden Romina; 4. Castle Clansman; 5. Buster Moon; 6. Eagle Love. 14 ran, time 16.32.
- Open Restricted – 1. Chapel Stile; 2. Eden Rayna; 3. Thorn Pop; 4. Eleanor’s Lass; 5. Eagle Rock; 6. Dream Catche. 13 ran, time 18.23.
