Busy week for hounds at Ambleside and Langholm

Thursday and Friday were busy days for the hound trailing fraternity with a four race card at Ambleside with £960 on offer as prize money over the four trails followed by Langholm common Riding early Friday morning with another £500 on offer for just one race.

Starting with Ambleside the senior hounds got things off to a start with nine runners and the hounds certainly have to like running the fells to be able to manage the trail at Ambleside and be comfortable managing the bracken, which is particularly high this year, with all the rain and warm conditions.

Winterfell was running and would be looking to try and make best use of the time Rodney Raider is out of action. To date he hasn’t been able to do that but Huntsman’s Quantum was expected to give him a run for his money as he has a good record round the course and likes that kind of running.

Miterdale Duchess was also considered by the punters with an inkling of previous running and as the hounds showed on the fell as they dropped back in towards the field there were two hounds with a lead.

They were Winterfell and Huntsman’s Quantum and as they came through the last gate it was Huntsman’s Quantum who had a slight lead. But as they approached the line Huntsman’s Quantum veered off right and let Winterfell come through to win for Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough. That takes his tally for the season to six wins now just four points behind Rodney Raider.

Huntsman’s Quantum eventually rejoined the trail and finished in second place for Denise Bland and the Little family but there was gap to the next hound before Miterdale Duchess, for Denis Pear and Jackie Gill, came in to finish in third place.

Eleanor’s Lass finished fourth for Brian Graham and Eleanor Chisholm, followed by James Irving’s Overwater Eddie after his win on Saturday with Graham Reid’s Strawberry Mick taking the last ticket but it was a long race with the bracken probably taking its toll and making running difficult for the hounds.

Next to slip were the senior maidens with a better slip of 21 hounds making it a real spectacle as they went from the main ring on the sports field. However, as they came back on the finishing end there was one well clear and it was Miterdale Dusk for Sophie Steele and Co who finished alone.

Reebok eventually came in for second place for Brian Graham and Eleanor Chisholm with Stephen Riley and Isla Hetherington’s Ruby finishing well in third place. Tony Jackson and Ian Rudd’s Kinniside Jacko took fourth ahead of Carole and Stanley Jackson’s Charisma with Foxparke Whoosh finishing in sixth place.

There was a slip of 11 hounds in the puppy race with a number of top hounds running including Huntsman’s Time also trying to extend her lead as the in-form Thornton continues to chip away at her lead. Countess Ava was looking to claw some points back having showed good promise early on then just faded away a little mid-season.

Again as they showed on the finish and dropped down to the line it was a good race between three hounds who had broken away from the rest of the slip. As they approached the line it was Barry Laidler and Caroline Clough’s Snowfell who had a length on Countess Ava with Huntsman’s Time close behind.

However just as they got to the line Countess Ava made a last push and after the judge had referred to the camera the verdict was given to Countess Ava, much to the delight of James and Ava McClelland.

Snowfell had to settle for second place with Huntsman’s Time for Denise and Jenny Bland, Greame Little and Lisa Crosby in third. Blue Striker was the next pup to finish to take fourth for Erin and Brian Rowlandson with Barry and Caroline’s other hound Classmate taking fifth. Thorn Soul, for Colin Satterthwaite ,finished in sixth place.

The puppy maidens were next to slip and there were 19 of them and Sophie Steele would have been hoping for her hounds to run well, given the type of running, and complete a double.

As they showed and dropped in, two were clear but it was Thorn Heart who came away from the second hound and crossed the line in first place for Colin Satterthwaite. The second hound was Huntsman’s Trust for Denise and Jenny Bland and Greame Little while Sophie’s Miterdale Ruler came in third.

Malcolm Holmes’ Senorita finished in fourth place ahead of Gillian Bulman-Brown and Mickey O’Brien’s Peggy while Sophie’s other hound Miterdale Rumble was sixth.

The last race of the day was the open restricted race with 15 runners with Huntsman’s Quartz coming on his own and eventually crossing the line in first place. Foxparke Sassy Girl ran a great race to finish in second place with Christine Brownlee’s Malia taking third.

Kirkhead Rebel for Sophie Steele and Roy Laidler took the fourth ticket with Denise and Co’s Missriff taking fifth ticket. The last ticket of the day went to Brian and Joy Lister’s Dream Catcher.

For the early birds there was a trip up to Langholm for the annual common riding hound trail which takes place at 6.30am on Friday morning. The trail is now classed as a championship trail so will count towards the overall senior championship title.

There was a good turnout of 21 hounds and as they showed on the finish there were plenty of hounds in with a chance. They did get strung out a little as they came to towards the finishing line and it was Linda Neale, Mark, Josh and Georgia’s Eagle Love that just battled through to cross the line in first place from Nicola McMaster and Sadie Wilson’s Sarah Jane who finished in second place.

The win for Linda and Co was their third win of the race as her hounds Eagle Heart and Eagle Chic won in consecutive years back in 2013 and 2014. Well done to Linda and Co, what an achievement.

She along with the hound and daughter Georgia, were presented with the trophy and specially embroidered dog sheet in the middle of Langholm amongst all the other celebrations, and by the looks of the photo the dog was loving it.

Huntsman’s Rebel last year’s winner finished in third place for Denise and Jenny Bland with Delta Script for Sarah Harper and family in fourth. The Neale and Bryden team also took fifth with their other hound Eagle Rock while David Clifford’s hound Eden Romina finished well in sixth place.

With all the excitement over the last couple of days action gets back to normal with the Farrel Gorley trails which will take place at Redmain this afternoon with the first trail slipping at 1pm.

July 25 – Ambleside Sports

Hounds – 1. Winterfell; 2. Huntsman’s Quantum; 3. Miterdale Duchess; 4. Eleanor’s Lass; 5. Overwater Eddie ;6. Strawberry Mick. 9 ran, time 33.07.
Maidens – 1. Miterdale Dusk; 2. Reebok; 3. Ruby; 4. Kinniside Jacko; 5. Charisma; 6. Foxparke Whoosh. 21 ran, time 32.47.
Pups – 1. Countess Ava; 2. Snowfell; 3. Huntsman’s Time; 4. Blue Striker; 5. Classmate; 6. Thorn Soul. 11 ran, time 21.51.
Puppy Maiden – 1. Thorn Heart; 2. Huntsman’s Trust; 3. Miterdale Ruler; 4. Senorita; 5. Peggy Sue; 6. Miterdale Rumble. 19 ran, time 26.35.
Open Restricted – 1. Huntsman’s Quartz; 2. Foxparke Sassy Girl; 3. Malia; 4. Kirkhead Rebel; 5. Missriff; 6. Dream Catcher. 15 ran, time 18.22.