Promoting a trail or baz’s weekly chunter.
In a couple of weeks time the traditional Ings sheep dog trials and hound trails will be taking place. Due to the fact that the Association trails are on the following Saturday and Ings is only a one off trail ,it is poorly supported, but nevertheless ‘the show must go on’.
No problems .so far. until you find out that the environment agency ,as they have done in most of Cumbria, have double-fenced the beck where the trail crosses, in a wet ,rushy place, giving the hounds no chance to jump.
Consequently this entire section has to altered,. So the promoter has to plan a new route before he shows the trailer ( speaking from experience). Due to the different line now taken over a mile of the trail has to be changed.
All goes well until the last 50 yards when a bracken bed is encountered over six foot high with most of it folded with the rain making practically impossible to walk through, especially a ‘blue badger’ . Now,you might say ‘go around it’ .There is no way around and in hindsight I shouldn’t have gone in. BUT!
‘It is a trail and the only way to go from A to B is right through the middle.
So there I am in the middle of a bracken bed – STUCK ! It took me half an hour to get so far in and damn near as long to get out.
All this hassle, plus the fact that the two trailers have to take the day of work and one is still to be shown the finish, makes you think.!
Now, I’m not on my own in having to work hard in ensuring there are still venues and ‘what’s more creating new venues but any more abuse ( criticism ,yes! ) but ignorant verbal abuse and there will be one less.
Rant over! It has been a week of ‘catch that hound’ as hounds with coats and leads were running loose plus those who refuse the bait tin and attempt to carry on.
So we have ‘tackle of the week’ Brian Graham stopping Tempress in her tracks by what can only described as ‘grab and lift’ .It was remarked he could get a game for Workington to which one aficionado replied ‘he doesn’t have to tackle ,just turn up and he’ll get a game.
It was heartening to see some young uns laying trails this week ,a fourteen and twenty one year old at Westward and a young farmer at Cold Fell.
Nicola Napier and team had 14 runners at Lamplugh on Monday ,They got £11 in prize money ,suppose it could be counted as a tax loss?
Just a thought is there a copyright on colour recognition because Bracelet ran on Wednesday ,the ‘colour purple’.
Nothing to do with trailing ,but on Friday John Crone treated my grandson with a ride on the Northern line, it transpired that he was the driver on the very train we chose and sat him in the drivers seat and let him ‘blow the horn’, he is only two and a half . Ta John ,by the way it’s a good job there are rails [ a directional joke)
The Association trails are at Uldale Common -turn left / right on the Uldale rd, depending which way you are travelling, at the Orthwaite junction.
