[MR] [Fwd: can you do me a favor please]

[Brett W. McCoy]

Posting this on behalf of Lady Failenn...

[Quote]

Not to be a grump, but a few points:

Hunting large game with coursing dogs is mediaeval.
Lure coursing isn't.
[/Quote]

Umm, it is, at the end of our period, but still in period....

Coursing races, with dogs chasing live rabbits, became popular during 
the sixteenth century. Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603) had 
Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, draw up rules judging competitive coursing. 
These rules established such things as the hare's head start and the 
ways in which the two hounds' speed, agility and concentration would be 
judged against one another. Winning was not neccesarily dependent on 
catching the hare (although this did earn a high score). Often the hare 
escaped. Wagers were commonly placed on the racing dogs. Read the 
Renaissance rules of coursing, taken from a sixteenth century book by 
Gervase Markham, with interpretations of their meanings at this URL
(http://www.gulfcoastgreyhounds.org/course-rules.html). These rules were
still in effect when the first official coursing club was founded in 
1776 at Swaffham, Norfolk, England. The rules of coursing have not 
changed a great deal since this time.

The English sport of coursing -- hunting by sight instead of scent -- 
has roots in ancient Greece, and is a sport valued for the contest more 
than the catching of the prey. The Greek historian Arrian wrote more 
than 1800 years ago: "For coursers, such at least as are true sportsmen, 
do not take their dogs out for the sake of catching a hare, but for the 
contest and sport of coursing, and are glad if the hare meets with an 
escape."

Unlike Elizabeth, King James I (1566-1625) preferred hunting to hard 
work.  He was an avid fan of greyhound coursing. Having heard about the 
strength of the local hares, he brought his greyhounds to the village of 
Fordham near the border of Suffolk and Cambridge. This was not a public 
exhibition, but a private competition between the king's greyhounds 
observed by James and his court. He stayed at the Griffin Inn in the 
nearby town of Newmarket. He enjoyed the coursing there so much that he 
built a hunting lodge in Newmarket. To maintain the quality of hunting, 
in 1619 he ordered the release of 100 hares and 100 partridges every 
year at Newmarket. Races between the horses of his followers became as 
important as the matches between the king's greyhounds. This began the 
tradition of competitive racing in Newmarket.

And yes, of course I was jesting about dogs being accessories.  Nobody 
who is involved in adopting out retired racing greyhounds like I am is 
unaware of the plight of those unfortunate ones who don't get adopted 
every year.

Failenn MacFergus
mom to two very lucky hounds who won the most important race of all - 
the race into their forever homes.