Hound Trailing History

Hound Trailing In Hound Trailing, an artificial scent is laid out over a course. Hounds are released in divided groups, Senior A, Senior Maidans, Puppy A & Puppy Maidans, and the winner is the first hound to complete the course. There are also place tickets for the first 6, and points accumulated from each drag for first 6 dogs to cross the line. Betting is an integral aspect of the activity. Hound Trailing involves mainly harrier hunt club packs and the season runs from March to September with meets being held at the weekends. Hounds used are either the Kerry Beagle, the Northern Irish Hound (used only for drag hunting) or the English Hound. Main Areas Armagh, Clare, Cork, Kerry Notes: The Northern Irish Hound is used only for drag hunting. Packs who hunt live quarry during the winter months get involved in Hound Trailing as a means of keeping the hounds fit during the summer months. There are a number of county organisations that regulate the activity of hound trailing. Competitions are held by these organisations on a county level. This gives the activity a public profile with sponsorship involvement from the commercial sector. Hound Trailing History Hound trailing started in the remote countryside of Co. Kerry. During the winter, people hunted the hare on foot over mountain and bogs. During the summer they raced their hounds over the countryside following a runner towing a lump of horsemeat. It was a very localised affair and as communications improved it began to spread to neighbouring counties. This lead to new breeds of dogs being used. Up to then the Kerry Beagle was the only dog breed used. The faster breeds like the Northern Irish Hound and the English Trail Hound soon outclassed the Kerry Beagle. From this, two separate hound activities/"sports" emerged: Live hunting with the Kerry Beagle. Trail hunting with the Northern Irish and English hounds. The use of horsemeat to set the trail came to an end when farmers objected to this practice. In its place aniseed was used. Its usage was another reason why two hound sports came into being, as aniseed will affect the hunting ability of a hound who is used to hunting live quarry. Source: History of the Scarteen Hunt Co. Limerick Pages 30/31 (pub: 1989)Irish Drag Hunting Organisations 1998-1999 There is no overall national organisation for Draghunting in Ireland. There are a number of county organisations who regulate and control the activity based around affiliated packs in their own county. In respect of two Northern Ireland based packs hunting with bloodhounds they are affiliated to the Masters of Bloodhounds Association who regulate the sport of draghunting with bloodhounds on the British mainland.TITLE ACTIVITYThe Cork City & County Harriers Association (Cork) Hound Trailing/HuntingThe Irish Trail Hounds Association (Cork) Hound TrailingThe East Cork Harriers Association (Cork) Hound TrailingThe Kerry Beagles Association (Kerry) Hound TrailingThe Clare Harriers Association (Clare) Hound Trailing Northern Counties Drag Hunt Association (Cavan) Hound Trailing