By John Walsh

Last updated 15:01, Thursday, 21 February 2008

IF hound trailing could attract more people like Helen and Wayne Park of Egremont the sport’s recruitment problems might well be over.

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One for the future: Twelve-year-old Macauley Park pictured with Uldale’s Lad

For not only did the Parks run their first hounds in the HTA last year, but they immediately had two keen new members of the Junior Club.

Sons Curtis (12) and Macauley (12) are as keen as mustard and already looking forward to competing again this season.

The Parks’ story starts at the back end of the 2006 season, and this is how Helen recounts their entry into the sport.

“Both Wayne and I had a hound-trailing background but we hadn’t been involved directly.

“Wayne’s uncle Laurence Dobbin had Wild Alliance while my uncle Bobby Moyle had Firestone which won the International Vaux Tankard in 1979.

“We were reminiscing about those times and the end-product was that the kids wanted to go the trails to see for themselves.

“I’m pleased to say they loved them and the next thing was we decided to have a pup for 2007.

“We went along to see the Crow/The Rock litter and the boys couldn’t decide which one they wanted. In the end I bought one of them and Curtis used his own cash to buy the other.

“We named them Uldale’s Lad and Firestone and have had good fun with them. Unfortunately Firestone suffered a foot injury and only ran a couple of times but we’re expecting him to be ready to run at the start of the season,” she says.

Uldale’s Lad won six trails and picked-up two handsome cups – the Ernie Reay Memorial Trophy at Ennerdale Show and the Egremont and Bigrigg Old Folk’s puppy points for shows Trophy.

The Parks already had kennels for Wayne’s lurchers and now they have just had to move things around a wee bit to accommodate the hounds.

Curtis and Macauley take an interest in the training and running of the hounds and will be hoping to figure prominently in the Junior Club this coming season.

New owners/trainers, with their own young family – just the sort of people the sport has to produce each year to thrive and prosper! Next week we’ll look at some of the juniors who have been around for a few years – and are still following the sport.

Talking of people who have been around for a while, let’s raise a glass to Jim Batty (pictured) who won the HTA’s senior maiden title with Farmer.

Not that Jimmy was over-concerned as he admitted this week from the Waberthwaite sausage factory where he’s employed that he has never ran hounds for points in his long career.

“They just told me at the end of the season he had won the open maidens but I hadn’t even considered it.

“I run my dogs to have a gamble with and there’s more fun that way, although it sometimes gets a bit hard to watch,” he says.

His late father was a bookie and I remember Jim recounting some hilarious tales from those early days, writing in this column a number of years ago.

Jim himself briefly had a go at bookmaking when his father died but he’s generally been more active on the other side of the boards.

Checkout was Jim’s best hound, which finished runner-up to Miss Patsie in the 2002 two-year-old championship and he also reckons Silverdale was a “good gambling hound.”

Farmer was bred from the Checkpoint/Checkmate pairing and three other siblings are still in the Batty kennel – Ivy Crag, Farm Walk and Rambling Rose. All will be maidens for 2008 so make a note.

“Ivy Crag won the Centenary trials at Shap and also at the International meeting while Farm Walk was just pipped at last year’s international after leading up the finish.

“Farmer won at Cleator Moor Sports and we hope to have a bit of fun with them again in 2008,” says Jim, who is helped by other Millom enthusiasts Michael Slee and Norman Fallows.

Jim has some interesting views on what he would like to see happen in modern hound trailing, but we’ll save those for another day.

The Wath Brow Hound Trailing Club has finalised details of the forum which is being held at the local British Legion club on Saturday, March 8 at 8pm.

Bill Huddart will take the chair and in attendance to answer all manner of questions will be Geoff Higgins, Neil Webster, Billy Birkett and Carolyn Hill.

Tickets cost £2 (pay on the door).

The following Saturday (March 15) Barbara Shields has organised a fund-raising Ladies Night for the Club and it is already a sell-out.

The trailing fraternity had a lovely afternoon at Bowderdale, when a different trail was used from the previous week.

There were 13 pups, and Habana and Negress were very close at the finish, with Claymore in third. Some of the pups got wrong right at the slip and went heel way round. The time was 12.28.

The 17 seniors ran well, but veered a bit on the finish. Howe Bess beat Dusty Hare and Toytown in a time of 12.05.

The trials at Buttermere this Saturday will be held at 3pm when a raffle will also take place with all proceeds going to Hospice At Home.

There will be prizes for the first three in the puppy race (13 minutes) and the first three in the senior race over a full puppy trail (18 minutes).

The Executive meeting held on Sunday was very well-attended, with just four absentees.

This is the meeting at which the finances are discussed, and it was decided that all fees should stay the same this year.

Chairman Roy Laidler commented on the marvellous work done by Eileen Robinson and the Lakeland Trailhound Welfare, and suggested that it was time that the HTA supported this proposition officially.

This was agreed unanimously, and a sum of £500 was agreed for 2008, the amount to be decided every year at this meeting.

This is independent of any donations the area committees wish to make.

There were also discussions on the decrease in the number of pups being bred (and possible remedies for the situation), the Gambling Commission and its effect on our sport, and the method of voting at the Annual General Meeting, which some felt might put people off voting how they really wanted to.

Any areas wanting to apply for the May Day trails should do so at their next area meeting. A return to Lazonby Fell has already been put forward.

The Chairman asked for respects to the late Michael Renney to be recorded, and he paid tribute to the contribution he had made to the sport in so many ways.

Some kennel forms have still not been returned to the secretary, and defaulters will not be able to run their hounds in March trial trails unless they get their skates on and complete the necessary paperwork. Subscriptions are also overdue.

The Annual is at the printers and should be on sale soon.