Virgin Blogger

Well, I have decided to jump on the blogging wagon and create my own blogging area and get started. Hopefully this will be advantageous to someone, perhaps even myself.

Not much happening so far this week, except that traffic continues to such in Atlanta, I sometimes wish I had a helicopter (with a nice, young, handsome, pilot). But alas, I only have my Honda Pilot to whisk me back and forth from D'ville to the far ends of the earth just so I can earn a decent living!

The weekend proved to be productive. Alot of yardwork on Saturday, followed by a trip to Cartersville so that one of my greyhounds could get certified to lure course. Hounds must be certified to enter an ASFA field trial. Certification is earned by practicing with a hound of similar running style, which is evaluated by a judge. Sugar did excellent and did receive her certification. I am most proud. Now, to get her in shape for the April 2-3 SEGC trials being held at the same field. It is quite exciting watching her run around the field and she enjoys it so much.

The ultimate goal is to win titles. After a hundred points for placements, as well as taking at least two firsts, or two seconds and a first, a sighthound earns its Field Championship (FCH) title. With further placements and another three hundred points, the hound earns a Lure Courser of Merit (LCM) title. Subsequent LCMs are earned in the same way, and currently the highest achieving sighthound is a Whippet, an LCM 18.

Hounds are normally run in trios, in yellow, pink, and blue colors. Judges assess performance based on each hound's abilities, identifying hounds by their blanket color. The hounds run a preliminary course and a final course, and then may run for Best of Breed. Finally, the Best of Breed run for Best in Field, as an optional stake. The hounds are scored by the following criteria:

Follow - 15 points
Enthusiasm - 15 points
Agility - 25 points
Speed - 25 points
Endurance - 20 points

I'll be posting here on her progress as her 2nd career gets underway. My other greyhound, Remi, is going to straight race. A whole different ballgame, but still great fun for the dog. And it keeps them in shape and doing what they love to do - run like the wind!