Free Constable on the Hill by Nicholas Rhea Page A

about-turned and began to advance towards the clear field before us. This was the coursing field, an area set aside for the purpose. The beaters spread themselves across the width of the countryside and began to wallop the undergrowth with the flags and short sticks, shouting and making a terrible din. Ahead of them was the coursing field where two competing greyhounds were held on slip-leads. The object was to locate a hare and drive it into the field so that it would be seen by the eager dogs. Only two dogs compete in each course. These fit, shivering animals weretherefore waiting for the first hare to come bounding into the flat field, whereupon, at a signal from the judge, they would be slipped from their leads by the slipper. The judge was mounted on a horse to give clarity of vision and ease of movement as the dogs chased the hare around that field. From the moment the dogs are slipped, the course is on.
    As was expected, there were several abortive beats and on one occasion that day, a leveret was put up. For those not familiar with rural life, a leveret is a young hare, but he was allowed his freedom. Coursing is for fit, adult hares only.
    Eventually, a suitable hare was put up. A signal came from one of the beater’s white flags which was held aloft for all to see, and the beaters began to warble as only coursing beaters can. The expectant crowd waited for the hare to bolt through the hedge and into the coursing field. He was driven that way by the oncoming beaters and their horrendous voices; finally, he entered through the hedge, ears flat against his body as he raced for his life. He legged it for all he was worth, heading for the far side of the arena and darting across the frontage of spectators. When he was about two hundred yards ahead of the straining dogs, they were slipped. The first course was on.
    At this point, I learned of the two great differences between greyhound racing and coursing. Firstly, the hare in coursing is a live one; he is on his home ground, unconfined open countryside which he knows intimately and which he uses to good advantage. The second difference is that the dogs operate only in pairs, and they are identified by colours. One wears red and the other wears white.
    Because the competition begins with the slipping, the judge has the unenviable task of deciding the winner and it is invariably a very close contest. The judge on this occasion was a lady, the only woman qualified as a coursing judge in the North of England. She had to award points for speed in get-away, for the number of times the dog makes the hare turn, for go-byes (overtaking of one dog by the other in the chase), and for the lengths distant from the hare. Points are also awarded for toppling the hare, but not for a kill. A kill does not determine the winning dog. In fact, a kill can lose the course because the other dog can gain valuable points during the killer’s excitement. If a kill does occur, the courseends there, but it usually occurs when the hare escapes through the hedge and runs out of the coursing field. At this point, a trained coursing greyhound will return to its owner. Usually, coursing greyhounds are kept solely for this purpose and are not run in other races.
    During all the meetings I attended in the course of my police duty, I never saw one hare killed or maimed. As a matter of interest, it is a strict rule that only wild hares are used for the sport. It is against coursing rules to breed hares or to use captive hares for this purpose. Another rule forbids the coursing of ground to which hares have been introduced within the last six months. This allows the animals time to acquaint themselves with their natural surroundings. Some clubs will not chase hares which are wet due to the rain. They like their hares to be in peak condition – it helps the hares and it provides a better test of skill for the dogs. Hares are always given between 150 and 200 yards start too.
    I must admit that I was