The PVIWC does not currently sponsor or hold any lure coursing events, but we encourage our members to participate in this sport. Clubs that regularly hold events within driving distance of us include CHAMP (Virginia or Maryland), SHOT (Tidewater, Virginia area), IWAGS (New Jersey), and LVCC (Pennsylvania or New Jersey). Check their websites for event schedules and premiums.
Other places to check for nearby events include:
If you aren’t sure what lure coursing is, check out our links page for more information from organizations which sanction these events (primarily the AKC and the American Sighthound Field Association). In a nutshell, lure coursing is a sport for sighthounds which is supposed to emulate chasing game. Plastic bags are tied to a line which is run through a series of pulleys to create a course of at least 600 yards, with a certain number of required turns. Hounds chase the lure singly or with up to 2 other hounds, depending on the competition.
Other types of coursing include straight track racing (offered by the Large Gazehound Racing Association) and oval track racing (offered by the North American Oval Track Racing Association).
Chasing a plastic bag around a field may not sound exciting, but if your IW has the coursing instinct they will do just about anything to get that bag! This sometimes leads to the secondary sport of “turf-surfing,” in which the handler is dragged some distance by an eager hound. Awards are not given for turf-surfing, no matter how extraordinary the performance :-).
Coursing requires only that your hound be a purebred sighthound in good physical shape (and not in season, if you have an intact female), so it doesn’t matter if your dog is “pet quality” or “show quality.” Even if your dog doesn’t take to this sport, it’s wonderful to watch wolfhounds run!
