Irish Extra March 2020

March is an odd month for on the calendar for me as it one which well and truly puts a stop to any proper hunting. With Game Shooting finishing in January, we hold onto February for dear life with many Saturday ferreting days and mid-week lamping sessions heralded as the last of the season before it gets a little warm.

My final day was just on the weekend past when I travelled to my old pal Dicky for a weekend hunting with Teckels and Lurchers and we had some great sport as we always do when he invites me to his part of the country which seems to be at times absolutely hopping with all types of game and vermin! It has been a good season for me in general, I was probably out a little less than usual as I was quite literally up to my ears in work which keeps the ferrets & dogs busy anyway so they never have time to be bored, and with some longer evenings we put it to good use to sharpen up with Teckel training and blood tracking practice.

As dull as March is there is however always something to keep things ticking over and I pulled out my Larsen traps this week and ordered another pair – With my Harris Hawk now settling and feeding well I can pack the freezer full of magpies and have plentiful bird feeding for next winter. Two of the traps I am planning to locate in a suburban areas as did last year which seemed to work better than the more remote locations I put the others, the only problem was that I seemed to catch either quite a lot of hedgehogs or the same hedgehog quite often, which I eventually solved by raising the trap a few inches off the ground.

Irish Cup Postponed.

My March column normally falls correctly to bring the results of the Irish Cup, however this has been postponed until the final week in February due to track conditions, so in the meantime I can report on the National Meeting in which The 2020 Boylesports Derby winner is the Ardpatrick & Kilfinane qualifier Upper Hand. Owned by the Teresa Cahill (Kent) led ‘Part Of A Dream Syndicate’, trained by multiple Classic winning trainer Gerry Holian and bred by Liam Farrell. He was the morning favourite having ousted Callaway Rambler in the third round. He came from behind Soul Man, held off the late challenge of Snap Streak and then in a brilliant final where the lead changed twice he powered up the Powerstown Hill to defeat a gallant Gingerbread Bud. He is a son of Newinn Wonder – Nomore Lily.

The 2020 Horse & Jockey Hotel Oaks winner is the Regional qualifier Foxhollow Queen. A half-sister to 2018 Oaks heroine Foxhollow Lady and running for the same connections, joint owners Brendan Matthews (Newry) & Nora Raleigh (Adare), trained by Brendan and bred by John Flynn from his own 2014 Oaks winner Somelittlething with Adios Alonso the sire the successful sire on this occasion. Brendan & Nora may have come to Clonmel with high hopes of her brother Foxhollow Adios winning the Derby (withdrawn injured from third round) but this lady didn’t put a paw wrong all weekend. Having enjoyed comfortable successes over Tobarmartin Mags and Lets Get Started she was put to the test in the final by the early pace of Please Abbie. The runner-up lost nothing in defeat but the ‘Queen’ showed devastating foot from halfway.

Female Anglers Boost!

Inland Fisheries Ireland will be running a number of events to give women the opportunity to try fishing in 2020. Well renowned angler and one of the world’s leading fly casting instructors and friend of Long Netter, the lovely Glenda Powell, who has partnered with Inland Fisheries Ireland to teach the participants around various venues in Ireland from April to September of this year. he aim of the programme is to give women an opportunity to try fishing in a relaxed and supportive environment with other beginners. Each participant will be concentrated on as an individual and the aim is to develop her own personal requirements during the programme to enable learning. The course will be a mixture of spinning and fly fishing to ensure that each participant gets to experience a variety of fishing methods while figuring out what method works best for them. Participants will be encouraged to progress at their own rate of learning while feeling safe in or around water. Each participant will learn a new skill and be in the outdoors and will hopefully develop an interest to continue with the sport. Those wishing to progress to the next level in learning to fish will be encouraged to sign up to future programmes and also to join local angling clubs.

Each course will consist of a half-day session either in the morning (9.30am – 1.00pm) or afternoon (2pm – 5.30pm) on Saturdays, dates and locations below:

Dates & Locations:

Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development at Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “We are delighted to be able to offer this pilot programme to women as an opportunity to not only learn fishing but have the chance to develop a new skill and past time. In today’s society, outdoor recreational activities are more important than ever from a health and well-being perspective and in Ireland, we are uniquely placed with the breadth and quality of our fisheries resource which is available to all to enjoy. We want to give these women a unique opportunity to be able to try out this sport in a relaxed and supportive environment among some of our greatest natural resources here in Ireland.”

Dates for your diary:

Saturday 8^Th March 2020

Tara Harriers – Hunt Trials, Carlanstown, commencing 10.00am

Sunday 15th March 2020

NORTH WEST LURCHER/TERRIER AND WHIPPET CLUB WILL  BE HOLDING THEIR DOG SHOW AND RACE DAY ON SUNDAY 15th MARCH 19 AT BARRONTOP FARM,35 BARRON ROAD,DONEMANA, STRABANE, CO TYRONE. BT82 OJD. FULL DETAILS LATER.

Saturday 28th March 2020

SPORTING WHIPPET CLUB  RACE DAY AT BALLEE PARK, BALLYMENA. ( Full Details Later )

Sunday 29th March 2020
IRISH ASSOCIATION OF WORKING DOGS CLUB/DOG SHOW
AND RACE DAY. ( IRISH MIDLANDS)