Invitational Event – Hope Island Cup

On the day there are 4 trophies on offer:-

• Hope Island Cup – This is an endurance event for sight hounds. 
• Shanett Trophy – This endurance event is for all registered breeds other than sight hounds. 
• Rouge et Noir Cup – This endurance event is for unregistered dogs. 
• Fun is a Terrier Trophy – This endurance event is for all terriers. 

Originally, the dogs were required to run a course of at least 550 metres, three times with a ten minute break between runs.  This has now been reduced to two runs.

The Hope Island Cup event was introduced when the majority of dogs were sight hounds and its purpose was to give sight hounds an event, which would really test their stamina as these hounds are expected to be able to hunt over great distances. A normal lure-coursing day does not really challenge their staying power.

As more and more breeds joined the club, it was decided that these dogs should also be given the opportunity to compete so the additional events were introduced. After all, why should the sight hounds have all the fun?

To be eligible for these events, dogs must attend three of the first six qualifying meetings of the season. A dog must have a minimum score of 150 in each of the qualifying meetings. The top three qualifying dogs (on the top three scores) will compete with the next two qualifying dogs being reserves.

On the day of the event, all dogs entered are vetted by a vet before and after the first run and again after the second run. The vet may withdraw a dog from the event at any time if it does not recover well following either run or it appears to be stressed.

Three judges score each dog and the dog with the top aggregate score in each section is the winner.