COURSING.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1379, 15 August 1885, Page 2

COURSING.

On Thursday last a coursing match took place on the Raukapuka Estate. A large party drove out from Tiraaru, bringing about a dozen dogs, and they were joined in Geraldine by several local sportsmen and a move was made for the trysting ground—the same paddock as were coursed over last week—on the bank of the Waihi, opposite Stover. The day was beautifully fine, and in fact was all that could be desired. The sport on the whole was good, but the hares being wild it took the whole day to get the two stakes run off. It is now almost too late in the season for coursing, as the hares are mating and are mostly afoot during the day. Two stakes were run for, an All Aged Stakes, for which eight dogs were entered, and a Puppy Stakes, which closed with ten entries. A circumstance occurred in the first round of the Puppy Stakes which marred the whole of the day’s sport. While coursing over the paddock between Mr Cbas. Hewson’s farm aul the river-bed, the two dogs that had been slipped to n hare—Mr M. Connolly’s bdl d Daretin and Mr J. Scott’s bl d Prince—followed it into hlewson’s paddock and killed it after it bad gone » short distance. Hewson had stated bis determination to shoot all the dogs which came into bis paddocks, and be was on the look out armed with a doublebarrelled gun, and no sooner bad the two dogs above mentioned killed the hare than he deliberately shot them both. The spectators’ feeling of digust and indignation on beholding the perpetration of this act can be more easily imagined than described. How far Hewson was justified in the course he took remains to be proved. The losa to the owners of the dogs is considerable. Mr Connolly’s dog Darebin wag a very promising puppy, and when we state that his owner had refused £2O for him it shows that he was a valuable dog. tvery efforts was made by lining the field along Hewson’s fence to keep the dogs from going through, but th« efforts were unfortunately unsuccessful. A move was afterwords mode to the paddocks around Stover, and thence down a large paddock at the back of the Raukapuka homestead. In this paddock the best courses of the day were run, the trials between Mischief and Erin,and between the two old opponents, Miss Dawe and Three Springs, being exceptionally good. Mr A. H. Brisco acted as judge throughout and gave universal satisfaction, and Messrs M. Connolly and D. M. Ross were all that cruld he desired as slippers. At the conclusion of the day’s sport hearty cheers were given for Mr Postlethwaite and Mr Brisco, and the field then wended their way homewards. The following are the details of the running :— ■ Puppy Stakes, 10 dogs at 5* each. Winner, £1 15* ; runner-up, 15s. Mr J. Scott’s hik and w b Fly, by Sweep Nelly Grey, beat Mr B. Nicholls’s blk b Black Rose. Mr J, Power’s hlk b Lady, by Belisarius—Lady Brandon, beat Mr Cole’s r and w b Maud, by Star Haz<*. Mr J. Lukey’s blk and wd Erin, by E3eetor-Fly, beat Mr I'. Hardcaslle’s bdl d Rupert, by Rob Roy—Fly. Mr M. Connolly’s bdl d Darebin, by Belisarius—Lady Brandon, and Mr J. Scott’s bl d Prince, by Sweep—Nelly Grey, were both killed. Mr C, Wedderell’s bl b Mischief (pedigree unknown), beat Mr Stratford’s f b Daisy, by Ranger—Tyrant, ,<■ Second Round. Fly beat Lady. Erin beat Mischief,