The weekend of June 18-20, five GPA/OK members and some Greyhound companions traveled to Abilene, Kansas. This was the third meeting in Abilene for members of the Greyhound-L, an Internet Greyhound list. Those making the trip this year were: Debbie Smith with Oscar and Shelby Lynn, Cheryl Holmberg with Bailey and Arianna, Brent Ralston with Roxie and Twiggy, Kris Jouwsma with Sam and Penny, Judy Tomlinson with Licorice. (Actually Twiggy and Sam are not Greyhounds, but live with them, therefore "part" Greyhound!)
We arrived in Abilene on Friday about 3:00. After checking into our motel, we met other listers at the NGA (National Greyhound Association) for a quick tour of their facilities. The NGA is the place we call for information on Greyhounds, so it is very interesting to learn how the enormous amount of records are kept and organized.
Friday night everyone met at the Hall of Fame. We had refreshments and visited for awhile before the guest speakers were introduced. The organizers of this event did an excellent job of lining up the speakers. We heard Gary Guccione, President of the NGA, Craig Randle, an inspector for the American Greyhound Council, Carroll Blair, a recent inductee to the Hall of Fame, and Dr. Carol Wetterman DVM from K State.
Saturday morning bright and early (and I do mean early!) we headed for the training track. This is always one of my favorite parts of this trip. The gentleman who runs the lure at this track has done so for several years, and it is fascinating listening to him. Watching the breeders bring their young Greyhounds to the track, sometimes for the first time is also fun. The breeders are scheduled 30 minutes apart. They pull up, bring 3 Greyhounds out, put them in the starting gate, release them as the lure comes around, clock their time, remove them from the track, then get the next 3. They do this until all their dogs have run one time. Young Greys who have never run the track before are hand slipped by their owners. This simply means that instead of putting them in the starting box, they hold them by the collar and release them as the lure goes by.
After leaving the training track, we all met at the Abilene fairgrounds for an agility demo, done by Terri Clarkson & obedience demo by Laurel Drew. After they had finished with the demos, we were invited to bring our own dogs into the ring and see what they could do.
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