SWAG Southern Whippets and Gazehounds

SOL Meet @ Camden Novemember 22-23, 2008

2008-11-26T05:40:00.000-08:00

Stiker, owned by Dee Evans, during the NOTRA meet. Picture by Krystyl Lyons.

It was a picture perfect sunny weekend with cool mornings and temperatures reaching the 60s by lunch time. On Saturday, 31 whippets joined a large other breed group to run WRA on the wonderful polo field in Camden, South Carolina. It came down to the last high point race with Nico and Fuller battling it out throughout the day. Nico won the meet with Fuller taking second place. Bosley took the top WRCh points (he now only needs 1.3 points to finish his WRCh) and Cuda took the bottom points. On Sunday 42 whippets ran with a few other breeds in the NOTRA meet. Wendy Strickland drove all the way from MA and brought Whistle and King to join an exciting day of intense racing. It was again Nico's day to win the meet with Brodie taking 2nd and Bohdi coming in 3rd place. Whistle and King came in 4th and 5th place. ORC points went to Viva (5), Cuda (2), and FTE Tinsley(2) who split the bottom points. The meet was filled with fast friends, good chili, and great times to remember. Congratulations to Brooks for finishing his OTRM3 on Sunday. Thanks to everyone who made this one of the best meets this year!

2008 Is coming to an End

2008-11-08T05:00:00.000-08:00

2008 has been an interesting year for SWAG. We were fortunate to have the opportnity to help MAWA host their first WRA and NOTRA meets now adding another racing club in the southeast.

The 2008 WRA and NOTRA Nationals in New Jersey was very kind to many of our SWAG members. National awards included:

WRA - Nico 2nd place and Fuller 3rd place
NOTRA - Nico 4th place, Brodie 7th place, and Bodhi 11 place

This fall brings more racing to the Carolinas with a SWAG race meet in Mocksville and SOL will host 2 meets this season at Camden, SC. Come join the "family fun" club for some exciting and competitive racing.

Dorsey, EWA, and JRRWA Versatility

2008-07-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

The Fitzgerald’s and Husted’s traveled to Dorsey, IL in late May to have some fun running with the Greater St. Louis Whippet Club. Fuller came in 3rd and Archie came in 12th place in the WRA races on Sat. Brodie ran in the NOTRA on Sunday coming in 3rd place and picking up another national point. Sue traveled with the Husted’s to join the Eastern Whippet Club in mid June to run in NJ. Fuller came in 3rd and Archie finished in 9th place in the WRA races. Brodie had a great day winning the NOTRA meet on Sunday. Wanda Mae and Sue were able to make the double NOTRA meet in Dorsey, IL the last weekend in June. On Sat. Brodie won the meet with Spanky/Splat taking the Turtle Award. For the 2nd year in a row, the Fitzgerald’s and Husted’s traveled together in the motorhome to the JRRWA Versatility. The running was extremely competitive with Fuller taking 4th and Archie taking 17th place in the WRA meet. Brodie, for the 3rd meet in a row, won the NOTRA meet against some fantastic running dogs. Pictured is Torin at the Versatility picking up 10 points at 7 years old. We will take a break from racing until Labor Day weekend.

SOMOS, JAX, March 8-9, 2008 NOTRA

2008-03-10T15:56:00.000-07:00

By all means, this was the strangest SOMOS weekend we have had to date. It all started off driving through incredible storms that created havoc with tornadoes in FL to blizzards in the north. After arriving to the deserted track on Friday night, we decided to stay in the local Wal-Mart parking lot. The rain stopped about 1:00AM but it took all day for the run-off to leave the track grounds. The meet was dominated on Sat. by Nico who ran undefeated, Stoney came in 2nd place, Mojo came in 3rd place, and Brodie came in 4th place. It was SOMOS’s first time 4 program meet at the greyhound practice track. On the last race Brodie took a heart stopping tumble but recovered to finish the last high point race in 4th place. Mojo was on fire this weekend and took top ORC points with Brodie taking the bottom points on Sat. Although Brodie didn’t finish his ORC on Sat., we were just happy he wasn't injured from his tumble. Thank goodness the wind subsided on Sun., since it ripped our motorhome awning on Sat. The racing was as thrilling and competitive on Sun. Nico again went undefeated with winning the combined weekend award, Stoney took 2nd, Brodie 3rd, Mojo 4th, and Dutch 5th. Brodie, Mojo, and Dutch tied giving all 3 dogs 2 ORC points. Brodie finished his ORC and is the first dog in his litter to have dual championships. Mojo only needs 1 more point to get his ORC and Dutch was thrilled to receive his first ORC points. It was pleasure to see Mitzi and Les travel from the Boston area to run all the boys and Miss Pricilla. Even through all the rain, wind, and sun we had another great weekend with SOMOS. Thanks Penny and the gang.

SOL, WRA, LGRA, Camden, SC Feb. 23-24

2008-02-25T14:41:00.000-08:00

It was a great weekend of racing in Camden, SC. We had 20 whippets for each days WRA meets, lots of Greyhounds, Borzois, IG's and a couple RRs for the LGRAs, and a great group of Silkens too. The weather was perfect. Heavy fog Saturday morning that cleared away to a sunny high of 71 Saturday afternoon. Sunday was cooler and cloudy, but it was perfect for the dogs. Rain held off until the field was cleared off and we were on the way home.

Nico (Haley/Blaze) ran undefeated both days. Ginny Cox has another hot one on her hands! Robin and Scott Horner's Kasey Kahne (she's a girl despite the name!) is on a roll picking up another point and a half toward her WRCh. She was bred by Donna Richards (Noc/Josie) and part of a great running litter that was well represented on Saturday. The Husted's Archie must have picked up some of Phreddy's speed when they knocked heads a couple weeks ago, as he got another half WRCh point on Saturday.

I was happy to meet George Guba, a very recent North Carolina transplant, on Sunday. His two puppies got a chance to play with the lure bit and seemed pretty excited by it as well as all the attention people lavished on them. George jumped right in with judging, catching and releasing dogs for our somewhat skeleton crew of whippet racers. I hope we have him hooked! He'll be a great asset to our racing clubs as more dogs and friendly, helpful people are always treasured!

The whippet results have been entered and I'm sure they will hit the lists soon. Thanks again to everyone that made the weekend possible. Our "other breed" friends worked their butts off and, as usual, I so enjoyed seeing them again. Looking forward to next time

Joanne Stewart
Lookout Whippets
LOWhippets@aol.com

SOMOS Double NOTRA Feb. 16-17, 2008

2008-02-18T15:24:00.000-08:00

What can one say about Penny and the SOMOS gang other than – AWESOME. We had another great weekend racing NOTRA in Jacksonville, FL. It was a small meet but some of the most competitive racing I’ve seen in some time.

Sat. was Brodie’s day winning the meet and receiving 3 NORC and 3 ORC points, littermate Stoney took 2nd receiving 1 NORC point, Punky took 3rd, and Kaya took 4th receiving 1 ORC point. I must also mention that our 6 year old Torin placed 8th in the meet.

The racing on Sunday came down to the last race with Punky winning by passing Brodie by a nose at the finish line. Punky won the meet receiving 3 NORC points, Stoney came in 2nd receiving 1 NORC point, Brodie came in 3rd receiving 3 ORC points, and Blu came in 4th receiving 1 ORC point. After the meet there was a birthday celebration for the two year olds, Brodie and Stoney.

Good times, fast racing, and wonderful friends make it all worth the 6 ½ hour drive to Jacksonville, FL!

Mocksville, NC Feb. 9-10 WRA

2008-02-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

The racing in Mocksville, NC this past weekend was awesome. Many friends such as Alex, Allie, Carl, Julie, George, Dora and others traveled far to come to our first SWAG WRA meet of the 2008 season. Of course we had many of our local SWAG friends attend as well.

On Sat. the weather was perfect and the racing was very competitive between Odie and Fuller with Odie winning the meet. Pixie was just behind the boys to take an outstanding 3rd place and Bella placed 4th. Points went to Odie (4 National), Fuller (2 National), Brodie (4 WRCh - finishing his WRCh title), and Kasey Kahne (2 WRCh).

On Sunday the wind kicked up and so did the competition. Litter mates Nico and Bodhi battled it out with Nico taking the meet and brother Bodhi taking 2nd place. Both brothers received National and WRCh points. Fuller placed 3rd, Bella, 4th, and Brodie 5th. It looks like Bella still has some first-rate racing in her.

One of the most impressive racers this weekend was Anya. She took the “Turtle Award/ Valiant Effort” on Sat. and ended up in 15th place on Sunday. We wish a speedy recovery for Phreddy who had a nasty collison on Sunday after the lure stopped.

Good friends, oraganized race secretary (aka Grasshopper), 10 dogs receiving titles, helpful handlers, competitive racing, delicious chocolate cake, and great cooking were the ingredients of another “Nothin’ could be finer …… than racin’ in Carolina” weekend!

SOMOS January 28-29, 2008

2008-02-07T15:39:00.000-08:00

The trip started out with our good friends Bob and Sandra Husted meeting us in Moore, SC. We shortly discovered while traveling on I26 that the heater didn’t work in the dash of the motorhome. Sandra and I huddled with a dog and blankets to keep warm. After an uneventful drive we arrived in JAX early on Friday evening. We woke to cooler rainy weather on Saturday, but it proved to be a great running day when Fuller ran undefeated and took the meet. Archie also had an impressive day of running. As usual Lisa and Randy were the most gracious hosts and eagerly embraced the hungry racing crew for dinner on Saturday evening. On Sunday the sun came out and the warmer weather made it a perfect day for Brodie to run. He won the 1st and 2nd programs and came in just behind Punky in the last race to win the meet. We were very proud of our boy's first meet win. It was a pleasure to spend the weekend in JAX for a double NOTRA with our wonderful SOMOS friends and to meet new friends in the racing world. You must try and make it to FL for the next meet:)
Sue

SWAG Racing Dates for 2008

2008-01-05T15:19:00.002-08:00

SWAG will be running back to back WRA races on the beautiful grass airstrip in Mocksville, NC on Feb. 9-10 and April 26-27. Mark your calendars and plan on running your whippets and having a weekend filled with fun, friends, and southern hospitality!

Directions to Mocksville, NC Field

The field is on HWY 601

From I-85 - Take the Jake Alexander Exit and go West (HWY 601 North). When 601 dead ends turn left. Go about 5 miles and the field is on the right. It's a private airfield and the driveway can he hard to see. Bear to the right as you should see the airstrip straight ahead.

From I-77 - Take I-40 East to the Mocksville/Yadkinville Exit. Take HWY 601 South about 6-8 miles and you'll cross 801. Go straight another 4-5 miles. Slow down when you see a Welcome To Rowan County sign and a bridge. Turn left into the second driveway after you cross the bridge. Bear to the right as you should see the airstrip straight ahead.

This is private property, so please make sure that no vehicles drive on the airstrip.