The Forest Laws

As many Greyhound enthusiasts know, the Forest Laws came into being in England during the reign of the Danish King Canute (1016-1035). They prevented any "meane person" from hunting with Greyhounds. This was an era when the King exercised absolute power over his subjects and the chasm between the aristocracy and commoners was immense. The Forest Laws were a symbol of the state's power over the individual.

From the beginning, the laws were broken and the King's resources could not keep up with those who would poach wildlife from his land. To supplement their income, underpaid local officials accepted bribes to ignore local coursing. Commoners took every precaution possible to evade detection. They culled white puppies, preferring the natural camouflage of black or brindled dogs. By contrast, the nobility preferred white dogs, for not only did they symbolize purity and cleanliness, they had the practical advantage of being more easily seen from horseback during the hunt.

The Forest Laws were also compromised by the nobility themselves. Rather than transport Greyhounds great distances, noblemen prepositioned kennels of dogs with commoners who lived near a forest and granted them hunting privileges in return for caring for the dogs. Greyhounds were cherished gifts and were often given by the King for military service or other favors. Members of the clergy, often related by blood or politics to the aristocracy, kept Greyhounds. The famous line from the Monk's Tale in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales illustrates just one instance:

"Grehoundes he hadde, as swift as fowel in flight,
Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare
Was all his lust, for no cost wolde he spare."

- The General Prologue

Complicating the problem was that there weren't enough Greyhounds to satisfy the demand for them. Few noblemen were involved in the breeding of dogs and it was against the law for commoners to do so! Dogs were often imported from Ireland which could scarcely meet the demand.

After the Bubonic Plague of 1347, it appeared as if the Forest Laws would be no more. The Black Death decimated Europe's population, killing both nobleman and commoner alike, and caused the greatest social upheaval in European history. With one-third of the population wiped out, labor became scarce and wages increased which brought greater freedom to the peasantry. In England, the courts were in disarray which allowed Greyhound owners to avoid the law almost openly.

By the time of Richard II (1377-1400), however, the plague had been gone for more than 50 years and the courts had been fully restored. The feudal world of Canute and his immediate successors had long since ceased to exist. Accordingly, the law changed to reflect the new economic reality. Anyone who did not own land capable of generating £10 annually could not own a Greyhound. Through vigorous enforcement, the new law achieved its desired effect in all but the most remote areas.

During the late Middle Ages, the story of the Greyhound parallels that of the nobility that kept them. From Runnymede to the deposition of Richard II, English history was the story of the expansion of power and influence of the landed aristocracy at the expense of the Crown. They had slain or deposed two kings, and Parliament was able to exert a measure of control over the nation's purse-strings. The Judiciary, which was made up of their own class, wielded the law as much for themselves as it did for the Crown. With vast estates, great wealth, and leisure time, the landed gentry often filled their hours in field sports including Greyhound coursing and falconry. For them, the Forest Laws died with the end of the Middle Ages. From the 15th century on, the restrictions on coursing applied less and less to the landed gentry, though commoners were still subject to the laws.

Upon Henry Tudor’s defeat of Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, the House of Tudor ruled England into the first years of the 17th century. In his tenure on the English throne, the pendulum had begun to swing the other way. England's political fragility of the fifteenth century was replaced by Henry VII’s foresight and pragmatism and the Crown strengthened its position in relation to the gentry. He summoned Parliament as rarely as possible and consolidated the power of the Crown. Though nearly ruined by Henry VIII's free-spending policies, the Tudors maintained a level of authority not seen since Medieval times. They wielded great political power, but their control over the judiciary was still tenuous. Judges in local courts served at the pleasure of the Crown, but they often acted autonomously and protected their own interests.

During her reign, Elizabeth I participated in field sports and it is believed that the formal rules of coursing, based on those of Arrian from the second century, were set down by the Duke of Norfolk at her request. His rules do not appear to have been published during her reign, however, and though they were unchanged in their essentials, continued to be revised and refined right up through the nineteenth century.

Elizabeth did not, as is often seen in print, repeal the Forest Laws. Indeed, her successors took steps for more than a century after her death to continue the policy of preventing commoners from taking game with dogs. Under James I (1603-1625), no one could keep a coursing dog unless he owned land with the rental value of £10 per year, was a Baron of Parliament, a man of "high degree," or a son or heir of an Esquire. The Church was enlisted to help enforce the law—any Greyhounds discovered by church officials entitled them to the entire fine of 40 shillings per offence.

When James died in 1625, his son Charles I (1625-1649) showed no interest in coursing—he preferred Beagles. Under Charles, however, a new law was enacted that permitted ownership of Greyhounds by those whose land was valued at £10 per year or who had a 99-year lease on land of the same value. During the reign of William III (1689-1702), the law was amended to provide for whippings or confinement at hard labor as punishment for illegal possession of Greyhounds. During the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), trade in Greyhounds was rampant, and with enforcement still not wholly successful, a law was enacted that innkeepers, alehouse keepers and victuallers could not house dealers of Greyhounds. The fine for doing so was £5. Informers could receive £2, 10s of the fine. To further encourage commoners to report those trading in Greyhounds, the courts were authorized to give the remaining half of the fine to the poor of the parish. An innkeeper unable to pay the fine could be sentenced to three months in jail, four for a second offense.

In time, protests against the laws began to appear in the press. The lack of coursing was causing farmers to be overrun with hares, but because they belonged to the gentry, tenant farmers weren't allowed to kill them. Finally, in 1831, the Game Act removed all qualifications for coursing with Greyhounds based on estate or social standing. A series of poaching prevention acts limited the liability of the hunter from theft of property to merely trespassing.

By the end of the eighteenth century, a coursing craze gripped England that forever changed the breed. Wealthy enthusiasts formed coursing clubs, started breeding programs, bred only the best examples of the breed based on results of coursing meets, and began to maintain pedigree records. In 1845, Waterloo Cup winner King Cob was the first dog offered at public stud and other champion sires soon became available. Any owner of a female Greyhound had access to the best bloodlines of the day and the new railroad lines allowed ready shipment of females to the very best sires from any point in England. In a very short time, strains of the breed whose traits served them well on the coursing fields of England were retained and improved. Those that did not passed into history.

The Forest Laws and their descendants had become increasingly difficult to enforce and the Game Act, after more than 700 years, put an end to them, not by making Greyhounds legal, but by making hares part of the land they were on, not the property of the King or the aristocracy. It could be said that the Forest Laws ended with a whimper, not a bang. Though laws remained on the books well into the eighteenth century, the will to enforce them was simply not there. By then, Greyhounds were in so many hands that efforts to control them were fruitless. In the end, the Forest Laws were a measure of how much society had changed since feudal kings ruled a millennium ago. In some ways, however, it seems we are headed back in the same direction today.

Kiowa Sweet Trey

7 Jan 2000 - 15 July 2009

All-American, Rural Rube award winner, and two-time number one sire Kiowa Sweet Trey passed away recently of a liver ailment. His achievements as a sire far outstripped his outstanding accomplishments on the track and it is already clear that his influence will be profound in coming generations of Greyhounds.

His sire, Oswald Cobblepot, won the 1996 Colorado Classic, the JW Rocket One Memorial, and ran second in the Cloverleaf Classic by a nose. He was 10th in the 1999 Sire Standings, 7th in 2000, 4th in 2001 and 2nd to half-brother Molotov in 2002. He left behind a record nine All-Americans; Kiowa Sweet Trey, Kiowa Sweet Joe, Bart’s E Mail, EA’s Itzaboy (three times), Burt Road, Coldwater Konow and Greys Outbound.

TM's Sweet Dream is one of only five dams in history to produce more than one All American. She was seventh in the 2002 Dam Standings. In addition to Kiowa Sweet Trey, her litter by Oswald Cobblepot included Kiowa Sweet Joe, a 2002 All-America team member. He won the 2002 American Derby at Lincoln and the 2002 St. Pete Derby at Derby Lane. Kiowa Sweet Ty made the final of the 2002 Hollywoodian and Kiowa Sweet Babe made the final of the 2002 Palm Beach Futurity. TM's Sweet Dream's grand-offspring already include 2005 Tampa Juvenile winner WW Gale Donner, Wheeling 47-race winner Kay V Arrington, and Orange Park star Kiowa Spock.

Kiowa Sweet Trey was bred and raised by Kay Smith in Oklahoma. He won the January Main Stake at the 2001 NGA Spring Meet. Afterwards Vince Berland purchased a half-interest in him. He opened his official racing career in spectacular fashion winning 12-straight at Wheeling, the country's most competitive track. He won two strong Hot Box events at Wheeling in October and December, and then broke in the new year in style winning the 2002 Derby Lane Inaugural en route to a 10-race win streak that included the Derby Lane Kennel Preview. He swept the first four rounds of the 2002 Derby Lane Sprint Classic, but couldn't hold in the stretch and slipped to third in the final behind Dodgem By Design and Talentedmrripley. In February of 2002 he trekked to Hollywood for the World Classic. He won three of four qualifying rounds, but had to settle for second, a length-and-a-half behind kennel-mate Flying Earnhardt.

In a brief career of 41 races, Kiowa Sweet Trey was 31-4-2-1 racing exclusively against the likes of Talentedmrripley, Courageous Nicky, Dodgem By Design, Iruska All Star, Fortified Rush, Luckydeals Honor, Fuzzys Geronimo, Ezra Clem, Get Over, Gene's Champion, and WW Greys Drifter. He was named to the 2001 All-America team and was the Rural Rube award winner in 2002. In what many saw as a curious omission, he did not receive All-America honors in 2002.

Kiowa Sweet Trey's career in the stud barn was even more successful than the one on the track. His first litters were whelped in November of 2001 before he was two years of age. He first appeared in the Sire Standings ranked 21st in 2004, and then second in 2005 and 2006 before wresting the title from Gable Dodge in 2007 and 2008. His offspring read like a Who's Who of American racing. He is the sire of seven All-Americans; Igoby Brady, Kiowa Delicate, Flyin Bridgeport, Flying Stanley, Kiowa Wish Frank, Flying Mancini and Starz Jenko. In addition, Flying Stanley and Starz Jenko won Rural Rube awards, and Flyin Bridgeport won the Flashy Sir award. With a considerable stockpile of frozen semen still available, those numbers could go higher.

Kiowa Sweet Trey superstars would be too hard to list. In addition to the award winners above, a brief roll call would comprise 2008 Irish Cesarewitch winner Lenson Joker, two-time Coral Essex Vase winner Eye Onthe Veto, 2009 Jacksonville Sprint Classic winner Count Ivan, 2005 Wheeling WVGOBA Sprint winner Iruska Creme Pie, 102-race winner Dauntless, 2008 Wheeling Winner's Challenge champ BD's Flip, 2008 WVGOBA Distance Stake winner Wuzinyurwallet, 2008 Bluffs Run Spring Futurity winner Slatex Deal, Wichita track record holder Flying Hydrogen, and many, many others.

The final chapters of the Kiowa Sweet Trey story are yet to be written. It is certain that he will be a fixture in pedigrees the world over in both the near term and over the generations. He is already an established damsire—his daughter Flying Sweet Amy, from his very first litter, produced 2006 Tampa Derby winner Turbo Penske. Other daughters have produced the likes of 2009 Hollywoodian champ Deerfield Peter, 2009 Derby Lane Sprint Classic winner Flyin Home Depot, 2009 Naples Distance Classic winner Kiowa Knockout, and Wheeling Invitational winner Kiowa WW Brother.

His sons have also gotten off to a good start at stud. Flying Hydrogen is the sire of Flying MacBeth, winner of the Derby Lane Fall Sprint, and Flying Larussa, winner of the 2007 Derby Lane Million Consolation. The list will surely grow as the offspring of sons Flying Stanley, Igoby Brady, Dauntless, Starz Jenko, Trey United*, and others reach track age.

Good night, sweet prince.

Movies Featuring Greyhounds

While searching for something else on a Greyhound message board recently, I came across an old thread about movies that have Greyhounds in them. In one I posted a few brief reviews of movies that I've revised and preserved here.

Sorceress

Released: 1987 (French with English Subtitles)
Starring: Christine Boisson, Tchéky Karyo
Director: Suzanne Schiffman

Originally released in France as Le Moine et la sorcière (The Monk and the Witch), Sorceress chronicles the medieval legend of a greyhound that killed a large snake which was attacking a baby. In the process of killing the snake, the greyhound knocks over the baby's cradle and the child is covered by the cradle and his bedding. Upon returning home, the knight finds the baby's nursery in shambles, the cradle overturned and the child apparently gone, and seeing blood on the greyhound's jaws, comes to the conclusion that the dog has killed the child. After killing the greyhound in a rage, he hears the baby's cry and finds him safe under his bedding beside the dead snake. Realizing his tragic error, the knight has the greyhound canonized as a saint contrary to the laws of the Church. Saint Guinefort, as she is known by the locals, is revered as a protector of children for centuries afterward.

Everything is fine until Etienne de Bourbon, an Inquisitor, comes to the village to investigate this heresy. There, he discovers Elda, a local healer and mystic. His authority and theology comes into direct conflict with her own practical faith and devotion to healing. As the story unfolds, it is clear that de Bourbon is having difficulty resolving his own doubts as his beliefs are tested by Elda and the villagers. More subtly portrayed is his willful suppression of his physical attraction to her beauty.

This is a fine movie that suffers little from the sub-titles. The French dialogue gives it a level of authenticity that might be lost in the dubbed English version. Christine Boisson is bewitching as Elda, the sorceress, and Tchéky Karyo is convincing as the Inquisitor. The pace of this movie might be too deliberate and its tone too philosophical for some, but it is historically accurate and a stunning piece of filmwork. Highly recommended.


Evelyn

Released: 2002 (U.S.)
Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Vavasseur, Julianna Margulies, Aidan Quinn
Directors: Bruce Beresford, Jerry Hogrewe

The movie is very loosely based on an actual 1955 court case where a father challenged Irish law in the Supreme Court to regain custody of his kids. Pierce Brosnan, who co-produced the film, portrays Desmond Doyle, a man who must overcome a reputation as a hard-drinking and often temperamental tradesman with a lackadaisical attitude to fatherhood before his wife abandons him and their children. After his daughter is packed off to a Catholic orphanage, he has to fight two battles, one to gain custody of her, and another to reform himself.

Often short of work, one obstacle Doyle must surmount is raising funds for legal fees. A kindly, but obviously unscrupulous track official gives him a hot tip to bet on a greyhound named Slippery Sam, a long-shot. Unbeknownst to Doyle, he feeds sausages to all the other dogs except Sam to influence the outcome of the race. The racing scene is fairly brief and shown at various angles, occasionally out-of-focus and partly in slow motion, not to depict the precise events of the race, but to try to capture the emotions of the race from the perspective of the crowd.

Overall, this is a pretty good movie and gives one a good feel for Ireland in the 1950s. Despite the serious nature of the subject, there were some humorous moments as well. Brosnan was believable as a gritty Irish working man and father. The remaining cast was very strong—the child actors were especially competent. As a greyhound racing fan and a former Rugby player, I appreciated the attention to detail in depicting these two sports on film. Recommended.