This is our third year for Coursing Ability Tests at Fort St. Clair, on the Sunday afternoon of our show weekend. (This year that is Sunday, May 1.)

The link for the Premium List and entry form is UP and LIVE, you can download the entry form from the menu on the left and send it in! We are running two tests, with a limit of 40 dogs for each test. We will take day of trial entries provided that the tests have not already filled. You are welcome to call and see how close they are. We have not filled tests in the past. Close, but not quite.

If you’ve never run a CAT test, and you’d like to try it, we’d love to have you. You can find the hows, whys and rules at this AKC site (click here). It is open to any dog who is fit enough to run it, is more than a year old and who is registered in some fashion with the AKC. Dogs of mixed parentage can get a “Canine Partners” registration number from the AKC — more information on that here.

The tests will run consecutively on Sunday afternoon. Entries will close by 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Please see the registrar at the Trophy desk in the show building. Of course, you can pre-enter and we strongly encourage that– just as soon as the entry form and premium list are posted.  If we fill the trial before the weekend, we will not have any day of trial registration.

The area for Lure Coursing is at the back of the Fairgrounds and not adjacent to nearby roads– however it is NOT fenced, so you will want to make sure that your dog is solid on recall. Also, we strongly advise that your dog run “naked” (ie without a collar) for safety reasons. The AKC does not insist on this, so we will defer to you if you insist, but really it is much safer if they don’t have anything that they could get hung up on while they’re running. Smaller dogs and flat-faced dogs run a shorter course. We’re all about having fun, but we want your dog to be safe too!

And even though it’s called a “CAT” test, it has nothing to do with cats! That’s an aconym for Coursing Ability Test.