reportage Running wild
Mid-race, the atmosphere is primordial. There is only the landscape, the light, the wind, the sound of dogs barking and people shouting. One man is almost uncontrollable in his excitement. His dog is leading as the hounds approach the finish. He has raced his animals for years without a victory. Now he has become so impassioned that his friends and neighbours hold him back gently, calming him, afraid that he will run onto the course and be disqualified. Within minutes he will have won the biggest race of the year. Neighbourliness coexists with honest rivalry: there is also a camera on hand in case there should be doubt as to the winner. Afterwards the dogs are rewarded with a mix of mincemeat and oatmeal. They are rubbed down, talked to, encouraged. Then they are washed in the river, cleaned of the dust and the stain of the mud and bogwater.
Spring 1999 | Tony O'Shea and related links | Archive | Back | Next | 9 of 15