Hardy Wright (1893–1974) was a Scottish

greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

trainer. He was born in

Kirkbean Kirkbean ( gd, Cille Bheathain) is a Scottish village and civil parish on the Solway Firth, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire and council area of Dumfries and Galloway. In the 2001 census, the four small villages making up the parish ...

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

, the youngest child of Jack Wright and Mary Harriet Palin of Mersehead Farm, Kirkbean (now a

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

).1901 Census of Scotland''The Annandale Observer'', Friday 25 October 1974 Hardy Wright served with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, meeting his future wife in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

during this time. He came to live at Watchhall, near

Annan, Dumfries and Galloway Annan ( ; gd, Inbhir Anainn) is a town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. Historically part of Dumfriesshire, its public buildings include Annan Academy, of which the writer Thomas Carlyle was a pupil, and ...

, in the early 1920s, where he set up kennels with his father. Eventually he took over the running of the kennels from his father. He later moved to

Cummertrees Cummertrees is a coastal village and civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and cou ...

House where he established his well-known kennels. In 1947 he had the runner-up in the

Waterloo Cup The Waterloo Cup was a coursing event organised by the National Coursing Club. The three-day event was run annually at Great Altcar in Lancashire, England from 1836 to 2005 and it used to attract tens of thousands of spectators to watch and gamble ...

hare coursing Hare coursing is the pursuit of hares with greyhounds and other sighthounds, which chase the hare by sight, not by scent. In some countries, it is a legal, competitive activity in which dogs are tested on their ability to run, overtake and tur ...

event, with Mr. Walter Wilson's Western Water, but his greatest successes came in the mid-1950s. In 1954 and 1955 he won the coveted cup with Mr. Tom Noble's Cotton King and Mr Truelove's Full Pete respectively. The following year he won the Barbican Cup with Mr. Walter Wilson's Well Away - the first time the cup had come to Scotland. He had other successes in the Waterloo Purse and Plate and the Barbican Plate. He died at his home at Annan, aged 81. His cousin, Harold Wright, trained nine Waterloo Cup winners, an unbeaten performance.

References

1893 births 1974 deaths People from Dumfries and Galloway Dog breeders Dog trainers {{Scotland-bio-stub