Full Name: Emma Ruminski Sport representing: Falconry Venue: Hawk on the Wild Side in Milton Keynes Biggest personal sporting achievement:
 | | How sweet... But it'll have your eye out |
Providing first aid at the Sports Relief charity football match last year. I had to treat one injury in the first three minutes of the game! If I played myself I probably would have been the one getting injured! Favourite sporting pastime: Boogie Boarding. Have you tried your chosen sport before: Never. Why is this the poshest of all sports:
 | | Emma and Bird |
Kings and Queens have taken part in it for around four thousand years. Falconry Reviewed: True falconry is the sport of training birds of prey to hunt wild prey (or quarry) in their natural habitat. The Hawk Conservancy Trust estimates that the sport was well established in the Far East by 2000 BC and it has been one of the favourite sports enjoyed by English kings ever since. However, unlike Alfred the Great I didn't go hunting for prey with the Hawks. I simply took part in a flying lesson.
 | | Look at the beak on that! |
First I was shown how to handle a Hawk. It's pretty much like holding a cup of tea. I was told to curve the fingers of my gloved left hand around two straps of leather that are attached to the birds feet. Goldie the Harris Hawk simply hopped on top of my balled fist and perched gracefully. She only weighed two pounds and was surprisingly light.
Around my waist I carried a little pouch of food while Goldie's keeper Stephen Eales gave me my instructions. I had to hide a piece of food in my right hand swiftly transfer it into the glove and turn side ways on. Goldie instantly called out and swooped down towards me. The most amazing thing about trying out falconry was seeing her fly towards me and land in exactly the right place.
 | | Emma. A keen eye for the birds. |
I would certainly recommend trying out flying a bird of prey on a recognised falconry course or bird walk. It was great getting so close to these incredibly beautiful creatures.
Is it a posh sport? Well, these days it can cost around a hundred pounds to go on a Hawk walk and fly the birds. But anyone can go along. However, to become a true falconer can take years of dedicated training. Looking after the birds is a full time job. In the Middle Ages though birds of prey were allocated according to rank. A man could not hawk with a bird which had been allocated to a higher rank than himself. For example Earls could hunt with peregrine falcons while a servant could fly a kestrel. Royal Falconers were highly thought of and the Master of Hawks in Wales was forth in rank from the king! | 
