Baron's Lane , Purleigh
Special Puppy
|
Position
|
Name
|
Breed/sex
|
Handler
|
|
1st
|
Uncleby Lordy
|
LR D
|
Roy Jarman
|
|
2nd
|
Braitoft Swiftsure of Tideshot
|
LR B
|
Kelvin Smith
|
|
3rd
|
Brindlebay Mead
|
LR D
|
Mike Tallamy
|
|
4th
|
Berewyk Tim
|
LR D
|
Dominic Butcher
|
Novice
|
Position
|
Name
|
Breed/sex
|
Handler
|
|
1st
|
Copperwheats Harvey
|
LR D
|
Andy Cooper
|
|
2nd
|
Bellspaddle Whiffle
|
LR B
|
Jean Hosking
|
|
3rd
|
Tashwarne Jasmin
|
LR B
|
Kim Prentice
|
|
4th
|
Riverlily Sunny Sunshine
|
LR B
|
Harriot Newcombe
|
Veteran
|
Position
|
Name
|
Breed/sex
|
Handler
|
|
1st
|
Malshinga Rabinda
|
LR B
|
Arthur Cook
|
|
2nd
|
Gunnerheath Fern of Spurgate
|
LR B
|
Tracey Chesser
|
|
3rd
|
Kayteens Kentucky
|
LR D
|
Cath Elsey
|
Judges Choice for the Ron Bendall Trophy won by Jean Hosking with Bellspaddle Whiffle.
We would like to thank our hosts Tony Turner and Family , our Sponsors Masters Foods and Sporting Saint , our Judges John Keegan, Liz Ingram, Keith Foster and Jackie Smith, our Stewards Mike Lawrence and Fred Rice and all of our helpers on the day.
We held our first test of the year for Special Puppies, Novice and Veteran dogs at a new ground for the Essex URC in Purleigh , Essex . The test was well supported with 48 entries received. The weather was cold and overcast with a slight breeze and remained chilly throughout the day. The lack of scent early in the day certainly played a part in making the morning tests challenging. Our Stewards for the day were Mike Lawrence and Fred Rice and we had four judges John Keegan, Liz Ingram, Keith Forster and Jackie Smith who together set out four fair but challenging tests.
Test 1 judged by Keith Foster, consisted of a marked retrieve to gunshot in front of two hedgerows, followed by a blind retrieve back to the same area for the puppies and a blind retrieve with a distraction for the other classes. While the marked retrieve appeared straight forward a number of the dogs were pulled into the hedgerows beyond the mark, and with the scent low on both retrieves the dogs were regularly required to be handled onto the dummy.
Test 2 judged by Jackie Smith consisted of a marked retrieve to gunshot as a memory and a blind retrieve into a wooded area to the right of the mark, also to gunshot for Puppies but no shot for Novice and Veterans.
For the puppies the marked retrieve was the first retrieve and the blind followed. The blind dummy was placed far enough into the wooded area to present a good challenge for the dogs.
Test 3 judged by John Keegan was a walk up, each dog having two retrieves to shot in sequence with the other dog in the line. The line consisted of 2 dogs for all classes. The longer grass in this area provided an additional challenge to the overall lack of scent.
Test 4 saw the dogs facing a short marked retrieve to water and a blind retrieve along the bank without shot. As always, the attraction of the water proved irresistible to some dogs.
The tests overall had proved to be challenging enough to separate the dogs and no run offs were required. So, after tea and cake and an opportunity for the judges to defrost, the prize giving followed. On behalf of the judges John Keegan praised the overall standard of the dogs and he acknowledged the quality of the winning performances.
We finish with our thanks to the hosts, judges, sponsors Masters Dog Foods and additional prizes from Sporting Saint and all our helpers on the day without which our tests could not take place and look forward to our next test the Open Qualifier to be held on June 2nd.