Garnons Farm Wormingford
Results of Open Sugar Beet Test 20th August 2017.
1st Winner of the Cresthaven Cup, Liz Ingram Garrethall Ouka LRB
2nd Winner of the Pathfinder Cup, Jim Collins Brockaghs Forba LRD
3rd Winner of the Crosspath Cup, Sara Gadd Brindlebay Towie of Birdsgreen LRD
4th Liz Ingram Brindlebay Firle LRB
CoM Sara Gadd Birdsgreen Slipstream LRD
Winner of the Royanne cup for the best Essex Entry, Liz Ingram Garrethall Ouka ,
Winner of the Oysterbed Cup as Judges Choice, Bren Van Laun Twitchett Nymph
Our final working test for this year was our Open Sugar Beet test and again by very kind permission of Mr & Mrs Dobell we returned to Garnons Farm, Wormingford, on Sunday 20th August.
There were four good tests set by the Stewards of the day Mike Lawrence and Keith Foster and our judges were Steve Ellis and Nick Clitheroe.
We also had Gordon & David our two “star” dummy throwers, and help from non-committee members, which is always appreciated. Conditions were good with some nice sunshine and a light but unpredictable breeze.
The day started with a walk-up with four dogs in line, the retrieve to shot being a blind some 20 yards in front, with the dogs being sent by number across the line.
The next round in the walk up was a single mark, again to shot, some 30 yards in front of the line but this time the retrieve was straight in front.
The group then split to complete what turned out to be two very challenging tests.
Test 3 saw two throwers located some 40 yards in front of the judge and some 30 yards apart, 2 dummies were thrown in sequence by each and all to shot. The dogs were called to the judge in pairs, the first retrieve by each dog was straight ahead with the second memory retrieve being on the diagonal, with the dogs running alternatively. The combination of distance and a swirling wind made for a demanding test.
Test 4 was a marked retrieve to shot some 150 yards diagonally across the beet, as the dog was returning a second shot was fired and a dummy was thrown some five yards forward out of the beet onto a wide strip of shorter grass, this becoming the second retrieve of the test. This second retrieve proved difficult for a number of the dogs who overshot the short grass and hunted back in the beet.
The scores were very close and a run off for both 1st and 2nd place and 3rd and 4th place was required.
After the presentations of the awards Steve Ellis made a short speech on behalf of the judges followed by a few words of thanks by todays winner Liz Ingram
A big thank you to Masters Dog Foods for again sponsoring the Area, and supplying a bag of dog food for the first three places, also to Sporting Saint for the donation of prizes for those in the awards. Thanks again to both our Judges who hopefully enjoyed the nice weather and judging the quality of the dogs taking part.
Finally, last but by no means least, our thanks and the thanks of all the members go to Tom Lowe who is stepping down as chairman at the AGM after over 12 years of outstanding service to the Essex area, 10 of which as chairman. Enjoy your retirement and we look forward to seeing you judging next year.
Further photos can be seen at https://flic.kr/s/aHsm6YJUhw
