May 10th did not turn out to be the nicest of days, ‘weatherwise’, and we were treated to heavy storms and high winds, with a few claps of thunder thrown in. However, none of this deterred the thirty odd stalwarts who braved the elements and enjoyed the morning training led by Sue Lowe, Andy Slingsby, Martin Eveleigh and Ken Brookes. We thank Mr William Margrave and his keeper for allowing us to run our dogs over this varied ground that includes a lovely reservoir for always popular water training. Casper Jonsen, Andy, Martin and Ken judged the afternoon informal match. A huge thank you to them and to all those who helped.
Test 1 was a single mark in open ground for the puppies. Novice 1 dogs had to run through the corner of the wheat field to reach their mark. Novice 2 had a double mark, the first in open ground and the second was similar to the novice 1 mark. The open dogs had a longer double mark with the second one in cover.
Test 2 was a mark with a second dummy put in the same place as the dog returned. The distances were greater the more experienced the dog.
Test 3 was a single mark in the water for puppy and novice 1. Novice 2 and open dogs had a mark on land and one on the water.
Test 4 for puppies was a mark down a bank and on the edge of the wheat field. Novice 1 had a similar mark and a second mark on the bank. Novice 2 and open had a mark down the bank in the wheat and a blind on top of the bank, both retrieves longer for the more experienced dogs.
Results:
Puppy
1st James Walgate with Silca
2nd H Sherer with Amber
3rd H Clark with Bertie
Novice 1
1st Steph McBride with Riva
2nd R Bembridge with Merister
3rd Roger Evison with Jack
Novice 2
1st Larry Arthur with Leo
2nd Mike Williams with Tara
3rd Phil Bell with Ellie
Open
1st Charlie Albone with Sonny
2nd James Walgate with Harry
3rd Katie Capps with Zion