Novice Working Test at Thorganby on Sunday March 5th 2017
Sadly the weather was not as good this year. It was cold and the day was punctuated with heavy showers, but it couldn’t spoil the enjoyment of judges, helpers, competitors and spectators watching the 43 dogs compete over this fabulous ground. Our sincere thanks to Mr and Mrs J Milligan-Manby for allowing us to hold our Novice Test in such a beautiful park with endless opportunities for tests.
Thanks, also, to our judges: Sarah Coomber-Smith, Samantha Whyte, Sue Lowe and Jim Christon and our Chief Steward, Martin Eveleigh, who kept proceedings flowing smoothly, as always.
There were four tests in the morning:
Test 1 was a straightforward double mark, each with a shot and the dogs picked the second dummy down first.
Test 2 A shot was fired and a mark thrown on the left to land on the top of the bank on the far side of a deep hollow. The dogs were out of sight as they went into the hollow. This was followed by a blind to the right hidden in snowdrops between the trees.
Test 3 was a two dog walk up over stubble. A mark was thrown to land 50m away on the hillside. Each time, the first dog retrieved this and then the second dog picked a blind nestling in the grass in front of the mesh fence on the edge of the wood behind. This proved to be a harder test than it looked as the scenting was very poor on the hillside and, on the blind, the dogs were drawn into the wood through a gap in the fence to the right of the dummy.
Test 4 There was a shot to the right towards a blind underneath a tree. The handler and dog walked up about 10m with the judge until a shot was fired and a mark thrown to the left. The dog retrieved the mark and then turned to pick the blind. This was fine unless the handler allowed the dog to go beyond the blind to a hedge which proved to be the source of many interesting scents.
After lunch, the judges took thirteen dogs through to two further tests.
Test 5 was a four dog walk up with three throwers, two in front and one behind. Handlers could expect a mark from any one of the three.
Test 6 was a picking up exercise (two of four dummies out) in a wood on top of a hill. To reach the wood the dogs had to swim through fast flowing water in a swollen ditch and run 80m uphill.
Results:
1st Levendale Elm LDR D handled by Mr A Brook*
2nd Woodfinch Fortissimo G Ret B handled by Paul Williams
3rd Teeshot Mark LDR D handled by Doreen Spencer
4th Roughbeat Gabriella of Goldenvene G Ret B handled by J Deeming
CoM Thorntonfern Fantasy LDR D handled by Marc Salt
CoM Mill Coe Girl LDR B handled by Emma Benfield
CoM Clayveal Chicago LDR D handled by Tom Sagar
*awarded the Rasenfield Shield