The wind whistled across the rolling countryside of Ulceby, giving a definite chill factor, but at least it kept the rain at bay and it didn’t deter the twenty three handlers who enjoyed a good day out with their dogs.
We thank Mrs Burrows and Phil Odling for allowing us to use the land and Phil for presenting the rosettes at the end of the day.
Our trainers were Sue Lowe (Open), Julie Campbell (Novice 2), Vicki Strawson (Novice 1) and Tracy Elliott (Puppy). Thanks to them and all the helpers.
After a picnic lunch, there were four tests, judged by Theresa Jonsen, Sue, Julie and Gilly Bell. The distances for retrieves were greater for Novice 2 and even greater for the open dogs in each test.
Test 1 was a two dog walk up with a mark to the left and a blind in front on the edge of the field. The puppies had a mark.
Test 2 was a double mark. Novice 1 and 2 dogs picked the second dummy thrown first and open dogs retrieved the first one thrown first. The puppies walked a short distance to heel, sat and the handler threw the dummy. The handler then left the dog, returning to the start and sent the puppy for the mark. All the puppies did this test very well.
Test 3 was a picking up exercise with three dummies out and two to be collected.
Test 4 was a two dog walk up. For novice 1, the first dog picked a mark on one side and the second dog had a blind near the hedge on the other side each time. Open and novice 2 dogs had the mark as a distraction. The first dog picked the blind and the second dog the mark before 'swopping round'. The puppies had a shot and short mark in front. They then turned round and had a second mark with the thrower shouting 'mark'.
Results:
Puppy
1st Robert Robinson with Jack
2nd Alan Lord with Blue
3rd Martin Abbott with Moss
Novice 1
1st Molly Lord with Tay
2nd Debbie Yates with Lola
Novice 2
1st Steve Bennett with Georgie
2nd Barry Wilkinson with Bailey
3rd Gill Sawyer with Splash
Open
1st Gary Wilson with Bow
2nd Clive Gibbons with Molly
3rd Robert Robinson with Teal