L-R At front - award winners M Hurst, M Peacock, R Hodgen, S Carden, behind - the three judges A Clarke, W Hales, S Lowe.
North Midland Area held an Open Working Test for Any Variety Retriever on Sunday 12th May 2013 at Warren Farm, Haughton, Nottinghamshire by kind permission of the owner Mr T Banks and Richard Inger, the Farm manager. 27 dogs were entered, 22 Labradors and 5 Golden Retrievers. Prizes were generously sponsored by Alpha – the food of Champions.
The weather was cool with a threat of showers. The judges were Annette Clarke, Sue Lowe and Will Hales. The farmland has areas of set-aside, blocks of woodland and an irrigation pond. All the tests were designed to simulate retrieves on a typical shoot day or on one of the field trials held there.
The first round of retrieves utilised rough grass on pond hole drive. Annette judged a mark with two dogs in line testing patience and steadiness as well as marking. Sue judged a longer mark, whilst Will tested dogs on a blind near the boundary hedge. The second round was at Fishpond Wood. Sue judged a blind on a headland adjacent to the wood. On the other side of the wood Annette asked for the dogs to pick a blind close to a feed bin, ignoring a mark beyond the bin. This proved tricky. Meanwhile Will judged a long mark in a game plot of maize stalks.
After lunch a long walk took competitors to a long narrow irrigation pond, harbouring ducks, geese and a pair of swans. Will judged a mark across the pond, the dummy falling behind bushes on the steep bank. After amending her test to avoid swans and goslings Sue required the handlers to send their dogs across a corner of the pond for a blind. Meanwhile a broad area of rough grass between Decoy wood and the maize plot was the setting for a walk-up judged by Annette. Three dogs in line were each given a long mark in turn, with a forward gun saluting the thrown dummy. Nine retrieves had produced a number of dogs with failures or low marks, the blind by the feed bin being the most discriminating retrieve. There was a clear winner, but a run-off required for 3rd place.
This led to the following results, with the trophies and prizes of Alpha presented by our Vice President Elaine Welburn.
| Position | Name | Breed/sex | Handler |
|---|
1st
|
Millcottage Diamond |
LR D |
Malcolm Peacock |
| 2nd |
Skeffington Goldfinch |
LR B |
Michael Hirst |
| 3rd |
Partridge Flush of Russjancoe |
LR B |
Russell Hodgen |
4th
|
Dalesprings Black Orchid |
LR B |
Susan Corden |
| COM |
Lowforge Amelia of Russjancoe |
LR B |
Russell Hodgen |
| COM |
Castleside Cara |
LR B |
Susan Carden |