The Novice Test was held on 2nd June 2019 at Welbeck, Nottinghamshire by kind permission of Mr W Parente and the Estate. Several competitors joined us from neighbouring URC areas. The judges were Paul Birkbeck, Sue Corden, Janet Allsop and David Sidwell.
The 27 dogs entered for the Novice Test included four breeds, Labradors, Goldens, flatcoats and one Curlycoat. They faced tests simulating work on the Welbeck shoot. The morning started with two marked retrieves falling to shot. David Sidwell judged a mark from water, a dummy thrown from the curving shore of a lake representing a duck. Meanwhile Sue Corden judged a mark involving an outrun along a track on the opposite shore of the lake and into a bordering wood. After lunch Sue judged a retrieve on the lake, with the dogs sent from some distance from the water. Janet’s test consisted of an outrun uphill along a field edge, then turning the dog left into Nightingale Wood to find a blind. Meanwhile David and Paul judged a walk-up in the dry valley of Cat Hills. With three dogs in line, retrieves alternated between a mark and a blind. The first dog was sent for a mark thrown high up on the steep slope to the right. The next dog was sent forward to the left where a dummy represented a rabbit lying in light cover close to a fence along the edge of a wood.
The awards, including prizes sponsored by Alpha, were presented by Margaret Rowson, representing the Welbeck estate.
Novice Awards
1. Falconcliffe Conan LR B : Amanda Minshall
2. Hollowgate Glows Red Embers LR D : Shaun Eadson
3. Mantlegold Tamarind GR D : Gillian Clarke
4. Castlemans Soul Dancer of Tawnywood GR D : Colette Greenwood
CoMs: Lowforge Pandora LR B : G Ellis (H=Audrey Ellis)