Kintbury Interclub 2012
The 2012 Match was held as usual in the magnificent setting of Highclere Castle and Liz had been selected as Team Captain to run a team for The Leconfield Club. The team consisted of Brian Wade running his own bred dog, Shalloakwest Shadey (Buzz), Liz running her young and exciting bitch Surefly Sweet Pea (Gracie) and myself running Shalloakwest Shy Girl of Surefly (Alice) who was also bred by Brian.
We arrived in good time as it is always nice to have a chat with friends and competitors at this event and we even had the luxury of the Leconfield Supporters' Club who had turned out in earnest! We made our way to the Marquee to find Ken Rolfe in charge of some of the hottest dogs he has ever had in his care and his bacon and burgers were to die for too. The Judges were to be Jeremy Organ, Ben Randall and Amanda Baker but unfortunately, Ben couldn't make the day due to family illness and so the search was on for a Senior Judge with wit, integrity, experience and wisdom. This was going to be a tall order, but after a tour of Dorset's care homes the problem was solved - WALTER HARRISON! - to the rescue. The stage was set.
We all proceeded to the battlefield which was to be primarily a long strip of bracken in front of a large lake. The test was to be a shot and dummy thrown forward which the dog was called away from and a further shot and the dog was then sent for a blind behind. On completion, the dog was then sent for what was now a memory, being the first dummy to be thrown. There was then also to be a water retrieve, judged by Amanda which was a shot fired, dummy thrown into the lake with a fairly difficult long mark for the dog through the trees. Anything other than a straight out and back and the dog lost marks rapidly (those Retriever Judges can be so cruel to our little spaniels!).
First to run was Anita Jones with a sprightly little Cocker and the colourful Dave Templar with a little black and white Springer. Dave turned out to be the whole of the Wiltshire Team with an array of excellent dogs! Dave was to go on and take 'Best Overall Dog' with a lovely stylish liver and white dog. I don't know what they put in Walther's tea, but he was scything through the bracken like an 18 year old, probably trying to keep up with Anita! From the moment the first dogs started it was evident that it was going to be a tough competition as most of the dogs running were trial winners and some had even been to the Championships and during the whole day I didn?t see a single dog make a major mistake. The viewing for the gallery is excellent and the standard of handlers and dogs was for all to see.
I was the first to run in our team and had to follow Chris Green (Head Keeper at Connaught Park) who had a very smart, stylish Beccleuh Bitch but Alice, being her reliable self, gave a good account dropping just a few marks as she needed handling on her memory retrieve. Dave (Cuddles) Rayner ran Buddy the dog he had at this year's Championship for the Bristol & West and also had Simon Jones and Richard Preest in his team. Margaret Cox, Alice Wise and Louise Burnell ran for the Cornwall and all gave good accounts of themselves.
Next in was Brian. I couldn't bear to watch his run in case the wheels came off! So decided to go and do my water test (which could be taken at any time throughout the day) which also gave me a chance to cool Alice off after her run as surprisingly enough, it was very warm. Alice made a good mark of the splash and an out and back retrieve. Needless to say, Brian's wheels stayed on although he thought the dog could have done better (no pleasing some folk).
A few more dogs came and went and Liz is now getting anxious as she was about to take her turn. Gracie was a little unlucky as the ground she had to hunt was fairly sparse of cover which did not show her potential to the full and Liz managed to work herself into a barbed wire fence! Funny how the brain stops working when you get nervous! But luckily, good old Walter steered her clear! The dog made its retrieves and we had another sound run under our belts. There were some excellent cockers running and they all seemed to be holding their own against the springers. These little dogs always seem to raise their game when it matters. We then broke for mid-day lunch. Time for more of Ken's cooking and banter with friends and reflection on what lies ahead as we had heard rumours that the second run of the test was to be different (which were founded!) Lunch over we made our way back to the bracken as the clouds started to bubble and it looked as though we may be in for some rain.
Brian's water test had gone to plan but Liz was a little concerned as she may have dropped some points as Gracie came onto the bank and had to be handled. The second test was a shot and dummy thrown a long way forward which the opposite dog was sent for, a hunt on and a repeat performance for the other dog. On completion of both dogs' forward retrieves, the dogs were then sent for a blind behind and that completed the run. Much as before, the standard was superb and it was evident that all of the teams must be in contention. Alice was running on the left close to the fence and the gallery ? she always seem to raise her game for an audience and gave me and Jeremy a pleasurable run. I couldn't have asked for more. Brian's run was difficult as the dog had its back to the long seen and did not mark through some awkward cover and Brian had to do a bit of handling although its hunting was up to its usual high standard and no problem with the blind. Liz's run with Gracie was to perfection. This time Gracie had perfect cover and showed herself to her full glory. Liz looked relaxed and its long seen retrieve was back in one. Now for the blind - Liz's handling was spot on, one pip of the whistle, a left hand signal and the dog was soon back with a perfect delivery. Job done. Jeremy's comments about the dog made Liz's day (Brian and I keep telling her its a 'good'un').
We couldn't do anymore than go back to the marquee where we were greeted with tea, coffee and the most wonderful fruit cake. Its amazing how many people can crowd into a small marquee when it is raining that hard but the die hard dog men and women stood out in the rain. With the paperwork done, time for the results. Cornwall who have been previous winners were third, Bristol & West who have won for the last 2 years were second and ...
LECONFIELD WERE FIRST - HOORAY!
Our thanks go to Jon Chamberlain and the Kintbury Gundog Club for putting on such an excellent day, the Judges for seeing it our way in a close event with the Bristol & West (count back on hunting scores), all of the helpers and above all, the hosts of Highclere for allowing the clubs to run at such a prestigious ground and to all of the competitors who took part. Any clubs wishing to put a team forward for this event would not be disappointed with any aspect of this event or spectators wishing to see good dog work at close hand.
Stewart Seward
We arrived in good time as it is always nice to have a chat with friends and competitors at this event and we even had the luxury of the Leconfield Supporters' Club who had turned out in earnest! We made our way to the Marquee to find Ken Rolfe in charge of some of the hottest dogs he has ever had in his care and his bacon and burgers were to die for too. The Judges were to be Jeremy Organ, Ben Randall and Amanda Baker but unfortunately, Ben couldn't make the day due to family illness and so the search was on for a Senior Judge with wit, integrity, experience and wisdom. This was going to be a tall order, but after a tour of Dorset's care homes the problem was solved - WALTER HARRISON! - to the rescue. The stage was set.
We all proceeded to the battlefield which was to be primarily a long strip of bracken in front of a large lake. The test was to be a shot and dummy thrown forward which the dog was called away from and a further shot and the dog was then sent for a blind behind. On completion, the dog was then sent for what was now a memory, being the first dummy to be thrown. There was then also to be a water retrieve, judged by Amanda which was a shot fired, dummy thrown into the lake with a fairly difficult long mark for the dog through the trees. Anything other than a straight out and back and the dog lost marks rapidly (those Retriever Judges can be so cruel to our little spaniels!).
First to run was Anita Jones with a sprightly little Cocker and the colourful Dave Templar with a little black and white Springer. Dave turned out to be the whole of the Wiltshire Team with an array of excellent dogs! Dave was to go on and take 'Best Overall Dog' with a lovely stylish liver and white dog. I don't know what they put in Walther's tea, but he was scything through the bracken like an 18 year old, probably trying to keep up with Anita! From the moment the first dogs started it was evident that it was going to be a tough competition as most of the dogs running were trial winners and some had even been to the Championships and during the whole day I didn?t see a single dog make a major mistake. The viewing for the gallery is excellent and the standard of handlers and dogs was for all to see.
I was the first to run in our team and had to follow Chris Green (Head Keeper at Connaught Park) who had a very smart, stylish Beccleuh Bitch but Alice, being her reliable self, gave a good account dropping just a few marks as she needed handling on her memory retrieve. Dave (Cuddles) Rayner ran Buddy the dog he had at this year's Championship for the Bristol & West and also had Simon Jones and Richard Preest in his team. Margaret Cox, Alice Wise and Louise Burnell ran for the Cornwall and all gave good accounts of themselves.
Next in was Brian. I couldn't bear to watch his run in case the wheels came off! So decided to go and do my water test (which could be taken at any time throughout the day) which also gave me a chance to cool Alice off after her run as surprisingly enough, it was very warm. Alice made a good mark of the splash and an out and back retrieve. Needless to say, Brian's wheels stayed on although he thought the dog could have done better (no pleasing some folk).
A few more dogs came and went and Liz is now getting anxious as she was about to take her turn. Gracie was a little unlucky as the ground she had to hunt was fairly sparse of cover which did not show her potential to the full and Liz managed to work herself into a barbed wire fence! Funny how the brain stops working when you get nervous! But luckily, good old Walter steered her clear! The dog made its retrieves and we had another sound run under our belts. There were some excellent cockers running and they all seemed to be holding their own against the springers. These little dogs always seem to raise their game when it matters. We then broke for mid-day lunch. Time for more of Ken's cooking and banter with friends and reflection on what lies ahead as we had heard rumours that the second run of the test was to be different (which were founded!) Lunch over we made our way back to the bracken as the clouds started to bubble and it looked as though we may be in for some rain.
Brian's water test had gone to plan but Liz was a little concerned as she may have dropped some points as Gracie came onto the bank and had to be handled. The second test was a shot and dummy thrown a long way forward which the opposite dog was sent for, a hunt on and a repeat performance for the other dog. On completion of both dogs' forward retrieves, the dogs were then sent for a blind behind and that completed the run. Much as before, the standard was superb and it was evident that all of the teams must be in contention. Alice was running on the left close to the fence and the gallery ? she always seem to raise her game for an audience and gave me and Jeremy a pleasurable run. I couldn't have asked for more. Brian's run was difficult as the dog had its back to the long seen and did not mark through some awkward cover and Brian had to do a bit of handling although its hunting was up to its usual high standard and no problem with the blind. Liz's run with Gracie was to perfection. This time Gracie had perfect cover and showed herself to her full glory. Liz looked relaxed and its long seen retrieve was back in one. Now for the blind - Liz's handling was spot on, one pip of the whistle, a left hand signal and the dog was soon back with a perfect delivery. Job done. Jeremy's comments about the dog made Liz's day (Brian and I keep telling her its a 'good'un').
We couldn't do anymore than go back to the marquee where we were greeted with tea, coffee and the most wonderful fruit cake. Its amazing how many people can crowd into a small marquee when it is raining that hard but the die hard dog men and women stood out in the rain. With the paperwork done, time for the results. Cornwall who have been previous winners were third, Bristol & West who have won for the last 2 years were second and ...
LECONFIELD WERE FIRST - HOORAY!
Our thanks go to Jon Chamberlain and the Kintbury Gundog Club for putting on such an excellent day, the Judges for seeing it our way in a close event with the Bristol & West (count back on hunting scores), all of the helpers and above all, the hosts of Highclere for allowing the clubs to run at such a prestigious ground and to all of the competitors who took part. Any clubs wishing to put a team forward for this event would not be disappointed with any aspect of this event or spectators wishing to see good dog work at close hand.
Stewart Seward
