Guildford Working Gundog Club
Novice Test 15th March 2015
Upper Birtley, Surrey
by kind permission of Sir Graham Wilkinson
Judges: Kieran Smith, Alistair House, Lindsey Warren, Coral Meakes, Nikki Stranks
Results
1st Milford Heathrose - Derek Buckland
2nd Mullenscote Cavalier - Peter Martin
3rd Casblaiid Quill Hogan - Jackie Crew
4th Blanchards Blackcap - Lauren Wright
COM Chisslehyde Rumble - J Tomlinson
COM Dobwalls Di Canio Duke - Collette Urquhart
Judges: Kieran Smith, Alistair House, Lindsey Warren, Coral Meakes, Nikki Stranks
Results
1st Milford Heathrose - Derek Buckland
2nd Mullenscote Cavalier - Peter Martin
3rd Casblaiid Quill Hogan - Jackie Crew
4th Blanchards Blackcap - Lauren Wright
COM Chisslehyde Rumble - J Tomlinson
COM Dobwalls Di Canio Duke - Collette Urquhart
REPORT of the day by Julia, Kate and Annie
After much “umming and ahhing” and a lot of “can we or can’t we?” (not to mention a good deal of encouragement from Louie!), the three of us (Kate with Roady, Annie with Bee and Julia with Bula) finally decided the time had come to enter our first Novice working test. When the running order for the Guildford Working Gundog Club Novice test arrived with 64 entries on it, we all thought “what on earth are we doing?” but, actually, the number of handlers took the pressure off a bit so we just decided we would try and enjoy the day and get as much out of it as we could.
After being split into 5 groups with each group starting on a different test, the day got going and ran very smoothly with all the dogs going through 5 tests and we finished in about 4 hours or so. We weren’t hugely lucky with the weather but 3 of the 5 tests were in woodland where it was just a little bit warmer.
Test 1 was a long mark to shot with the dog having to run down a steep gulley, across a ditch and then travel uphill into woodland to pick the dummy.
Test 2 was a mark with two shots down another steep-ish hill into a wooded area followed by a blind in the same area. The dogs and handlers were set up behind a log which needed to be negotiated immediately and the woodland proved tempting for the inquisitive dogs, especially on the blind.
Test 3 was a double blind with one blind 50 yards or so to the right in a wooded area and the other 75 yards or so down a track with a huge muddy puddle in the middle of it. After a shot near each blind, the judge asked us to nominate which we wanted to pick first. Some handlers found this test tricky as it was difficult to get the dog to go past the area of the first dummy and to stay on the track to the longer blind.
Test 4 was a mark with shot into water followed by a blind in a completely different area which required getting the dog to go up a grass verge between a hedge and a newly ploughed field. Again, this was quite tricky and several dogs felt the urge to explore the ploughed field!
Test 5 was a two dog walk-up over some stubble with each dog having to do two retrieves in front.
Overall, we felt that all 3 dogs did really well on their first attempt in a Novice working test. Bee and Bula managed to get 20s on Tests 1 and 2. On Test 3, Kate and Julia chose to take the track first and both dogs went out in a good strong line but then struggled a bit on the blind to the right. Annie chose to pick the blind on the track second and couldn’t get Bee to travel the distance. All 3 dogs did the water retrieve well (thanks to all the lessons with Louie at the lakes last summer) but Roady took in the whole of the ploughed field on his way to the blind but a well-timed “back” sent Bee straight to it. On the walk-up, Roady went into stealth mode and Bee danced her way down the line so lost marks on heel work. Bula was nearly foot-perfect scoring 19 but, on finishing the walk-up, the judge told Julia to start breathing again!
The tests were all very fair and the judges were incredibly encouraging so, even after all our initial doubts, it was a really good first experience of a Novice working test. We were grateful to Jo, the Working Test Secretary, the five judges and all the helpers who made the day go so smoothly and tried hard to keep us all moving so that there were no delays. Well done to the award winners too … the winner scored a very impressive 99/100.
So … even though this was our first Novice working test, we all really enjoyed it and will be entering some more in the next few months. We’re all quite new to this working test thing but would really encourage anyone else who is thinking about having a go to do so. The judges are so encouraging, the people are all friendly and it’s very rewarding being able to get your dog to do the things you’ve been practising in training … and it really isn’t as scary as you think it’s going to be. Good luck to everyone during the coming working test season!
After much “umming and ahhing” and a lot of “can we or can’t we?” (not to mention a good deal of encouragement from Louie!), the three of us (Kate with Roady, Annie with Bee and Julia with Bula) finally decided the time had come to enter our first Novice working test. When the running order for the Guildford Working Gundog Club Novice test arrived with 64 entries on it, we all thought “what on earth are we doing?” but, actually, the number of handlers took the pressure off a bit so we just decided we would try and enjoy the day and get as much out of it as we could.
After being split into 5 groups with each group starting on a different test, the day got going and ran very smoothly with all the dogs going through 5 tests and we finished in about 4 hours or so. We weren’t hugely lucky with the weather but 3 of the 5 tests were in woodland where it was just a little bit warmer.
Test 1 was a long mark to shot with the dog having to run down a steep gulley, across a ditch and then travel uphill into woodland to pick the dummy.
Test 2 was a mark with two shots down another steep-ish hill into a wooded area followed by a blind in the same area. The dogs and handlers were set up behind a log which needed to be negotiated immediately and the woodland proved tempting for the inquisitive dogs, especially on the blind.
Test 3 was a double blind with one blind 50 yards or so to the right in a wooded area and the other 75 yards or so down a track with a huge muddy puddle in the middle of it. After a shot near each blind, the judge asked us to nominate which we wanted to pick first. Some handlers found this test tricky as it was difficult to get the dog to go past the area of the first dummy and to stay on the track to the longer blind.
Test 4 was a mark with shot into water followed by a blind in a completely different area which required getting the dog to go up a grass verge between a hedge and a newly ploughed field. Again, this was quite tricky and several dogs felt the urge to explore the ploughed field!
Test 5 was a two dog walk-up over some stubble with each dog having to do two retrieves in front.
Overall, we felt that all 3 dogs did really well on their first attempt in a Novice working test. Bee and Bula managed to get 20s on Tests 1 and 2. On Test 3, Kate and Julia chose to take the track first and both dogs went out in a good strong line but then struggled a bit on the blind to the right. Annie chose to pick the blind on the track second and couldn’t get Bee to travel the distance. All 3 dogs did the water retrieve well (thanks to all the lessons with Louie at the lakes last summer) but Roady took in the whole of the ploughed field on his way to the blind but a well-timed “back” sent Bee straight to it. On the walk-up, Roady went into stealth mode and Bee danced her way down the line so lost marks on heel work. Bula was nearly foot-perfect scoring 19 but, on finishing the walk-up, the judge told Julia to start breathing again!
The tests were all very fair and the judges were incredibly encouraging so, even after all our initial doubts, it was a really good first experience of a Novice working test. We were grateful to Jo, the Working Test Secretary, the five judges and all the helpers who made the day go so smoothly and tried hard to keep us all moving so that there were no delays. Well done to the award winners too … the winner scored a very impressive 99/100.
So … even though this was our first Novice working test, we all really enjoyed it and will be entering some more in the next few months. We’re all quite new to this working test thing but would really encourage anyone else who is thinking about having a go to do so. The judges are so encouraging, the people are all friendly and it’s very rewarding being able to get your dog to do the things you’ve been practising in training … and it really isn’t as scary as you think it’s going to be. Good luck to everyone during the coming working test season!
