UGS Kent and East Sussex
Novice, Special Puppy and Young Handler
Held at Five Hundred Acre Wood, Friars Gate, Withyham on 29th April 2012
Well, I guess the main talking point was the Weather !!!! The forecast was absolutely horrendous predicting heavy rain and very strong winds all day. God bless them, the Met were over reacting again and we were lucky to get away with an averagely normal WET day but at least the predicted gales did not materialise. The going underfoot was mud, glorious mud so the organisers must have been holding their breath re ‘ealth and safety’ issues !!! especially with the Young Handlers rushing around enjoying their day out.
A very special ‘’Thank You’’ to all the HELPERS. To turn out in such conditions when they could all stay tucked up in bed and enjoy a leisurely weekend in front of the fire, could be considered beyond the call of duty. But - They love it don’t they !!!!! It was tough too, on the organisers and the judges – just think, if the helpers hadn’t come along we all could have spent a lazy weekend in the warm and dry !!!!
So, five Tests, five Judges.
Test 1. Blind with gunshot over a short stretch of water. The dogs had to go from the top of a bank down to the water’s edge, go across to the other side and find the dummy. The cold and wet weather conditions did nothing to enthuse the dogs into the water and the entry place was slightly off putting. It caused the odd zero and a few more dogs struggled but overall the marks were high. I was just amazed that the judge survived the day without slipping over as the bit of bank he was standing on became more and more slippery !
Test 2. 4 dog walk up through open, scrubby woodland. The line up was very jerky and disjointed as people had to weave and duck round and under trees. Dog went from extreme left almost straight down the line of dogs to where a dummy was thrown quite a long way down on the right behind clumps of tall bracken. A bit of a lottery really. Your dog either had a clear view, marked and picked or had an obscured view and rather ‘lost it’s way’ on the mark. Once your dog was behind the bracken it was almost impossible to see it. The wind direction did not help those who did not mark. There were 13 zero’s and ten with 15 and below !
Test 3. A bit different as a dummy launcher was used, so the placing of the dummy was somewhat unpredictable. So, up the hill on one side of a ditch across and up the other side and the dummy was in that area. Generally the dummy was visible but sometimes fell out of sight behind a tree so it did depend on getting the dog on the right side of the wind. Again several zero’s and some struggling and getting low marks.
Test 4. Quite a challenge this one. Technically it was a mark across water but the visibility through the trees was so poor that for the majority it was a blind. Starting from a spot 50 yards again up the hill, then 60/70 yards across the water. Many dogs stopped at the edge and went looking for a better entry point into the water. Some didn’t want to go in at all and some got a zero for dropping the dummy as they struggled back up the hill to the handler. 16 zero’s !!!! Ouch, it was a hard one. With only 2 x 20’s, 3 x 19’s, 2 x 18’s and 4 x 17’s these eleven people had nothing to be ashamed of, but justifiably, the 2 x 20’s belonged to the Winner and Second place.
Test 5. Quite simply a blind without gunshot. Standing on the track, the dummy was some 80 yards straight up a hill covered in bracken. The most straightforward Test of the day. Consistently high marks 16 and over. Interestingly, the judge here also gave ‘half marks’ whereas the other judges didn’t.
And that was just the Novice !
The day also saw a class for Special Puppy. And 5 Young Handlers competed for a very handsome trophy. The youngest handler was Josh Carter, 8 years old and he went home with a CoM. There were 9 Special Puppies and the first three award winners got scores in the 90’s.
Happily there were no ‘calamities’ due to the weather and everyone got home in good time to celebrate, dry off and think about tomorrow’s practise session !
Well done everyone.
Well, I guess the main talking point was the Weather !!!! The forecast was absolutely horrendous predicting heavy rain and very strong winds all day. God bless them, the Met were over reacting again and we were lucky to get away with an averagely normal WET day but at least the predicted gales did not materialise. The going underfoot was mud, glorious mud so the organisers must have been holding their breath re ‘ealth and safety’ issues !!! especially with the Young Handlers rushing around enjoying their day out.
A very special ‘’Thank You’’ to all the HELPERS. To turn out in such conditions when they could all stay tucked up in bed and enjoy a leisurely weekend in front of the fire, could be considered beyond the call of duty. But - They love it don’t they !!!!! It was tough too, on the organisers and the judges – just think, if the helpers hadn’t come along we all could have spent a lazy weekend in the warm and dry !!!!
So, five Tests, five Judges.
Test 1. Blind with gunshot over a short stretch of water. The dogs had to go from the top of a bank down to the water’s edge, go across to the other side and find the dummy. The cold and wet weather conditions did nothing to enthuse the dogs into the water and the entry place was slightly off putting. It caused the odd zero and a few more dogs struggled but overall the marks were high. I was just amazed that the judge survived the day without slipping over as the bit of bank he was standing on became more and more slippery !
Test 2. 4 dog walk up through open, scrubby woodland. The line up was very jerky and disjointed as people had to weave and duck round and under trees. Dog went from extreme left almost straight down the line of dogs to where a dummy was thrown quite a long way down on the right behind clumps of tall bracken. A bit of a lottery really. Your dog either had a clear view, marked and picked or had an obscured view and rather ‘lost it’s way’ on the mark. Once your dog was behind the bracken it was almost impossible to see it. The wind direction did not help those who did not mark. There were 13 zero’s and ten with 15 and below !
Test 3. A bit different as a dummy launcher was used, so the placing of the dummy was somewhat unpredictable. So, up the hill on one side of a ditch across and up the other side and the dummy was in that area. Generally the dummy was visible but sometimes fell out of sight behind a tree so it did depend on getting the dog on the right side of the wind. Again several zero’s and some struggling and getting low marks.
Test 4. Quite a challenge this one. Technically it was a mark across water but the visibility through the trees was so poor that for the majority it was a blind. Starting from a spot 50 yards again up the hill, then 60/70 yards across the water. Many dogs stopped at the edge and went looking for a better entry point into the water. Some didn’t want to go in at all and some got a zero for dropping the dummy as they struggled back up the hill to the handler. 16 zero’s !!!! Ouch, it was a hard one. With only 2 x 20’s, 3 x 19’s, 2 x 18’s and 4 x 17’s these eleven people had nothing to be ashamed of, but justifiably, the 2 x 20’s belonged to the Winner and Second place.
Test 5. Quite simply a blind without gunshot. Standing on the track, the dummy was some 80 yards straight up a hill covered in bracken. The most straightforward Test of the day. Consistently high marks 16 and over. Interestingly, the judge here also gave ‘half marks’ whereas the other judges didn’t.
And that was just the Novice !
The day also saw a class for Special Puppy. And 5 Young Handlers competed for a very handsome trophy. The youngest handler was Josh Carter, 8 years old and he went home with a CoM. There were 9 Special Puppies and the first three award winners got scores in the 90’s.
Happily there were no ‘calamities’ due to the weather and everyone got home in good time to celebrate, dry off and think about tomorrow’s practise session !
Well done everyone.
Novice, Special Puppy & Young Handler Working Test
Five Hundred Acre Wood, Withyham, East Sussex
by kind permission of Mr Tony Russell
Sunday 29th April 2012
Judges: Tony Russell, Jim Christon, Sue Cole
and Samantha Whyte
Novice Result
1st – Mary Cooper with Fyrlewalk CleoWinner of the Stubbledown Trophy
2nd – Dee Betts with Morganswain Surenja
Winner of the Ghilliedown Tankard
3rd – Lauren Wright with Blanchards Blackcap
4th – Mandy Smith with Flintsfield Spring Beauty
CoM – Veronica Eyre with Faircotelabs Orchid
Special Puppy Result
1st – Michael Clarke with Labees Black JackWinner of the Stubbledown Trophy
2nd – Jenny Parker with Tayfordwoods Glinda
Winner of the Shepedor Trophy
3rd – Andy Wiles with Hatchfield Loki
4th – Michael Rollinson with Geordieland Kody
Young Handler Result
1st – Ben Martin with Laborie ZuluWinner of the Nick Potts Memorial Trophy
2nd – James Hamilton with Birdsgreen Romantic
Roland at Tealcreek
3rd – Katya Visser with Molly Blackberry
4th – Jack Godfrey with Tumulus Timothy
CoM – Josh Carter with Jimmy Sunny of Warrenby
CoM – Katya Visser with Midnight Black Dancer
by kind permission of Mr Tony Russell
Sunday 29th April 2012
Judges: Tony Russell, Jim Christon, Sue Cole
and Samantha Whyte
Novice Result
1st – Mary Cooper with Fyrlewalk CleoWinner of the Stubbledown Trophy
2nd – Dee Betts with Morganswain Surenja
Winner of the Ghilliedown Tankard
3rd – Lauren Wright with Blanchards Blackcap
4th – Mandy Smith with Flintsfield Spring Beauty
CoM – Veronica Eyre with Faircotelabs Orchid
Special Puppy Result
1st – Michael Clarke with Labees Black JackWinner of the Stubbledown Trophy
2nd – Jenny Parker with Tayfordwoods Glinda
Winner of the Shepedor Trophy
3rd – Andy Wiles with Hatchfield Loki
4th – Michael Rollinson with Geordieland Kody
Young Handler Result
1st – Ben Martin with Laborie ZuluWinner of the Nick Potts Memorial Trophy
2nd – James Hamilton with Birdsgreen Romantic
Roland at Tealcreek
3rd – Katya Visser with Molly Blackberry
4th – Jack Godfrey with Tumulus Timothy
CoM – Josh Carter with Jimmy Sunny of Warrenby
CoM – Katya Visser with Midnight Black Dancer
