United Retriever Club (Southern)
Puppy and Novice Tests
Held at Pope’s Oak Farm on 5th August 2012
RESULTS
Puppy
1st Louie Adshead's Lab (B) Bedgebrook Scrumptious DOB 03.03.11
2nd Mike Fleming's Lab (B) Tayfordwoods Blyton DOB 08.06.11
3rd Sue Jordan's G/R (D) Tullysedge yboy DOB 05.06.11
4th Brenda Cox's Lab (B) Staeningas Killer Queen DOB 27.05.11
Novice
1st Rosemary Sadler's Lab (B) Opataz Cinder's Folly
2nd Veronica Eyre's Lab (B) Faircotelabs Orchid
3rd Tim Pain's Lab (D) Bally Fitz
4th John Bartley's Lab (D) Rowlaneninah Liam of Rickneymarsh
COM Mick Clarkes' Lab (D) Labees Black Jack
Thank you to Sheila Chessell for once again allowing the use of her land for today’s Test. Three judges and 43 entries (after withdrawals). Six Tests were set. The Puppy Tests were on the same ground but were structured differently to the Novice Tests as explained below:
For Test 1 we were in the woods. NOVICE: Standing on the track there was a mark thrown in front of us to the left and then one to the right. We had to nominate which dummy we were going to retrieve first. Not a great distance but the dummies landed in clumps of undergrowth and had to be hunted out. They were also going from the light into the dark.
PUPPY: Walk the dog out 8 yards to heel, turn it round to leave it there and return to starting point. Two shots fired and two dummies thrown, one to the right of the dog and one to the left. The puppies were then sent to the right hand dummy.
Test 2 NOVICE: was also a double mark but in a field of long grass. Again we had to nominate which dummy we were going to pick first. PUPPY: Walk the dog out 12 yards to heel, turn it round to leave it there and return to starting point. Two shots fired and two dummies thrown, one to the left of the dog and one to the right. The puppies were then sent to the left hand dummy from a distance.
Test 3 NOVICE: was a single mark at the end of a grassy area with a pond on the left all the way down. A lot of the dogs pulled to the left and the water instead of going straight to the mark. PUPPY: Walk the dog out 12 yards to heel, turn it round to leave it there and return to starting point. A shot was fired and a dummy thrown 30 yards behind the dog which was facing it's handler so for most puppies the retrieve was a blind "go back".
Test 4 NOVICE: was a blind with gunshot over the lake. The dummy was at the top of the bank on a track so easy to find. The only distraction was the dummy thrower standing to the right. PUPPY: A single mark to shot on the water.
Test 5 NOVICE: was back in the woods. A 2 dog walk up on one of the rides. One mark each which was thrown just into the wood on the left hand side. PUPPY: As Novice with the dummies landing on the edge of the wood.
Test 6 NOVICE: was a blind without gunshot through long grass to the base of a big oak tree. Made more difficult because the dogs went down into a dip and you could not see them. PUPPY: A blind without gunshot through long grass on a headland strip with the dummy thrower standing on the edge of the stubble. A few puppies veered towards the dummy thrower.
A long day out for the Puppies who were all very tired by the end. A nice variety of Tests for the Novices, testing but not awesome. The weather was kind – it wasn’t raining for a change ! It was quite hot in the afternoon but a fresh breeze helped the dogs stay cool.
A big thank you to Wendy and all her helpers for giving us a very enjoyable day.
Puppy
1st Louie Adshead's Lab (B) Bedgebrook Scrumptious DOB 03.03.11
2nd Mike Fleming's Lab (B) Tayfordwoods Blyton DOB 08.06.11
3rd Sue Jordan's G/R (D) Tullysedge yboy DOB 05.06.11
4th Brenda Cox's Lab (B) Staeningas Killer Queen DOB 27.05.11
Novice
1st Rosemary Sadler's Lab (B) Opataz Cinder's Folly
2nd Veronica Eyre's Lab (B) Faircotelabs Orchid
3rd Tim Pain's Lab (D) Bally Fitz
4th John Bartley's Lab (D) Rowlaneninah Liam of Rickneymarsh
COM Mick Clarkes' Lab (D) Labees Black Jack
Thank you to Sheila Chessell for once again allowing the use of her land for today’s Test. Three judges and 43 entries (after withdrawals). Six Tests were set. The Puppy Tests were on the same ground but were structured differently to the Novice Tests as explained below:
For Test 1 we were in the woods. NOVICE: Standing on the track there was a mark thrown in front of us to the left and then one to the right. We had to nominate which dummy we were going to retrieve first. Not a great distance but the dummies landed in clumps of undergrowth and had to be hunted out. They were also going from the light into the dark.
PUPPY: Walk the dog out 8 yards to heel, turn it round to leave it there and return to starting point. Two shots fired and two dummies thrown, one to the right of the dog and one to the left. The puppies were then sent to the right hand dummy.
Test 2 NOVICE: was also a double mark but in a field of long grass. Again we had to nominate which dummy we were going to pick first. PUPPY: Walk the dog out 12 yards to heel, turn it round to leave it there and return to starting point. Two shots fired and two dummies thrown, one to the left of the dog and one to the right. The puppies were then sent to the left hand dummy from a distance.
Test 3 NOVICE: was a single mark at the end of a grassy area with a pond on the left all the way down. A lot of the dogs pulled to the left and the water instead of going straight to the mark. PUPPY: Walk the dog out 12 yards to heel, turn it round to leave it there and return to starting point. A shot was fired and a dummy thrown 30 yards behind the dog which was facing it's handler so for most puppies the retrieve was a blind "go back".
Test 4 NOVICE: was a blind with gunshot over the lake. The dummy was at the top of the bank on a track so easy to find. The only distraction was the dummy thrower standing to the right. PUPPY: A single mark to shot on the water.
Test 5 NOVICE: was back in the woods. A 2 dog walk up on one of the rides. One mark each which was thrown just into the wood on the left hand side. PUPPY: As Novice with the dummies landing on the edge of the wood.
Test 6 NOVICE: was a blind without gunshot through long grass to the base of a big oak tree. Made more difficult because the dogs went down into a dip and you could not see them. PUPPY: A blind without gunshot through long grass on a headland strip with the dummy thrower standing on the edge of the stubble. A few puppies veered towards the dummy thrower.
A long day out for the Puppies who were all very tired by the end. A nice variety of Tests for the Novices, testing but not awesome. The weather was kind – it wasn’t raining for a change ! It was quite hot in the afternoon but a fresh breeze helped the dogs stay cool.
A big thank you to Wendy and all her helpers for giving us a very enjoyable day.
