Sunday 12th May saw our Gundog Test for Minority Spaniels run under KC rules. We had an entry of 21 dogs which included Clumber, Lagotto Romagnolo, Welsh Springer, Field Spaniel and Spanish Water Dogs.
Our two judges, Bob Lowe and Judy Hempstead, selected some suitable areas on the farmland for each aspect of the test. Helper Lucy had her first taste of stewarding and worked really hard for us all, kindly aided by Jenny Johnson and Linda Meakin. The 4 puppies had a chance to prove their prowess with a water retrieve from the reeds in the crystal clear flowing chalk stream. Our venue facilitators, John and John, kindly took on the role of dummy thrower throughout the test for each judge. After their land work of hunting up seen and blind retrieves, the Novice dogs had a more challenging water retrieve across the stream to the lightly wooded opposite bank. The spacious ground was changed up again for the Open class and these 7 dogs were put through their paces as the day became even warmer.
We all returned across the stretch of set-aside to the Secretary's gazebo for our refreshments while the judges conferred and the trophies sparkled enticingly in the sunshine.
Our grateful thanks to John Bint who saved the day by arranging this lovely ground for us after our original one was still waterlogged and unusable after such a wet spring.
Finally the raffle was drawn and the results were announced.
Best in Test was the Open Class winner - Brian Rogers' with his Clumber Spaniel, Sedgehurst Egton of Parkforth. Also pictured is Susan Tindall with her Lagotto, who won the Novice Class and was also awarded the Best Hunter and Most Promising handler by the Judges (also pictured).
Congratulations to all our winners and grateful thanks to everyone who helped to make the day so enjoyable for all who came.
More photos and winners will be published in the Gundog section of the website, together with the report from our April Training Day, very soon.
Jane Appleton - SWDC Gundog Secretary
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