

Awards:
1st - Cynhinfa Napoleon (LRD) – Claire Salter
2nd – Randall Black Night (LRD) – Chris Doig
3rd – Henergy Moonstruck (LRD) – Robert Small
4th – Roughbeat Serafina of Philchris (GRB) – Sarah Winter

![]() The United Retriever Club Hants & South West Area recently held a Novice Working Test at Hawkers Hill Farm by kind permission of Chris and Clem Martin and Mr Phil Lever writes Wendy Bardsley. There were 42 entries and the judges were Dave England, Frank Wright, Jennie Dimmock and Micheal Brown. The tests were set at a good novice standard and the new location allowed 4 challenging tests. All tests were a double pick with two retrieves. Test 1 involved a marked water retrieve which gave the dogs a good swim across the water out onto the land to retrieve the dummy and back into the water to deliver to hand. The glare of the sun and the geese on the water proved a challenge for some of the dogs. The second retrieve was thrown by the edge of the water. Test 2 involved a walked up with a marked retrieve at the top of hill followed by a shot behind with a retrieve at the bottom of the hill. Test 3 offered a double blind with the dogs picking the right first then the left dummy. Test 4 was a double marked retrieve with several barriers in between. The competitors were able to choose which dummy to retrieve first. As the ground was slightly uneven it was a challenge for the dogs to run cleanly up the hill. Competitors and dogs were put through their paces as the day progressed. Dave England who judged Test 4 indicated his double retrieve test gave the dogs a challenge and observed many dogs locking onto the first retrieve. At the end of the day he offered useful advice to the competitors and suggested in training to get the dog to pick the second dummy first and occasionally pick the other one by hand. ![]() A two dog run off was necessary to decide third and fourth place. URC Chairman for the Hants & South West Nick Coates stated the run off needed to stretch the dogs so the judges were able to see the difference between the two. With a distraction thrown into the water the competitor handled their dog over the causeway to retrieve a blind. Awards: 1st - Cynhinfa Napoleon (LRD) – Claire Salter 2nd – Randall Black Night (LRD) – Chris Doig 3rd – Henergy Moonstruck (LRD) – Robert Small 4th – Roughbeat Serafina of Philchris (GRB) – Sarah Winter ![]() The day brought together an exceptionally talented collection of novice dogs and handlers who clearly all enjoyed the challenge of a URC Novice Test day. Special thanks to the URC test organiser, Sarah Winter, the host, judges, helpers and competitors for making the day a success. As always Skinners provided much appreciated sponsorship.
4 Comments
![]() A working test or training day is reliant on volunteers helping to make the day a success. One of the essential requirements for each test is having a team of dummy throwers. I took the opportunity to catch up with several volunteers at a recent URC working test… What’s great about being a dummy thrower? Debbie Lusty from Andover enjoys helping out at tests and being a dummy thrower. “It enables me to be an integral part of the event and I feel involved rather than just watching from the outskirts. Debbie loves spending the day in the countryside. “I’ve been made to feel very welcome today and I’ve learnt a lot from watching each dog in turn.” Peter Leyden from Ringwood enjoys watching the dogs work. “I learn a lot from watching the dog and handler in a test environment. Sometimes I pick something up and go home and try it out. James Langton from Wimborne said. “It’s great to help out as I’m fairly new to the working tests. I’ve enjoyed being a dummy thrower as I get to watch the handlers work their dogs in different ways.” As a dummy thrower did you make any observations from your test? “Not trusting your dog!” says Debbie. “For my test it was a fairly simple blind but some of the handlers used the whistle to encourage their dog. There were several occasions where the handler could have left the dog and it would have easily found it. Heel work is interesting to watch. Some handlers are watching their dog and others are more confident and observing what is going on around them.” Nicola Farmiloe enjoys helping out. She noticed a common pattern occurring in her test which involved two blind retrieves up a hill. “Many of the handlers were sending their dogs off quite far to the right. There were only a few which went straight up the middle and picked. I was positioned at the bottom of the hill and there wasn’t much wind but you could see the dogs changing direction as the wind picked up at the top of the hill.” ![]() Is there any pressure as a dummy thrower? Pete has been competing for 8 years. He’s familiar with the test environment and still feels the pressure. “You always want to throw a dummy the same for every dog so there’s a bit of pressure to get it right every time. Sometimes there is the odd one which I’m not happy with but it comes with practice!” James a gundog handler admits there’s a bit of pressure to get it right on the day. “ I was placing blinds in my test so it was a lot easier for me!” There is no doubt that volunteers have an important role to play as they provide stability to gundog clubs and they are vital for tests and training days to run successfully. Debbie, Pete, Nicole and James want to give something back to our sport. Their positive approach to the role reflects what they have gained from the day. Time spent helping out on a test or training day provides a fantastic opportunity to socialise with like minded people and obtain a greater understanding of the working dog environment. It’s clear our sport wouldn’t survive without them. |
Archives
February 2021
Categories
|