The Irish Pointer Club held its summer grouse trials on the weekend of 15th & 16th August 2009. The second day was an Open Confined Stake for Pointers only under IKC field trial rules and regulations. The judges for the day were Fr. Seamus O’Neill and Billy Grace.
The weather was an improvement in that we only had the very odd spit of rain and the wind was a lot less than the day before, W 5 > 2 13.5c. The further up the hill we were the nearer we were to the mist but we just managed to avoid it.
We were on the Kippure side of the road today and this meant that with a small stake of only sixteen dogs there was going to be ample room to run. In fact not only was there going to be an opportunity to run there was going to be a requirement to run for we didn’t expect, and didn’t get, much game and it was going to take hard work to find any. Up to yesterday I had been expressing my disappointment that the breed most likely to fail to run adequately at any events was a pointer. That seems to have become a redundant comment. All the dogs ran today but as usual some were more effective in their running than others. The first round was a series of runs yielding no game but with some good running on display. The dogs that did it for me were Jimmy Dalton’s Bone a Part, my own Toften’s Chris and both of Pat Dooley’s dogs Darnish Starbright and Darnish Fennel.
Six dogs were excluded on the basis of the first round and we set off for a part of the hill that I hadn’t run on before, or at least as low down before. By the end of the second round only Pat Dooley’s Darnish Starbright had had a find on a snipe and a small extension was called of four dogs. In the second of these two brace, away up the hill Jimmy Dalton’s Bone a Part came on point at distance from his handler. Probably for effect Jimmy took his time walking to the dog, stopping to take in the view for a while. All in an attempt to make his work out appear more impressive, no doubt. By the time he reached the dog the birds had run off some distance. Boney is an hugely experienced dog and he must have followed a circuitous route of up to three hundred yards before producing three grouse. At this stage, although delighted for Jimmy I really felt for Pat Dooley as I had had victory snatched from me the previous day in a similar manner.
Result :-
1st Bone a Part Jimmy Dalton’s Pointer dog. (EX) by Lisenaire Luke Skywalker X Exile on Main Street. Breeder Des O’Neile.
2nd Darnish Starbright Pat Dooley’s Pointer bitch.(EX)
Basso.
When he was running he was fast and hunting hard but he tended to be distracted by scent of God only knows what but larks for one, and we did have people have involvement with hare and deer. He ran vary flat, maybe too flat but he would have got away with this as he was nice and wide but as I said before his run was badly disrupted.
Chris.
This is a wine improving with age. He had three full runs and was only slightly jaded by the end of the third. He covered all the ground you could want, was even sided, flat and fast. I didn’t have to turn him much but when I needed to he responded. I particularly enjoyed his first and third runs. The second was in heavy ground and not enjoyable for me but the dog, in fact both dogs did sterling work.
First run against Pat Rohan’s Behamore Gale and how nice to run against a free running whistle free opponent. Both the dogs up for the fight and giving it some wellie. I thought Chris slightly the neater of the two. Third run was against Pat Dooley’s Darnish Starbright and I really enjoyed this run. Again both dogs hunting hard on fairly good ground covering a heap of ground, four hundred either side and needing little in the way of intervention from the handler. Chris is a very pleasant animal to have around you, very calm on the lead but its all business when you take the lead off. This was a trial there for the winning and a bird would have put us right up there.
I can’t forgo a comment on the winner. You have probably twigged that I bred him. He was by Luke out of Judy. Where his size comes from I don’t know but he is a big dog and long with it. His stride must be in the region of nine feet. To tell the truth Boney was right on the ragged edge in all three rounds. He pulled hard and it took Jimmy all his time to keep him on the hill. He took a very hard tumble in his second round and it knocked him down a gear but he was up for it in his third run. The point when it came was about three hundred yards from Jimmy and that was on the way back from the extremity of his cast. He stood steady as a rock for the long time it took Jimmy to get to him and then trailed the grouse another three hundred yards before they flushed. This was pointer work of the finest quality and what this dog was bred to do. It is really nice to have managed to breed a dog that works well for somebody else.
This trial was only robbed of greatness by the failure of the grouse to come to the party. There was plenty to be thankful for in the dog work but a few more birds would have made the job a bit more difficult for the judges.
A good weekend for Glencuan. This was the big win for Boney in that he has the mandatory First Excellent award and a second. With the show qualification already attended to I think he now needs five more point for his title. I can’t go to the champion stake this year ( even if I do qualify) so I have sent Jimmy on a mission as I fancy one of those Mountlake trophies.
