The Irish Gundog Field & Show Society held it’s Open Stake for Pointers and A/V Setter at Kippur on Saturday 11th February 2006 under Irish Kennel Club Field Trial Rules & regulations. The judges for the day were Joe Magill and Gerald Devine. At it’s best the day was overcast and there were periods of rain at times combined with wind and fog, just to set the whole thing off.
Result :-
1st Glynlark Mary Kate Carol Calvert’s Red Setter Bitch Graded Excellent ( Snipe)
2nd Shannon Bally Radar Ned Flannelley’s Irish Red & White Setter Bitch Graded Excellent ( Snipe)
A first place graded excellent is usually worth four points and a second place excellent three but as the game pointed was only snipe the maximum is one.
As Jump was running fifth brace and Judy thirteenth I didn’t see much of the first round as they took the first twelve brace before lunch and I returned to the car after Jump’s first run. All I know was that there were only two finds on grouse, one being Jump and the other a find credited to Tullycroman Jack, one of Paddy Peoples English Setters. In addition there were a few finds on snipe.
I watched the whole of the second round and it’s subsequent extensions very closely for I felt I was well in.We walked a long way down wind along the road and then cut into the mountain to run back towards the cars. The majority of dogs didn’t handle very well and several were lost, being out of control. I ran second brace with Tullycroman Jack and we were warned to keep the dogs in sight on the left. I managed to accomplish this and eventually Paddy’s dog ran off up the beat and I was told to pick up. The way Paddy’s dog had reacted I thought it might have chased a bird and I said to one of the judges ” Did I miss something? ” and he said there was a bird there so I thought I was all right as Jump had 1 Not taken off after the bird and 2 hadn’t flushed anything.
By the end of the second round proper there had been no more finds and various braces were called out and run in a number of extensions. The last brace yielded a find on a snipe for Ned Flannelley’s award winner. I was gobsmacked when the awards were given and I wasn’t in them. I haven’t asked either judge to comment………yet.
Judy :- Got heavy heather and looked poor in it but eventually came on point in a gully. The other dog ended up in front ( did not steal the point ) and I would be prepared to swear in court that I heard my brace mate say “My dog has gone to where the birds got up”. He was then given an opportunity to work out ( Under IKC rules I believe the dog pointing first, in this case Judy, is supposed to get the work out) and his dog wandered about for a good long while producing nothing and he then said to me there were no birds. Was I a victim of gamesmanship? It didn’t really matter as Judy was keen to move and eventually I had to restrain her and was thus eliminated. I will have to work on her steadiness.
Jump :- Did everything I wanted. Ran flat and hard and had what was to me a great find even though I didn’t see the birds. I know the judge who wasn’t with me thought maybe Jump had moved but I was only obeying my instructions from the judge that was with me. When I eventually was told to drop him he dropped while the other dog that had stolen the point was picked up. He then roaded to where I’m told the birds flushed. Having not seen the birds he found I don’t suppose I can say much about the bird I didn’t see that’s supposed to have eliminated him, other than, nobody else, including the second judge saw it either. Still it only takes one.
This was a well organised event badly affected by the weather. On a better day there would probably been more birds available and a totally different outcome. It would have been nice to add to jump’s tally but them’s the breaks.
