The Premier County Field Trial Association held it’s Spring Novice Stake on the Slieve Bloom Mountains near Kinnity Co. Offaly under Irish Kennel Club Rules and Regulations. Judges for the day were Paddy Collins and Joe Magill. There were twenty nine dogs on the card and three withdrawals. There was a steady breeze of about force one but the day started off dull and the drizzle eventually became persistent rain and then deteriorated further to become heavy and prolonged and the trial was eventually abandoned after the first round.
There were comments made by both the Secretary, the Judges and some of the competitors about the heavy ground but I, who was lucky enough to have one of the better beats to run on, would have settled for the heavy ground as there were plenty of birds in it, and none were made use of.
A result was declared on the basis of the first round and the award was:-
1st Carrick Philip Don Mr. C Shannon’s English Setter Dog Graded Very Good.
This qualifies the winner to run in open stakes.In the summing up Paddy Collins said that there were eight dogs, seven plus the winner, that they would have liked to see again but the conditions were so bad as to make this impossible. I didn’t see the first five brace or the last two but I have to say I was surprised that there were so many that they might have wanted to see again. I would have maybe wanted the winner plus three, one of which was my own dog.
Jalad :- The big dog’s first trial. This worked out really well for me. Because the ground was so heavy Jalad was not quite as hot as sometimes he can be in light heather. He quartered well, off the lead but got a bit left sided and wouldn’t handle. We were brought back together and he set about his task with a bit of enthusiasm. He covered a lot of ground and was relatively flat. In this second time off the lead he handled well but I was disappointed to see a grouse flush loose up the beat but then when he got to the spot he pointed, but obviously couldn’t produce the bird as it had already gone, however this was his first taste of grouse scent and I was delighted. His school report would have looked quite good and the black marks were against his reluctance to handle in the first run and the fact that he had a tendency to back cast on the left, although the wind was a cheek wind and may have contributed to this.
