The Northern Ireland Pointer Club held it’s Open Stake for Pointers on Friday 28th September 2007 on the Hill Farm at Glenwherry. Lee McMenamin was the Steward of the Beat and the Judges were Carol Clavert and Paddy Peoples. Lee is the grouse keeper for the Grouse Project under the Chairmanship of Lord Dunluce. His Lordship’s ground in adjacent to the Hill Farm but Lee undertakes keepering duties, where appropriate on most of the ground that marches the Antrim Estate. This trial was in fact a grouse count and we didn’t need to go back on to the Estate Grounds to complete the event.
There were seventeen dogs on the card and as usual we had support from Scotland in the form of the Dynamic Duo of Richard MacNicol and Jon Kean, and from the South came the perennial Jimmy Dalton. The remainder were the usual suspects namely, Alan Neill, James Coyle, Lawrence MacAlister, Michael Houston running John McAuley’s dog, and your humble scribe. Obviously there were birds and you need birds to be able to give awards but what made this trial was the ground. The heather was superb, the ground undulating but still giving ample opportunity to view the dogs and there was the scattering of grouse. Sufficient to provide opportunity to the vast majority of the dogs but dispersed enough to test ground work and pattern. To point a bird you have to get down wind of it and it is usually the better quartering dogs that have the find. As is always the case some dogs performed better than others but it would have been a privilege to walk behind any brace of these dogs and a satisfying bag could have been made if we had been shooting, a point missed at some trials these days I believe.
Results:-
1st Fearn Mist Janette Kean’s Pointer Bitch handled by Jon Kean.
2nd Gerensary Digger Alan Neill’s Pointer Dog.
3rd Bone Apart Jimmy Dalton’s Pointer Dog
4th Kissing Kate of Gerensary Richard MacNicol’s Pointer Bitch.
Roxy.
Started off well looking fit and up for the job. Pulled a bit on the left before having a nonproductive where a pair had flushed loose. Set off again she pulled continually on the left before sailing over the horizon and out of the trial.
Jalad.
I was thankful that there was a fence and topographical features to delineate our beat. He was sort of flat but feathered about on haunts, probably snipe, and he really didn’t want to handle. Eventually our bracemate had a find on a small covey. Initially Jalad backed but then started to close the gap. He was either going to steal the point and rob the other dog of the production or my attempts at holding him were going to flush the birds so I picked him up.
Judy.
Herself saved me from a whitewash. She had a good first round in heavish heather, covering a wide beat, flat and handling well. Her second round was on a perfect piece of ground with short heather and even more importantly a good going dog of James Coyle’s to run with. No real need to handle the dog as there were fences on either extremity. She went like the clappers and her pattern was good. She was still going at the end unlike out opponent’s dog which was looking a bit jaded. There was a bye dog in the second round and I have to admit to being disappointed that I didn’t get another run with this bye dog.
Some other dogs.
Kissing Kate of Gerensary Richard MacNicol’s Pointer bitch. This is just a pup and she did some things in a puppy like way but she did excellent work overall. Lawrence McAlister’s Halkirk Heather was probably the unluckiest dog on the day. Cast off forward of where a small covey had just pitched in she went back and flushed on her first cast. She then stood on point for a while which would have saved her bacon but another bird then flushed before Lawrence could get to her and she went after it for a bit. Jimmy Dalton’s Bone Apart. I bred this dog but not having had time to read the card properly didn’t know it. A good first round including a joint find was followed by a second round that promised much but the dog was curtailed a bit by the other handler’s whistle. It is almost as satisfying seeing others do well with your pups……..but only almost as.Glenhinnhe Broom Alan Neill’s Liver Dog. Great power…with control, and an excellent pattern.
As I said before any of these dogs would have graced a day out shooting.
