Ulster Irish Red Setter Club – Centenary Trial – 12th & 13th September – 2008

The Ulster Irish Red Setter Club celebrated it’s Centenary with Trials on Murley Mountain on Friday 12th and Saturday 13th September 2008. There was a puppy stake on the original Schedule but as has become the norm there were no entries.
Unfortunately I have to work sometimes so I was unable to attend the Confined Stake on the Friday but there were a couple of improvements over recent weeks. 1# the weather. It was mostly bright and sunny with only one shower, during the lunch break as it so happens and 2# the game supply. Plenty of opportunities offered to competitors with on occasions twenty three grouse in the air at one time. Both these comments are applicable to both days of the event with the obvious exception of the lunchtime shower

There was nearly a full card for the breed stake on Friday judged by Michael Houston and Lawrence McAllister. I can’t really say much, not being there but the main topic of conversation seemed to revolve around the performance of Hugh Brady’s fourteen month old Red Setter Dog I believe by his own Ir.F.T.Ch. Creg Jake and out of his imported bitch Ir.F.T.Ch. Remkellins T – Ebba. I did see the dog on Saturday and it appears a very
able performer.
There was only one award: -

1st Tiquin Joey Mrs K.P.Robinson’s Red Setter dog handled by Steve Robinson.

 

The Any Variety Setter & Pointer Open Stake on Saturday was judged by Steve Robinson and Eric Lynch. The main difference from Friday was a shift of nearly 180 degrees in the wind direction. We did the strip alongside the road and took in about eight brace during which I carried the gun. This is heavy ground and it did hold birds twelve being sighted in this first strip. I don’t know what the final tally was but I counted in excess of fifty but more of that anon. The rest of the trial was conducted in strips parallel to the road that moved progressively out across the moor. Five brace were called back for a second round and in my opinion the only dog to improve itself was Jim Sheridan’s Red and White Setter bitch Pallasgreen Harriet. The bitch was beautifully under control and beat her ground well to find and produce in some style a single cock grouse. This find was obviously going to give the judges something to think about as there were only two other finds to consider Alan’s Neill’s Tim dog with a small covey and Gerald Devine’s Brave dog with a snipe. Murley is a heavy hill and it is

understandable that dogs won’t shine in the higher heather but only two dogs caught my eye, the winner and Joe O’Sullivan’s pointer Sugarloaf Wolf. Both had a sparkle about their running.

The awards: -
1st Pallasgreen Harriet Jim Sheridan’s Red & White Setter bitch. Breeder Gerard Mirck.
2nd Glenhinnie Broom Alan Neill’s Pointer dog.
C.O.M. Stanedge Brave Gerald Devine’s English Setter dog

. Chris: – You might as well say that the second I let him off the lead he was out of the trial as
even though he started off OK when the other dog’s pattern faltered I couldn’t pick him up to
put them together again. After last Thursday being nearly perfect, if hard work, I was gutted.
Roxy: – Cast off just down wind of a small pool. Roxy went away out to the left and when
she hit the pool on the way back in the centre of the beat she went left again. The other dog
went round the pool but in doing so flushed three or four grouse. As I was last brace there
was only this dog for me to run against so the owner was asked to run for no credit. We
moved slightly forward of the pool. Again Roxy went out to the left and was looking good.
She passed the front of the pool and went well out to the right but when she returned to the
centre of the beat she turned right again. I blew my whistle and four grouse flushed from the heather. Roxy was obviously going back for the birds that she must have touched on and I inadvertently flushed them when I tried to turn her. To make matters worse she now went
on a ten minute riot, which culminated with a find on a covey of fifteen. Eric and Steve both
told me they had been looking forward to seeing what she could do and were disappointed
when she put herself out.

All in all two good days of trialling when you consider the weather and the game supply. The
only criticism must be the overall quality of the dog work. By this time of the season dogs are usually in tiptop condition and well-practiced in bird work. While the weather and bird supply
have both been poor this year the dog work was well below what one could expect at this time
of the year.

That was far from the end of the celebrations. We repaired to the Hunting Lodge, our head
quarters for the weekend for a celebratory dinner. Carol Calvert did M.C., Ned Butler welcomed
the quests, I spoke of Judges, Eric Lynch spoke for the quests and Ray O’Dwyer gave us a talk
on the history of the Red Setter in Ireland. The craic was mighty and I made it to bed at the unearthly hour of twenty to four. A good time was had by all.

The Hamilton Stubber Family.
I have made this a separate item as I attach so much importance to it. Mr & Mrs James Hamilton -Stubber were the Club’s guests at the dinner.Not only were we celebrating 100 years of the Club we were celebrating being hosted by the third generation of the Hamilton Stubber family over forty two years. Without the support of patrons suchas the HS’s there can be no future for our sport. James HS explains it away as him needing us to show the successes and failures on the hill over the years but we just can’t exist without the most generous support of his like. At the risk of seeming patronising we are deeply indebted to the family for their ongoing support and to their keeper Philip Moore for his help on a day to day basis. All members must to everything they can to support Philip and his employers in this on going venture.

 

pps.
Joe O’Sullivan has been renamed Fifty Cent O’Sullivan after his performance at the Karaoke on Friday night. Baseball cap on backwards and all.