Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2009 2:41 pm Post subject: Watched my first working test & Zorro jumps haybales!
What a very 'British' way to spend the morning! I took Zorro and Mr Becs with me to watch my very first working test and it was at a gorgeous little village set on a common around a cricket pavillion where they served up lovely tea and fruitcake, and all for the price of a donation. How jolly civilised it was too! The place was awash with Khaki if every shade and texture, and the people wearing it were so friendly. Classic comment of the day from Mr Becs who looked at the cricket pitch and asked me in all innocence, ' is that where they do the dressage test?"
I didn't want to get in the way so I watched from a distance when they were doing the test-bits, and it did look rather tricky. I hadn't realised quite how far away they throw the dummies - you'd need a map and compass to find them! But it was fantastic to watch. Zorro enjoyed it all very much, but he and I have agreed that we both need to sharpen up an awful lot before we can play with the proper-Khaki-folk. Zorro did enjoy meeting everyone, although one chap (who is rather improtant I think, and judges Goldies and field tests all over the world apparently) did tell him that he needed a haircut - short back and sides I think to go with the Khaki-look.
Anyway, I think the long, wavey locks was what slowed Zorro down when he had a go on the scurry! Oh dear- that was a right fiasco - 2 dummies thrown down this hill and I send Zorro out and off he goes like a bullet from a gun, until he reaches some rabbit holes.........and it was kind of downhill, down-the-hill after that On the plus side, I have perfected a new command and hand-signal (which others are welcome to borrow). It involves removing your hat, chasing after the dog, and then flapping it around their rear end to encourage them to progress forward in a spritely manner . Works really well, especially if you use the command 'this is costing me a pound you know, and if you don't get a move on they'll charge me double'. Finally Zorro stumbles onto the dummy and with great excitement and flair, he spots it, his head goes down and...................he retrieves the small stick that was lying alongside it. Well, far be it for me to be ungrateful, but the stewards were starting to nod off at this point so one of us was going to have to fetch the darn dummy so Zorro and I had a quick discussion about where we go from here, and after much humming and hah-ing on Zorro's part, he agrees that it does tend to look 'slicker' if the dog does the retrieve rather than the handler and we start cooking on gas again, and off the dear boy goes to fetch the dummy. The second dummy took about the same length of time to retrieve, although Zorro did have to stop to have a roll due to an 'annoying little itch between the shoulder blades', which was fine, because the other people queueing for their go had long since lost the will to live and had wandered off back to the tea and fruitcake, so there was no rush. Anyway, I'm proud to announce that Zorro completed his first scurry in less than 4 minutes! Hooray!!!!! I was feeling quite embarressed really, and was preparing a small speech about 'beginner's luck and it all being a bit of a fluke' until I watched the next dog have a go and the little show-off completed it in 28 seconds! Pah........I reckon it was on steroids! It was all captured on video, but being as Zorro took so darn-long, I can't download the darn thing as the file is massively huge!
But not to be disheartened, we decide to have a go at the haybale jumping and mercy me........I have found Zorro's vocation in life! Can my Ol' Gundog jump or what?!!!! He had 2 goes, both times collecting 2 dummies, and on the second time he cut his time down in half from 1 1/2 minutes to 45 seconds! With a track record like that, imagine what would have happened if he'd had a third go.....he's have been down to 22.5 seconds, and then, if I'd really pushed it and given him a forth go, he'd have done it in 11.25 seconds and blasted the rest of the competition out of the water!!!! But the mark of a good trainer is to know when to stop, and so as not to disillusion the rest of the competitors we walked away after 2 goes, but lordy, was I ever proud of my lad! I never knew he could jump And even better was that the second time he did it, he was bold enough to go all on his own, so I could just stand there making made-up 'jump, boy, jump' sort of hand signals, looking like a real proper Khaki, rather than having to run alongside Zorro (looking like a real proper plonker )
And the other excellent thing that happened was it turns out that the chap who said Zorro was too hairy, also runs a training club through the summer, and said that we can go along to that too. Oh the excitement!
I can't wait to go again - I'm going to have a go at the dummy-throwing and 3-legged race next time!
Is there no end to this dog's talents? Lovely photo Becs, and great khaki gear! Now you know why I've been saying for so long that it's great fun. You'll be volunteering as a Sloe Gin tester next!
WTG Zorro the gundog what a fab boy you are playing along with your mums whims....has she not started you on your triangles yet crufts is in a couple of weeks
Excellent account of your morning had me giggling away Becs
Great pic of Zorro jumping the haybales Becs, looks like he was having great fun, he really does try for you, seeing as being a gundog wasn`t his first vocation I think he`s doing very well
Becs,
You have me in stitches. I must get you to write a bit in my book about a field trial day. Your accounts are so real. All I can say is...more..
Sherry
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On the plus side, I have perfected a new command and hand-signal (which others are welcome to borrow). It involves removing your hat, chasing after the dog, and then flapping it around their rear end to encourage them to progress forward in a spritely manner 
. Works really well, especially if you use the command 'this is costing me a pound you know, and if you don't get a move on they'll charge me double'. Finally Zorro stumbles onto the dummy and with great excitement and flair, he spots it, his head goes down and...................he retrieves the small stick that was lying alongside it. Well, far be it for me to be ungrateful, but the stewards were starting to nod off at this point so one of us was going to have to fetch the darn dummy so Zorro and I had a quick discussion about where we go from here, and after much humming and hah-ing on Zorro's part, he agrees that it does tend to look 'slicker' if the dog does the retrieve rather than the handler and we start cooking on gas again, and off the dear boy goes to fetch the dummy. The second dummy took about the same length of time to retrieve, although Zorro did have to stop to have a roll due to an 'annoying little itch between the shoulder blades', which was fine, because the other people queueing for their go had long since lost the will to live and had wandered off back to the tea and fruitcake, so there was no rush. Anyway, I'm proud to announce that Zorro completed his first scurry in less than 4 minutes! Hooray!!!!! I was feeling quite embarressed really, and was preparing a small speech about 'beginner's luck and it all being a bit of a fluke' until I watched the next dog have a go and the little show-off completed it in 28 seconds! 
I never knew he could jump 
)
Now you know why I've been saying for so long that it's great fun. You'll be volunteering as a Sloe Gin tester next!
