Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:32 pm Post subject: URC Hants & South West Intermediate
Sunday 10th July
Judges: Pete Castelman, Margaret Allen, Chris Damon
1st - Hailey Deacon LAB - Tom's Surprise & Cruxton Rita, Mrs D Marks
2nd - Gowran Willow Charcoal FCR - Little Red Rooster of Varingo & Gowran Tres Cher, Mr P Leydon
3rd - Henergy River Patrol LAB - Henergy Desert Drive & Henergy Tango, Mr A Head
4th - Bellaroyal Summabreze LAB - Gospelash Gamefinder & Henergy Sweet Glory, Mrs I Whitford
COM - Heatheraine Jack LAB - Donacre High Stakes & White Carr Milly, Mrs H Kenyon
Blimey, feels like I've run a marathon. Found today incredibly taxing on the brain matter. Was a big running order and a long old day BUT was, on reflection, some of the best Tests I've done in terms of thought and variety. Huge thanks to all those helping, stewarding and Judging.
TEST 1 - Double
Mark to shot down into a valley. Dummy lands out of sight. As the dog runs back another shot fired and dummy thrown but out of the valley on the hill further up.
Barney marked the first just fine but didn't once look behind to see the dummy thrown to shot on the second mark as many dogs did, he just galloped home. So second mark was a blind. I watched him disappear into the valley and said a 'back' and prayed that he reappeared out the other side onto the hill and not hunt on in the valley where he'd picked the first dummy, and he did reappear bless him. Picked the second dummy fine. Scored 19
TEST 2 - Blind with shot
Should've been easy peasy. Nice long blind into a slight uphill dip. Barney pulled to the man firing the shot downhill and required handling to get him to the right area. Bit messy really. Scored 15
TEST 3 - Mark to shot
You and dog in woodland. Shot fired and dummy thrown into a clearing on the otherside of a fence. Tiny window to view this.
Thought Barney had marked this well. He hadn't. Went out lovely, cleared the fence, hunted but the wind took him off course and I had to handle him back on course! Scored 17
TEST 4 - Three dog walkup
EVIL wicked people set this test! Lovely simple three dog walkup, a marked retrieve each with shots inbetween whilst you walked. Then we were all told that we were being judged further on our heelwork as we turned and walked back to home. Just as you reached the end feeling smug, a man leaps out, fires a shot and a bolting rabbit runs straight across your track! Nice!
Walkup bit was fine and was very pleased with heelwork. Bolting rabbit saw me and Barney leep 10feet in the air with an audible gasp of shock from me . Barney came back to earth BUT not quite to heel, close but could've been closer Scored 18
TEST 5 - Two blinds no shot
One blind down a very rough, messy sort of track with fallen hazel over it and the other down no sort of track at all and between the bushes you looked through was near some sort of small holly tree in the distance
First blind, no problem. Barney goes the distance and I ask him to hunt and he picks. Second one, I don't even say a word, FOR ONCE and he does a lovely job i.e. straight there and back. Scored 18 (and not a criticism but not entirely sure what I lost the marks for but am sure there was a good reason )
TEST 6 - Mark to shot and blind to shot
Blind to be picked first. This Test caused pretty much the whole field to have a coronary. Never known so many people come back shaking their heads with dismay! Your dog runs the first half down a grassy lane banked by high grass/crop. The lane then goes left and right and in front in very high grassy large area is the marked dummy to the left, and to the right is the blind. Not a great distance between the two dummies at all and if your dog goes too deep you can't see it, at all!
I forgot about the wind that was blowing so very obviously and could've helped us. I made a pigs ear out of this, and am certain if there was an Award for the most Handling in a single test I would've won it! I finally got Barney to the blind. The mark he did a lovely job and required no help from me. Got a serious lecture from the nice Judge, which was actually very helpful, who told me there was no way in the World my dog could've picked the blind where I was stopping him, on the WRONG side of the wind, and repeatedly getting him to hunt. It was only as he'd had enough of me trying to direct in air traffic that he went self employed and found the blind himself Ah well.... Scored 10, a very lucky 10!
Last edited by barney2007 on Sun Jul 10, 2011 5:46 pm; edited 4 times in total
Footnote:
I said to Allan 'H got a COM in the URC Hants Intermediate today...'
OK, fair enough, so he was a little distracted filling a ten foot hole Otter had dug and has been shut in the spare bedroom decorating all day, but his EXACT words were....: " Oh thats good, whats that, with her Bert? " ........
....I imagine you can imagine my reaction.... He then muttered on about just getting confused, and for gods sake it wasn't that funny etc etc... But for a second there .... well, you know....
Di xx
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum You cannot attach files in this forum You cannot download files in this forum
Lovely simple three dog walkup, a marked retrieve each with shots inbetween whilst you walked. Then we were all told that we were being judged further on our heelwork as we turned and walked back to home. Just as you reached the end feeling smug, a man leaps out, fires a shot and a bolting rabbit runs straight across your track! Nice!
. Barney came back to earth BUT not quite to heel, close but could've been closer 
Ah well.... Scored 10, a very lucky 10!
Great write up thanks, really enjoyed reading it.
