1st Ft Ch Emmanygan Ramble - John Halstead jr
2nd Kenmilleven Merengue of Labdom - Wayne Mitchell
COM Oakvalley Black Jack - Rueben Corbett
Our first open and we had a baptism of fire to say the least. We went out in the first round but we were in good company. half the field was lost in round 1. 9 of us put ourselves out and a further 3 were dropped by the judges. Its worth noting that all dogs still in the trial were expected to sit through every drive. Steadiness was thoroughly tested.
12 dogs through to round 2 where precise handling was required to retrieve specific birds. A further 5 dogs were lost at this stage.
7 dogs into round 3 where long retrieves through woodland and into an area of bracken. 3 more dogs were lost at the hands of the judges.
Only 4 dogs taken through to the 2nd day.
One drive later and unfortunately another dog lost to moving about during the drive.
only 3 remain which all completed their retrieves. Trial Over.
Well done Al. You've now got through your first Open and well done to Fish for having to be steady throughout the rest of the trial without any chance of some action.
Someone once said to me that the retrieves in an Open trial were the same as in a novice trial (I suppose it is a shooting day after all) but the competition was of a higher standard- perhaps they were being nice or were rather accomplished themselves! It sounds to the contrary!
Well done to you both and hope you get a few more runs this season.
Vicky, the crux of what they said to you is totally sound. The fact is in a trial the dogs will be sat up, usually, in line with guns, be that Novice or Open trials, and so the birds will fall where they fall and are unaware of the standard of the trial they fall for
However its all about, exactly as said, partly the standard of dog work PICKING those retrieves, and secondly, the distance the judges then take you back from the retrieve and what obstecals (agghhh! Spelling!!) they put in the path of that retrieve, what 'bunkers' as we call them in gundog work. Be it the wind, ditches, fences, water, sloping ground orientating you off course, where you previously picked from so your dog will 'tend' to lean back towards that direction etc etc...
So the birds fall the same, but its fairly straightforward how to make those birds harder or easier.... and also for example, in a Novice trial, a bird might be in a ditch. The dog may be taken 60 yards back and sent for it. The dog may jump the ditch...need stopping... and bringing forward, and asking to enter the ditch not jump it back towards the handler... and the handler may have three or four attempts at that before being called up.... in an Open, you get them there, and they obey, first time, or you are in SERIOUS danger of being called up immediately.
Thats how judges vary the difficulty when judging Novice or Open trials.
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
Thanks for explaining that Di, makes sense to me now! Open trials sound rather scary, but that's why I want to get out and watch some as I am nowhere near novice trials but I need to know what I'm aiming for! Got to have that dream
Sorry i know i'm not Al but I will give my take as I was there too and saw a lot more as you know competitors only hear mostly what others TELL them.
Good strong trial, well run, with judges that wanted to stretch the dogs out. Tough tough retrieves, but the cream rose to the surface. Thats my take having been out watching and marking down and talking with judges and competitors day one and viewed 20 of the 24 go out.
The judges themselves put very few dogs out, mostly dogs put themselves out, so if there are stories, and I'm sure there are as it was a really really tough trial, they are bad luck ones and we all know we all could fill a book of those in this game.
Di
____________
The boys!
Read: Wylanbriar Dog Blog on the website: Updated! 1st February 12´!
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