A fun day was held by the club for its members, old and young, experienced and in-experienced – a social get together not only for the dogs, but also a chance for their handers to put into practice all they had learnt over the past few months at training. It was also a great opportunity for the newer/younger members to have a taste of what it would be like to run in a proper Working Test.
The day started off hot and just got hotter, but relief for the dogs came in the shape of a very nice pond for them to swim in and, for their owners, a very nice cool wood to sit in.
The tests themselves were set to test the dog’s ability, but not to challenge them. The judges for the day were Val Brookes who judged the hunting and retrieving exercise, Shane King who judged the Obstacle retrieve which consisted of a bank and ditch, Karen Handley who judged the water retrieve and Laurie Pittaway who judged the woods retrieve. All the judges were there to help and advise the competitors, should they wish to go on and run their dogs in a proper working test under KC rules.
Our dummy throwers for the day were Maurice Stanbury, Nigel Stone and Brian Smith, and what a super job they all did for us.
At the same time as the tests were being run, there was also a Bale Scurry and a Sausage scurry, run by Chris and Gillian Jones, both of which attracted many of the competitors. In the end the Bale scurry was won by Jane Stenner and the Sausage scurry by Becky Warne and Amber. Rumour has it that over 40 odd sausages were consumed by the competing dogs, and just 10 bought back to their handlers in one piece – fair play to those dogs. Hope they were given them as a reward!
During the day Kit Williams a professional photographer was roaming around taking some lovely photos, a small selection of which can be seen on the NDWGC website.
We were very generously sponsored by Skinners and Gamekeeper Goods for the test prizes, which were split into 6 categories, Puppies, Spaniels, Retrievers, Best Veteran, Young Handler and a Team Prize.
Below are the winners:
| Puppies: | Retrievers: |
| 1st Julie Adams with Gunner | 1st Victoria Pitcher with Plum |
| 2nd Zoe Townsend with Tukka | 2nd Victoria Pitcher with Lexi |
| 3rd Clare Oldham with Alfie | 3rd Ed Brown with Tamar |
| 4th Julia Griffiths with Scout | 4th Anne Brightwell with Merlin |
| Spaniels: | Junior Handler: Won by Thomas Scott with Pixie |
| 1st Nicky Chapman with Teaser | Best Veteran: Won by Victoria Pitcher with Lexi |
| 2nd Donna Wyatt with Meg | Best Team: Won by Kirsty Nicholson with Poppy, Lucy Coombe with Mona and Victoria Pitcher with Lexi and Plum |
| 3rd Becky Hawkins with Deryn | |
| 4th Karen Rossiter with Bertie |
The Fun day also held a brilliant raffle co-ordinated single handily by Val Brookes, which contained some fabulous high value prizes, donated by people from the Gundog world. Well done to Val as it would seem we sold around £300 worth of tickets.
Our most expensive prize came courtesy of Ben Randall of Beggerbush Gundogs, who donated a year’s subscription to his Gundog App which was won by Donna Wyatt and Meg. (see photograph)
Another fabulous prize was a year’s subscription to the Gundog Journal kindly donated by Selena Barr The Field sports journal, which was won by Julia Griffiths and Scout. (see photograph)
More wonderful prizes included a Gun Service from David Kent, Drying Coats from Tucker Coats, Vouchers from Muntjac Trading, Gamekeeper Goods and Skinners, A dog grooming session from Jodie Delooze-Williams, A set of Liz Graham Training books, A Canine Sports Massage, from Whitedown Spaniels, a digital image of your dog on the day from Kit Williams and private/group training sessions from Geraldine Davis and Nigel Franklin to mention but a few.
There was also a table groaning under the weight of alcohol and food both for humans and dogs – and all to win for just £2 a ticket!
So, a huge “Thank you” to all our sponsors for their generosity in making our day such a success.
Feedback from the day shows that it was so well received that plans are already in hand for another get together next year.