Two Day Open Trial at Checkley Wood
Day 1
After a start in a field of 24 open dogs in pouring rain, day 1 finished as it started. The hellish weather made things tough for competitors and judges alike (along with guns and helpers), with a good number falling quickly. Such a tough sport, but 8 handlers were taken through to the second day.
That evening was spent mostly trying to dry out soaked clothing!
Day 2
I saw some of the best handlers in the country going head-to-head on some really testing retrieves. After an exciting eye-wipe, Harley made a bit of a mess of the return delivery of a tricky live cock pheasant, and with only the smallest margins to play with - we were dropped before the final retrieve of the day. Some awesome dog work was seen at the end as the judges tried to separate the last 4 dogs. One spectacular retrieve, down and across a wide picturesque lake and out to a blind partridge, was very impressive. This was the winning retrieve and secured a win for Andy Latham - qualifying him for this year's IGL and making his super dog an FTChampion.
What these dogs do never ceases to amaze me. I am very grateful for my dogs, for the opportunities to take part in these trials, and for my very supportive training friends and mentors.
We go again - there are trials to win!
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