1st and Guns Choice – Dave Sidwell, Oakshot Aragon
2nd Sandra Halstead, Drakeshead Alfie
3rd Philippa Williams, Castlemans Sonoran
COM – Kristian Bredahl Olesen, Blackthorn Quango
Best Golden Retriever – Alan Richardson, Gortons Roaring Thunder
The first NGRA field trial of the season was held at Broughton, North Lincolnshire. The weather was dull with drizzle. Most of the trial involved a walk-up through a large field of sugar beet with a fairly steady supply of red-legged partridges.
There were 11 Labradors, two Golden Retrievers and one Flatcoated Retriever running. Our seven guns shot accurately and walking the beet produced marked retrieves. One dog ran in, one failed on a runner, and two were eyewiped.
With one further failure nine dogs progressed to the third round. However a long retrieve to the far field boundary saw four dogs eyewiped by the judges. With the remaining five in close contention during the third round, the judges asked for a sixth retrieve.
A drive at a maize plot proved barren, so after a lunch break we walked up a swathe of thistly rough ground towards a duck pond. After good work and an earlier eyewipe Alan Richardson’s Golden unfortunately failed to find, yielding an eyewipe for the eventual winner. The four Labradors sharing the awards included one from Denmark. The prizes were sponsored by Alpha Feeds.
Phil Wagland (FT Secretary)
