Today (19/10/15) I took part in the Lothian and Borders Gundog Association Field Trial association novice cocker stake on the Cranshaws estate in the Scottish Borders. It was a 4:15am wake up before the 4 hour drive which was a bit of a shock to the system. I’d managed to get a run with Ria, my other novice dog, who I’d entered on the off chance she may get a run so she was loaded up into the car with Fern and away we went, stopping half way for a brew and butty.

We arrived at the meet point at around 8:30am, before exercising the dogs and being hustled into buying raffle tickets. I was in at number 8 with Fern and number 10 with Ria, so I’d have little or no time in between there runs. In honestly I had no expectations on Ria, if she finished the trial I’d have been happy, so was feeling fairly relaxed. 

The trial started in a field of sieves and white grass and the early dogs had longish runs with finds on rabbits on pheasants before I was called over to back up with Fern. She was pulling hard on the lead and I could tell she was worked up. It wasn’t long before we were changing dogs after a hare was shot at but carried on. 

I cast Fern off into the bracken and she was flying and soon sat up and a rabbit doubled back and into the cover behind us. The judge asked me to put her in and try and flush it again which she did and it was shot at and missed. As I cast her off again she squeaked. It’s not the first time this has happened, she’s on the edge a lot, and today it ultimately cost me. Balls.
I thanked the judge and went to get Ria. Now Ria doesn’t hunt with the pace of Fern, but she’s incredibly efficient and a natural game finder. I cast her off and she was a little sluggish at first before upping a gear once she hit the line where the rabbit had run. We continued our run through sieves and white grass and she was going nicely, until she started to pull on a line a couple of times and needed a couple of reminders to hunt within range.

She went on the line again and flushed a cock bird which was shot and she ran in. I wasn’t disappointed, I smiled, I’d half expected it and was more happy that she’d actually hit top gear in a trial, her last attempt at a trial it was if someone had pressed the slow motion button. I thanked the judge and made my way back to the gallery before having a crack with Frances Brooks the secretary, handing my numbers in and hitting the road which she was happy enough with given my 4 hour journey.

I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on trialling these last few weeks, sat on motorways after bitter disappointment, knowing that she is capable of winning, but not consistent enough to actually win. 1 excellent run is always marred by a poor one or unfortunately an eliminating fault. I’d spoken with Sarah my partner over the weekend before the trial and said this was my last one. I am running out of holidays from work, it costs a fortune and ultimately it’s difficult to be upbeat and enthused about it when you’re not finishing.

Fern’s 3 and a half now, and probably should have won a novice by now. Anyone else and I think they would have sold her on. She’s had her good moments, 2nd to Will Clulee in one trial, but something always comes between us and winning. It’s gotten to the stage where I’m not enjoying my dogs any more, and trialling has become a chore rather than a past time. Even simple things like walking the dogs through local woods with Sarah etc, I’m constantly on top of the dogs not to chase, stay within range etc. we took the dogs picking up at the weekend, no pressure and it’s the most I’ve enjoyed the dogs in a long time, seeing Sarah working Ria on her own and being chuffed with her making nice long retrieves made me realise there’s more to dogs than trialling.

Trialling is the peak of the gundog world, there’s no denying that, and I have thoroughly enjoyed my time and made some great friends whilst doing it, and learnt a hell of a lot. Now is the time for me to stop trialling, at least for the time being, my young dog isn’t ready and I’ve a wedding to plan next year. I could do with the holidays and extra money. I’ve removed all my dog friend off facebook to remove temptation to have another go, so if you’re one of them and have disappeared off my list that’s the reason.

So that’s me and Fern done. Our record stands at 18 trials, 1 guns choice, 1 Certificate of Merit and one 2nd Place. No doubt I’ll return to it sometime in the future, who knows, I may not get another one good enough. It seems fitting that I bow out after this trial as it's the ground I ran in my first ever trial almost two years ago to the day.

Today (14/10/15) I took part in the Lancashire and Merseyside Novice AV Stake on the Lupton Shoot in Cumbria. This is probably my closest trial ground, around 50 minutes from home, so I got a comparative lie in compared to other trials, however I’d offered to help the keeper dog a big wheat field which was holding birds back into the trial ground.

After arriving approximately 7:30am, we dogged the field in towards the trial ground with pheasant after pheasant coming out of the wheat. Lucy and Ria my other young dogs had plenty of flushes and I was happy with how they went.

We were back at the meeting point around 8:30am and after a quick bacon butty and a short delay as the judges were stuck in traffic, we loaded up into the beaters wagon and made the short drive to the ground. The first dogs were in a cover crop field, driving it towards the wood where the trial normally begins, and the early dogs had relatively long runs before getting into some game. I was in at number 9 so I knew I’d be in soon. 
We started back up within the wood where I’d been put out in the same trial a couple of years ago. The birds tend to run up the hill to the wall at the top of the wood before breaking out onto the sieves and open ground. The dog in front of me had he flush and retrieve and after a short hunt I was called up. I was in under Mark Whitehouse and another judge whos name escapes me! I started my run with Fern sat off the lead whilst the other side hunted a small patch of cover in the wood before we were to move out onto the open ground. The left hand side finished their patch and we moved out of the wood.

I had some shortish gorse to work through, where a hare which had been shot at and ran past us whilst we were backing up had run into. Mark asked me to take the lead off and begin, and immediately Fern was away, nose down and investigating all the gorse before having a lovely contact flush on a cock pheasant which was shot approximately 20 yards to our left in some more gorse. “Send your dog” he said. Out went Fern and after approx. 5 yards she flushed a hair on her outrun, spinning round and taking a couple of steps before sitting. I assumed it was the wounded hare from earlier. I’d unconsciously said “No” even with the whistle in my mouth, and expected to go out, but the judges said carry on. I gave her a cast back and she was straight out and back with the bird with no handling.
We carried on hunting and again she had a lovely contact flush on another cocker bird, this time it was shot over a high dry stone wall with barbed wire along the top approximately 30 yards or so behind us in a grass field. I asked the judges if I could lift her over and then sent her for the bird. 

As I was watching her over the wall, it started to crumble on me so I moved sharpish, much to the delight of the judges and keeper haha. Fern went straight out and back with the bird, jumping up and delivering the bird to me atop the wall before I lifted her down over the wire. A short hunt through the remaining gorse and my run was done. She had hunted maybe 20 yards or so and had two good finds and retrieves. I was relatively happy and speaking with both judges after the run, I apologised for saying “No”, I must have been in training mode, to which Mark replied next time use your whistle not your mouth!!! Point taken!

The trial continued and game supply dropped a little, with a couple of the guys having long runs and being tried on birds that from the gallery we knew had glided a long way on. We’d had quite a long wait and I could tell Fern was bubbling up. She was restless and was fidgety on the lead.
We were finally called up into line and had a patch of sieves and light gorse to work alongside a little beck/gutter. She was going nicely, a little sticky at times in the gorse but she looked ok and it wasn’t long before she had a contact flush on a hen pheasant which was shot around 25 yards out in front, and was swiftly picked by Fern. Only problem was I hadn’t told her to go!!!!! Two contacts and a hare in her first run and she decided to run in now? Brilliant!!!

I thanked the judges and made my way back to the gallery, thoroughly disappointed in what had happened. Speaking with Mark after the trial, he explained he probably could have put me out, but understood why it happened and that I wouldn’t have learned anything if he’d have put me out. I give him credit for being so fair and open with me, and he told me I’d be knocked for it under him. Fair enough.
Another trial where she was going well but then has a moment of madness and costs us a placing. The trial was won by Lee Marsden, Ian Clarke in 2nd, Dave Massey in 3rd and Steven Blackwell in 4th. I made the short drive home furious and probably the most dejected I’ve been after a trial

Yesterday I took part in the Gamekeepers National Association Novice Cocker stake on the Helbeck Estate near Brough, Cumbria. This was one of the more local trials for me and it was a 5:30 wake up so I could get the other dogs sorted before hitting the road at around 7am. I reached the meeting point around 8:30 and had a bit of a craic with the other competitors and purchased the obligatory raffle tickets from Martin Smee.

We had a short drive to where the trial was to take place, up a rough track which tested one of the lady competitors (who shall remain nameless!) and onto the moor. The trial was to take place in mainly sieves and white grass with the expected quarry to be rabbits and partridge, ideal ground. The weather looked like it would warm up with pretty clear skies, so I was hoping for an earlyish run at number 8.

The judges for the day were Davy Lissett and Bob Crowther and we were soon underway, starting in a sieve bed on a sloped field. A couple of the early dogs went out for various things and it wasn’t too long before I was backing up. The dog that was in before me had a couple of nice finds and retrieves and that was his run done. I was up, in under Bob Crowther to start with.

I had a patch of sieves running towards a wall approximately 50-60 yards away which was interspersed with white grass. Ideal ground for showing Ferns pace in. We had a backwind beat and on the first cast Fern went out and worked the wind nicely, coming back towards me before going out again. At this point she was pulling me around a bit, something I’ve never really had with her before, and I found myself using my whistle a lot more than normal. We reached the dry stone wall without a find and turned up the wall before hunting back through sieves higher up the hill. 
Fern was still pulling me about at this point as there were large gaps between the patches of sieves, however I wanted her to hunt all the grass out too in case a rabbit was sat tight. A loose rabbit was put up by the gun on my right and was shot out in front. One cast and Fern was out and back with it.

We carried on and she started to settle down a little before having a text book contact flush from a small patch of sieves. The rabbit was shot around 35 yards out to my left after taking an arcing run from where it was put up on my right. Bob told me to send her. She went out on the line the rabbit had run out of the sieves and for some reason I thought she was going the wrong way, so I stopped her and cast her left. She hit the line again in the bottom of a small gulley (the rabbit was shot on a hilly mound beyond the gulley). Again I stopped her and she took two handles before picking the rabbit. In hindsight I should have left her on the original line. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. She brought it back and that was my run done.

I wasn’t too happy with the first run. I felt she’d pulled me all over the place and took a lot more holding than she normally does. I returned to the gallery and gave Fern a drink and then I as the temperature was rising. After my run there were a couple of dogs with quite long runs before I was called over to back up again. Similar to my first run it was white grass with patches of sieves. Fern went a lot better on her second run, needing very little whistle, methodically hunting each patch of sieves through towards a wall. 

A snipe was shot on the other side approximately 35 yards out and Fern had sat out in the open on the edge of our beat after taking a while to sit down. David asked me to walk over to her and I thought I was out but he wanted to make sure she stayed there as to not disturb the other dog. I knew I’d be knocked down for this but was glad to still be in the trial.

Remarkably it was a copy of what happened at the North West Counties trial a few weeks ago, it was Steve Brewer with Chyknell Partridge which was asked to pick the snipe. It took a few casts to pick the snipe which are notoriously difficult anyway, and I was willing Steve on as I didn’t want to have to try on it! We carried on towards the wall, before I was asked to put my lead on whilst the other side caught up. Just as I did a rabbit was shot at by the wall off the other dogs nose, however the dog wasn’t sent as the gun wasn’t sure and they didn’t want to disturb game. 

At this point I was asked to hunt the sieves down a wall towards a gateway before we’d go into the next field. From here it went down hill! Before I took my lead off, Fern flushed a rabbit which ran through the cover we were about to work, so as soon as I cast her off she wanted to pull on that line, I managed to hold her but it was hard work. We reached the end of the sieves where the gun thought the rabbit had went and sure enough Fern popped up with an obviously wounded rabbit. I thought that’d be it, however Davy Lissett said just check a patch of sieves on the opposite side of a small track. It must have been no more than 6 foot square. In Fern went and out popped a rabbit heading back towards us, seeing us then doubling back past the dog who took a couple of paces before sitting. A couple too many! That was us out. Balls!!

I got some good feedback from the judges, but she definitely wasn’t herself yesterday. She didn’t have the pace she normally shows and was difficult to control. A couple of times through the trial there were dogs sniffing her and “chattering” so whether she’s coming into season and this is messing with her head we’ll have to see.

1st: Chyknell Partridge – Owned by Joe Shotton and handled by Steve Brewer
2nd: Amtosk Countach –Martin Smee
3rd: Zamyender Restormal – Linda Hudson
4th: White Beam Frost Pocket – Wayne Parrington
COMs:
Creccamarsh Ocre – C Wilson
Westerdron Smudge – J Wardrope