Today I took part in the Lancashire and Merseyside Field Trial Society Novice AV Stake at the Mossborough Hall Estate near St Helens, Merseyside.

It was a relative lie in for me this morning, only 2 hours to drive to a trial this time!! I arrived in good time and had a chat with a few familiar faces before we were called in by secretary Lee Marson for the briefing. Judges today were Adrian Slater, Nick Powell, Steve Forster and Tom Starkey. The trial was to be run in woodland and sieves and was a short drive from where we were, so it was back in the car and away to the trial ground.

I was in at number 16 with Ellie, and it was an 18 dog stake, so I knew I'd be waiting a while. As it transpired, each dog was to run in woodland for their first runs and out in a huge field of sieves for their second.

It wasn't long before the early dogs were into game and I was called over to back up, catching the last bit of Steph Worthington's run with his springer before number 14 was in. Number 14 completed his run soon after and I was called into line, this time under Nick Powell and Tom Starkey,

The cover was thick. Brambles, rhododendrons, holly, you name it, it was in the bottom of the wood. I cast Ellie off and she started to hunt, picking her way through the various patches of cover, getting a nice pattern in this stuff was impossible. The run was quite stop-start, waiting for dogs to retrieve and change on the other side, and a couple of sections of heel work where we were negotiating buildings and patches of impenetrable cover.

Shortly after Ellie produced a hen bird from a thick bramble patch which was shot maybe 25 yards out in front. I knew she couldn't have marked it from inside the bramble patch so just cast her back in the hope she'd go the right way. She did, but she immediately flushed 4 or 5 more pheasants after a couple of yards, stopping on the whistle. The gun on our left fired two shots and missed, not what I wanted in a novice trial. She ignored that and I casted her back and she drifted to the right to a big holly bush. I lost her in the cover and she appeared by my side. I cast her back again and she went almost to the fall before winding the bird and returning it to hand.

"That'll do you" I heard from Tom. I put my lead on, thanked the judges and was making my way back to the gallery when I heard "Wait, there's a bird the dog can't pick on the other side". Great I thought, there was me thinking I'd survived my first run. So it was lead off and walked Ellie to heel to the other side through the wood. We were given a mark of the bird in a grass field, around 15 yards over a fence. I lifted Ellie over the fence, cast her out and she went straight to the bird and picked it. Another eye wipe! She starting to make them a bit of a habit! I was again told that was me done. If i'd have known then what I was told back in the gallery i could have refused to go back in, with my run being complete when my lead was put on, being relatively new to the sport I didn't realise this.

Anyway. The final dogs finished their runs in the wood before we all moved out to a field of sieves. At this point only 3 dogs had gone out, leaving 15 to run, so I knew I'd have quite a long wait. The first 13 dogs in this field had completely blank runs, not a flush or shot was fired. Dog 14 was called in and I was backing him up. He got a flush relatively quickly, the first dog on their second run to do so. The bird was shot 20 yards or so away and the dog was quickly back to hand with the bird and that was his run complete. At this point 4 or 5 birds got up but none were shot. I thought that was my chance of a quick flush gone!

I was up. This time I was in under Adrian Slater and Steve Forster. I cast Ellie off into the sieves, and then into some dead reed like plants. Then back out into the sieves. At this point she pulled on a bit of foot scent and needed the whistle to bring her back, which she did and started to hunt again. A shot rang out from the right hand side, the gun had shot a loose cock bird which had landed about 30 yards away. Steve took me forward 10 yards or so and I cast her off. She went to the fall and started to hunt.

At this point the gun shouted that it had ran straight away. I stopped her and cast her back. She hit the line of birds and took off, going 35-40 yards before disappearing into thick sieves. I left her for what felt like an eternity and breathed a huge sigh of relief when she appeared with a very lively cock bird and was soon back to hand with it.That was my run complete and I went back to the gallery over the moon with the job she'd made on the runner, gaining compliments from other competitors and spectators.

The judges had a quick discussion and decided that there was to be a run off between Nathan Cross and Steph Worthington. I'd caught a little of Stephs first run and the dog looked to be going well. They completed the run off and the trial was declared over. It was back to the cars and then to the keepers house for the presentations.

A few people came up to me and thought I was in with a chance of the win, saying the run off may have been for 2nd and 3rd. I wasn't optimistic,  Steph's big springer dog looked tidy in the thick cover. I was happy to have finished and hoped for a place or a Certificate of Merit.

The awards were read out in reverse order until the two dogs in the run off were left and I hadn't been called out. I hadn't received anything. I couldn't believe it. I spoke with a couple of the judges and they said she lacked a gear. That's trialling I suppose, its not a first past the post competition and relies on judges preference and interpretation. I don't think she hunted any differently to any of her previous trials where she had earned awards, and in this trial she'd been given two opportunities to fail, the eye wipe and the 60 yard runner, both of which she passed with flying colours. It was a very miserable drive home, but never mind. Onto the next one.

My alarm went off at 7am on the Tuesday Morning for the Novice trial. I got a quick shower before breakfast and then jumped in the pickup with the dogs to give them all a run before the days trialling. I also managed to find a garage for a sandwich etc – I wasn’t missing out on lunch again! I made it back to the hotel around 8:30am, in good time for the meet at 9. 

Waiting in the hotel car park was Dean Aylott, a friend who has one of Fern’s pups. I’d told him to bring her as he was coming to watch anyway and he ended up getting a run in the trial as well as Fern due to a number of competitors dropping out the day before. I was in at number 4 with Fern, Dean was 10 with Twiggy and I was 14 with Ellie. 
After the briefing etc it was back in the cars and back to exactly the same ground we had run the Open stake in yesterday. I was doing my best to reassure Dean he’d be OK. It was his first trial after all. I was backing up Martyn Elliott on the left hand side as he began his run in the bracken. His dog was going nicely and soon had a find and retrieve. 

​At this point I have to mention I haven’t done any trialling training with Fern in months. She’s been dogging in, picking up, beating etc, but I thought the heavy bramble might hold her a bit. It didn’t!!!!! She smashed the place to bits with her hunting, unfortunately not in unison with myself and it wasn’t long before Anita tapped me on the shoulder and told me to call her in. Short but sweet!! 

In came number 6 and Dean was immediately backing up as there was no number 8 dog. He was soon in line and from where I was Twiggy looked to be going well. I saw a flush, heard a whistle, and the bird came down. Unfortunately she’d bounced a little too far and that was her out. She hadn’t disgraced herself, many open dogs had gone out yesterday for much worse. Dean took Twiggy and Fern back to the cars at this point whilst I waited to go in with Ellie. 

Number 12 unfortunately went out and I was up. I had a lovely bit of bracken to start off in and it wasn’t long until Ellie punched a cock bird out from underneath some bracken, sitting to the flush and watching it get shot 20 yards or so away. She was soon out and back with it. We hunted on and she was going much better than yesterday, I think she realised she would find things in the brambles etc. Anita Jones, one of the new judges for today told me that’d do, shaking both hers and Nick Powells hands I headed back to the gallery with a smile on my face. 

A couple of the dogs on the right hand side were having long runs, and with numbers 4,8,10 and 12 going out, we had quite a long wait before our second run. Ironically it came at almost exactly the same place as yesterday in the open.

This time I was in under Steve Bates and new judge John Eyre. I was given a lovely bracken bed to hunt. I clicked Ellie off and she looked lovely going under the bracken and popping out of it. I had a flushed within the first 15 seconds, a cock bird shot straight out in front. Steve laughed and said "That's the sort of luck Opie would have". Send your dog he said. Ellie went out and started to hunt just short of the fall in the bracken. Luck was on my side again, the pheasant sprung up into the air and she went further out and picked it. Bringing it straight back to hand.

We were asked to hunt on for what felt like an eternity as I was the last dog in before I finally heard the words "that'll do you". I was elated, we had finished another trial and she had gone well.
The judges got together and shortly after declared the trial over, like yesterday, it was a short walk back to the car. At least this time I knew where we were going for the presentations.

A quick sandwich and coffee and it was time for the presentations. Nigel Dear was presenting the awards and I was first dog to be called up in 3rd place. I was chuffed to bits. I think 9 dogs finished the trial and only 1st to 3rd were awarded.

Speaking with the judges after the trial, I was awarded an A by all 4 judges. The dogs in first and second had a couple of good As so I wasn't far away. On another day on ground that suits her better I might have got the win.

I have to mention how good the ground was despite all the negativity it has received about it being tough. Yes it's bramble, but the keeper did an excellent job of prepping it.

​That's four trials now for Ellie. Including an Open trial where she was one of six dogs to finish. She has received two Certificates of Merit and a 3rd place. Hopefully the win is just around the corner.

On Monday I travelled down to Witham on the Hill in Lincolnshire to compete in the Kennel Clubs Open and Novice Cocker Stakes which were being run on the Monday and Tuesday respectively. I’d known I had a run in the novice for a few weeks and was very surprised to get a phone call on Saturday morning to say I had a run in the open as well!! No pressure! She’d only run in two novice trials previously and is still only 18 months old.
My alarm went off around 3:30am and I was on the road for 4am, not my idea of a good Monday morning. The meet time was 9am, and with a journey time of around 4 hours I was making good time when I stopped around Leeds on the M62 for a coffee. When I jumped back in the car my estimated arrival had jumped to 9:30am – 30 minutes later than when I needed to be!! Nightmare. As I made my way down the A1 this went out as far as 10:05am. At this point I rang the secretary who told me to keep going as two other people were stuck in the same traffic.
With the right pedal to the floor whenever possible I flew down the A1 and managed to get there at 9:30. We were still waiting for one of the others to arrive so I quickly got my boots etc on and got ready to make the short journey to the trial ground.
This probably wasn’t ideal preparation. Ellie had spent five and a half hours in the car and I hadn’t had chance to give her a run to stretch her legs, never the less we were in at number 9 so we had a bit of time to get over the journey.
There’d been lots of comments on Facebook about how horrible the ground was, but when we got to where the trial was to be held we were met with a lovely bracken bottomed wood, ideal for cockers. The early dogs soon got into game and it wasn’t long before I was in backing up Ryan Kay after Gino Perreira had been in and out after flushing a muntjac!! This first section of wood had resulted in a number of dogs going out.
Ryan’s run came to an end and I was up. Ellie’s first open trial. I was in under Nick Powell and Steve Bates and started in a small patch of bracken before the thick bracken I could see further ahead. I’d not gone 10 yards when Ellie had a lovely flush on a cock bird which was shot around 20 yards to our right and had landed in a ditch on the edge of the wood. Nick told me to send her and she was out and back with it with one minor cast to get her back a little further on the right side of the wind as it was unlikely she’d have marked it from where she was.
I carried on hunting and hit the bramble, not something Ellie is used to as she’s done most of her training on rabbits. She wasn’t smashing it as well as the other dogs and took some reassuring to get into it. Shortly after Nick tapped me on the shoulder and told me he’d seen enough and that was my first run completed. Shook both judges hands and returned to the gallery, over the moon we’d finished an open run.
I took the opportunity to get some water into Ellie as the number of dogs left in was rapidly decreasing. The trial continued and we got through the bramble and into another area of the wood which was mainly bracken with patches of bramble and I was called over to back up behind Jamie Smith with OFTW Abiann Flawless. Unfortunately Jamie went out and I was in, this time under Jack Iliffe and Sally Jenkins. I was given my beat and cast Ellie off, she looked 10 times better than in the bramble. 
After hunting 30 yards or so, interspersed with waiting for the dog on the other side to retrieve a runner which was running around in front of us, Ellie had a lovely find on a cock bird which was shot around 30 yards to our left. I was told to send her and she took on handle to get into the area, but nothing was there. I let her hunt a bit but still nothing. It had looked dead when it came down. Ellie had a thorough search of the fall and the wider area but came back with nothing. As I was the 2nd to last odd numbered dog, there was no even dog to come over to attempt the eye wipe, so both judges went out to try and locate the bird. At this point I was waiting to put my lead on, but they didn’t find it, it must have run straight away.
I was told to carry on before a single shot rang out. A loose hen bird had been shot 25 yards to our right. I was given a mark and cast Ellie out. A couple of handles and she had the bird swiftly back to hand. That was my run done and I’d completed my first Open trial with Ellie. I was over the moon.
There was only one dog to run after me, and the trial was deemed over shortly after he’d completed his run. It was then a short walk back to the cars. I set off back to the hotel, not realising that the presentations were being done at the keepers’ house. After sitting at the hotel and trying to get hold of Nick Powell, Nigel the secretary and a couple of other competitors I finally found out where I needed to be, arriving just in time for the presentations.
I didn’t expect to get anything which was a relief, as I didn’t haha!! She hadn’t hunted hard enough in the bramble, it’s something we need to work on if we’re to run in it again, but I was chuffed that we had made it through the open stake when only 6 of the original 16 dogs completed the trial.
From here it was back to the hotel where I had a cheeky hours sleep before taking all the dogs out for a run prior to having some tea. I was starving! I hadn’t had chance to stop anywhere for food, all I’d had to eat was a kit-kat at 6am!!! I fed the dogs and gave Ellie a checking over before going for a few beers and food, preparing myself for the novice the next day!!

On Wednesday I ran in the Lincolnshire Gundog Society Novice Cocker Stake at Stubton, near Newark. The alarm going off at 3:45am was a bit of a shock to the system but I loaded up the car and set out in the darkness for a 420 mile round trip.

A couple of coffee and bacon butty pit stops along the way and I was the second person to arrive at just after 8 o'clock, giving me plenty of time to get ready and exercise the dogs.

Glorious sunshine with a bit of a breeze, we couldn't have asked for better conditions for early November. After a quick briefing from secretary Jess Burrows we were on our way. A 20 minute frog march to the first wood where we were due to begin the trial. I was in at number 15 so knew I had a long wait ahead.

The gallery was on the outside of the wood and although we couldn't see the dogs running we could hear frantic whistling and see people emerging from the wood once their run was over.

We came out of the wood and then into some cover crop. Finds started becoming more frequent now and it wasn't long before I was backing up number 13.

He completed his run and I was called over by Roy Ellershaw. My beat was a thin hedgerow. Not what me and Ellie are used to. I cast her off and I need not have worried. She worked it really well, not pulling too far on but making sure she covered every inch under the hedge.

It wasn't long before a shot rang out on the other side, Ellie promptly sat up with no whistle. We couldn't see through the hedge but we were called over as the dog had failed to pick it.

Roy and myself climbed through the hedge and out into the cover crop where Natalie Cannon gave us a mark. I needed to send Ellie out of the cover crop, across a field and onto the edge of the cover crop which ran along side the hedge in the corner of the field. I managed to get her out into the field but she pulled right to where two birds had flushed when the previous dog had been out on the retrieve. It took me a few handles to get her off this scent and onto the bird which she brought back. That was my first run done.

I didn't have too long of a wait before I was backing up again as a few dogs had unfortunately gone out. This time I was running under Natalie Cannon and was in a thin strip of white grass along side a ditch.

We had maybe hunted 30 yards when Ellie had a lovely contact flush on a partridge which was shot 20 yards away out in front. I sent her and she was straight to the bird and back with it to hand with no whistle.

What we didn't realise was that a bird had been shot on the other side at the same time. As we waited I cleaned Ellie's mouth before we got called over to try and pick the bird on the other side.

We were given a mark around 35 yards away under a Bush on the edge of a ditch. I cast Ellie back and she went a few yards short of the area before pulling out into the field. I let her go as I wasn't sure if the partridge had ran. Nothing came of it so I handled her back to the area and pushed her a little further back when her nose went down into a little dip and back came a partridge to hand. That was my run done. My 2nd eye wipe in as many trials.

There was a single dog left to run before the trial was declared over. I knew I'd not gone clean enough to win but was chuffed to have finished another trial with Ellie. That's 2/2.

​I was awarded a Certificate of Merit on two A-'s. If the two blind eye wipes had been cleaner it would have been a different story. Onto the next one!!