Ferns Field Trial Forays

[greenshank1]

Congratulations , you deserve it after all the hard work you have put in.

[Megsdad]

Brilliant. Well done and thanks for the thriller write up. Coming second to WC I'd retire but I know you won't! Terry

[Penwithian]

Congratulations! You deserved it! Always enjoy reading your write ups

[Amberquest]

On Thursday I took part in the North West Counties Field Trial Association Novice Cocker Stake at HyFly game hatcheries in Lancashire. I’d heard that the open trial held the previous day had been full of game and scenting conditions were very difficult so I was anticipating a tough trial. After the raffle had been drawn and the judges and guns had been introduced we made the short car journey to where the trial was to begin in a field of sugar beet with a number of partridge pens running along it’s centre.

The first two dogs were underway and it was a matter of seconds before they hit game, it looked like the trial was to be much the same as the open stake the day before. However, it later turned out that game was much harder to come by, certainly in quantity, and a number of dogs had quite long runs. There were a couple of eliminations in the sugar beet and from the birds that were being picked it was obvious that scenting conditions hadn’t improved from the previous day.

As I was running at number 7 I knew it wouldn’t be long before I was called to back up. At the end of the sugar beet we moved into a piece of scrubland with white grass, reeds, bramble etc and I was backing up. Number 5 was put out for failing to pick a bird and I was called up to run under Edward Martin. I had a thickish patch of grass and reeds etc to run in and it wasn’t long before I had a flush on a pheasant poult which Fern sat to nicely.

We carried on and reached the end of the patch before turning right handed into more thick cover alongside a pond. Fern was working the margins of the pond and was steady when a dozen or so duck got up from beside her which weren’t shot at over the water. We carried on and Fern was smashing through the cover, a couple of times she had to have second attempts to break through thick walls of brambles and sticky buds.
She again flushed a pheasant poult which couldn’t be shot at because of the season not starting for another few weeks and at this point I noticed she was blowing a bit with the relatively long run and the heat. We’d come in from the open cover crop into a patch surrounded by trees and there was very little breeze, I was hoping my run would be over soon.

We were approaching a partridge pen at the end of the cover we were working and a covey of partridges got up and flew forward towards a wood approximately 20 yards in front. One was shot by a gun on the other side and Anita Jones’ dog was tried on it but failed to pick it. I was called over and given a mark where the bird was, across a little ditch and sat in a small hollow at the base of a couple of trees. I cast Fern back and she worked the area, almost trampling on the bird, but didn’t pick it. A couple of directions later and she finally picked it. I didn’t realise scenting would be that difficult. She delivered to hand nicely and that was my first run over with, with Edward saying she was a very nice dog.

Looking at the card, I knew it wouldn’t be too long before I was called back in as the even numbered dogs had fallen rapidly in numbers. I was soon backing up in another field of long thick grass and it wasn’t long before I was called up to run under Joe Hipwell. Game at this point had become a little scarce so I was hoping for a quick find and retrieve. I should be so lucky!!

We worked the whole length of the field before we finally got a flush at the end of a small covey of birds which weren’t shot at by the guns, I couldn’t believe it. We then dropped down into another field and continued our run in even thicker cover. Fern was making a good attempt at hunting it out when a pheasant poult and a couple of partridge got up from the other side. The pheasant flew directly over Fern and I kept an eye on her to make sure she didn’t move, whilst on the other side a partridge had been shot approximately 40 yards out in front. Steve Brewer was tried on it from the other side but his dog couldn’t pick it. At this point I thought I’d be called over closer to where Steve was, however I was given a mark to try my dog on from where I was, maybe 50-60 yards. It certainly looked a long way through the thick cover.

It took me a few attempts to get Fern into the area but she returned with nothing and when the judges went out and picked the bird that was my run done. Joe said it was bad luck and that she’d had an excellent run. I was gutted and frustrated, I’d seen other dogs on the day be taken closer to the fall as second dog down. I’m not saying Fern would have picked it as scenting was poor and it had fallen in some tall thick cover, but it’d have been nice to have been taken a bit closer. On coming back to the gallery Will Clulee and Anita Jones both commented that it was too far for a novice trial, I don’t get much luck!

A few more dogs had their final runs and there was to be a run off between John Bailey and Anita Jones’ 2nd dog before the trial was declared over. It was back to the cars and back to the original meeting point for the presentations (detailed below). Only 5 dogs had finished the trial and with names like Will Clulee, Anita Jones, Richard Claydon, James Luxford etc you know it’d been a tough trial.

I spoke with Joe and Edward to get some feedback who said she’d had excellent runs and I’d have been in the run off with John and Anita if she hadn’t have gone out on that retrieve which made it even worse.

1st: John Bailey with Fernmoss Gold Dust Of Gournaycourt in its first trial
2nd: Anita Jones with Episcopi Wonga
3rd: Paul Seaman with Dakotagun Bilbo Ben of Pixiefen
4th : Wayne Parrington with Whitebeam Frost Pocket
COM: Ken Gaskell with Lisburne Judy

[Amberquest]

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

[Jimsy]

Great write up Scott, unlucky on your result though.

[Gazelle1000]

Another great write up

[Judy]

Ok I have to ask, what are sieves? Other than things for straining your greens of course.

[Amberquest]

Rashes, rushes, etc

[Sgurr]

Excellent write up - better luck next time!