| spaniel championships | By Larry Taaffe

SUPERB SPANIEL CHAMPIONSHIP AT SLANE (Ireland)
Text by Larry Taaffe
(Published in Spaniels In The Field Spring 2001)

The 25th I.K.C. Spaniel Championship was held at Slane Castle estate on the Beau Park side of the Boyne river on the 27th and 28th of December by kind permission of Lord Mountcharles, Mr. Declan Lennon and the Shooting Syndicate. Feedwell, the dog food manufacturers from Castlewellen, Co. Down, were the main sponsors of the championship and all credit must go to them for their continuing interest and support of this prestigious event. The general consensus of opinion from all concerned, the judges, the competitors, the organisers and particularly the gallery who came to see the top dogs and handlers, was that this was a championship to remember, and they were not disappointed. Every dog had a plentiful supply of game on which to be tested, some indeed had a little too much and the appointed team of guns who shot over the dogs for the two days, were of the highest quality of marksmanship.

There were 37 dogs entered for the championship, the highest number in many, many years and of that number there were two cockers. There were two withdrawals and the breakdown on the sexes was 18 bitches and 19 dogs. There were 11 dogs from Northern Ireland, 13 dogs from Southern Ireland and 13 dogs from across the water (Wales, Scotland and England). The overall standard of the dog work was excellent and at the end of the trial 16 dogs went to the water test.

Mr. Damien Kelly with Annahoe Dusty and Mr. Kevin McCrossan with Kelmscott Kostas were the first dogs to start the Silver Jubilee Championship and, within minutes, both dogs were into game and this was how it was for each and every competitor - contact with game almost immediately off the lead.

The gallery was well placed through the championship to view each dog's performance due to the direction of the crowd control steward Mr. Jimmy Crookshanks and I am sure that each and every one had.their favorite to take the top award. The judges, Mr. Harry McComish and Mr. Larry Taaffe with referee Mr. Michael Delohery, had a wonderful two days looking at the dogs. There were no delays before, during or after the trial thanks to the judges' stewards, Mr. Denis Butler and Mr. Victor McDevitt, who kept the trial moving along at a steady pace.
The first day was dry and cold, almost ideal conditions for trialling and the first dog to impress was F.T.Ch. Broomfield Pleat, all the way from Scotland, a liver and white bitch with plenty of style and drive. Her beat was an awkward piece of ground which she handled well, she produced game within minutes and she made light work of some long retrieves. At the same time on the other line, Mr. P. McMahon's Millshadow Aster was running under Harry McComish and was showing great drive and pace but wanting to pull on a little.
Namore Barney, handled by Michael Walsh, was next in line and he was very impressive in his ability to find game and to remain steady under very tempting conditions and he finished with an excellent find and retrieve on a cock bird.

The next dog to make an impression was F.T.Ch. Mallowdale Rackatear, handled by Wendy Openshaw, a fast, stylish little cocker dog who handled well, found game with plenty of fire and retrieved with plenty of speed, this little dog really impressed.
F.T.Ch. Roughburn Lark, handled by Ian Openshaw, was a very stylish, very fast and very pacey spaniel. She handled her ground well, and she found and retrieved game without any fuss and was at ease with her handler.

No 33. Cheweky Treestump of Cundallhill was all the way from Yorkshire and handled by Mr. I. Shepherd, a fine big stamp of a spaniel with plenty of drive. Cover was no obstacle to this dog and he produced and retrieved game easily. He came a little unstuck on a partridge which fell into a hollow in the ground and he took a little time to find and retrieve this bird.
My last dog of the uneven numbers was F.T.Ch. Ottoday of Malverndale. This was a big black and white dog with a long striding action which gave the impression of a less than stylish dog but this would be incorrect. His action may not have appeared as busy as some of his smaller counterparts but he found and retrieved with plenty of pace and drive and was totally with his handler - a nice dog in my opinion.

On the even numbers side F.T.Ch. Clarburgh Delight was a joy to watch, fast and stylish with loads of drive and pace. This bitch handled by Ian Openshaw, produced a superb run. She came into contact with game almost immediately, a hen pheasant was produced with great drive and was shot and fell 20 feet from the dog and proceeded to run off through the cover. You must remember that the conditions had changed from the previous day and we now had snow and freezing conditions - not the best to track a running bird. One command to fetch was given to the dog and away she went, no other contact was made with the dog, and about one and a half minutes later (it seemed like a lifetime), the bitch appeared back with the wounded hen. On being cast off again, contact was made with game within a few yards and a positive drive produced two birds. Another find and retrieve was to complete this run and gave this dog the best run of the championship but, like all trials, it is necessary to have two runs of similar quality to gain one of the top positions and this was not to be.

The next dog to demand attention was Mr. E. Scott's Broomfield Bonnet, a liver and white bitch, that had all the flair and drive of the previous dog and gave a super performance of finding and retrieving game.

Damien Kelly's Annahoe Ernie was next and demonstrated a high degree of contact with his handler. He covered his ground well and produced game with a very positive attitude and, when asked to retrieve a specific bird, responded with blind obedience - a really nice run.
Mr. A. Price's F.T.Ch. Follybreeze Pip, under me, had a top class run with finds and retrieves proving no difficulty, he was totally at one with his handler and deserved his position at the end of the trial.

Four dogs were called to run off for the top places, Broomfield Bonnet, Annahoe Ernie, Roughburn Lark and the cocker Mallowdale Rackatear. This was a quite simple exercise to decide which dog maintained its pace and pattern while competing closely with its brace mate. The results were clear for all to see and Broomfield Bonnet edged ahead of F.T.Ch. Rourgburn Lark, while the cocker F.T.Ch. Mallowdale Rackatear was placed ahead of F.T.Ch. Annahoe Ernie.

The water test, which is obligatory at the conclusion of trials run under I.K.C. rules, was completed at the side of the Boyne river. Each dog was asked to retrieve a pheasant from the river and all of the 16 completed this task without difficulty.

At the presentation, held at the Conyingham Arms Hotel, an overview of this year's Championship was delivered by the Chairman of the Championship Committee Mr. Ken Lindsay. He also thanked all those who worked hard to make the championship a success and, in particular, the very hard working Hon. Secretary Mr. Vinnie Cauldwell who also was responsible for the production of the hardback souvenir programme. The headkeeper Mr. Dermot Shevlin who had gone to great lengths to produce an abundance of game for the dogs, was thanked in his own capacity and also accepted thanks on behalf of Mr. D Lennon of the shooting syndicate who could not attend due to the weather conditions. Feedwell, the main sponsors, were also unable to attend the prizegiving ceremony again due to the severity of the weather.

The results were as follows..
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First and winner of the I.K.C. Jubilee Championship 2000/2001 was Broomfield Bonnet, e.s.s.b. 27/10/96. Sire F.T.Ch. Superscud Sunk of Stagsden. Dam Little Magic. Owner/Handler Mr. E. Scott.

Second F.T.Ch. Roughburn Lark, e.s.s.b. 26/06/97. Sire F.T.Ch. Kenine Robb of Rytex. Dam F.T.Ch. Roughburn Jill. Owned by Mr. G. Devine-Jones and handled by Ian Openshaw.

Third F.T.Ch. Mallowdale Rackatear, cocker dog, 01/06/96. Sire F.T.Ch. Wernffrwd Siarl. Dam Whinpark Chrissie of Squareclose. Owned and handled by Wendy Openshaw.

Fourth F.T.Ch. Annahoe Ernie, e.s.s.d. 28/02/95 Sire Int. F.T.Ch. Laganmill Meastro. Dam Int. F.T.Ch. Cindy of Antrim. Owned and handled by Damien Kelly.

Diploma's of Honour went to the following... Kelmscott Kostas, Birdrowe Butch, Forhawns Berne, F.T.Ch. Millshadow Aster, F.T.Ch. Broomfield Pleat, F.T.Ch. Clarhurgh Delight, Castletown Lady, Tickety Boo, Cheweky Treestump of Cundallhill, F.T.Ch. Foilybreeze Pip and F.T.Ch. Ottoday of Malverdale.

And so ended an excellent championship, one that will be remembered for a long number of years, and the organizing committee should be proud of their endeavours and look forward to repeating the performance at - the next championship.