Field Trials are, of course, a Winter Sport!

October 2015

So there was never a thought in my head when Skipper arrived with us in 2015 that he might one day be a Field Trial dog. In fact, when we pitched up for our first formal training session I said I didn't want a field trial dog but a decent beating dog. That was it then. Train for what you want and we trained a fairly decent beating dog.
What changed? Ahhhh... a little success is a dangerous thing. He did quite well last summer in Working Tests; coming 2nd in an Open was a bit of an eye-opener. "We'll maybe enter a field trial" I casually remarked. My 'friends' held me to that. We trained accordingly. More retrieving (we'd not done much of that at all cos it's not really essential for a beating dog - finding lost birds is more their thing), more directional commands, more 'sitting to shot' and 'steadying to flush'. So, in the few short months since the end of last shooting season, when my half decent beating dog was  a pretty decent beating dog, he's learned some of the essential field trial skills. The first trial two weeks ago was a good way to allay my nerves; better dogs and handlers than us were put out on their first run; we made it to the second despite foul conditions.
Today we turned out for our second - and maybe last- trial. Conditions were beyond foul; torrential rain, freezing winds, hail, sleet, thunder and lightening...... and then you expect the freezing cold, wet, bored (after waiting in line nearly two hours) dog to hunt his little socks off, giving his all, paying attention to handler and everything else....... remain sharp on the whistle, remember his lessons, hunt, flush and retrieve sodden birds.... crikey - not much to ask.... I take my hat off to everyone who competed today..... it was horrendous. Yet there will be those for whom the weather and the conditions were immaterial; their little dog will have won a prize which will have made it all worth while. It is after all a 'winter sport' and such conditions are to be expected. They are made of sterner stuff than I....
So, how did the little dog do? Well, he hunted boldly and thoroughly through the thickest of briars; he sat to the other dog's flush and shot; he flushed his own bird and sat to shot; he retrieved his bird from the drilling in evil conditions....... clever boy. If he hadn't then put that bird, as it flapped its sodden wings, down on the ground in front of me, he would have been in with a chance. As it was, we were 'out'! So much so right - and just that one little thing not so right; ah well; he did the best he could with the education he's been given. He's had little experience of delivering just-shot wet birds to hand...... something to work on.
But do we want to?
A dog trained for bushbeating is like a horse trained for a 3 mile chase - an out and out stayer: A field trial dog, to continue the analogy, is like a 5 furlong sprinter; a fast, furious  machine.......
Should I expect my staying chaser to complete a 5 furlong sprint? 

First ever Field Trial entrant in the family

Gunner's grandson enters field trial

There are all sorts of levels of attainment in the world of working dogs. When Gunner and I pitched up for our first ever day of beating on 3rd October 2008 I thought we'd 'arrived'. Then when we did our first ever working tests I thought we were the bees knees! When Bugler earned a few  prizes I was over the moon. But the thought of entering Field Trials was too daunting to entertain. They, I thought, were the preserve of seasoned 'dog men' and professionals not mere mortals with beating dogs!
However, Skipper's been such a schoolmaster for me as a handler that I decided it was 'now or never' and took the mammoth step (for me) to enter a field trial with him. It was today. It was raining; hard. On the plus side, the Trial was being held only a few miles away from  home so it seemed less daunting! As it unfolded it became ever less daunting. Not a single bird was flushed for nearly and hour and a half. When one was flushed the guns couldn't shoot it. By the time we had our first 'run' at midday only 3 birds had been shot.Skipper hunted for over 10 minutes under the first judge without a flush and then had just 10 minutes before his second run because several dogs had been eliminated. Hunted for almost as long under the second judge without a flush and then got his nose down on a rabbit trail. Couldn't quite obey the whistle quickly enough when I called him off the trail so was put out for going self-employed. Shame. He'd done really well in all the preliminaries and sat to shot immediately he heard one.... did all he was asked and hunted exceptionally well and close so by no means disgraced. Couldn't blame him for getting attached to the rabbit scent when there were no birds about. His grandad would be proud of him.....
We've another Trial in two weeks. I wonder what will happen there? I begin to understand why people say it's a numbers game..... so much depends on luck, ground, weather, wind, scent..............