by Robert Tawton » Tue 22 Jun 2010 12:36 pm
Hi Rachel,
Your comments regarding Utility Gundogs working both fur and feather are noted and I personally agree with your sentiments.
In the late 1960’s the GSP Club of Victoria sought KCC (now Dogs VIC) support for the establishment of Field Trials specifically for Utility breeds. Prior to that time GSP’s were deemed to be “Pointers” and thus were eligible to compete in Pointer & Setter Field Trials and Retrieving Trials but not in Spaniel & Retriever Field Trials (much to the chagrin of the late Jack Thompson). In pursuit of its objectives the GSP Club conducted two demonstration Trials, one near Traralgon on Quail and the other near Kyneton on rabbits. These two Trials were aimed at demonstrating that the Utility breeds could and would work both fur and feather, that there was enough support and dogs of sufficient standard to warrant dedicated Trials and there was a viable set of Rules for the conduct of these events.
Rules developed in the UK were used during for the demonstration events and it was generally agreed that they did not suit the Australian environment, primarily because each dog was run on its own (no brace mate). The KCC then established a panel six persons, Jack Pontin, Dick Hall, “Doc” Penny – representing the KCC and Jack Thompson, Laurie Bourke and myself representing the GSP Club. The Panel developed the inaugural set of Rules for the Conduct of Field Trials of Utility Gundogs which made no distinction between fur and feather as an item of Game or indicated a preference for one over the other.
In the late 1970’s /early 1980’s changes to the Rules were introduced to place a greater emphasis on conducting these events on native Quail. I was living overseas at the time and I am not aware of the rationale used to support these changes. Nevertheless, today the relevant Rules read;
5. It is recommended that Field Trials should, wherever possible, be conducted on Quail. The shooting and
Game Laws of each State or Territory must be observed and will govern the conduct of all Trials, in conjunction with the Rules and Regulations of each State or Territory Member Body.
FIELD TRIAL CHAMPION
On application the Member Body may, at its discretion, grant the title “Field Trial Champion” to a dog, which wins a Championship Stake, and to any dog winning a total ten (10) Championship Points in Field Trials. A full five (5) Championship Points must be won in any one Stake, and in that Stake, the dog must have been adequately tested on finding live game birds, and provided that no qualifying win for the Title shall be scored in any Stake in which there are fewer than six bone fide runners.
Kindest regards, Robert T
Last edited by
Robert Tawton on Tue 22 Jun 2010 10:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.