Trial Report and Results - Labrador Retriever Club of NSW

[Kirsty Blair]

TRIAL REPORT

Labrador Retriever Club of NSW Retrieving and RATG Trials
29 & 30 April 2023

On Friday, 28 April, the day dawned with clear blue skies and beautiful, filtered autumnal sunshine. “Liddleton”, the working cattle property in Hartley, NSW that has been generously made available to the Lab Club for many years, was looking absolutely spectacular. The ground was firm, the cover “just right” and the terrain just as perfect for dog trialling as it’s always been. Some of the internal roads still carried the scars from last year’s floods so the committee’s biggest concern was where to position each of the stakes so that safety and accessibility was optimised.

Unfortunately, this concern was redirected as the weekend’s weather forecast moved from “it might not happen” to “pretty sure it’s gonna happen.” The BOM’s website made a strong threat that we’d be getting 40mm of rain on Saturday. If this happened, none of the proposed trialling areas would be accessible, or if they were accessible in the morning, no-one would be getting out in the afternoon.

With the threat of cancellation looming over us for the second year in a row, Joe Barber donned his hero cape, flexed his “I’m a local and know everyone” muscles, and organised access to a magnificent property at the base of Mount Victoria. Joe also mustered his family who, come Saturday morning, deployed like some kind of well-oiled military operation to manage safe access off the busy highway by the convoy of 30 vehicles.

With everyone safely on the grounds, the rain arrived…and the rain stayed. The trialling schedule was an ambitious one, even had the weather been lovely. Three retrieving stakes; Novice, Restricted and All Age, with Novice and Open Retrieving Ability Tests for Gundogs (RATG) to be judged at the conclusion of Novice. Entries were great, with 52 dogs in the retrieving trial and 24 dogs in RATG. It’s testament to the combined optimism of dog people that everyone turned up despite the forecast, even when they experienced the full brunt of the impending forecast during their journey to the trial. Some triallers arrived at the site questioning their sanity. Those that weren’t at the beginning of the day, certainly were by the end.

It's fair to say that Saturday felt like a test of endurance for almost everyone. There was a reflective undertone throughout the judges, stewards and triallers. “Is this what hypothermia feels like?” “I wonder what it would be like to be watching TV in my jarmies and Ugg boots?” “Why is it that waterproof clothing is never really waterproof?”

Regardless, dogs and people soldiered on. There was a continuous flow of willing helpers rushing out to sit hunched, freezing cold and wet, at the throwers; to stand at the control point giving and taking leads; placing blinds; calling up competitors. Judges, me being one, let the dog-work be the ultimate distraction. And there was some beautiful dog-work. Even after 25 years in the sport, my heart lifts every single time a dog is sent from the line. The gundogs with whom we enjoy this sport began their evolution around 300 years ago. Generation after generation of dogs being carefully selected for drive, natural hunting ability, biddability and sagacity. To have the opportunity to stand in the paddock and watch this genetic history laid bare, to assess each against the other, never ceases to feel a privilege. Even during early onset hypothermia.

By the time we got to RATG, everyone was absolutely drenched. There was so little light in the rain and heavy cloud cover that it felt like 6pm at 3pm. Sandra Goldsmith, the judge for Novice RATG, arrived appropriately questioning her choices in life. Sandra drove all the way up from her business in Sydney just to judge the event, and did a wonderful job backed up by stoic stewards on the throwers. By the time I judged Open RATG it felt inhumane to ask anyone to go on a thrower. Linnea Akpinar and Bob Pickworth sat out in the fading light as the rain beat down and the previously 5cm deep water between Linnea and civilisation rose quickly and forebodingly. As I gently applied my pen, lest the attempt to record a score lead to immediate disintegration of the paper mâché ingredients known as my scoresheets, I quietly asked myself, “Are we all completely crazy?” The answer came almost before the question was asked. “Of course we are.”

With people seeking warmth and respite, the committee made the decision to hold presentations over until Sunday morning. These were undertaken with renewed optimism back at the “Liddleton” shearing shed and with a remarkable number of triallers coming back for a second go. Can you say “crazy”? Or maybe it was just the awesome raffle.

The weather gave us some respite on Sunday, with the rain coming to an end and the sun re-emerging just as Restricted, Novice and Beginners Test stakes drew to a close. There were 58 entries across all stakes. Everyone made it out of the grounds, even in their not-so-immaculate-anymore 2WD sedans, and I hope all will still be looking forward to the next time round.

On behalf of the Labrador Retriever Club of NSW I would like to extend sincerest thanks to:
• Joe Vella – trial manager and judge
• Joe Barber – property liaison extraordinaire and judge
• Joe Barber’s family – traffic command, steward legends
• Bob Pickworth – equipment and site support
• Claire Wade – judge
• Sandra Goldsmith – judge
• Lynne Elliott – judge
• Jane Vella and Julie Pickworth – onsite support in many awesome ways
• Verna McKenzie & Emily Blair – vetting/check-in Sat and Sun respectively
• Sharon Patterson – entries and cataloguing
• The property owners for both sites
• Every single person, and there were many, who helped across the weekend. These events can’t run without your selfless contribution.
• The triallers – thank you for making the trip, for putting dogs up a level to make sure we had a stake, for sticking with us through bad weather and good, for your friendship, good humour and sportsmanship.

Results
Saturday 29 April 2023

Novice – Judge Kirsty Blair (NSW)
1st – Leolita Chiefs Shadow – Lab - Chris Hyde – 189 pts
2nd – Flynnmac Eight Mile – Lab - Chris Hyde – 175 pts
3rd – Fenrik Double Dare CDX QND ORA – GSP – Jenni Duncan -167 pts
4th – Jagdsaison Elijahs Cup – GWP – Paul Hamson –

Restricted – Judge Claire Wade (NSW)
1st Redcypher Taliska Storm ORA – Lab – Ray Temple – 184 pts
2nd Beereegan Double or Nothin NRD – Lab – Mark and Wendy Davis – 177 pts
3rd Richfields Rhoda B Willing – Lab – Bob Pickworth – 167 pts

All Age – Judge Joe Barber (NSW)
1st Beereegan Double or Nothin NRD – Lab – Mark and Wendy Davis – 161 pts
2nd Richfields Rhoda B Willing – Lab – Bob Pickworth – 143 pts
3rd Flynnmac Hopper – Lab – Garrick Bridges – 142 pts

RATG Novice – Judge Sandra Goldsmith (NSW)
1st Kuven Dreamweaver – Lab – Carol Griffiths – 87 pts
2nd Pangryff Mister Darcy – Lab – Carol Griffiths – 84 pts
3rd Peppatree Fenrir – FCR – Byron Usmar – 78.5 pts

RATG Open – Judge Kirsty Blair (NSW)
1st Redcypher Taliska Storm ORA – Lab – Ray Temple – 88 pts
2nd Activgoldens Angus CD ORA – Golden Ret. – Bernadette Warren – 78 pts

Sunday 30 April 2023

Beginners Test – Judge Kirsty Blair (NSW)
1st Peppatree Fifty Shades of Black RA NRA – FCR – Helen Mann - 110 pts
2nd Peppatree The Colour of Magic – Lab – Linnea Akpinar - 104 pts
3rd CH Lionsfield Coxs Pippin RA – Golden Ret. – Karla Lemmert and Chris Dever – 97 pts

Novice – Judge Lynne Elliott (NSW)
1st Invernee Masterjohn ORA QND – Golden Ret. – Karla Lemmert – 170 pts
2nd Pangryff Mister Darcy – Lab – Carol Griffiths – 169 pts
3rd Activgoldens Angus CD ORA– Golden Ret. – Bernadette Warren – 168 pts
4th Peppatree The Colour of Magic – Lab – Linnea Akpinar - 165 pt

Restricted – Judge Joe Barber (NSW)
1st – Leolita Chiefs Shadow – Lab - Chris Hyde – 158 pts
2nd – Flynnmac Eight Mile – Lab - Chris Hyde – 129 pts
3rd - Redcypher Taliska Storm ORA – Lab – Ray Temple – 118pts

All Age – Judge Joe Vella (NSW)
1st – RTCH Tirnanoge Fault Finder – Lab – Peter Betteridge
2nd - Beereegan Double or Nothin NRD – Lab – Mark and Wendy Davis
3rd – Fairburn Natures Gift AARD – Lab – Relma Adlam

[Peter Butterfield]

LRCNSW - What were the points awarded for Sunday's All Age results?
Tx, Admin

[Bob Pickworth]

And a BIG shout out to you Kirsty for your hard work and commitment to the trial (and Lab Club in general).

[Kirsty Blair]

Thanks Bob!

Peter, All Age scores as follows:

1st 119pts
2nd 115pts
3rd 112pts