Indholdsfortegnelse for Aug-2018 i Shooting Gazette

After months of waiting, the official start of the driven game shooting season is imminent. While few guns commence their own personal campaigns on the Glorious Twelfth (the season actually starts a day later this year) the date alone is enough to get any fieldsportsperson worth their salt excited about heading into in the field, wherever and whenever that happens to be. Whatever our quarry, we can all relate to that first morning on the peg after a long break, the anticipation as we hear the beaters’ call or the crack of a flag, the first sight of our quarry, its environment carefully husbanded by gamekeepers, or the sight of our faithful gundogs bringing it to hand. Bliss… In this issue we have a double bill of grouse from Adrian…

Charlie McVeigh and Simon Chantler have joined the board of the British Game Alliance (BGA). McVeigh, chairman of Citigroup’s Investment Banking, and Chantler, founder of Meadow Foods, join Alan Beynon and Ivan Shenkman. Managing director Tom Adams said: “The BGA is pleased to welcome Charlie and Simon to the board. They both bring a wealth of business acumen matched with a passion for shooting, which will help ensure that the BGA delivers on its aims. We hope the shooting community can continue to support the BGA in its goals of securing the game market and bringing in effective self-regulation.”…

THE AUTHOR of the Letter of the Month will receive a pair of Wexford boots from Dubarry of Ireland (RRP £325). The knee-length, side-zip boots – designed for both men and women – are handcrafted from waterproof Dry Fast-Dry Soft™ breathable leathers. The high quality of the boot is reinforced throughout with an insulated GORE-TEX® lining that wicks moisture away from the foot, ensuring the wearer remains dry and comfortable all day. Dubarry’s new hard-wearing durable outsole gives maximum grip whatever the ground conditions.…

I would love my dream team to be shooting at Coombe End Estate. It’s arguably one of the finest shooting estates in the Cotswolds and top of my wish list. I live in the Cotswolds and Holland Cooper HQ is based right at the heart, so the location is perfect. We’d all stay at The Wheatsheaf in Northleach and end the day warming up by the roaring fire, an espresso martini in hand, debriefing on the day. Top of my list would be my father, Oliver Holland Cooper. I took my first shot with him and during my childhood growing up on the farm, shooting was always present in the background. He was my introduction to the sport, which has not only provided much joy over the years but also…

Dear Uncle Giles, I’ve decided that this season will be my last with gun in hand. The beating and picking-up line has been calling for the past two seasons. How do I break the news of my decision to my long-standing, tight-knit syndicate, all of whom I adore but who have a lot more fuel left in the tank than me? AJS, by email Uncle Giles writes A wise man once said to me that everyone is born with the capacity to kill a certain number of things and when you’ve killed them all you die. Now he also pointed out that while a pheasant, in his view, counted as one thing, a wasp probably only counted as 10 per cent of a thing and a tick as 0.001 per…

We all get them at some point; it might be in the pub, at a meeting, at a party or sitting down to lunch; the mood begins to get crispy around the edges, firmer under foot and the mercury in the thermometer begins to drop: “You go out and kill things for fun?” The line is drawn, the die cast and the clock is ticking, a lone bundle of tumbleweed rolls by and children are hustled away to safety. This is the moment when similarities step noiselessly aside leaving them and us standing. These people have no clue about the countryside. We, of course, are rotters: inbred, over-privileged rich louts who go about killing everything that gets in the way of us killing everything else. Public school psychopaths, arrogant despoilers…

There has been much conversation of late about the pressing imperative to ensure that all shot game goes into the food chain and on the environmental sustainability of game shooting. Quite right too and as always, a swift rearward glance is often instructive. In Brian Martin’s introduction to the book The Great Shoots , he noted that because of their diversity and differing perceptions, it is difficult to tie down what actually makes for a great shoot. However, paraphrasing his suggestions, it should provide consistently excellent sport in an environment that supports both game and wildlife, within a landscape that is preferably knock-out stunning, where visitors appreciate that lots of different, if not better, bums have, over the preceding decades, perched on the same spot doing roughly the same thing,…

Why does time fly faster the older you get? It doesn’t seem like a month since I was penning my column for the February issue, and yet here I am, sat in my study, wearing shorts and a polo shirt, the scorching heat bleaching my bookcase, the dog nosing at me to be let outside, and I’m thinking about grouse shooting. Key dates in the shooting calendar mean different things to different people. For example, even when a gamekeeper is enjoying a well-deserved holiday, he or she is thinking about rearing and releasing in the months to come, and what needs to be done, by whom and by when. From a gun’s point of view, August 12, just like September 1 and October 1, surely acts as a psychological starter’s…

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Event: Charity gundog working test Venue: Windsor Great Park Judges: Phil Allen, Jim Gale, Lee Hartis, Judy Rainey, Alan Schofield, Phil Garton, John Keegan and Mark Demain Sponsor: Gilbertson & Page The annual charity gundog working test took place by kind permission of Her Majesty and The Crown Estate in Windsor Great Park. One hundred and forty dogs and handlers gathered together in teams of five from all over the UK and Ireland, with Germany and Switzerland also represented to meet the challenge of the course. As expected, the eight tests set by retired headkeeper John Stubbs and Phil Allen presented a challenging set of scenarios for both dog and handler, with team tactics and top handling skills playing an important part if high scores were to be achieved. This…

Club: Essex Area United Retriever Club Event: Novice dog/novice handler and intermediate working tests Venue: Worlaby Judges: Samantha Whyte, Jim Christon, Martin Eveleigh and Casper Jonsen Chief Steward: Keith Parker Sponsors: Mr and Mrs M. Strawson Thanks to our host, Mr T. Lamyman, for allowing us to hold our tests on this wonderful ground and to our generous sponsors. Our judges,helped by our chief steward, all enjoyed watching the 24 dogs over the tests. Test one was a mark and a blind. The mark was down the hillside and was picked before the blind hidden near a tree to the left. Test two was a picking-up exercise. Three dummies were placed through the gap between two trees about 50m up the hillside. Two dummies had to be retrieved. Test three…

Q My one-year-old labrador, who has been retrieving enthusiastically for some time, has recently taken to parading around me with the dummy and refusing to return it. It’s very frustrating. What can I do? A Yes, I can understand, as it is difficult to progress until you solve the problem. It could be a number of things that have caused this possessiveness to develop and you may not know when or where it began. Assuming you have not changed your training pattern, think about external factors; maybe your dog is being left with other dogs for long periods who have been competing for dummies/balls/ toys, or has someone else has been in control and changed the pattern? This can happen a lot when someone else looks after your young dog…

Consider head lift In his answer to a left-handed, left-eye-dominant shot struggling on right-to-left targets (May issue), I am surprised that Adam Calvert didn’t mention head lifting as the possible cause of the problem – or the fact that, for left-handed shots, it is a common error to allow the gun to move away from the cheek when addressing birds from right to left, thus compromising the line of sight. Peter Harris, by email Adam Calvert replies: Head lifting is associated with poor gunfit. I often see clients who have been told they lift their head but rarely have they taken the time to understand why. I would not expect to see head lifting if the gun fits properly. If the gun is moving away from the cheek this is…

Tell someone that there are 300bn stars in the universe and they believe you, but tell them that paint on a door is wet and they must touch it to make sure. Tell a child that eating animal products is wrong and they may just try stuff, because they are naturally curious. Prevent a child from feasting on animal products and tell them that this will somehow save the planet and you have an eco-warrior vegan in the making, global agriculture compromised, immense numbers of farmers put out of business and, straighter than train smoke, all manner of dietary problems coming down the track. Which will need treatment by an NHS that is currently seeking savings by doing away with procedures required by those who do the heavy lifting in…

Research, research, research: Check the market/product/service you are looking into – just because someone else is already doing it doesn’t mean you can’t – just do it better. Have goals or milestones. Have a plan. And work hard, nothing is a given. Don’t be shy to ask for advice, information or help: It’s a close-knit industry and there are numerous people more than willing to share contacts, information and help out where they can – so be sociable and make contacts. Never be surprised: Anything could happen. Many people will talk about their successes, but less so about their failures. Failures are just as important as success, understand and learn from them (easier said than done, though) as they develop a self-awareness to grow. A “no” today is not always…

Q Legally speaking, is there anything a shoot captain must say during his briefing to avoid prosecution in the event of an accident? A There are all sorts of shoot briefings and they range from the excellent to the very poor. At one Sussex shoot not that many years ago, which was run with absolute military precision and where everybody was very well known to each other – if not actually related – the only briefing was the phrase: “Gentlemen, shoot what gives you pleasure.” These days it pays to be a little more thorough. There is no express legal obligation to provide a briefing but there may well be a legal requirement to have a written health and safety policy. It makes sense to document this policy, if something…

Alan Paine has been making clothing for 111 years and its modern day shooting apparel is instantly recognisable. These stylish, functional products - many of which are waterproof and breathable with hidden features designed exclusively for the company - are sure to keep you comfortable on the peg... What you win... MEN’S CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES: Combrook coat (£349.95) Combrook shooting waistcoat (£169.95) Combrook breeks (£164.95) Combrook unisex cap (£49.95) Aylsham fleece gilet (£84.95) Ilkley shirt (£44.95) Leather cleaning roll (£149.95) OR LADIES’ CLOTHING AND ACCESSORIES: Combrook coat (£339.95) Combrook shooting waistcoat (£169.95) Combrook breeks (£164.95) Combrook unisex cap (£49.95) Aylsham fleece gilet (£79.95) Bromford shirt (£44.95) Leather cleaning roll (£149.95) DISCLAIMER: Other colours are available in the event of those shown being out of stock. For your chance to win…

My grandfather, James Stanley Beatty, was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. With the beginning of the First World War he enlisted in the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) on June 15, 1915, as a lieutenant. He was initially part of the RFC’s Number 1 Squadron, and is included in a Squadron photograph taken on December 25, 1916, with Canada’s flying ace Billy Bishop. Stan served in Bailleul, France, and was then posted to Mesopotamia and Egypt where he served most of the war as a captain. He returned to Canada in July 1919. On July 15, 1919, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC), one of I believe only 30 Canadians to receive this honour. Stan was an avid shooter and hunter, both before and after the First World…

I had a phone call from David McKay Brown the other day saying he was having a clear out and wanted to get rid of a few old guns. He listed some fairly ordinary guns and then mentioned “an old Dickson non-ejector round action with one of these long stocks”. A Dickson with a long stock? I questioned him further and he told me it was one whereby the wood covered the action. Oh, and it was a 16 bore as well and a side-lever. The wood covered the action! This was none other than a skeleton action Dickson, one of only 11 the firm built and regarded by many as the most elegant Dickson round actions of all. And a 16 bore too with a side-lever, even rarer. It…

Hammer guns were built in their hundreds of thousands in the second half of the 19th century from the cheapest to the very best. Of the very best hammer guns, Purdey hammer guns are reckoned to be by far the most elegant and graceful. Purdey got every part of the design just right from the elegant hammers to the isolated locks to the fine rose-and-scroll engraving. By far the most graceful of all the Purdey hammer guns are the bar-in-wood examples. The stock was carried forward past the locks and up to the barrel hinge bolt in much the same style as a muzzle-loader. These bar-in-wood guns have a grace and elegance second to none and are highly regarded amongst collectors today. Purdey even carried the bar-in-wood design over into…

The first test was an inter-counties shoot between Devon (myself) and Cornwall (WLSS instructor Paul Gendall). The benchmark test was on the 40ft pheasant tower, no survivors here and plenty of positive comments about the handling. Onto the 80ft tower and it was still powdering the clays on all the angles, very easy to control the gun speed and some great kills. Slight change of tack next with some fast partridge. Here the Cornishman thought it would be funny to be a little sharp on the button sending pairs of partridge at interesting angles. Fortunately, the speed of handling with the Perazzi helped me out and none got through although one did get shot behind. I was kinder on the buttons but clearly partridge shooting is not a well-practised art…

It is with the great sadness that I must report that you can no longer buy a Land Rover Discovery, or, indeed, most of Land Rover’s range, in green. My Defender is Keswick Green (with white roof and white steelies, of course) and over the years I have had countless Discoveries and Range Rovers in Aintree Green. Jeremy Clarkson once told me that Tonga Green was the best colour on the planet and the first Land Rover was as green as the badges of subsequent ones. You now have to get a Range Rover and shell out £3,570 for “ultra-metallic” British Racing Green to get a green oval on a green car. How many signatures do we need to get a motion debated in Parliament?…

The results of our Shoot Benchmarking Survey for 2017/18, run in conjunction with the GWCT, show improved profitability for a greater number of shoots. Through cost control and higher charges, the financial health of more than half the shoots surveyed is stable. Average variable costs were at their highest since the 2013/14 season at £8.57 per bird put down. Despite this, shoots have increased their income and reduced fixed costs per bird. On average, shoots lost 35p per bird shot last season, but performance varies significantly. Those making a profit averaged £4.16 per bird whilst those making a loss averaged £6.29 per bird. Despite agri-environment schemes taking a more targeted approach and administrative issues affecting delivery, the proportion of shoots contributing to a scheme remains stable at 70 per cent.…

“Lots and lots of grouse: in fact the best spring count we have had on this particular moor…” It’s a numbers game in the heather for David Hudson “Do not engage in a chase with the dog…” Mike Barnes on what to do if your dog starts playing the fool “We owe a huge debt to the estate owners, shoot captains, gamekeepers and guns…” Amy Bates looks ahead to the field trialling season PLUS A tribute to our late colleague Graham Cox at Windsor, and other reports from Worlaby, Plas Llanddyfnan, Bisterne Manor and elsewhere……

Club: Hampshire & South West United Retriever Club Event: Novice working test Venue: Bisterne Manor, Ringwood Judges: Nick Coates, Keith Manley and Roland Stacey Sponsors: Skinner’s Thirty-two dogs and handlers attended this year’s novice test, held by kind permission of Hallam Mills. Five challenging technical tests were set throughout the day. The first test, judged by Roland Stacey, gave the dogs a seen retrieve with a shot down the end of a track with a jump. Once picked, the handler sent the dog for a blind that was 10 metres past the second jump. Test two was judged by Keith Manley with two shots to the right in the distance. To test the dog’s steadiness a rabbit hopped across in front of the dog followed by a short walk to…

Intermediate 1 (& winner of the Ortolan Shield) Claire Rasell with gr.b. Nordenlights Hathor 2 Helen Smith with lab.d. Kenquince Sneak in the Night 3 Steph McBride with lab.d. Laurinco Just Ace 4 A Brook with lab.d. Levendale Elm Novice Dog/Novice Handler 1 (& winner of Lincolnshire Area Shield) Alison Cook with lab.b.Vilendal Mercedes 2 Tom Birchall with lab.b.Westerkames Ravel 3 C. Carvis with lab.b.Tarnedge Jaina 4 BarryWilkinson with lab.b. Quincampbell Bailey CoM Sarah Skelton with lab.b. Mystical May Blossom CoM Richard East with lab.b. Port Royal Peppa CoM Martin Abbott with lab.d. Cuckavalda Nin…

Club: North Midland Area United Retriever Club Event: A.V. retriever open working test Venue: Welbeck, Nottinghamshire Judges: Arthur Hewer, Charlotte Jeffrey and Charles Albone Sponsor: Alpha We held our open test by kind permission of William Parente MBE and the estate. Thirty-one dogs were entered and our guests included Margaret Rowson, the dog handler on the estate. In the morning Arthur Hewer judged a long mark on the water of the upper lake. Meanwhile Charlotte Jeffrey judged a two-retrieve pick-up in Cat Hills Wood, resplendent with a carpet of bluebells. A long mark falling in the edge of Nightingale Plantation required a long outrun uphill across cereal drilling assessed by Charles Albone. After lunch the tests resumed. Charles judged a water retrieve, which involved a diagonal swim across the lower…

Puppy 6 to 12 months 1 Jackie McHugh with lab.b. Shadeoak Breeze 2 Arthur Telfair with lab.d. Upperaughton Blackberry 3 Ryan McKnight with lab.d. Gunnarah Lord McDuff Puppy up to 18 months 1 Kim Dutton with lab.b.Ashwynd Lemon Spint 2 Paula Diamond with lab.d.Ashwynd Golden Tropics 3 Paul Whitley with lab.b. Onyx Star Emily Novice 1 Elaine Chappell with lab.b.Wapsac Wagtail 2 Victoria Waterfield with lab.b. Kenquartz Dame Sybil 3 Charlotte Brailsford with lab.b. Kentixen Sunshine Blossom 4 Judith White with lab.d. Minstead Costello CoM Keith Welsh with lab.d. Bob Ametrine Open 1 Judith White with lab.d. Minstead Axel 2 Kelly Rogers-Davison with gr.d. Loveloch Valentine 3 Judith White with lab.d. Minstead Costello CoM Kim Dutton with lab.b. Shady Acres Teardrop CoM Catherine Allsop with lab.b. Glasbont Springing Teal…

How to win For your chance to win either a Pintail Explorer smock (top) or a Seasons jacket (right), email high-resolution pictures to: katemaxim@outlook.com. Please put “Gundog Picture of the Month” in the subject line. The winner will be chosen by the Shooting Gazette judging panel. Good luck! The prize will only be posted to winners with a fixed UK postal address.…

Further to Mike Barnes’ article A Breed Apart (July issue), I take the view that a good dog is a good dog, whatever its breed or even combination of breeds. I have seen collies that were good gundogs. I have seen a rottweiler work well in a beating line. I have seen a “horrible hairy hound of origin unknown” do a very good job picking-up. I myself had what is now called a sprocker, long before such dogs were called anything other than a ‘crossbred’ or often a ‘mongrel’. It’s a pity some of our British gundog breeds are seldom worked. I blame the show people for that, at least to an extent. I take the view a breed of dog that was originally intended for a specific purpose should…

How did you come to take over at Llechweddygarth? I believe if you are truly passionate about something and work extremely hard then your efforts will eventually come to fruition. I love to challenge myself, strive to work harder and be the best at what I do. This mentality and ultimately being in the right place at the right time is why I have been given this opportunity by the new owners, which I am very thankful for. What will you bring to the role? The main attributes are my ambition and passion for game shooting. I have a strong eye for detail and perfection and hope this will be seen in the new season. There is a lot to learn but I would really like to emphasise team work…

For your chance to win a bottle of Taittinger Champagne for Picture of the Month, send us a team photograph or a picture of something unusual from your shoot. Send high-resolution images or prints with captions to Shooting Gazette Gallery, TI Media Limited, Pinehurst 2, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF or email: martin.puddifer@ti-media.com. CLAY SHOOTERS RAISE £15,000 FOR BREAST UNIT CHARITY Pennsport was the venue of the Peters & May Group’s annual charity clay shoot in June. The event, which comprised 7,000 clays over eight stands, a barbecue lunch and auction, raised £15,000 and will help fund the ground-breaking work carried out at The Princess Alexandra Hospital by the Breast Unit Charity. The Constantine Group (pictured) took first place, closely followed by the Peters & May team. FOURTH NLSD…

‘The average gamekeeper is the most conservative man on earth. Not only does he cling to the long-practised methods of his father and grandfather; he is impatient of any suggestion that might interfere with his own settled convictions’. So wrote Sir Peter Jeffrey Mackie in The Keeper’s Book first published in 1904. Few, if any, of his readers must have disagreed with his views as in its revised and rewritten version some 20 years later he was still firmly of the same opinion. Mind you, employees and their agents were not immune from Mackie’s criticisms either: ‘Much of the inefficiency of the keeper is… due to the ignorance or indifference of the master or his factor,’ he continued. Was his critique unfair? Read on and make up your own mind...…

James MacNaughton was born at 5 Raeburn Place Edinburgh on February 21, 1838, the son of a shoemaker. At the age of 14 in 1852 he was apprenticed to John Dickson & Son and after the completion of his apprenticeship, he remained with Dickson for another five years. He then set himself up in business in 1864 at 33 George Street. In 1869 he moved to 26 Hanover Street, the address that is always associated with MacNaughton. MacNaughton was friendly with a gunmaker of German descent, Julius Coster, who was working for Alexander Henry. He told MacNaughton about the trigger plate actions his father was building back in Germany and consequently when MacNaughton decided to build his own hammerless gun in the late 1870s, it was the trigger plate design…

The Holts auction in June surpassed itself with a large number of unique and very special guns up for auction – the only McKay Brown sidelock over-under, Eric Clapton’s pair of Purdeys, a skeleton action Dickson, one of only three made – the list was endless and the catalogue made fascinating reading. I just love “sleepers”, guns that have relaxed quietly for a very long time and never been got at or restored. They have a real charm about them and just ooze history. In Lot 402 there was a large iron barrelled blunderbuss by Boyd of Limerick that certainly fitted into this category. It looked like it had lain in a shed all its life, not rusty but with an incredible patination. The butt was full of woodworm but…

On a farm in Norfolk there were several large fields of standing beans that one would not have thought to have been of interest to pigeons at this time of year. However, a good number of birds were flighting out from nearby woods and on arrival at their chosen spot would hover before dropping down into the crop. It was evident they were able to gather ripe beans that had shed from lower pods before the main part of the crop, higher up the stems, was ready. The problem was how to make any sense of the situation to create a shoot and protect the crop as birds arriving could not see their mates on the ground hidden in the crop, and so they too just hovered and dropped in…

The grouse season looms before us. Many of the coveys I have seen on the hill while stalking roe bucks have been on the small side, but the little broods of two and three contain some well-grown youngsters. It looked like we were in for a poor season after such a dry, grim spring, but a recent discovery gives cause for hope. I happened to stumble upon a brood of nine very small chicks in late June; they were only a day or two old. I wonder if the first hatch was delayed or failed in May when the weather was so dry and cold, and the hens have sat on a second clutch. “Life in the hills is too diverse and contrasting for the Twelfth alone to be ‘Glorious’.”…

Engineering: 10/10 It’s a Perazzi, so the pedigree speaks for itself. Looks and finishing: 10/10 A beautiful gun from a mainstream manufacturer yet a combination of the calibre and the input from Sportarm gives it a rarity vaue. Handling: 9/10 Fantastic handling with great patterns. Reliability and customer service: 10/10 The product is tried and tested and the back-up from the factory is well known. Value: 9/10 If you want something different that looks fantastic and shoots exceptionally well, this is a great option. Overall: 48 /50…

Q I’m walking-up grouse this season. How best can I prepare for this? A Shooting walked-up grouse is one of my favourite things to do, especially over pointers. I have seen many experienced shots really struggling with walked-up grouse because most of us rarely shoot things flying away from us. Therefore, in preparation for this the obvious place to start is on clays with a relatively easy going-away target. I would start gun up until you can break the clay constantly. This would be achieved by staring at the clay and shooting it instinctively. If the gun is correctly fitted you should find yourself just tucking underneath the target and squeezing the trigger on first look. Then I suggest you move on to something much quicker and hopefully moving away…

1 (& winner of the Novice Cup) Chris Doig with lab.d. Randall Black Knight 2 (& winner of the Auro Shield) Alex Smith with lab.d. Beggarbush Ledbury 3 Ian Noyes with Brayston Chestnut Boy 4 Henriette Fletcher with Henergy Moon River CoM Janice Miller with lab.b. Millerise Jemima CoM Mervyn Newnes with lr.b. Saunders Roe Princess Both CoM competitors were awarded the Fenton Trophy for being the highest places opposite sex. Highest placed flatcoat was awarded to Ursula Pomeroy with Wayfoong Silken Tigereye of Rushpond. The dog the judges most wanted to take home was awarded to Shane King with lab.d. Wintercopse Red Kite.…

I am looking forward to competing on some wonderful estates this season. We owe a huge debt to the estate owners, shoot captains, gamekeepers and guns who make us welcome and provide sporting birds. Thank you. Big changes in the world of field trials surely must be ahead. Shooting, and all that goes with it, is tarnished every time bad practice from unscrupulous people takes place. The Yorkshire Retriever Field Trial Society put on from what I hear, a fantastic “judge’s seminar” where lots of people where able to understand what the judges are looking for in different scenarios. I’m looking forward to some good judging this year. Years ago, field trials were the domain of headkeepers, gentlemen amateurs and even the odd female handler who were passionate about shooting.…

Club: The Arfon Working Gundog Club Event: AV retriever test Venue: Plas Llanddyfnan, Talwrn Judges: Vicky Stanley, Val Oakley, Bob Clay and Jackie Owen Headkeeper: Steve Cadman Sponsors: CSJ Specialist Canine Feeds and Gary McCarthy of Gundog Gear The test was held by kind permission of Paul Hogarth and keeper Steve Cadman. Some tests were held in woods, retrieves through a cover crop, pastureland and a water test. We had run-offs in the novice and open for the awards. The novice was a long seen retrieve with a shot over pastureland and in the open the judges sent the dogs over stone walls for retrieves. Thanks to our hosts, the judges, the helpers/ dummy throwers as well as the competitors and our sponsors.…

Fish has long been at the heart of a healthy diet for humans and is now increasingly recognised as being just as beneficial for pets. It is full of natural nutrients and Omega oils which is great for coats, skin, joints and cognitive function. Sea Treats are 100 per cent natural, fish-based dog treats made from fresh Grimsby fish and gently air dried to maintain the healthy benefits. They are Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified, which means they are sustainable and can be traced back to the fishery the fish came from. Simon Jewitt, owner of Stoneycairn gundog and training store in Doncaster says: “Our dogs work five to six days a week during the season, and we find that when we give them their lunchtime treats, especially the capelin…