With growing concern at the lack of Flatcoats coming forward to enter the Societys Breed Only Field Trials the FT Sub committee staged a Mock Trial in the hope of encouraging members who might not be familiar with the workings of a trial and what is required of themselves and their dogs to come along and experience a day run along the lines of a Trial.
The Estate chosen was Bretby, Burton on Trent and we were extremely well served by the Game Keeper, Matt Smith, who runs an excellent shoot and has a very good working knowledge of the Flatcoat and its capabilities.
Our Judges, Phil Bruton, Clare Gould, Carol Probert and Laura Marsh,were chosen, not only for their vast knowledge of Trials but also for their knowledge of what is required to train a dog to achieve awards, be it an air scenting breed or otherwise.
As the A Panel Judge Phil Bruton began the day with an informative talk explaining to handlers that they would come into line under the Judges and would be sent for retrieves as in a Trial and that the Judges would then assess the retrieve and discuss its merits with the handler. An explanation would be offered should there be reason for the dog to be discarded as in a proper Trial but all would have the benefit of running again on this day. The Judges would also help handlers make the best use of ground, wind and other influential circumstances.
The weather was perfect for shooting and we loaded into vehicles to make our way to the first drive. It was good to see Matt had included some seasoned Flatcoat owners in his team of willing helpers, David Bellamy as a Gun with Roz marking down and David Savoury in the beating team.
The day flowed perfectly with a mixture of driven and walked up drives with partridge and pheasant in just the right numbers to present sufficient retrieves whilst not over exciting the dogs. The ground is a beautiful mix of rolling parkland and woods and really lent itself to the day and gave handlers the opportunity to run their dogs on Trial typical retrieves and it was encouraging to see some really good dog work.
A relaxed but informative atmosphere was evident throughout the day which kept handlers, made up of some experienced handlers with novice dogs, some novice handlers and novice dogs experiencing Trialling for the first time and some who had minimal experience wishing to build on the knowledge they had, very much at ease.
The Ft Sub Committee would like to thank all those involved, the Landowner, the Keeper and his stalwart team of guns and beaters and the Judges for making this day possible and hope it has roused a little interest in potentially Trialling your Flatcoat.
The Ft Sub would also like to express thanks to the Society for maintaining the Game Training subsidy which helps enormously towards the cost of handlers gaining competitive Game experience.
Jane Manley