2023 Chatsworth Team Event
Chatsworth Country Fair - Inter Team Gundog Working Test - September 2nd & 3rd 2023
The 40th anniversary of the annual Chatsworth Country Fair Inter Team Gundog Working Test took place last weekend where 13 club teams and 39 individuals dualled for the prestigious Challenge Trophy for best team and the Staindrop Challenge Trophy for best individual.
Tens of thousands visit the event, and the gundog event has become somewhat of an institution, where our great sport has the platform to show off to the public, the skill and teamwork of some of the best dogs and handlers in the country.
The Chatsworth estate is stunning, especially when viewed from the hillside above the gundog ground and it was a pleasurable reminder of what a privilege it is to be involved in such an iconic event.
The activities adjacent to the gundog arena were somewhat different to those usually found in the field; a very large grandstand with hundreds of people watching the action, hot air balloons taking off, bag pipes galore, marching bands, cannon shot and the smell of cooking burgers. The whole atmosphere was buzzing, and no doubt affected the dogs.
The event organisers Phil & Joyce Smithies, who incidentally after many years of running this event are retiring from organising it, along with their hard working and dedicated team, created a highly professional presentation of our sport for the public and competitors alike to enjoy.
Watching the action from high on the hill gave a great perspective of the challenges to be undertaken. The atmosphere at gundog HQ was fabulous. Supportive, encouraging and very relaxed. However, this feeling soon changed when it was time to make the walk down to the battle ground.
The Chief Steward, Michael O’Hanlon, and his team had carefully prepared the ground, including strategically creating large blind spots behind high cover where the handlers would lose sight of the dogs. In this situation we all rely on our dogs’ natural abilities to hunt for and wind the dummies but with the high temperature and zero wind, every retrieve was going to be very difficult to pick.
The highly regarded judges were Andrew Slingsby & Michael Jones, who along with the guns and throwers stood out in the baking sun for hours dressed in their finest field attire. It was lovely to see them clearly enjoying the event, smiling whilst keeping the competitors relaxed but in check and most importantly conducting a great spectacle for the public to enjoy.
The public were treated to a very informative commentary from Steve Burns, Paul Dixon & John Lupton. We picked up that some spectators had never witnessed gundogs working and were totally enthralled by their natural abilities, enthusiasm for the task, the teamwork with their handlers and their fabulous physical condition. It’s safe to say they walked away with a very positive impression of the gundog world.
The DVWGDC team had a couple of very late changes to it, with the highly experienced Steve LeVoi and his 9-year-old labrador Oscar taking the lead and showing the way to the two very inexperienced team members, Bob Seaman with Bear and Hazel Cave with Captain. The pressure was on as Dove Valley have done well in the past but alas the result was disappointing, however the experience for the team was invaluable, and they did the club proud making some fabulous retrieves in very difficult circumstances.
Day 1 - 4 retrieves for each dog
The event was run as a team walk up with a blend of marks and blinds, with each dog going in sequence but for a different retrieve each time so there was little chance of a dog learning from watching its teammates. The test programme included marks to the side dropping behind shoulder high cover with the dogs going well out of sight, several other barriers such as a long steep drop into water, blinds placed tight against fencing and in cover right next to water with some lovely distracting ducks casually swimming along at times.
The consistency of the throwers and placers was exceptional, and it was a very fair test for all competitors, but the conditions were tough and weaknesses were quickly realised.
A shot to the right rang out but Bear missed this his first mark, possibly due to him having only one eye and not yet fully adapted to his new condition, possibly because of the overall excitement but probably because Bob didn’t turn him quickly enough. So now it’s a blind and Bear takes time to settle into an event, so a clear mark would have been far better. He headed out, arrow straight at full speed and didn’t slow down much until he was called up not having picked our very first retrieve. Not a great start but most teams had zeros, so we needed to settle down and get a score on the board. Oscar and Captain ran well on this test when their turn came and thankfully this was to be our only miss on day 1.
A shot behind saw Oscar taking on probably the most difficult retrieve of the day. A blind behind deep cover right in the corner of the fence turn. Most dogs struggled with this test, with it creating several zeros, but Oscar strode out and with just a little help from Steve casually picked up the target and trotted back showing the young pups how it’s done. Bear and Captain also picked well from the same area, and it was remarked that it was probably the best overall team performance on the most challenging part of the test.
A simple mark, almost to the front, proved very difficult for many dogs but the team picked these cleanly and all that was left for day 1 were the three water retrieves.
The dummies dropped from a good height into the water, but the landing spot was shielded by high cover so again the dogs had to work hard to succeed with little help possible from the handlers. All three picks were good, but a few points were lost for slight deviations around the fence and for a bit of loose heelwork.
At the end of day 1 we were in fifth place, so it was all to play for on Sunday.
Day 2 - 2 retrieves for each dog
Sunday’s conditions were unchanged, so it was going to be a difficult day again. The tests were a mark and a blind across water once the dogs had dropped down about 10 feet losing sight of the target area so nothing easy at all. The mark was so close to a fence that with no wind if the dog was right next to the target but the wrong side of the fence it missed it and needed handling. Many zeros were being collected here from what we could see.
The blind required the dog to drop down the bank into the river, cross it at an acute angle, go along the bank about 50m and up into thick cover, setting out while its partner was returning from the mark. The river drew many dogs back into it as they saw small branches floating along, with the occasional duck or two, thinking that was the target.
It was to be a disappointing result for the team. Despite 5 out of 6 dummies being picked we collected three zeros but there were some great retrieves witnessed by the crowd who provided everyone with much needed support.
As always there are many long-term positives along with the short-term disappointment. Our sport isn’t normally watched by hundreds if not thousands of people. The quality of the event and those participating was truly appreciated, and even created some humour when a dog having made a difficult retrieve and was being applauded on its way in, did the unthinkable - dropped the dummy, had a pooh, picked the dummy back up and bounced its way happily back to a frustrated and embarrassed handler. I’m happy to report that it wasn’t a DV dog.
The winning team was the Midland Gundog Society. Given the difficulty of the challenges, to win with a score of 319 out of a possible 360 points and no zeros was truly impressive and well deserved. Congratulations to Ellena Nunneley, Diana Stevens and Ali Cecere.
The overall best dog was Fay Drewry’s beautiful Golden Retreiver. He performed almost flawlessly scoring 115 out of a possible 120 points and collected the Chatsworth Country Fair Staindrop Challenge Trophy. Congratulations to Fay.
The Duchess of Devonshire was assisted in the presentation of the trophies and awards by non-other than Joan Hayes. Joan, aged 91, was determined to attend the anniversary of the gundog test that she first introduced 40 years ago despite still recovering from a broken back suffered earlier this year. It was remarkable to see her in a venue, and at an event, that clearly means so much to her.
So, we have some work to do should we be privileged enough to receive another invitation to run at this great event, but the team ran well for the most part and did a sterling job representing the club and our great sport.