American Dogs
For those of you wanting to know whether there were American retrievers at work, this is all I could find, from the entries:
there were two American Golden Retrievers:
Halfmoon Destiny of Topbrass
Bitch born 25 09 1999
Mother: Ot.Ch.Tanbark's Gotta Getta Gund
Sire: AFC-OTCH Topbrass Ascending Elijah
Breeder: Kathryn Willis
Handler: Eekma Boukje, Team Belgium 2
Fireside Gunner Dog born 02 03 2002
Mother: Rosehill’s Mr Speaker
Sire: Fireside Tabitha
Breeder: Susan Weishaar
Handler: Barbara Campi, Team Italy WRCI 1
The two Chesapeakes were born in Germany but have a US father
STEP 1 - PETER HAMMOND
3 blinds were placed. The judge positioned all three dogs in the team in line in order from right to left. On the judge's signal three shots were heard:-
a) on the right at about 40m behind a large rock.
b) in front at about 120m between two trees up a hill.
c) on the left at about 60m behind a tree.
The dogs were sent, one at a time, on the judge's command for a blind. The judge decided whether the dog picked up a, b, or c. The terrain presented some difficulty. The line was slightly above the level of the dummies on the right and on the left so once the dog was sent it was not immediately in sight.
STEP 2 - ROGER TOZER
The dogs in each team were placed in line. On the judge's signal, at intervals of 3 seconds, three shots were heard, each followed by a thrown dummy. The dummy throwers were hidden from view and the dogs were required to mark all three "birds". On the judge's command the dogs, one at a time, were sent to retrieve the marks. The distances were 90-100m from the line and the wind was blowing from left to right.
STEP 3 - MARK BETTINSON
A walk-up with all three dogs in the team. The team captain was free to place the dogs in the line but the judge decided which dog to send. On the judge's signal a shot was fired on the right in the valley and a dummy was thrown ahead. This was a distraction. A second shot was fired on the right followed by a mark at about 100m up the mountain. The handlers knew the "bird" on the right was a distraction but the judge wanted both "birds" marked. The dog was sent on the judge's command to retrieve the second "bird". The walk-up continued until all three dogs had retrieved.
STEP 4 - MIKE TALLAMY
The three dogs in the team were placed in line. Following a shot a single mark was thrown over a broad, fast-running stream at about 30m in front of the dogs. Once sent, the dog was out of sight of the handler. Though the distance was short, the dog had first to cross a 3m road, descend the bank, cross the fast-flowing water and climb the opposite bank before picking up the mark. All this was out of visual contact with the handler making the exercise more difficult than it initially appears. The wind was from right to left. At the end of each retrieve, the dogs changed place to enable the next dog to mark the thrown dummy.
STEP 5 - TONY PARNELL
In the area on the right (see photo B) two dummies were thrown following a shot. This was a distraction. In the area delineated by a red rectangle (see photo A) eight dummies were positioned at random. Each team, starting with dog A, was required to retrieve six dummies - two for each dog. To reach the area of search the dogs had to cross a ditch where some dummies could have been placed. The exercise called on the natural ability of each dog to search. The wind was from left to right.
STEP 6 - TOZER/PARNELL
The dogs were called one at a time. On the judge's signal a shot was fired on the right followed by a dummy thrown into a small lake. The thrower was hidden behind a large mound. The handler and the dog then turned to the left to mark a second dummy, after a shot, also thrown into water. The dog was sent to the second mark and consequently, following a successful retrieve, to the first. The exercise was rendered more difficult by the rough terrain the dog had to cross to pick up the retrieve.
STEP 7 - HAMMOND/BETTINSON
Two teams were positioned up the mountainside facing the valley through which flowed a fast-running torrent. Behind the teams was a wood. A simulation of a drive along the edge of the wood with shots, shouts and thrown dummies followed the judge's signal. The dogs and handlers turned and below the line, to the left, three shots were fired each followed by a thrown dummy as a distraction. During the above action the judges were looking for steadiness. The handlers were free to position the dogs how they wished. Each dog in the team on the left was required to retrieve a blind in front of it across the torrent. (Nine dummies were placed on the ground.)
The team on the right carried out a mini-walk-up of about 30m to the right and the dogs were then sent, one at a time, for a blind. (Three dummies were placed on the ground.) The difficulty for the team on the left was the distraction thrown close to the line the dog had to take for the retrieve, whereas the dogs on the right had to descend the mountain diagonally to retrieve the blind placed on a small island in the torrent. The distances were from 150-180m.
STEP - 8 MIKE TALLAMY
The dogs were called one at a time to retrieve a blind placed at about 200m across the valley and up the mountainside. The handlers were given an indication of the area of search. The terrain was rough and two ditches with water cut across the valley. The wind was blowing from left to right.
