Sunday, September 18th
Sunday morning
began the quest for a international champion. The competing dogs
and
handlers once again presented themselves to the judges at
check-in.
Each judge in the championship class was assigned a number of dogs to
take to his or her field. At the direction of the judge, the
gunners
entered the field along with the ‘launchers’ or bird throwers.
Three
dogs/handlers were positioned on line at which time the judge
instructed the gunners to begin shooting birds while the dogs sit
quietly at heel. When approximately ten (10) birds had been shot
around the field, the judge called a dog and assigned a bird to
retrieve. This was reminiscent of the English driven shoots
except
that far more birds were shot before the dogs were sent to
retrieve.
Each dog in the test retrieved at least three (3) birds.
When the
retrieves had been completed, the dogs/handlers were excused and
replaced by a new set of three (3) dogs. The test continued until
all
competing dogs had retrieved three (3) birds as instructed by the judge.
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U.S. Judge,
interpreter and dog on
line
Land used for test
Three teams on line, U.S. Judge and interepter
Handler and Golden waiting to run
Following the
field work, the judges conferred and announced the three (3) or four
(4) dogs that scored highest over the two day test. Those dogs
were
essentially the finalists and taken to the water where the final test
of the championship was conducted. The dogs were tested on water
using
ducks. At the conclusion of the water test, all competitors and
judges
returned to the check-in site to learn the results of the field trial
and the announcement of the Finalist (third place), the RCACTIT (second
place) and the International CACTIT -–the winner of the
championship.
It was left to the American judge to announce the final placements:
WINNER
–International CACTIT
FeatherQuest
Shadow
Golden Retriever
– Male – 9/6/99
Owner: Jean
Louis Recchia, France
Reserve
CACTIT
WaterFriend
Lovebuster
Labrador –
Female – 12/8/99
Owner: B & N
Masia, Handler: C. Constantino, Italy
Finalist
Sheila
Labrador –
Female – 6/3/99
Owner: C.
Constantino, Italy
Finalists lined up for last test (water)
Site of final test
RACTIT handler receiving trophy
CATIT
International Winner receiving trophy
Following the
announcement of the International CACTIT, the winner and all
competitors were toasted with champagne and another gala celebration
ensued.
Winner
-Jean Louis Recchia with Featherquest Shadow
In all, it was
an interesting, enlightening and enjoyable experience for this
judge.
The dogs were clearly well trained, exceptionally obedient and
tractable on line. The steadiness and outstanding behavior,
however,
did not detract from their field performance – every dog in the
competition was very stylish, fast and pleasing to watch.
Additionally, the conformation of all of the dogs was outstanding –
largely due to the fact that, in order to receive a field championship,
the dogs were required to have also successfully competed in a
conformation event.
Mary Lou Bath holding a dog for pro
trainer
Castle where judges stayed
We would
be
remiss in not acknowledging the incredible efforts of Mr. Bernard
Caussinus and Christophe Nanglard, Organizers of the Trial. Both
of
these gentlemen went out of their way to make our stay and my first
European judging experience truly enjoyable and infinitely memorable –
for that I thank both of them. In addition, I want to extend my
gratitude to Visi Navarro of Barcelona, Spain, who acted as an
interpreter during the Trial and who was instrumental in eliminating
any language barriers that may have existed. Her contribution was
invaluable.
We wished our
hosts au revoir and looked back on a terrific event that demonstrated
that an interest in good dog work, good sportsmanship and great
fellowship knows no boundaries. Congratulations to our friends
and to
all those that competed in the Field Trial a La Pomarede.
Dennis Bath
Editor-In-Chief
Retriever Field
Trial News
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