FERRARI makes beautiful cars, combining a great appearance with a stunning performance. However, there is one notable exception: its Formula 1 car. For ultimate performance, looks have to be sacrificed. I sometimes wonder whether we are guilty of a similar approach with our gundogs. All our breeds of gundogs, without exception, are handsome dogs but the ultimate performance dogs – those that compete in trials – are often far from good looking. Whether it be snipe nosed labradors or all-white springers with just one brown ear, trialling dogs rarely conform to the breed standard or anything like it.
As long as a dog is Kennel Club registered and the correct breed it can compete in a trial. Field trial judges are there to consider the dog’s performance, not its appearance. They might look disapprovingly at, say, a silver-colored labrador or a cocker that looks more like a small springer, but they are not going to disqualify a dog because of its looks. This explains why we have such a distinct division today between work and show lines. You are no more likely to win the Retriever Championship with a show-bred labrador than you are to win the British Grand Prix with a Ferrari designed for the road, not the race track.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 2021-Ausgabe von The Field.
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Rory Stewart - The former Cabinet minister and hit podcast host talks to Alec Marsh about the parlous state of British politics, land management and his deep love of the countryside
The gently spoken 51-year-old former Conservative Cabinet minister is a countryman at heart. That's clear: he even changes into a tweed waistcoat for the interview, which takes place at his London home and begins with a question about his precise career status. Having resigned from the Commons and the Conservative Party in 2019, the former diplomat and soldier has reinvented himself, first with an unconventional but promising run as an independent for the London mayoralty (abandoned because of COVID19 in 2020) and then as a media figure, co-hosting one of the country's most popular podcasts, The Rest Is Politics, alongside Alastair Campbell, the former Labour spin doctor.
Fodder
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