LATE SUMMER IN EAST Anglia was hot and dry, but autumn arrived with a vengeance on 6 September, the day I drove up to Sandringham for the Pointer Club’s last open trial of the year.
HM the Queen’s Norfolk estate has hosted the event for more than a quarter of a century — this was the 26th running. It makes an ideal venue for a trial, with its sweeping fields of stubble and an abundance of wild game. It also provides a ground that is ideal for spectators because it’s rare for competing dogs to be out of sight.
The pointer and setter trialling season is a long one, starting on the grouse in March, concluding in north Norfolk in September with a week of trials on partridges and pheasants. Unlike spaniel and retriever trials, no birds are shot, though pointed birds are saluted with a gun when flushed, to test the dogs’ steadiness. Many of the dogs competing at Sandringham had been working on the moors on August grouse, while others had days on the moors to come.
There was an almost full card for the trial, which meant nearly 40 dogs running, though the number of handlers competing was considerably fewer as several were handling more than one dog.
All such trials start with a draw to establish the running order — the dogs always run as a brace. As the draw was made the sky became increasingly threatening: it was clearly a day for winter shooting coats. I was inexcusably lightly dressed, having not anticipated quite how much the weather was going to change.
この記事は Shooting Times & Country の September 25, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Shooting Times & Country の September 25, 2019 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
United we stand
Following United Utilities' decision to end grouse shooting on its land, Lindsay Waddell asks what will happen if we ignore our vital moors
Serious matters
An old gamebook prompts a contemplation on punt-gunning
They're not always as easy as they seem
While coneys of the furry variety don't pose a problem for Blue Zulu, he's left frustrated once again by bolting bunnies of the clay sort
Debutant gundogs
There's lots to think about when it comes to making the decision about when to introduce your dog to shooting
When the going gets rough
Al Gabriel returns to the West London Shooting School to brush up on his rough shooting technique
The Field Guide To British Deer - BDS 60th Anniversary Edition
In this excerpt from the 60th anniversary edition of the BDS's Field Guide To British Deer, Charles Smith-Jones considers the noise they make
A step too far?
Simon Garnham wonders whether a new dog, a new gun and two different fields in need of protection might have been asking too much for one afternoon's work
Two bucks before breakfast
A journey from old South London to rural Hertfordshire to stalk muntjac suggests that the two aren't as far detached as they might seem
Stalking Diary
Stalkers can be a sentimental bunch, and they often carry a huge attachment to their hill
Gamekeeper
Alan Edwards believes unique, private experiences can help keepers become more competent and passionate custodians of the countryside