Diamond dogs are on point

Richard Negus is a spellbound spectator as the Pointer Club marks its birthday in style

- Richard Negus

The Pointer Club was due to celebrate its diamond anniversary in 2020. Like most boasting significant birthdays during the pandemic, the damned virus resulted in festivities, junkets and revelries being put on hold. The loosening of restrictions meant the club could finally commemorate its 60th and it did so in style on 16 August, with the renewal of its most prestigious competition.

Every decade, the Pointer Club runs an international team event for pointers on grouse. This year, HM the Queen gave permission for the competition to be held on the Balmoral Estate, and top teams from England, Scotland and Ireland faced off in the exquisite, towering surroundings of Delnadamph.

The heather gleamed, puffing pollen in motes. The glow was bisected by blankets of fresh growth. Above those dusky hills, moody clouds billowed up. A fickle wind made me thankful I wore a coat — to my southern bones, it felt more like November than August.

I joined the throng at the lodge for the morning briefing. Club secretary Carole Brown had succeeded in attracting the leading dogs and handlers from three of our home nations. Though pitted against one another in competition, the bonhomie between the teams was clear. There was a ‘start of term’ feel.

Chief steward David Hall introduced the judges and provided a brief rundown of the rules and format, more for my benefit, I felt, than the other 30 or so experienced hands, listening inside the craggy, old shooting lodge. The competition, he explained, is run as a walked-up day. Each team consists of four-pointers and handlers. A brace of handlers and their dogs compete against one another at a time.

“Tail ram-rod straight, right paw raised... a timeless image in an ancient landscape”