RATHER more than a century ago, the correspondence pages of The Field were enlivened by passionate debates about the best breeds of dogs to work with grouse. With the eventual eclipse of the flatcoated retriever these discussions became less heated, but there are still many who have strong views on the subject. I asked a former headkeeper of a Pennine moor for his opinion. He thought for a moment, looked me straight in the eye and answered in broad Yorkshire: “There isn’t one. I’ve witnessed terrific work by almost any breed you can think of, and seen some of the best labradors in the business humiliated by one of my keepers’ spaniels. Regardless of breed, the best dogs are those that are both well trained and used to working with grouse.”
For a labrador that’s practised at picking up pheasants on cold winter days in lowland England, being asked to find a lost grouse on a hot day in deep heather is a real challenge. My keeper friend also pointed out that many of the dogs that accompany guns on driven days early in the season are hopelessly unfit. Working on a grouse moor is testing. The days are long, the temperatures often high, the hills steep, the conditions difficult. It’s hardly surprising that a sofa-lounging labrador from Surrey is going to find things tricky.
Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin September 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin September 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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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.
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