Pointer & Setter
Handler of the Year 2005
Each year we acknowledge Dog of the Year in Ireland, but I feel a nomination for Handler of the Year would also deliver recognition where it is deserved. Sometimes we have years where the season is dominated by a particular dog and certainly the trainer of such a dog has proved he has capitalised on the animal’s potential. Consistent winning eliminates the element of luck. Jack Stewart, that famous trainer from Magherafelt, always said that he’d much more to fear from the competitor with only 1 competitive dog than the trainer who appeared with 3 or 4. So often the man with multiple entries had none of them properly finished and polished and so was less threat than the handler with only 1 or 2 dogs who devoted all his time to their preparation. When such a handler can produce 3 or 4 dogs each season capable or winning, this success deserves to be celebrated. In the fairly recent past we’ve had fantastic trainers such as John Nash, Billy Hosick and Johnny Geoghegan who could not only keep a team of competitive dogs but could add to it each season with younger stock.
For the title of Pointer and Setter Handler of the Year 2005 I would like to nominate Gerald Devine from Donegal. He has been in the awards consistently throughout the year with 4 dogs and had several other animals who were trialled lightly and were unlucky not to figure also. Where do I begin to outline his 2005 success? He won the first trial of the year and the last, he won in Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. His dogs triumphed on the mountain and the lowland. He won grouse Trials and pheasant Trials. He made up one International Field Trials Champion and but for an unfortunate duplication of judges he would have made up 2 Internationals. In a Spring Open Stake he had 3 dogs in the second round (an admitted judging error omitted his fourth) and he took 1st, 2nd and 3rd with them – could it have been a 1, 2, 3, 4?
His season began with a Novice Stake in Kinnitty where he won with the ESB Toryview Helga on her Trial debut. It was a cold blustery day and she performed well – a bitch who was extremely good around game. Helga went on to figure in almost every Trial she ran in winning the Scottish Field Trials Association’s Novice Stake of 45 dogs at Corrybroch in Scotland in March. The day was unpleasant with fog, rain and mist but she won in style with a super find in round 1 and another find on her first cast in the second round when her slightly unsteady bracemate exerted considerable pressure, but she went on the produce first one and then a second grouse without blinking an eyelid. She took second place in the NI Pointer Club’s Open Stake also in March thus qualifying herself for the British Champion Stake.
After the Irish Field Trials Association Novice, Gerald’s success moved to the Dublin Mts where he won the English Setter Open Stake with the very exciting Lefanta Kira. Kira impressed throughout the year – this little bitch consistently ran with amazing speed, drive and ground coverage. Johnny Geohegan likens her to his famous Irish Championsip winning bitch, Lefanta Cindy, one of her illustrious ancestors. Over the year she was quite unlucky in rarely having game opportunities even on days when game was abundant such as on her excursions to Scotland and England, but when she got her chances she capitalised, such as in the March Open in Dublin. She had a super run in the first round and a find and ran really well in round 2 with another find, in which unfortunately the judges were unsighted and didn’t see the birds, but the gallery did. It didn’t matter anyway she had done more than enough to win without the second find. She had a fantastic run in Kinnitty the week before, but again despite 3 long hard runs there was no game for her. She was 3rd in his 1,2,3 in the NI Pointer Club Trial on ‘Orra – despite wonderful running there were no grouse for her on the day, although she had an excellent find on a snipe. On the Spring circuit in Scotland, she was eye-catching on each outing – in the run-off at the Northern Counties Trial, but no game; in the run-off in the Scottish FTA; the only dog without game brought into the Scottish Gundog Association 2nd round of 6 dogs (there were quite a few dogs that day who did have finds in the first round who were not deemed worthy of a place in the second round). The gallery felt that when she finished her second run still without game she would be called back for another, especially as 3 of the 5 other dogs had now committed eliminating errors, but no, she was not given a chance to win and the Trial finished without a worthy winner, only a second place being given. Very hard luck was the common consensus. She came out fit and flying in the Summer and again knocked on the door on most occasions – but it didn’t really open – a 4th place in the English Setter Open was the highlight, but then we got into the Autumn and she soon challenged for a pheasant trial in Strabane in September, being uncharacteristically slightly unsteady after producing a pheasant. She rectified this error in Strabane’s second pheasant trial – the last of the season when she produced with great style, and clinched the Stake with her superb and unequalled ground treatment in the 4 dog run-off.
Gerald is basically an English Setter man, but appreciates a good dog of any colour. Although we haven’t yet seen him with a pointer, we’re well used to the occasional red. In FTCh Princess Nisha, he has a beautiful bitch who can really run and is excellent around her game. It is a measure of her calibre to remark that she won her first Trial as a pup – an Open Stake on the tough and demanding mountain that is Slievanorra. Although she has not been trialled on as frequent a basis as the English Setters she is always a contender when she does appear. She had a good fourth place in the Irish Setter Club’s Breed Stake in Galway in July. She didn’t compete in England or Scotland except for the British Champion Stake when she had a lovely find on a single bird in the second round and was well in contention for a place when she picked up the carcass of a dead grouse in Round 3 and was eliminated. Gerald only ran her once more – in the Munster SPC’s Open Stake at the end of August which she won in style, having 2 excellent finds on Grouse. Unfortunately a duplication in judges denies this bitch the International title she really deserves.
And I now come to the pinnacle of Gerald’s year – his partnership with Gardenfield Warrior. Gerald has been extremely fond of this hard-headed, hard-running, serious game-finding machine, since it was a pup. Warrior gained his Irish title at the end of 2003, and so wasn’t trialled much in Ireland subsequently, as Gerald opted to run his younger dogs. Although he had quite a collection of second places accumulated under Kennel Club Rules, he just couldn’t pin down the elusive firsts which are essential to gain the British title. That is, of course, until this year. Warrior came out in style to win the NIPC Trial on ‘Orra in March. He had a grouse find under extreme provocation from his bracemate in his first round. He had a snipe find in his second round and he ran with his customary power in both rounds, despite the heavy condition of the heather – his lines always perfect. He moved to Scotland and acquitted himself well, but without reward, except perhaps in the Scottish Gundog Association Trials. Great dogs are often on the very edge as regards control. 99% of the time Gerald can keep the great dog working for him but every now and again the control slips and Warrior riots. We witnessed a riot par excellence on the Moy estate in Inverness-shire. He headed up the hill, finding hares and grouse and chasing both, ignoring the whistle totally. The truly great dogs are not machines, the can get it wrong too and when they do that can be very spectacular. However the Summer season was not long in coming and the dog had had a rest and some serious homework had been done. His first Trial was at Lauder in the Scottish Borders run by the Dukeries Club. What a day! Grouse were plentiful but so were hares!! Many dogs were missing birds or taking too much of an interest in the hares. Warrior went out fairly early in the draw and had a lovely run culminating in a super find on the right wing. As Gerald walked out to him two hares passed the dog, one from the right and one from the left criss-crossing in front of him, but he stood staunch. When asked to produce another jumped just a few yards in front of his nose but he marched in steadily and flushed his birds as requested and went on to clear the ground – totally ignoring the temptation. He had a clean second round in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm. It was small comfort to learn from Wilson Young, our host, that a previous laird of the Moor had been killed by lightning just yards from where we were currently working. It had been evident that day that the judges had really been impressed with Gerald’s Kira, but this was one of the many days game opportunities were to prove elusive for her and it was no surprise to any that Warrior’s impressive running and game handling were invincible. Gardenfield Warrior became an International Field Trial Champion on 14 July, 2005. Next day the trials moved to Blanchland under control of the Yorkshire Club. The great English Setter stalwart Mrs Betty Town, whose daughter Mrs Fiona Kirk had judged with Billy Darragh the previous day was secretary. She watched Gerald’s dogs with great interest and almost saw a repeat performance. Warrior was running well in an area where there was quite an abundance of game, scent was becoming confusing as young birds flushed by earlier braces were dropping into the beat. After a couple of casts Warrior came on point on the right hand side of the beat. His bracemate was a young English Setter, which appeared to have a mind of its own. It didn’t back Warrior’s point, rather it ran around him and flushed some birds. Despite the fact that neither handler was near the incident scene, Warrior did not flinch under such provocation. He waited until the errant bracemate was picked up and walked forward on command to where the birds had flushed – the judge Mrs Julie Organ was satisfied and asked Gerald to put the dog on the lead – Gerald dropped Warrior and was sorting out the lead when a cheeper, dropped in from an earlier flush, popped out of the heather in front and with the unerring aim of a kamikaze pilot flew straight into Warrior’s mouth. The dog spluttered and coughed the chick out, but unfortunately was deemed to have done enough to eliminate himself. Richard MacNicol, coming up to the judges to run in the next brace, said to Gerald, “I’ve just heard you’re going home tonight, thank God for that. The rest of us might as well have gone home ourselves if that creature had been staying on the circuit!”
And he was quite right to be worried. Gerald and his team rejoined the Kennel Club circuit when it moved to Scotland at the beginning of August. The first Open Stake was on the tricky terrain of Davy Campbell’s West Glenalmond estate near Amulree in Perthshire. The Trial is held along the face of a steep slope with lots of little valleys and crevices along the way. It also contains a lot of rushes and rocks so seeing a dog is really tricky. The wind conditions also tend to be inconsistent on this ground, so doing well there is quite an achievement. Gerald travelled through the night, after leaving the English Setter Club in the Dublin Mts late on Monday evening to be as West Glenalmond for 9 am on Tuesday morning. Warrior had a super run, handling beautifully and finishing his first round with a lovely find on a height. It took the judge some time to reach the dog, but he didn’t move until requested, producing birds stylishly. He then added a lovely second round and was declared winner yet again. He picked up fourth a couple of days later. He came home to the Irish Championship and had a very unfortunate decision when he was eliminated from the first round when his bracemate flushed birds 70 yards further up the beat. Then we moved to the pheasant stakes and a few decisions also didn’t quite go with him. He was standing as favourite in Strabane when his bracemate flushed on the right on the outcast. Warrior hadn’t been on that side, as he had correctly cast off on the left and in the gallery’s opinion wasn’t responsible for the flushed bird, but the judges obviously read the situation differently, and he lost out. He then moved to Murley Mt in Omagh. He had the misfortune to be in one of the early braces, where the vegetation was horrendous, but with his power and determination he drove on through it relentlessly. He had a lovely find and very clean production on a cock pheasant in his second round. He took second place.
Gerald also produced a Novice bitch at the end of the Scottish circuit. Lefanta Tinka progressed to the second round in both the Trials she ran in – one of only 6 out of 45 in the Pointer Club of Scotland and one of 8 in the Northern Counties Trial, but she didn’t have any game chances. She caught the gallery’s attention in her only Irish outing in Monaghan in the Autumn. Gerald is looking forward to continuing her education in 2006.
Gortinreagh Abbie, a daughter of Int FTCh Gardenfield Warrior, was another Open bitch who was unlucky in 2005. She had won in style in Scotland in 2004, but didn’t quite get the breaks in 2005. The gallery saw her have a super find in an Open Stake in September in the Dublin Mts, but the judge didn’t see the birds go and so credit was denied.
The bad news for the rest of us as we face 2006 and a new season is that Gerald has several young dogs coming along – a few promising pups from Warrior amongst them. He acknowledges 2005 as one of his most successful years and is currently doing the very necessary behind-the-scenes work to ensure his dogs are in tip-top condition for the in-coming season.
Glynlark
The English Setter from Ireland 