By Alan Rees
It was great to be back at the Game Fair, after a two year break, due to the pandemic
It was excellent to meet up with friends, new and old, competing with their dogs; Some dogs, not having competed for two years.
The ground and tests were well thought out with some very technical elements, while conditions were at times challenging, with scenting and the cover proving to be trying at times. Compliments to the two Spaniel judges and two Retriever judges and also to Steve Smith and his team. This is indeed a difficult job.
Over Saturday and Sunday, in a very keenly contested International competition
Overall winners were England, closely followed by Ireland and Wales, and then Scotland. There was fantastic individual performances, for Wales, Spaniel handler Nathan Quinn returning an impressive winning score of 113 out of Maximum 120, being awarded top Spaniel at the event. Likewise a fantastic performance from Drew Allan, of Scotland returning a score of 117 out of a maximum of 120, winning the top Retriever and dog overall.
The spoils were shared evenly, with Wales winning the top Spaniel team at the event, Ireland winning the top Retriever team, and yet another highlight for Wales was Rhys Carpenter’s performance in the run off for top Spaniel team.
The handlers representing Wales were as follows:
Winning Spaniel team Aled Jones, David Pither, David Gregory, Rhys Carpenter, Nathan Quinn and reserve Julie Thatcher.
Welsh Retriever team, who came a creditable third were Andrew Fisher, Nigel Probert, Mike Jones, Alan Rees, Nigel Probert and reserves Jane Middle and Wendy Glue.
A big personal thank you to CSJ K9, Ceri, Phil and the whole team for your continued support and encouragement. You were sadly missed at the event this year and hope that we will be back together as a full team at Scone Palace in September. DIOLCH YN FAWR IAWN.
One special comment from the team – the coats are a big hit, everyone loves them!!
Breaking News
Before the start of the Game Fair I decided, with Aled, that the top three Spaniels and Retrievers would represent Wales at the Four Nations International Gundog Challenge at Scone Palace in September. The team named is as follows –
Spaniels – Rhys Carpenter, Aled Jones, Nathan Quinn ( reserve to be confirmed)
Retrievers – Alan Rees, Andrew Fisher, Nigel Probert ( reserve to be confirmed)
Alan Rees
Wales International Team Captain
