The Eastern Counties Golden Retriever Club held their All Aged Stake at Great Livermere on the Ampton Shoot by kind permission of Peter & Elsie Hammond on Saturday 18th October.

The judges were Gwen and Mike Knox, Steve Ellis & Ted Fitzjohn.
It was a 14 dog stake but having used all the reserves we had a card of 12 runners.

The day started in high thistles on my end of the line but we were soon into standing maize where a bird was shot which nearly decapitated the Mike Knox on the left of the line. After the line was moved back the bird was tried for with dogs from the right of the line without success.

The first round moved on briskly at the end of which we had retained 6 dogs to go forward to the second round. By now we were in sugar beet and the dogs' marking ability was tested to the max (as the modern idiom would have it). The lunch break was taken with only Graham Bird left to complete his second round retrieve with Scherzando Pisces.

When we moved off again we had Graham left to complete the second round together with the dogs brought forward for the third round. Having finished with the sugar beet we moved on to fairly open ground behind one of the farmyards on the estate to complete the trial with three dogs in line, Graham Bird's Scherzando Pisces, David Barnes' Birdsgreen Stormbreak over Millgreen and Roger Benton's Kessgold Furze. Unfortunately Scherzando Pisces ran in and the remaining dogs were placed as follows: 3rd David Barnes' Birdsgreen Stormbreak over Millgreen
Certificate of Merit Roger Benton's Kessgold Furze.

The Ragnot Trophy for the dog with the best marking ability went to Graham Bird's Scherzando Pisces and the Highseas Salver for the Guns Choice went to Kurt Becksteiner's Bell Octave Apollo.

Di Ewings
ECGRC WT Secretary