03rd May 2019. And of to Scotland, this time to attend the Gordon Setter Club of Scotland show held at the Cochrane Hall in Alva. loaded up with some essential supplies and only two companions (Summer & Jago) as Autumn has come into season.
The drive up was awful due to the additional traffic for the bank holiday weekend and we finally reached our accommodation at about 20:30.
I booked a room at the Bridge Inn (Tillicoultry) just for one night. the pub is about 5 minutes away from the venue and was ideal, nice clean comfortable rooms that allow dogs so I will definitely book again and would recommend for a short stay. I think we were all tired and we were bedded down by 22:00. I don't think Jago slept soundly as he woke me (and probably the rest of the guests) by letting off a couple of deep woofs every time he heard anything out of the ordinary and then at 04:30 decided it was time to go out for a walk..
I'm used to early starts so off I went and did some exploring, there is a large park next door to the pub and just up a bit are some trails one leading back to Alva. Note to self: Don't let the dogs run free on the day of a show. Summer found something she thought would be nice to wear and gave a good roll around in it, not pleasant at all, back to the room for a shower not really what i wanted to be doing but at least we had plenty of time as the judging wasn't due to start until 10:00.
With Summer and I showered and breakfast eaten we made our way to the venue Cochran Hall, The hall is set in large grounds with a stunning backdrop. (Pics to follow) Although the day was bright it was quite cold and the wind was strong, luckily I had lots of layers as the show was to held outside.
As we were early I took Summer and Jago out to have a run around the greens, I have to say this is one of the prettiest settings for any dog show i have attended and I imagine even more so in the summer months. With the dogs settled into their crates I picked up my catalogue and checked that we were still on track to start on time and ask if the judging would be outside, the club had set up a ring in the hall as a contingency should the weather turn out for the worse.
Our judge for the day was Mrs Rhona Frew (Dunfionn) and she set off with the Minor Puppy Dog class. I had Jago out and about running him around a few times and practice stacking to get him ready for his class. Before I knew it the Junior Dog class was being called and with Jago warmed up we were in,
A double circuit around the ring for the judge and then waited our turn to go in front of her.
He stacked well and stayed rock solid as the judge went over him,
then off into the ring with a triangle move followed by a continuous run round to the end and a free stack. I think he moved really well and I was very pleased to obtain a second place with him.
With lunchtime approaching and the judge taking a break after the dogs Jago was back in again for the Special Award Junior class with Liz Williams (Longrow) judging these classes, Again he stacked well but after looking at the picture I over stretched him a bit, thats the novice element of me kicking in.
but he was placed with a VHC (Very Highly Commended) and again I was very pleased with this result as he was against both dogs and bitches in a very strong class, it must have been difficult for the judge to make her choices.
Next up was Summer for the Special Award Post Graduate class, again another very strong
class and Summer was not the judges liking and she didn't get placed in this class, she looked great and moved well.
These classes were followed on by a fancy dress competition and the entries had made a great effort on the costumes/themes, nice to see.
With lunch over and the judge recharged it was time for the girls into the ring, A bit of prep time for summer just to make sure I get the best from her and in we go for Graduate Bitch, we did our best in this class and the Post graduate class but not being placed in either, But I was more than happy with how she performed both when stacked and her movement.
All in all we had a great day, it really is something special to see so many of this wonderful breed together. Congratulations to all the winners of the day especially to Jean Collins-Pittman with Vegas.
Thanks go out to our judges for the day and of course the committee members for hosting a great event, I look forward to attending the next one.
Keith Whiting
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