An absolute privilege to be out on the North York Moors for the first day of the new season. The auspicious event was a field trial organised by the Norfolk and Suffolk HPR Field Trial Club. We started early to avoid the heat with Islay running at number one. Conditions were perfect, running into a gentle headwind, on shortish heather. She quartered the ground nicely and soon came on to a staunch point. The bird was duly shot and she was sent for the retrieve. This wasn't entirely straight forward, as she had to pick the bird from amongst a small covey, but Islay didn't let that distract her. She dropped the retrieve on the way back, but quickly gathered the bird up and delivered it to hand. This was a slightly dicey moment, as if she had been judged to have put the bird down we would have been eliminated. Luckily she wasn't, and we had what was possibly the first grouse of the year, safely in the bag at just after seven. Her second run was very short and uneventful, as the judges rattled through the card before the day heated up. A German Longhaired Pointer was awarded second place, Islay third, and a German Wirehaired Pointer received a certificate of merit. All in all a great day and fantastic start to the season.
#theglorioustwelfth #HPR #huntpointretrieve #vizsla #fieldtrial #norfolksuffolkhprftc #ivytheglp
