Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: S Burton/ F Briley

Handlers Critique:
Starting in thick cover surrounding a sequence of young plantations bounded by close cut rides, with the terrain and direction offering variably, head, cheek and back wind, the dog worked intelligently and at a pace to suit the conditions. A bird lifted away from the dog's beat and the handler brought the dog up to make the retrieve which was not marked. The bird was quickly found and delivered quickly to hand.

On the second run in the same conditions, the dog came on point which was claimed by the handler. Inder pressure from the dog the bird lifted and was not shot.

At the water test, the dog entered directly, and retrieved efficiently.

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: N Cox/ L Wilks

Handlers Critique:
Starting in thick cover surrounding a sequence of young plantations bounded by close cut rides, with the terrain and direction offering variably, head, cheek and back wind, the dog worked intelligently and at a pace to suit the conditions. A bird lifted away from the dog's beat and the handler brought the dog up to make the retrieve which was not marked. The bird was quickly found and delivered quickly to hand.

On the second run in the same conditions, the dog came on point which was claimed by the handler. Inder pressure from the dog the bird lifted and was not shot.

At the water test, the dog entered directly, and retrieved efficiently.

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: C Wilkinson/ M Jones

Handlers Critique:
Starting alongside a deep ditch with hedgerow at the top the dog was worked in and along the ditch to make the most of the wind. The ditch was filled with dense cover and watery bottom at times. The dog came on point and on command flushed a cock pheasant which fell wounded into the far side field and into cover of another ditch. Crossing the ditch to take a mark from the judge, the dog was then sent and efficiently picked the cock from cover returning it to hand. Hunting on a bird was flushed and brought down on the far side and again retrieved.

The second run had the dog hunting into thick cover between a hedge line and a derelict pen. The dog pointed a hen and in spite of the restriction of the cover, flushed the hen which was shot and then retrieved. Sent into cover to find a running hen, the dog came on point again, retrieving the marked bird.

At the water test, the dog entered directly, and retrieved efficiently.

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: C Snelling/ S Robson

Handlers Critique:
The first run was alongside a deep drainage ditch adjacent to a ploughed field, with a backwind. The ditch had a watery bottom, and the fieldside bank cover was fresh dense nettle growth. The handler proceeded to work the dog downwind at the bank top, directing the dog into the ditch to work back with favour of the wind. The dog came on point while ascending the ditch bank and on command flushed a partridge which flew out of bounds. The dog remained on point and on command flushed a second partridge. Neither bird was shot.

On the second run the dog worked some thick cover between a mature hedge line and a large lake. On reaching the boundary, another drainage ditch, the dog pointed and on command flushed a large cock which flew away from the waiting gun. The dog was sent into the ditch and pointed again, producing a hen pheasant which was shot. The dog was steady to the shot and retrieved the hen on command.

At the water test, the dog entered directly, crossing the river to locate and pick the retrieve, returning by land.

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: M Wakeham/ T Bennett

Handlers Critique:
The dog worked a double hedge uphill with only very slight favour of the wind through the hedge. The handler worked the dog forward and return and then forward and return again, moving on when the dog had hunted the hedge twice. This paid dividends as the dog was able to point, flush and retrieve two pheasants in quick succession.

On the second run the dog hunted a deep, steep sided gully, with a sparsely covered watery bottom. The dog pointed game in a large holly bush and flushed a large cock pheasant on command. The dog was steady to shot, but at this point the handler met with a serious eye injury having walked into the end of a broken bough. After an interval the trial recommenced and the judges gave a mark on the suspected area of fall of the bird. The dog was directed along the watery bottom, but returned to the holly bush and went on point again. The wounded cock was captured from the bush and returned to the handler, head up, eyes bright but missing a few feathers.

It was decided to run the dog a third time, at the top of the gully which was unrewarded with game. Offered a fourth run, the dog produced another cock bird having pressured it in deep overhanging cover at the bottom of the gully. The bird was shot and later retrieved as a blind. The water retrieve was satisfactory.

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: C Snelling/ P MacDonald

Critique:
This dogs first run was in a rape field into the wind. The dog hunted with fast pace and with a good head carriage covering all of its beat and guns well, taking the correct bites going forward always into the wind and was sharp to every whistle. Towards the end of the dogs run it indicated and worked a moving bird that lifted and the dog was very steady to flush and shot. Her second run was in woodland with low bramble and bracken cover on a back wind. Again she hunted with good pace checking all covers well, indicating and coming onto point on a bramble patch. She produced a hen on command which flushed too low for the gun, but was shot outside of the wood. The dog was very steady to flush and shot. The dog hunted on and worked a pair of moving birds that lifted towards the end of the wood, where the cock was shot outside of the wood. The dog was taken out of the wood and made a 40 yard retrieve on the hen and a 60 yard retrieve on the cock and this finished her run. Water was very good.

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: F Alcock/ A Johnson

Handler's Critique:
The dog worked a hedge line with a backwind, turning right at the corner to work a wide, tree-lined, dry ditch adjacent to a wood which was out of bounds. The dog was “encouraged” wood side into cover edging the wood, without favour of the wind. A bird lifted and flew back and was shot, gliding a fair distance beyond the original hedge line. The dog was brought out of cover and sent alongside the ditch, winding the wounded bird on reaching the corner. With no handling, the dog captured the bird out of sight and returned efficiently, presenting the bird to hand. Working on, along the dry ditch no further birds were produced. Later the dog hunted a wood efficiently with style and at the boundary pointed a bird in a ditch bottom. The bird was flushed along and out of the ditch bottom but was not shot. On its third run in woodland the dog hunted well and into likely game holding spots but no birds were found. At the water, the dog swam and retrieved to hand.

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: Mr NR Wroe

Judges: R Howard / L Anderson

Critique: First run was in woods resulting in some impressive work with very little handling which resulted in two good retrieves, one of which was pointed. During the second run the bitch had two retrieves, one of which was a runner in tall white grass. Although a little hesitant to retrieve the live bird, she brought it back with head up. Water work was well done. - LA

Handler: NR Wroe    Breeder: NR Wroe

Judges: C Carpenter/ N Jones

Handler's Comment: Kassie's last time in Puppy Stake. Next will be Novice and all that that entails: splits, blinds, shots, launchers, etc. Not to mention the competition from dogs twice her age and more.

Still, perhaps the exuberance of youth may prevail.