SNC WATER TESTS SECTIONS A - C

Congratulations to:

MacKillican’s Mileoak Whispered Secret (Daisy)
Kingsley’s Watervalley The Modeller (Leo)
Coupe’s Sparkybears Oaklahoma (Rufus)
McKay’s Culnor Apache Moon (Bronte)
Mackillican’s Sheenmarie Enchanted (Diesel)
Roberts’ Seashanty Jack Frost (Angus)
Payne’s Kalibah Icicle (Tilly)

"The weather was excellent with a slight breeze but this did not cause any problems for the stewards or dogs.

Thank you to my fellow judge Keith Leybourne, the Test Manager, stewards and members of Horsham Newfs for all their hard work throughout the day."

Kevin Mercer

"What a great day, we had the weather (albeit a bit windy), we had a great turnout from Newfoundland owners across the country, we had a fabulous venue, the tea & coffee flowed all day and we even managed to pass a few dogs along the way – 7 out of 11. Judging with Kev was a pleasure and we saw a wide variety of talented Newfs with a lot of potential, we also saw a few typical Newfs who had a challenge with their attention span.

I was delighted to be asked to Judge at the inaugural test for the Southern Newfoundland Club and shall look forward (hopefully) to being asked again. A key highlight of the day for me was the Baywatch style dive from speeding vessel in pursuit of stray dog by Robin Scott."

Keith Leybourne

Congratulations to:

      Kingsley’s Jolakada King Rocket (Alfie)      

"First of all thank you for inviting me to judge at your first water test event. The weather was glorious but with a slight wind so the dogs didn’t get too hot.

The only real problem today was the underwater retrieve, it was quite an awkward area to work from due to the sudden step into deeper water plus the water was quite muddy, so once the retrieve article was dropped it pretty much disappeared from view. We had some super dogs, that are almost there, and one dog who would have passed if his owner had been a little quicker in catching the underwater article before the dog dropped it.

Thanks to all who entered under myself and Keith Dobson, we thoroughly enjoyed our day at Longside Lake. Thanks too to the organisers for an efficient test and friendly atmosphere.

Congratulations to Alfie for a super pass and keep up the good work to my junior handler."

Jacqui Woodhall

"Many thanks for the invitation to judge at the inaugural water tests of the SNC.

As is often the case at this level the first three exercises were well completed although one dog did not want to give up the rope in B1 and another climbed a little in B2. One dog did a very nice hand tow. The underwater retrieve was as usual the most difficult exercise due to some extent to the nature of the banks of the lake. Three of the dogs clearly had other things on their minds here as they could not even be bothered to look at the water. Controlled swims were a mixture ranging from poor to excellent. Two of the swims did not go according to plan but the swimmer in each case managed to turns things around and complete a nice exercise. Only the one pass but some near misses who will no doubt have their day soon.

Thanks to my co judge Jacqui Woodhall, the Test Manager and Horsham Newfs for their hospitality and hard work."

Keith Dobson

Congratulations to:

Hill’s Honeybears Funny Girl (Maisie)
Dobson’s Noddstrickle Albany Surf at Ursanigra (Ginny)
Hill’s Hanningfield Princess Leia (Ruby)

"It was an honour to be asked to judge at the Southern Newfoundlands Club first water test held at Egham. A lovely venue with good water, good weather and a nice relaxed atmosphere.

We had 6 entries with 3 good passes with the remainder also being of a good standard. It was a pleasure to judge all six dogs and I feel that with a little more work on the failed elements they will all reach the required standard needed to pass, well done.

I would like to thank my co judge John Brown, all the stewards who worked hard, also thanks to the ladies who fed and watered us and to Angie Mercer the test manager for a well organized event.

Keith Sargeant

"Thank you for inviting me to judge at your very first test. I was pleased to note a good entry at this level. Three mature dogs aged 6, 8 and 9 performed nearly perfect tests. It was so nice to see the oldies showing the youngsters how it should be done!

Those who did not reach the standard on the day will no doubt do so in time. Different dogs failed on different elements of the tests, and I was glad that in each case the failure was obvious and accepted by the handler, who had apparently expected a problem with this element anyway, making this an easy test to judge. I would prefer not to comment on individual elements as to do so would make it obvious which dog I was referring to in each case.

A big ‘thank you’ to everyone who stewarded, especially the young lady who acted as our drowning steward - her HUGE grin was still there after calling for all the dogs (one at just about four minutes). I suspect her own dog passing its test earlier might have had something to do with it!"

John Brown