A five-year-old Labrador Retriever from Middlewich, Cheshire has won the International Gundog League Retriever Championship, held at Ampton Shooting Estate, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk by kind permission of Mr Peter Rushbrook and Box Tree Game Supplies.
FT Ch Beileys Aguzannis of Fendawood, known as Beiley and owned by David Latham, was awarded first place at the Championship which was sponsored by Skinner’s Pet Foods, Isuzu UK and the Kennel Club. The event saw 54 of the country’s top working retrievers tested on their natural working ability across the three days.
David said: “This is the fourth time I have won the International Gundog League Retriever Championship. It is difficult to put into words exactly how I feel. It is a lifetime of work that has come together and the feeling is just fantastic.’’
Labrador Retrievers accounted for all the major awards at the Championship. The judges were Messrs Phil Allen, Robert Atkinson, Kevin Doughty and Billy Steel Jnr who awarded the following places at the trial:
- 1st – FT Ch Beileys Aguzannis of Fendawood, Labrador Retriever, owned and handled by Mr D Latham.
- 2nd – Devonvale Shadow, Labrador Retriever, owned and handled by Mr D Logan.
- 3rd – FT Ch Asterix Aguzannis of Chatsworth, Labrador Retriever, owned by Lady C Carter and handled by Mr J Halsted.
- 4th – FT Ch Patanavac Brough, Labrador Retriever, owned and handled by Mrs V Stanley.
Diplomas of Merit were awarded to FT Ch Abhaile Taite Bui owned and handled by Mrs T Blumenthal, and Derryad Moss owned and handled by Mr J A Barr.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club Secretary, said: “The International Gundog League Retriever Championship is a highlight of the working gundog calendar for retriever breeds. The event is a fantastic opportunity for retrievers to display the natural abilities for which they were originally bred, so we send congratulations to David for his success with Beiley and wish them both well for the future.”
A full list of results and photos can be found on the Kennel Club website.
For more information about field trials and working gundogs.