Evershot Country Fair – 18 June 2017

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Jun 112017
 

And we’re off, up and running with this year’s show season, starting on Sunday 18 June at the Evershot Country Fair in the heart of Hardy country in the beautiful Dorset countryside.

In its five years, Evershot Country Fair has emerged as one of the best attended and premier country shows in the south west and I know that the organisers are hoping for another record turn out.

Our main demonstration is at 2pm and, in addition, we’re running free training clinics for all dog owners at 11:30 and 3:15.

I am going to be helped once again by a loyal band of supporters and dog trainers without whom I could not manage. Foremost amongst these will be Kim with her dogs, including the adorable 6 month old Vizsla, Parsnip, making her arena debut!

We’ve started rehearsing our routine and have quickly discovered that we are going to have to cull about 10 minutes of material to make sure we don’t overrun! But the emphasis will, as always, still be on entertainment and education rather than showing off advanced gundog skills. 

We’re a little nervous, as usual. But I’m sure it’ll all be ok. Hope to see as many people as possible, not just on the 18th, but at all of this year’s shows.

Lansdown win Hands Down

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Nov 212014
 

Cropped dogs in front of car

Just returned from a day of torrential rain on our local shoot. Everyone and every dog was soaked! Am I glad that both the dogs and I wear Lansdown Country Clothing! Some of the dogs’ owners had no coats at all to put on their dogs, some had equafleeces, towelling coats etc – all of which I have tried, but none of them wick away the moisture from a wet dog, stop them shivering and then keep them as warm and dry as effectively as the Lansdown Therma-dry Gundog Coats.

 There’s only one small gap in the Lansdown gundog coat arsenal: the coats aren’t waterproof. So, if the outside of the coat gets wet, it doesn’t wick away the moisture as well. But I don’t put the coats on when it’s raining anyway, only once the dogs have stopped working and are under cover, so it’s not too much of an issue. The main aim is to prevent what I saw today: a truck full of shivering wet dogs at the end of the day – less my two!

 I wore the Lansdown jumper and cap, which, with their thermal layers and shower proof qualities, also helped keep me warm and dry.

 And before the cynics chip in with “You would say that, they sponsor you” I would respond by saying that I receive not a single penny or item from Lansdown Country, in fact nothing at all. I chose them and am happy to promote their products at events because, IMHO, if you are a caring dog owner, you cannot buy better.

Our First Big Show of 2014 – Getting up a Head of Steam!

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May 062014
 

DSC00146DSC00141                            

The first big show of 2014 is  behind us!

Fantastic weather at the Abbey Hill Steam Fair: sunny but not too hot.

Katie made a fantastic picnic for all of us which we scoffed between the two performances!

On advice from Howard about ensuring the dogs were “fizzed up” for the show, I decided not to feed the dogs that morning. Wow! Poppy’s blue touch paper had certainly been lit: I’ve never seen her so animated!

Anyway, with the help of Sam Styles and Barry Overton pictured above, we managed to put on two really good displays. And I was particularly pleased that the long-awaited and much-rehearsed collar trick went down a storm.

A really good day for all of us.

2014 Show Calendar

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Apr 052014
 

We’re just about ready to publish the list of Gundog demonstrations for 2014!image
We’ve published a few already and the rest should follow in the next week or so.

We’ve had to reduce the overall number of commitments, as Poppy is still undergoing treatment for an as yet undiagnosed condition that has left her lacking in energy and enthusiasm – except when she’s amongst game birds!

As well as fewer commitments, we will be featuring Poppy less and Daisy more in the shows we do. This means that Poppy will be limited to her repertoire of tricks, leaving the long retrieves and other strenuous tasks to Daisy, who is now more than competent.

Please come along if you can; we have a few new surprises on top of the old favourites!

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