Sam did not do too badly at his working test against some very good puppies ending in fifth place out of a field of ten. Diana got away all right for Henlow Grange.
Once back, then watched the fifth and final one day test match between England and the West Indies. We won this match but still lost the series by three matches to two
It was chillier today but at least it stayed dry for my trip to Markfield, near Leicester, for Sam's working test. I met up with the Steeles on the A14 and we drove in convoy; arriving quite early and in good time for the test. It was a long day, with a large field of dogs, and time dragged somewhat but, as usual, the mingling with other dogs and handlers was always an experience and education.
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The entry in my Puppy Class was ten in number and, apart from one or two, they were of very good quality and from right across the country as I immediately saw from the first retrieving test. The terrain was of thick cover under an unkempt woodland with no open ground whatsoever. There was quite a lot of game around and plenty of distractions (reminiscent of Holkham Hall) and Sam was struggling in unfamiliar territory.
He was not actually doing too badly but the third test was something entirely new for him. They had caged a partridge under a tree and Sam covered the ground quite well and under control but just did not point it. Three pretty average tests and then this failure put him behind the places and he ended in fifth place out of a field of ten. His water test went as expected as he messed around before going in but, overall, we both learnt from the experience and will train harder. Interestingly, there was no obedience test but just one memory retrieve, a split one at a distance in cover and then a water retrieve.
Diana had obviously got away all right and the children had made their own tea for I had stopped at a Little Chef on the way back and just updated my journal and then watched the fifth and final one day test match between England and the West Indies. For a change, we actually won this match but still lost the series by three matches to two.