2019 Activities

Victoria

Christmas Breakup – 17th November 2019

Sunday 17^th of November saw the finish of what has been a very busy second half of the year for Working Gundogs with a training day and Christmas breakup. Since late June two retrieving trials, a field trial, the inaugural Non-Indigenous Game Bird trials, the AGM, training days and of course the Shot Expo (4 shows put on over two days) have been held. All of these events have meant planning, meetings, unpacking and then re-packing equipment, endless phone calling, texting and meetings. A big thankyou to everyone who was in some way involved in any or all of this programme.

Sunday’s event saw some 50 plus members turn up for a relaxing training day and pre-Christmas lunch in a picture-perfect venue at Riddells Creek. Training took something of a back seat to sitting around after morning tea and cake. Chatting and relaxing were the order of the day while being entertained by the dogs retrieving off the jetty! The free lunch was in itself a triumph, with head cook Jamie Stellini pulling out all stops with a splendid BBQ, along with many and varied salads topped off by a delicious dessert. The monster raffle was generously supported by members and the money raised will go towards more training equipment.

To all our members, have a safe and happy Christmas.

Presentations - AGM – 15th Nov 2019

2019 RETRIEVING DOG OF THE YEAR

Dual National Retrieving Champion Bambillay River Sands (Russ) trophy donated by Byron Kendall

CONINGSBURGH TASHA GIRL ARD (Nellie) – owned by Sam Heyes

Nellie had an outstanding win in the Open Stake on 22 September.

It was fitting that Byron Kendall judged this trial as he also donated the shield for Retrieving Dog of the Year.

This is Nellie’s third Retrieving Dog of the Year. Well done Nellie.

2019 FIELD TRIAL DOG OF THE YEAR

Trophy donated by Annette & Nick Guida

RIPRAP ROXY NRD IRD (Marley) is owned by Nick & Annette Guida

Marley had an outstanding win on 26 May with 5 finds, 2 retrieves and 2 backs.

Marley only needs 2 more points to become a Field Trial Champion.

Marley has previously won Retrieving Dog of the Year – this is an outstanding double to win both Field Trial Dog of the Year as well as Retrieving Dog of the Year in 2017.

Shot ExpoMelbourne – 19th & 20th October 2019

The WGAA demo team did the club proud at the SSAA Shot Expo over the weekend. Breeds represented were Labs, L’Epagneul Bretons, Weimaraners, GSP’s, Golden Retrievers and Pointers. Well done to Shane Emond for his work on the PA and his inclusive work with Senator Bridget McKenzie (Deputy Leader of the National & Minister for Agriculture) and Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party leader, Jeff Bourman (MLC for Eastern Victoria). Both politicians mingled with spectators and handlers and were very appreciative of the quality of work.

Spectator numbers were again huge and they were appreciative as the dogs put on brilliant displays of gundog work expertly organised by our WGAA Training Officer, Kevin Phelps. Star of the shows was probably Steve Luck’s GSP Meg who featured in several hunting scenarios. Great work Meg. The gundog demo wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Sam Heyes’ chocolate lab, Nellie and her magnificent retrieve of a giant Canada goose dummy and her ever popular finale retrieving tinnies from an esky! Well done also to newcomers Sam and Nigel.

WGAA recognises the support and encouragement of Geoff Jones, SSAA National President, Denis Moroney, SSAA Vic State President, Jim Jeffrey, WGAA National Discipline Chairman and Sam Talbot, Australian Shooter Communications Officer, all of whom took the time to attend the display. Lots of thanks also to all at the Vic State office for the smooth running of everything including permits, passes, stand decoration, printing of brochures and general good spirits

Retrieving Trial – 22nd September 2019

WGAA struck the jackpot with a beautiful day and a perfect property for a retrieving trial. Sunshine all day long and a mild temperature set the scene for a very successful Intermediate and Open stake at Nagambie. Judges Bill Allen (birthday boy) and Byron Kendall (recently returned from a 3 day judging stint in Queensland) did a sterling job setting testing runs and WGAA is extremely appreciative of their efforts. As usual WGAA went above and beyond and the lunch put on by Kevin was one to remember.

Results:-

Intermediate – Judge Bill Allen

1st Brian Williamson & Millie (Lab) – 162 points

2nd Shane Emond & Slim (Lab) – 156 points

3rd Phillip Coish & Bella (Lab) – 140 points

4th Kevin Phelps & Hoolie (GSP) – 136 points

Open – Judge Byron Kendall

1st Sam Heyes & Nellie (Lab) – 106.5 points

2nd Steve Luck & Meg (GSP) – 103 points

3rd Phillip Coish & Bella (Lab) – 80.5 points

Non Indigenous Game Bird (NIGB) – 1st September 2019

Clashing with Father’s Day whittled down our numbers somewhat but the stalwarts that turned up did WGAA proud. The usual protagonists that competed certainly had their work cut out for them – the weather conditions were a tad difficult – a freezing wind that was unrelenting all day.

The competitors were Joe and Steve with their GSPs, Barry and his 2 pointers, Wayne and Eric with their Brittanys and Richard with his Wei cross.

The judges were Kathy Oliver & Kevin Phelps, Sam put the birds out on his ATV and Shane took the pics.

It was great to see such a large turnout of supporters including the Beesley’s who were up for the day from deep in deer country at Jamieson.

We are still fine tuning this new trial format but we are improving with each trial. The standout dogs on the day were Steve’s GSP Meg, Barry’s pointer Kio and Wayne’s Brittany Boss. However, the poor shooting became too much for the judge and after a long (really long) heat between Meg and Kio a ‘no result’ was declared.

Retrieving Trial – 28th July 2019

Foggy morning, smoke from the campfire, runs all prepared the previous day, everything in readiness to kick off WGAA’s July retrieving trial at Nagambie. Bill Allen was the Intermediate judge and Andrew Yeomans the Advanced. Some committee members and competitors had camped overnight whilst the rest of us travelled up in the early hours of Sunday morning. A welcome bacon and egg breakfast was served up to everyone. All set for a great day.

Due to recent rains the property was in great condition. Both stakes consisted of 2 land runs and a water run to test the dogs. 14 dogs were entered in the Intermediate stake and 9 dogs in the Advanced stake. A word from the judges about their expectations and all went off to the various runs where the crack of shotguns soon echoed around the trial site.

Good performances, not so good performances, commands called out, nervous handlers … by 1.30 the last bird was thrown and we all made our way back to the campfire to hear how the judges saw things.

Results:-

Intermediate – Judge, Bill Allen

1^st Shange & Slim – 163 pts

2^nd Neville & Raider – 162 pts

3^rd Joe & Ollie – 157 pts

Equal 4^th Sam & Scout, Alex & Buddy – 154 pts

Advanced – Judge, Andrew Yoemans

1^st Joe & Ollie – 168.5 pts

2^nd Nick & Marley – 168 pts

3^rd Steve & Meg – 158 pts

4^th Phillip & Bella – 156.5 pts

5^th Sam & Scout – 155.5 pts

Presentations for Intermediate Stake

Presentations for Advanced Stake

Pointer & Setter Field Trial – 26th May 2019

WGAA’s Pointer and Setter (All Pointing Breeds) field trial was conducted on a cold, wind-swept day. Two Brittanys, a lone English setter and five pointers presented for the Judge, Robert Whinnen (SA). With winter obviously here handlers and dogs were certainly tested by the weather as well as the game.

Some 45+ birds were seen throughout the trial, but the hawks that followed us everywhere combined with the ever- increasing strength of the wind meant that they were difficult to find and often loath to break cover. Several times birds were seen racing well ahead of the dog along tracks in the stubble but were not seen again.

After doing their best the dominant dog on the day was the pointer bitch Rip Rap Roxy (Marley) owned by Nick and Annette Guida and handled by Nick. Throughout the morning Marley carded 5 finds, 2 retrieves and 2 backs – a dominant performance given the conditions. This was a tough event, thanks mainly to the wind, which always made things hard for dogs – and handlers.

Inaugural Non-Indigenous Game Bird Trial – 28th April 2019

WGAA’s inaugural Non-Indigenous Game Bird (NIGB) field trial attracted a field of eight competitors – Henry Foster (pointers), Fred Briffa (GSP), Steve Luck (GSP), Barry Oliver (pointers), Joseph Camilleri (GSP), Danny Alimic (GSP) for Michael Zandona to cast his judicial eye over. The action was slow to start but soon gathered pace once the dogs switched onto the Californian quail.

The dogs seemed to settle down to the fact that these birds were different to stubble quail and throughout the day a total of 20 finds were carded. Some unsteadiness to the flushed bird was the main problem encountered by the dogs, but this was the first attempt at hunting these birds by handlers and their dogs, and in what has been the driest start to the year in recorded history.

The released game NIGB trial format looks to have a bright future by providing the opportunity to continue trialling when conditions are far from ideal. Well done to both the handlers and their dogs.

Duck Opening Training Day – 19th March 2019

The traditional ‘Duck Opening’ training day was held only a fortnight after our last training day, nevertheless a large turn up greeted the instructors on what was an extremely hot day.

Not to be deterred handlers and dogs threw themselves into the duck-themed training session. Cane grass, plenty of water, duck blinds and an array of decoys set the scene for a successful morning’s training.

Training was followed by a barbeque and a raffle which appropriately featured duck shooting ‘stuff’. Another successful event for WGAA.

Training Days – January and February 2019

WGAA has kicked off the year with two very successful monthly training days. Hot weather and drought conditions prevailed, however, the location at Riddells Creek was up to the challenge as the pics show. A large expanse of water together with retrieving runs of varying difficulty provided the ideal scenario for both beginners and more experienced dogs and handlers.

WGAA welcomes and encourages newcomers and their dogs at all our training days and indeed at the Feb training day we had some 50 plus handlers, many of them first timers.