NEW SOUTH WALES WGAA POINTER & SETTER CLOSED SEASON TRIALS.

The WGAA NSW Closed Season Pointer & Setter trials kicked off on the weekend of the 11th and 12th July in ideal conditions. Great grass paddocks, plenty of game, nice overcast conditions and a good breeze were all available. To the Victorians who attended it was almost unbelievable to see so much game – a real return to the good old days prior to the setting in of the drought. (One of the handlers gave a young pup a run after the Saturday trial and in the space of half an hour put up nearly 60 birds with the pup tallying 30 finds!) Button quail, brown quail and stubble quail were all seen over the two days, along with some spectacular peregrine falcons.
Saturday’s trial saw all of the 7 competing dogs (all pointers) have multiple finds in what was a high quality affair. Finds on running birds, finds on birds that were sitting tight, backs, good productions, some great ground coverage were all on display. The judge, Vince Guastella, called on his many years of experience to select beats that gave all dogs the opportunity to showcase what they could do.
At the end of the event the three dogs that were placed on the podium were: in first place the experienced F CH and F CH (CS) Koram Kris at Innistona (imp Ire) handled by Henry Foster, runner up was Andrew Melisi’s Similax Conte and in third place was the stylish Walteela Blitz handled by John Arsenis.
Sunday’s trial started off in similar fashion to the day before with more high quality work on display. However, as the event proceeded some errors crept in, especially during a warm spell when the clouds cleared and dogs began to put themselves out. Two dogs were left to vie for trial honours, Michael Zandona’s Addum Domino (imp NZ) and Andrew Melisi’s Similax Conte. These two had certainly given an exhibition in round one, but as sometimes happen in trials, especially when tired at the end of two days of competition, they also began to falter and Vince, mindful of the importance of keeping a high standard , called it quits with a‘no result’. The award of Best Novice dog went to Michael’s pointer dog.
Well done to the NSW WGAA group for putting in the effort to make this a very successful weekend. These were both hard fought events that featured some well bred trial dogs and some very experienced handlers – and a judge who has seen it all. We look forward to returning for the August trials on the weekend of 28th and 29th August 2010. For enquiries contact Andrew Melisi on 0419 166 965.



To view photos please click HERE and wait for the slideshow to load.