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FIELD TRIALS IN NZ
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Wild Gamebird Trials for Pointers & Setters in New Zealand
Administration
Competitive gundog trials have been held in New Zealand since the early 1900’s. Originally administered by the NZ Kennel Club using the English Kennel Club rules, both pure- and crossbred gundogs competed on equal footing until the NZKC introduced regulations relating to purebreds and registration in the 1930s. Today field trials are administered and controlled by the NZ Gundog Trials Association (NZGTA) which was established in 1936. Its objectives are to promote and foster the conduct of gundog trials throughout the country.
The NZGTA makes rules and regulations, sets standards, appoints judges and issues challenges and Field Trial titles, but they do not register dogs or litters (done by the NZKC). An elected Executive run the Association’s affairs. Membership of the NZGTA is through membership of affiliated clubs; there are approximately 30 of these throughout the country.
The First Trials
In the early days, wild game was shot over pointing dogs in our field trials, but the popularity of the sport and the lack of gamebirds in our country led to the substitution of feral pigeons for the “real thing”. Thereafter, pigeons were shot over pointing dogs, until the practice was outlawed by Parliament in 1954. For the next 36 years our field trials for pointing breeds were conducted firing blanks over homing pigeons released from cages, to simulate flushing gamebirds, and using cold game to test retrieving. These trials were acknowledged as a poor test of a pointing dog’s ability, but NZ had no alternative options.
Until the 1990s gamebirds could not be managed (raised and released) in New Zealand. This was a carryover from the early days when immigrants came to NZ to escape the class system of the UK. They believed that hunting should be freely available to every citizen and made the purchase of shooting illegal. But when there is no return, there is no investment! This meant that a wild population of pheasants and quail struggled to survive in just a few regions. There were certainly not sufficient population densities to trial pointing dogs and where good numbers of birds did exist, the terrain and ground cover was ideally suited to spaniels, not P&S dogs!
Until the 1990s gamebirds could not be managed (raised and released) in New Zealand. This was a carryover from the early days when immigrants came to NZ to escape the class system of the UK. They believed that hunting should be freely available to every citizen and made the purchase of shooting illegal. But when there is no return, there is no investment! This meant that a wild population of pheasants and quail struggled to survive in just a few regions. There were certainly not sufficient population densities to trial pointing dogs and where good numbers of birds did exist, the terrain and ground cover was ideally suited to spaniels, not P&S dogs!
The Game Trials Reintroduced
By the time the P&S Club started in 1983, the pigeon trials had resulted in the oft-expressed opinion by hunters that "field trial dogs are no good to hunt birds with". As a blanket statement this is quite untrue, but the situation can exist whereby a P&S Field Trial Champion (titled in competition on pigeons) may be next to useless as a shooting dog! Almost any dog can be trained to find and 'point' a pigeon in a trap, but that is no guarantee the same dog has the natural ability or inclination to find and point a wild pheasant outside of gun range, and to hold it for the gun. Testing the ability of pointing dogs to handle wild birds was the primary objective of the natural game trials developed by the P&S Club. Club members spent seven years developing and refining their trials on pheasant and quail. After intense lobbying of the NZGTA Executive through the late ‘80s, these trials were finally granted championship status in 1990.
The first P&S championship game trial was held in Woodhill forest, hosted by the Pointer & Setter club. That trial attracted eight entries. The judges (Leon Mortensen and R Ruffe-Thomas) withheld the challenge because they considered the bird work was not up to standard. The scene was set. There were not going to be any "cheap" challenges issued! The next year's entry was 16, then 21 in 1992! Challenges were issued both times. Leon Mortenson's ESB FTCh Wingfield Lace, judged by Robyn Gaskin and Gordon Clarke in 1991, became the first dog to receive a game trial challenge, followed by John Gaskin's ISD FTCh Erinvale Captain (imp UK) in the (still) record entry of 1992.
By 1996, more lobbying by the P&S Club resulted in all gundog clubs being granted a P&S natural game championship per year and the number of trials increased steadily. A remit from the P&S Club in 1997 saw the creation of the Field Champion (FCh) title (two wins on game) as opposed to the FTCh (titled primarily on pigeons), and further lobbying resulted in the Grand FCh title (eight wins on game) being introduced in 2007.
The creation of A & B judging panels for P&S game trials resulted in a steady progression of experienced hunters being approved as judges. In addition we have had the valuable input of skilled P&S judges from the UK, Eire, Canada and Australia officiating at many of our trials. They have all been impressed with the dog work, especially in the country we expect our dogs to hunt. The scrub-covered gullies, steep and broken terrain, and pine forests where our gamebirds live are a far cry from hunting red grouse on an English moor, or stubble quail on the vast grasslands of Australia. One Irish judge was moved to say "there is no such thing as a poor moor" after he had judged our NZ trials!
The rules for our game trials are based on the UK rules, but adapted to suit NZ conditions. Because of the difficulty in watching two dogs working together in the type of country where our wild gamebirds are found, two judges officiate. The dogs are run in pairs (braces) that are decided by ballot at the beginning of the trial. The trials are generally non-shooting (i.e. no birds are shot) and held either side of the gamebird season. A blank is fired to simulate the shot. Each brace runs for 20 minutes in the first round unless an eliminating offence occurs. Each brace is run over fresh ground, so many hectares can be covered with a large entry. When one of the dogs points game, the bracemate may be given the opportunity to 'back', i.e. point (honour) the pointing dog. At the end of the first round, the judges will call the better dogs back to compete in a second round. And often there is a third round before the winner is decided. In non-shooting trials, the placed dogs must confirm their positions by carrying out a “cold” retrieve at the conclusion of the trial, because a shooting dog in NZ must retrieve shot game! A failure to retrieve the pheasant (or quail) to hand means no placing will be awarded to that dog. Game birds encountered in trials are predominantly pheasant, but also quail. Natural game trials must be run on wild birds; if released then they must have been ‘wild’ for at least four weeks prior to the trial.
Eliminating offences for dogs in trials include chasing birds or fur, deliberate flushing (i.e. failing to point game), missing birds on the beat, refusing to retrieve or damaging birds while retrieving (hard mouth), being out of control, barking while working, persistent false pointing or stickiness on point and excessive or noisy control by the handler. Credits include good ranging and groundwork, clever bird finding, staunchness on point, steadiness to flush and shot, and good bird sense. The emphasis is on the quality of work rather than simply the number of birds found. However, the judges’ task is always “to find the dog which pleases them most from the shooting point of view” and the best dogs always seem to come up with birds when lesser dogs can’t.
The titled NZ Field Champion has proven himself an accomplished shooting dog. He is a fast, tireless worker who misses no game, who accurately locates birds and points them staunchly for as long as it takes to get to him, who flushes birds freely when commanded to do so and stands steady to shot and the fall of game, and he retrieves shot birds only on command, quickly and tenderly to hand.
We have come a long way since 1984! We now have an excellent system to prove our pointing breeds as hunting dogs under typical NZ shooting conditions. We constantly strive to maintain the relevance of our natural game trials to our gamebird hunting. And to improve both facets of our working pointers and setters.
The first P&S championship game trial was held in Woodhill forest, hosted by the Pointer & Setter club. That trial attracted eight entries. The judges (Leon Mortensen and R Ruffe-Thomas) withheld the challenge because they considered the bird work was not up to standard. The scene was set. There were not going to be any "cheap" challenges issued! The next year's entry was 16, then 21 in 1992! Challenges were issued both times. Leon Mortenson's ESB FTCh Wingfield Lace, judged by Robyn Gaskin and Gordon Clarke in 1991, became the first dog to receive a game trial challenge, followed by John Gaskin's ISD FTCh Erinvale Captain (imp UK) in the (still) record entry of 1992.
By 1996, more lobbying by the P&S Club resulted in all gundog clubs being granted a P&S natural game championship per year and the number of trials increased steadily. A remit from the P&S Club in 1997 saw the creation of the Field Champion (FCh) title (two wins on game) as opposed to the FTCh (titled primarily on pigeons), and further lobbying resulted in the Grand FCh title (eight wins on game) being introduced in 2007.
The creation of A & B judging panels for P&S game trials resulted in a steady progression of experienced hunters being approved as judges. In addition we have had the valuable input of skilled P&S judges from the UK, Eire, Canada and Australia officiating at many of our trials. They have all been impressed with the dog work, especially in the country we expect our dogs to hunt. The scrub-covered gullies, steep and broken terrain, and pine forests where our gamebirds live are a far cry from hunting red grouse on an English moor, or stubble quail on the vast grasslands of Australia. One Irish judge was moved to say "there is no such thing as a poor moor" after he had judged our NZ trials!
The rules for our game trials are based on the UK rules, but adapted to suit NZ conditions. Because of the difficulty in watching two dogs working together in the type of country where our wild gamebirds are found, two judges officiate. The dogs are run in pairs (braces) that are decided by ballot at the beginning of the trial. The trials are generally non-shooting (i.e. no birds are shot) and held either side of the gamebird season. A blank is fired to simulate the shot. Each brace runs for 20 minutes in the first round unless an eliminating offence occurs. Each brace is run over fresh ground, so many hectares can be covered with a large entry. When one of the dogs points game, the bracemate may be given the opportunity to 'back', i.e. point (honour) the pointing dog. At the end of the first round, the judges will call the better dogs back to compete in a second round. And often there is a third round before the winner is decided. In non-shooting trials, the placed dogs must confirm their positions by carrying out a “cold” retrieve at the conclusion of the trial, because a shooting dog in NZ must retrieve shot game! A failure to retrieve the pheasant (or quail) to hand means no placing will be awarded to that dog. Game birds encountered in trials are predominantly pheasant, but also quail. Natural game trials must be run on wild birds; if released then they must have been ‘wild’ for at least four weeks prior to the trial.
Eliminating offences for dogs in trials include chasing birds or fur, deliberate flushing (i.e. failing to point game), missing birds on the beat, refusing to retrieve or damaging birds while retrieving (hard mouth), being out of control, barking while working, persistent false pointing or stickiness on point and excessive or noisy control by the handler. Credits include good ranging and groundwork, clever bird finding, staunchness on point, steadiness to flush and shot, and good bird sense. The emphasis is on the quality of work rather than simply the number of birds found. However, the judges’ task is always “to find the dog which pleases them most from the shooting point of view” and the best dogs always seem to come up with birds when lesser dogs can’t.
The titled NZ Field Champion has proven himself an accomplished shooting dog. He is a fast, tireless worker who misses no game, who accurately locates birds and points them staunchly for as long as it takes to get to him, who flushes birds freely when commanded to do so and stands steady to shot and the fall of game, and he retrieves shot birds only on command, quickly and tenderly to hand.
We have come a long way since 1984! We now have an excellent system to prove our pointing breeds as hunting dogs under typical NZ shooting conditions. We constantly strive to maintain the relevance of our natural game trials to our gamebird hunting. And to improve both facets of our working pointers and setters.
Working Gundog Titles in New Zealand
Field trial titles can be awarded only to purebred, registered gundogs. A challenge point is awarded to the winner of a Championship trial if the performance is of sufficient merit. Winners of National Championships and Island Championships may win multiple challenge points.
A Field Champion (FCh) has won at least two challenges in natural game trials (on wild gamebirds). A Grand FCh (GFCh) has won 8 challenge points. A Field Trial Champion (FTCh) is a gundog which has won six field trial challenges on simulated game. A Grand FTCh (GFTCh) has won 20 challenge points. A Qualifying Certificate (QC) may be awarded to a dog which has proved it will hunt, find and handle game as is expected of its breed and is not gunshy.
Additional information may be found on the NZ Gundog Trials website https://www.nzgta.co.nz/
A Field Champion (FCh) has won at least two challenges in natural game trials (on wild gamebirds). A Grand FCh (GFCh) has won 8 challenge points. A Field Trial Champion (FTCh) is a gundog which has won six field trial challenges on simulated game. A Grand FTCh (GFTCh) has won 20 challenge points. A Qualifying Certificate (QC) may be awarded to a dog which has proved it will hunt, find and handle game as is expected of its breed and is not gunshy.
Additional information may be found on the NZ Gundog Trials website https://www.nzgta.co.nz/
NZ Field Champion titled dogs to 2024
Name | Breed Sex | Total ccs | Year of Title | Handler |
GFCh & GFTCh Gamemaster Tanner (imp Aust) | ISD | 13 | 2011 | R Gaskin |
GFCh & GFTCh Kilsheelan Stellar | ISB | 13 | 2015 | R Gaskin |
GFCh & FTCh Lusca Skippy (imp Eire) | ISB | 8 | 2007 | R Gaskin |
FCh & GFTCh Wingfield Token | ESB | 7 | 1996 | L Mortensen |
FCh & FTCh Arddun Damask | PB | 5 | 2010 | T Connor |
FCh & GFTCh Kilsheelan Gingersnap | ISB | 5 | 1995 | R Gaskin |
FCh & GFTCh Chywoon Entrepreneur of Jonsmae (imp UK) | ESD | 5 | 2001 | L Mortensen/N Allen |
FCh & FTCh Kilsheelan Leah | ISB | 4 | 2002 | R Gaskin |
FCh & FTCh Arddun Aladdin | PD | 4 | 2007 | F Conner |
FCh & FTCh Kilsheelan Outright | ISB | 3 | 2007 | J Gaskin/I Hendren |
FCh Gameridge Heather | ESB | 3 | 2008 | I Hendren |
FCh Roshdael Bridie | ISB | 2 | 2019 | D Russell |
FCh & FTCh Kilsheelan Red Frill | ISB | 2 | 2018 | R Gaskin |
FCh Gameridge Fearn | ESD | 2 | 1999 | I Hendren |
FCh & FTCh Kilsheelan Fergus | ISD | 2 | 2000 | D Sheely |
FCh Fauloon Cracker (imp UK) | PB | 2 | 2004 | R Whitehead |
FCh & FTCh Kilsheelan Nova | ISD | 2 | 2005 | D Sheely |