Tracey entered the Eastern Counties Spaniel Society Novice AV FT on Wednesday 1 November 2023 held at Grundisburgh, Suffolk with Gavin aka Nossewej Javert.   The judges on the day were Brian Wade, Dave Templar, David Gosling and Andrea Perrett.  Gavin was running at number 5.

His first run was in white grass alongside a ditch.  He had a long hunt and was eventually pulled up by the judges without either a flush or retrieve but made it through to the second run.  His second run was in the woods.  At the start of the run, he had a pretty bare bit of ground, but he hunted with pace and stayed under control.  They eventually hit thick bramble and he had a lovely contact flush on two pheasants.  Unfortunately they were not shot.  He hunted on, but again was pulled up by the judges without a retrieve.  However, they told Tracey to stay in line as they hoped to get him a spare bird to retrieve.  They stayed in line until almost the end of the trial, when two birds were shot.  She was called forward, and Gavin waited off lead while the other dog did the first retrieve.  Tracey was given the mark, and sent Gavin.  She stopped him and pushed him on twice and it was great to see him achieve the retrieve on a hen bird.

The judges deliberated over their books and two dogs were called forward for a run off; numbers 3 and 5.  The judges asked both competitors to hunt their dogs, and after a short hunt were pulled up.  Trial over.

It turned out that the run off was for 2nd and 3rd place, with Tracey & Gavin just missing out on 2nd.  They were awarded 3rd place and Guns' Choice, although apparently Wendy's apple cake ran them close for that award!

A great start to the season :-)