Gundog Group
Ashburnham Gundog Group 
Welcome to the new page for our training group. Here I will be able to post up any news and achievements such as puppy assessments and KC Good Citizen awards as well as changes to training sessions or holidays etc.
The group meets each Wednesday and Saturday morning at 9.50 for 10am and we train for 2 hours. with refreshment afterwards! On Wednesday I teach a novice standard class pushing them toward intermediate and onwards. On Saturday we have four teachers and we operate a “round robin” routine.
Anyone interested please contact through this site.
We have a waiting list for those wishing to join.
List of those who have attained their KC Puppy Assessments:-
Julie Hammond with “Darcie” Ann Green with “Folly”
Tom Ulmann with “Musket” Laura Martin with “Bindi”
Brian West with “Elsa” Anne Kelly with “Zuka”
Hend Finlay with “Kenza” Sue Neal with “Romi”
Lisa Munn with “Charlie” Chloe Surrage with “Esme”
Sonia Donavan with “Holly” Ken Marshall with “Biscuit”
Donna Smith with “Hudson”
more to come:-
KC Good Citizen Bronze Tests now booked for Saturday September 2nd! 2006
Guest trainers are organised for July and September
May 6th 2006
Today we have 4 more puppy assessment passes and so to mark the occasion we managed to take a picture of all the people still with us who have passed successfully, most of whom are now going on to do the “Bronze”. Congratulations to all.
from left: Julie/Darcie, Darryl/Barley, Ann/Gem, Kevin/Sapphire, Jack/Max, Kitty/Wilma, Sandra/Jessie, Chloe/Esme, Donna/Hudson, Sass/Oliver, Karl/Kyte, Bob/Fergus.
May & June 2006
We have 3 more puppy assessment passes.
Mike with Maggie
Hazel with Freia
Chloe with Beshlie
Well done all three (pictures to come)
Mike with Maggie
Hazel with Freia
LATEST NEWS
At the SEGS “Fun Day” on Saturday July 1st Sue Smyth with her black Labrador Bandit won the pre-novice and the Victor Ludorum ! Many many congratulations! Susie trains with us here on Wednesday mornings.
GUEST TRAINERS
On Saturday 22nd July we have 2 guest trainers for the group. Renie Neeves who trains and owns Labradors and Percy Baldock who trains HPR’S and owns Vizslas. Try not to miss it!
STOP PRESS
CONGRATULATIONS to Ann Bridges and her Labrador Riley who are the first ones from our group to pass the KC WORKING GUNDOG CERTIFICATE today July 15th
MORE CONGRATULATIONS!
Wednesday August 2nd saw Brian West gain the KC WORKING GUNDOG CERT with his liver Labrador “Elsa” Brian also trains with us here on Wednesday mornings. Elsa is a grandaughter of Merit so very well done both of you.
Saturday August 26th saw Dave King with his lovely ESS Rosie , gain his KC Puppy Assessment certificate
Kennel Club Good Citizen Bronze Awards
Saturday September 2nd.
Well done to the 9 who passed their Bronze awards and to those who didn’t, “have another go!”
Pictured from left to right, Trainer Lucy Surrage, Sonia Donavan with Holly, Darryl Smith with Barley, Sandra Willard with Jessie, Kitty Keeley with Wilma, ASSESSOR Di Miles, Sass Drury with Oliver , Chloe Surrage with Fenner, Ann Hooper with Gem, Keven Barton with Sapphire and Trainer Vanessa Deacy. Missing from the group is Julie Salwey with Flossie
Julie with Flossie
On Sunday October 22nd at the South of England GWT (novice) Brian West gained a Certificate of Merit with Roytan Lemon Chiffon (Mattie)
SHOOT TRAINING DAY
Friday November 10th 2006
12 of you braved the above day and for some it was the first introduction to a shoot . Overall I feel it was a success and was only marred by poor Susie dislocating her shoulder and the pain she must have suffered.
Our thanks go to Mark Saunders for inviting us in the first instance and also thanks to the team of stalwart beaters on the day. Here are a few pictures to remember.
We all meet at the woodyard.
Waiting during the first drive
Brian West takes a rabbit from his Elsa
Kitty’s Wilma retrieves a bird
Best of the day, Sonia with Holly
The Motley crew at the end with trainers, Tania, Martin, Vanessa and Diana
January 2007 and we are all back to training with some more puppy assessment success.
Paula with “Bracken”,Kate with “Taxi”, Julie with “Ruby” and Chloe with “Reo”
The January 18th issue of Shooting Times carries an article on the Morghew Shoot of which Peter Bishop is a beater with his lemon and white cocker “Rosie” who trains here on Saturdays. Peter and Rosie front left.
CRUFTS 2007 and Vicky Payne who trains with us here with Quincy her ESS won 2nd place in the Gamekeepers Ring Working Gundog class. Just shows what fun can be had with training and working a gundog! Very well done to you both!
Crufts 2007 Our very own Diana presented 3 of her homebred black Labrador bitches in the pickers up competition and was awarded 4th place out of 22 entries. Well done Diana!
APRIL 2007 Beverley with her Annie who train here on Wednesdays gain their Gundog Club Stage Two Retriever with distinction
MAY 20th Sunday Brian West took part in the KSSLRC Veteran test with my Merit and came 3rd. Bailey with me, would have been placed 5th.
On Saturday June 16th we held our KC Bronze Good Citizen Award day.
Of the 15 present taking part, only 4 were “NR” , the dogs deciding to lie down 10 seconds before the end of their one minute stay. The other 11 all passed .
The 11 passing were
Sue Curties with Bilbo, Peter Leyburn with Lola, Carole Bishop with Rosie, Bob Wilcockson with Fergus, Sarah Lee with Pepe , Chloe Surrage with Reo, Ann Bridges with Paddy, all in the above picture. Also passing with picture to come were Julie Hammond with Ruby, Emma Hallett with Widgeon, Barbara Wilson with Mollie, and Jack Evans with Max, Jack was also celebrating his 14th birthday!
Well done to all of you.
July 15th At Michelham Priory Game Fair the two top places in the LONG RETRIEVE were taken by 1st Fergus with Bob and 2nd Ann with Riley. The two of them also did well in the scurries coming 3rd and 2nd respectively.
July 14th & 15th Michelham Priory game Fair and the Labs don’t have it ALL their own way! Two spaniels from the group did really well. Vicky Payne with “QUINCY” was 1st in the Spaniel Scurry and Dave king with his “ROSIE” was 2nd ! Then Quincy came 2nd in the pick and mix and long retrieve as well!!
LATEST NEWS
Sunday July 16th
Vanessa and Lucy (group teachers) both passed their tests to become Kennel Club Good Citizen Assessors for the Bronze Award. Congratulations to both of you!
Latest puppy award
Jack Holt with his black Labrador Jess gained his KC Puppy Assessment yesterday October 6th 2007
December 1st
New Puppy Passes
Well done to Michelle Poole with Freddie and Lee Kent with Olive, both passing their KC Puppy Assessment
Saturday Feb 2nd 2008
Well done Di Stead with Teal-k and Julie Hammond with Mink gaining their KC Puppy Assessment awards at training yesterday
CRUFTS 2008
GAMEKEEPERS RING
Sas Drury with Oliver
Out of a huge class got into the final 7 or 8 and narrowly missed out on a prize card! So very well done for a first effort!
Ancha Gergely with Betyar showed very well in the HPR class for dogs
Diana Evans showed her bitch Pippin but no awards this time
and I showed Esme (Roytan Ariadne) with no luck this time but she did look so good!
KENNEL CLUB GOOD CITIZEN 2008
SILVER & BRONZE AWARDS
Saturday May 3rd. Our Group held the above assessments and all in all it proved a successful day for most.
Our Assessor for Silver was Di Miles (KC Approved Assessor) and for Bronze, Lucy Surrage (Kennel Club Approved Assessor). Our thanks to them both for giving up their morning.
Passing Silver were Ann Bridges with Paddy, Kevin Barton with Sapphire, Kerry with Stella, Dave King with Rosie, Julie Hammond with Ruby, Chloe Surrage with Reo, Sas Drury with Oliver, Bob Wilcockson with Fergus, Jack Evans with Max and Chris Wilson with Mollie. Very well done to all. A stirling effort (no pun intended!)
Passing Bronze were Pru with Flick, Di Stead with Teal’k, Linda Wilcockson with Tess, Lee Kent with Olive, Alison Thompson with Daisy, Jan Absolom with Hazel and Jill Blackadder with Edith.
Photo to come which does not include Jan Copsey with Dill, and Dave King with Rosie. Again huge congratulations for your efforts and for those of you not attaining your certificates today…try again!
Dave King with Rosie receiving both Bronze and Silver awards.
Kennel Club Good Citizen Puppy Assessments May 3rd 2008
We are really pleased that two more puppies have passed their assessments. They may now go ot to Bronze if they wish!
The photo shows Julie Lawrence with Harvey and Jacky with Abigail. Well done both of you!
Saturday May 10th
Surprise Working Gundog Test!
Everyone turned up expecting training as usual but we decided that as we had a “spare” Saturday this month, we would run a test to see just how much everyone had taken in! I think we all enjoyed it, our teachers became our judges and Pauline helped with dummy throwing and general stewarding.
The results were as follows!
1st Dave King with Rosie
2nd Yan with Weaver
3rd Kevin Barton with Sapphire
3rd Ancha Gergerley with Betyar
4th Jack Evans with Max
4th Di Stead with Teal’k
Lucy Surrage also passed 2 more Bronze KC Good Citizen entrants who had been absent last week. Simon Quy with Wellington and Ancha Gergeley with Betyar. Hopefully photos will follow.
Saturday June 7th
Three more KC Puppy Assessment passes today.
Fiona Flint with Tilly
Beverley Baldwin with Tanner
Linda Jeffes with Tally
Pictures will come but proving evasive!
Saturday June 14th 2008
Although Susie Smyth is unable to train with us now on Wednesdays, I was delighted to hear that she ran in the UGS Novice Test at Gardners Farm Ashburnham and came 2nd with her Lab Bandit. Very well done Susie as I could see that you were in very competitive company! Any photos?
Sunday July 6th 2008
At the Bakadam Club Novice Dog/Novice Handler GWT today, held at Willow Farm, Sundridge, Westerham, our group saw 4 competitors participating. Di Stead with her Lab T’ealk, Kitty Keeley with her Lab Wilma, Bob Wilcockson with his 2 Labs Fergus and Tess and Jan (Yan) Auer with his Lab Weaver. For all except Bob it was their first attempt at a working test and I am delighted to report that not only did they put their all into it and hopefully enjoyed the experience , but that Jan gained 5th place and was awarded Very Highly Commended (VHC). So if anyone is interested in taking part …please ask. (There is one on August 31st run by KSS)
Pictured from left to right
Mark Toublic 3rd, Winner Debbie Thompson, Lin Stiles COM, Judges Dick Pettit & Tania Stapley, Alan Scutcher 2nd, and from AGG, Jan Auer VHC running his very first test
and Jan receiving his award
