17 August 2025
You may start to see a lovely new Chessie item over the coming weeks. Ceramic specialist Karen Glanvill, wife of Committee member Nick Glanvill, has created a limited edition porcelain Chessie brooch. Karen was born and grew up in the Chesapeake Bay area but moved to the UK in 1984. Nick and Karen have had Chessies since the mid ‘80s.
Karen will only make 50 of these brooches and has donated them all to the Club to use as show and working test prizes or gifts to well deserving people. Other limited edition models may emerge in due course.
It is then painted with glaze before being fired again. The process involves six separate processes and the rejection or breakage rate is over 50%. Once the porcelain Chessie has cooled, a pin is attached to the rear to turn it into a beautiful brooch.
Having seen one of these brooches myself, I have to say that they are amazing and will be a very special gift for anyone who is lucky enough to receive one. Thank you so much Karen.
Bournemouth Canine Society always holds an open show on a Friday before heading into its all breed championship show, this time with gundogs on the Sunday.
The open show has no separate classes for our breed so they have to compete in the AVNSC (Any Variety Not Separately Classified). Laura Blaber took Hemi (Oakmarsh Laurel JW) in to win the post graduate class and then go on to best AVNSC – quite an achievement, topped off with winning group 4 in the gundog group. A great win for our breed.
Onto the championship show which was held in the heart of the beautiful New Forest on a very hot summer day.
It was lovely for me to have the company of Margaret Woods who had made a rare trip to the mainland from the Isle of Wight. Margaret bred many lovely Chesapeakes under her kennel name of Nunneyswood, and is an encyclopaedia of canine knowledge having had years of experience of showing, working and breeding not only Chesapeakes but also her beloved Labradors. I never miss the opportunity to chat to someone who is so well worth learning from.
Twelve dogs were present for the championship show. There is never a great number at this show due, I expect, to the fact that there are no CCs on offer for the breed. The heat also made me decide to leave my veteran at home.
Yulia Titovets, well known for her brilliant canine photography, was our judge this time, and awarded best of breed and best veteran to Sh Ch Int Ch Multi Arnac Bay Hebe WGC owned by Joy Middleton and Christine Mayhew, and best dog to her litter brother Gus (Sh Ch Arnac Bay Huron At Bergelle JW), owned by Madeleine Mahon-Hunns, Jodie Hunns and James Newton. Best puppy was Mayhew’s BB’s Chesapeake Breeding Dory For Arnac. Res Best Bitch went to Laura and Laurence Blaber’s Hemi.
Best Special Beginner and reserve best dog was Battsrock Are You Ready for Vroni Royale who gave her delighted jump up and down dance! Always a joy to see.
Next on the calendar was the Welsh Kennel Club show at Builth Wells, where 18 dogs were present for our Norwegian judge, Mr Espen Engh. Once again Hebe was best of breed and best veteran, with her brother Gus taking best dog. This time with CCs on offer, they notched up a few more for their already impressive records.
Reserve Dog CC this time was Julie and Jason Hayes’ Sh Ch Tideflight Floki, with the Reserve Bitch CC being won by Cathy Broomfield, Simon Broomfield, Maddie Mahon-Hunns and James Newton’s Glaneils Daydream Believer. Best Puppy was Sharon Baxandall’s Battsrock Ashes To Ashes For Sharbae – well worth the long trip from the Isle of Wight for Sharon and for her puppy’s breeder, Debbie Herring.
DON’T FORGET your entry to the second Chesapeake Bay Retriever Club Open Show, to be held in conjunction with Darlington Championship Show at Ripon Race Course on Sunday 14 September. A great opportunity to get a championship show and and open show in one day! Entries to Darlington (via Higham Press) close on this coming Tuesday (19 August), and the CBRC show (via Fosse Data) closes Sunday 24 August. Don’t miss out – get your entries in! We have received generous sponsorship from Skinners Dog Food and Sporting Saint, so again there are some lovely prizes to be had!
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewQhorses@aol.com
10 August 2025
With so much news from the Game Fair recently, the championship show results are a bit behind. I apologise for a bunch coming to you in one week.
First on the calendar was Leeds, where judge Jim Richardson, from an entry of 22 dogs, awarded the bitch CC and best of breed to Sh Ch Int Ch Multi Arnac Bay Hebe, co-owned by myself and Joy Middleton. The dog CC went to her litter brother Gus (Sh Ch Arnac Bay Huron At Bergelle), owned by Maddie Mahon-Hunns, Jodie Hunns and James Newton.
Best puppy was won by a new kid on the block, namely Maddie’s co-owned US-imported lad, Susqudilla Yankee Shadow, bred by Robyn Haskins, Karen Anderson and Paul Campanella and co-owned by Maddie, Robyn and Joy Middleton. The reserve CC in dogs was Jason and Julie Hayes’ Sh Ch Tideflight Floki, handled by Michael Craig, with the reserve CC in bitches going to Lorna Murray’s Muireatai Miracle Of Dreams. The best Veteran award went to Caroline Griffin-Woods’ lad, Ch Migwell Soloman’s Puzzle.
A week later it was time for National Gundog show in Malvern at the Three Counties Showground, where 21 dogs gave an entry to our judge, Daphne Bailey. The results for the dog and bitch CC were a repeat of Leeds, with Hebe and Gus, but this time the best of breed going to Gus. Both dogs have just reached the age of seven and were entered in the veteran classes so Gus also won best veteran. Best puppy went to my own imported bitch pup BB’s Chesapeake Breeding Dory for Arnac, handled by Gemma McCartney.
Reserve dog CC this time was won by Richard Playle’s youngster, Riptide Gentleman’s Relish, also handled by Gemma, and with the reserve bitch CC going to a daughter of the BOB winner, namely Cathy Broomfield, Simon Broomfield, Maddie Mahon-Hunns and James Newton’s Glaneils Don’t Worry Be Happy.
Onto the best in show ring and the puppies were first in, where most of the 32 breeds scheduled on the day had their best puppies represented. This time the judge was Chris Bexon, a well known and respected gundog judge. It was a truly great moment for the breed when Chris pulled out our Chesapeake puppy, Dory, for reserve best puppy in show.
Next up was the best in show line up of best of breed winners and again wonderful, the Chesapeake, Gus, was pulled out as reserve best in show. Something like this doesn’t happen often and for two of our breed to gain the reserve places in both best in show and best puppy in show was a moment for the history books.
As always, the United Retriever Club Championship Show was held at the same venue in Malvern just three days later. This time our judge was Russell Mosedale, awarding CCs for the first time in our breed. Once again, for the third show in a row, the dog and bitch CC winners were siblings Hebe and Gus, and swapping places again, Hebe won best of breed and having come through from the veteran classes also won best veteran. Best puppy in breed was again Dory, handled by Gemma.
The reserve dog CC went to, at just six months old, Susqudilla Yankee Shadow, which had co-owner Maddie very emotional, a touching thing to see and I think we all felt very happy for her. Reserve bitch CC went to the litter sister of the RCC winner at National Gundog, namely Cathy Broomfield, Simon Broomfield, Maddie Mahon-Hunns and James Newton’s Glaneils Daydream Believer. These two sisters are certainly notching up the reserve CCs. This time we had a best Special Beginner class, with Angela Corcoran’s Oakmarsh Kingsley Adsila taking top honours.
Onto the best in show ring where, with just the retriever breeds present, the URC finals are always far quicker. Nothing for our breed in best in show, nor puppy, but we did scoop up best Veteran in Show with Hebe taking top honours, this time handled by Emily Evans.
All in all some excellent results for the breed.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
3 Aug 2025
Great news from our secretary, Tracy Boyles, whose recently crowned dog Gibbs, aka Show Champion Pixiesrock Mr Tumus by Bleyos, won group 4 at the Gundog Breeds Association of Scotland open show. Having won under breed judge Susan Maskell, Gibbs took this impressive honour under best in show judge Anne Burns.
Still in Scotland, this time at Hawick and District Canine Society’s open show and Lorna Murray’s Takoda Nathan seemingly is on an endless winning spree, this time taking group 3 in veteran and 3rd in the veteran stakes under Stuart Payne, with kennelmate Muireatai Miracle of Dreams winning 2nd in AV gundog NSC under judge Jacque Bain. Not only placings, but winning some money too – enough for some well-earned dog treats!
It was the Game Fair last weekend, with so much news of different activities that Chesapeakes could and did take part in. Debbie Herring writes:
For 2025 The Game Fair returned to Ragley Hall and the sun shone so bright for the whole weekend, a number of us ended up purchasing cooling coats to keep our dogs cool while they were waiting to go into the ring.
At lunch time each day all the Chessies on site congregated for the breed parade. This year was a new record, I believe, on Friday, with 16 of us in the ring. It’s a fantastic sight to see them all together, especially for a number of people who approached me saying they had heard of a Chesapeake but never actually met one in the flesh. The presenter talks about each gundog breed in the ring and discusses their uses, personality, size and abilities. Many spectators will then go to the pavilion afterwards to find out more.
On Friday and Saturday, myself with Tex and Indie and Kevin with Zoar joined the Working Minority Retriever Club (we also had Dave with Ranger on the Saturday) to demonstrate some of the training activities we do to help our dogs progress from puppy to adulthood. Being his first time in front of the crowds I wasn’t sure whether Tex would decide to run around with the dummy and show everyone how clever he was, but he was immaculately behaved, much to my relief. The older dogs demonstrated a simulated walk up with birds (dummies) in front and behind, dogs running past each other, whilst some of the group were out on stop and finished with Indie doing a quick retrieve over some bales.
On Sunday it was time for the Minor Breeds Challenge held in the huge Hartford Arena which has a grandstand at one end for spectators. It’s quite an uninviting plain grass ring with a number of scrub and brashing piles and some walls and circles of straw bales. A full report with detail about the tests will be available in the Chessie Chat but our team this year did a great job with their dogs.
The team were Anthony Ciraolo with Ebb (Team Captain), Mary Murray with Cara, Dave Compton with Ranger, and
Kevin Amaira with Zoar (Reserve).
Results
1st Irish Water Spaniels
2nd Chesapeake Bay Retrievers
3rd Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers
4th Curly Coated RetrieversI would also like to mention a special thank you to Sue Worrall who gave up her time over the weekend taking thousands of photos of Chessies doing a number of activities across the showground, and Sharon Baxandall and Nicola and Theo Ciraolo who volunteered to throw dummies for the event.
The Euro Challenge gundog competition for retrievers had seven teams competing this year. All teams are made up of a Labrador, a Golden Retriever, and one other recognised breed. Chesapeakes were represented in two of those teams, with Mary Murray and Cara running for Ireland, and Anthony Ciraolo and Ebb in team Great Britain.
Over two days, the dogs were put through a series of tests simulating a shooting environment but with many more distractions as the Game Fair noise and crowds are very substantial and can easily distract the dogs or cause them not to hear their handlers’ whistles and commands. There were scurries being run very close by, so there were whistles blown galore at times!
Each team undertook six tests with 120 points available per dog, giving a perfect score of 360 points per team. At the end of the second day, the Italian team were announced as the winners, with Ireland coming third and GB fifth. The Chessies in both teams had lots of support – so much that one of the judges asked Anthony if he’d brought his whole family along!
Each day there was a demonstration in the working dog arena where Neil Varney used a selection of breeds to demonstrate the dos and don’ts of competing in working tests, and Cathy and Vincent Acheson took part in this demo each day.
In a blink of an eye the Game Fair 2025 is over! This year we returned to Ragley Hall, Warwickshire for a celebration of rural life and the beauty of the English landscape. It is such an incredible event that we look forward to attending each year.
More and more Chessie owners are participating, which is fantastic. I really do hope they all had a fabulous time. We had the biggest group of Chessie owners we have ever had, manning the Sporting Gundog Pavilion. This meant that there was a very swift turnover of dogs and their handlers in the pen, giving people the opportunity to have a wander and get to see more than a glimpse of what the fair has to offer.
This year also saw the largest number of represented gundog breeds in the pavilion, an impressive 23 different breeds who at noon every day would make their way to the Gundog Arena. There they circumnavigate, waiting for each breed to be called into the centre of the arena. Once there, Neil Rice expertly delivered a concise, factual overview of the breed. It was much appreciated that Chessie owners who were visiting the event made the effort to boost our numbers for the parade. Which is by far no mean feat when you consider how large this fair is. I heard a few people comparing step counts.
On Friday we amassed 16 hues of autumn in the ring with their respected owners. I won’t mention you all by name but THANK YOU to everyone who played a part in this year’s event. As ever, it was so good to meet up with Team Chessie, making new friends, sharing tails/tales, swapping advice, enjoying our dogs and having fun.
I’m sure many of you will have seen Steve on GB News where he was put on the spot and interviewed, doing a great job answering questions on the breed. Kay says that she has now become his reluctant fan club secretary and make up artist!
News from Sharon Baxandall who took an epic trip up to Dukeries Gundog Club Premier Open show with her friend Shirley who was judging Goldens. Certainly a worthwhile journey as Sharon’s Connie, Battsrock So Fine from Sharbae, won Best of Breed.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
20 July 2025
Many thanks to Debbie Herring for submitting this guide to the Game Fair this coming week:
“If you are heading to the Game Fair on 25-27 July at Ragley Hall, here is where you can find Chessies. (Don’t forget if you are a BASC member you can enter for free by ordering tickets in advance from the Game Fair website using your BASC membership number.)
Sporting Dog Pavillion
Friday/Saturday/Sunday – The Chesapeakes will all be accompanied by their experienced owners, giving visitors the chance to learn about how they work and understand their temperament and characteristics.
Here you will be able to meet Steve and Kay with Muddle, Mucker and Cree, Danielle, Patrick and Gareth with Hooper and Mac (and Brodie the Lab/honorary Chessie) and Vroni, Faye and Ali with Togo, plus several other owners who I am sure will be dropping in during the weekend.
The Working Dog Ring
Friday/Saturday/Sunday – 12:00 Breed Parade. An opportunity for anyone on site with a Chessie to join other owners and walk around the arena in a group (the more, the merrier). The presenter will go around the breeds one by one discussing their background, personalities and abilities.
Friday/Saturday – 14.45 Minority Breeds Demonstration Chessies will join other minority breeds to demonstrate how we train and progress from puppy stages through to experienced dogs. This year you will be able to see Debbie with Tex and Indie, Kevin with Zoar, Dave with Ranger and Theo and Frank with Flo, and you may catch a glimpse of Sue Worrall hiding behind her camera in the arenas.
Friday/Saturday/Sunday – 16:15 Gundog Grudge Match Have you got a super quick retriever? If so, why not compete in the spaniel versus retriever grudge match? A fun event which sees dogs and owners run to get the fastest return to hand.
Hertford Arena
Friday/Saturday – 09:30–16:30 – Euro Challenge
Teams from across Europe compete for the coveted Euro Challenge Trophy, showcasing the skills of both gundogs and their handlers. This year we have seven European teams of three, competing over the two days.
Through a series of tests in a simulated shooting environment, the dogs and handlers demonstrate just how versatile these retriever breeds are. Each team features three dogs from recognised breeds – a Labrador, a Golden Retriever, and one other recognised gundog breed. This year we have representing our breed Ant and Ebb on the English Team and Mary and Cara on the Irish Team, so two teams to support.
Sunday – 09:30 Retrievers,14:00 Spaniels – Minority Gundog Breed Challenge
The Minority Gundog Breed Challenge is in its third year and is being organised and run by the Working Minority Retriever Club. This showcases the remarkable abilities, talents and versatility of gundog breeds that have historically received less attention than popular breeds such as Labradors, springers and cockers, while helping to encourage their preservation and appreciation.
The retriever section will see teams of Curly coated retrievers, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and Irish Water Spaniels battling it out for supremacy on Sunday morning, with the Chessies hoping to retain their win from last year. In the afternoon, the spaniel competition will feature teams of Clumber Spaniels, Sussex Spaniels, Welsh Springer Spaniels and the Lagotto Romagnolo. This year we have Ant and Ebb, Mary and Cara, Dave and Ranger, with Kev and Zoar in reserve.
If you do bring your dog there are also a number of have a go events including, scramble, pickup, bales and Novice and Open scurry competitions which can be entered on the day.”
I am sure that I don’t have to remind anyone attending that, should it be a hot day, please constantly be aware of your dogs’ health and take water and a bowl with you. There are often places to ‘dunk’ a dog at the Game Fair but with the recent heatwave these may by now be dried up so be prepared. Heatstroke is a killer and by the time it is diagnosed, it could be too late.
A quick reminder that the Club’s second open show of the year is being held at Ripon Racecourse in conjunction with Darlington Championship Show. Three opportunities to show your dogs with the main Championship show, the open show, and the specials classes. Darlington show entries are through Higham press, the Chesapeake Club show entries are through Fosse Data (there’s a link to the schedule on the Shows page). Please don’t forget to enter and support the club show. Sporting Saint have very kindly already sent through a parcel of lovely goodies as prizes.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
13 July 2025
Chris Hewitson kindly wrote a report for us on the recent training weekend held by the Club. What is so interesting about this report is that it is written by someone taking the plunge and joining in a training day for the first time. It would be good if this encouraged others to follow suit with their Chesapeakes who, without fail, love to play at this game. Chris writes:
It was my first time trying my hand at gundog training and I was apprehensive as I didn’t know what I had got myself into. My nerves were soon put at bay when I met the Chessie gang on Sunday morning somewhere outside of Burton on Trent, where we were met by Emma and Adam of Cunningshot Gundogs.
The other guys had an extra day on me, having come down on Friday evening to do a full day on Saturday. I had my older girl Skye with me as my youngest was in season. We have trained with dummies at home but not in company, so this was a first for both of us.
Well, Skye thoroughly enjoyed it. First up was a marked retrieve and a memory, followed by a retrieve with a shot and a dummy throw in, and the third was a long distant retrieve – with my apologies for not knowing the correct terminology (I’m sure it will come). All the tests were well set up with plenty of advice on hand, from both Emma and the gang!
Everyone was so supportive, with no question too small. The rain kept trying: as soon as you thought you were dry, we’d have a ten minute downpour.
We stopped for a quick lunch and then someone had requested a test scenario after lunch. This was to be done as if in a working competition. The advanced group went first. They were taken away and asked to perform a series of blind retrieves in thick undergrowth, and then it was the novice handlers, which was the group I was in. Again done in test conditions. It was a great experience, with a seen retrieve and then a blind retrieve. Skye did herself proud and went on to win the mock test, gaining the most points among the novices! A lovely way to end a fantastic day with old and new friends! You will definitely be seeing me again in the field!
It’s official now! Takoda Nathan (Leo) has gained his Veteran Warrant, the first male in the breed to do so for his very proud owner, Lorna Murray.
Leo is not the first of the breed to win this title, but all others have been bitches (female), namely Oakmarsh Acorn SGWC (the very first to win it) and show champions Oakmarsh Chestnut and Oakmarsh Dancing Diva. A good advertisement for Kirsty Watts’ Oakmarsh breeding when the ‘oldies’ are still winning.
Sad news from Phil Uncles is that his great dog, Yogi, passed away this last week. He was a couple of months over 13 years of age.
Many will know, or have known of Yogi. Not only was he Phil’s wildfowling and picking up dog, he was also very successful in the show ring when Phil could be persuaded to bring him out, which wasn’t very often as Phil was not a fan of the showing side of having dogs. His brief outings however brought him a record, as yet unsurpassed in the breed when he won group two at Crufts under gundog expert, Di Arrownsmith (sadly recently deceased).
Yogi also notched up two best in show awards, one being from USA specialist Chesapeake judge, Dyane Baldwin, 9 CCs (8 with best of breed) and was best of breed at Crufts in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Everyone who met Yogi loved him. He was one of those very special dogs – Show Champion Arnac Bay Exe (sire – Multi Champion Doublecoats Christmas Joy, dam – Arnac Bay Brooklyn.) Breeder, Chrissie Mayhew.
Sadly, with Phil’s commitments, Yogi was not used extensively at stud but there are a few of his progeny here in the UK and some in Europe, so the line lives on.
Chrissie Mayhew
bobmayhewQhorses@aol.com
6 July 2025
Sharon Augustus’s Connie (Battsrock So Fine from Sharbae), not content with her reserve CC last week at Windsor, proved that she is not just a pretty face by passing her Bronze Good Citizen test this week. This girl is certainly on a roll.
Another dog on a roll is Lorna Murray’s lad Leo (Takoda Nathan) who won Group 3 veteran at Annandale Canine Society under judge Mr Graeme Hughes this last weekend. Lorna says, thankfully it was a dry day.
The same weather conditions cannot be said for this current weekend’s Boston Championship Show where 9 dogs were present on the day for judge Tim Ball who has a keen interest in the breed. With no CCs on offer for Chesapeakes, we never get numerically good entries.
Tim awarded best dog and Best of Breed to Sh Ch Arnac Bay Huron at Bergelle JW (Maddie Mahon-Hunns, Jodie Hunns and James Newton), best bitch to Caroline Pont’s Anmore of Ridsome, reserve best dog to Sh Ch Tideflight Floki (Jason and Julie Hayes), and reserve best bitch to Oakmarsh Galatea (Kirsty Watts). Mr S Jackson’s Oakmarsh Locksley was best special beginner.
Fantastic news from Mary Murray in Ireland who reports on a long journey north to the beautiful Glens of Antrim where she and home-bred Cara (Irish Champion Riverrun Everybody’s Friend) won in Novice at the Ulster Select AV Retriever Club’s working test.
The working test was held in Glenarm Castle Estate. The Ulster Select AV Retriever Gundog Club is affiliated with the Royal Kennel Club (UK).
Mary’s young male, Yeats, competed in prelim. Mary says
This was his first time to compete in an AV Retriever working test and he coped well. Completed his 4 retrieves, he just didn’t nail his marks and in prelim that’s just not going to get you in the awards. Cara had a great run, really couldn’t fault her and delighted with the result.
For the uninitiated, competing and certainly winning an AV retriever working test, is a real achievement for our numerically small breed, often under judges who are more used to the style and pace of the field trial bred Labradors. So big congratulations Mary, Cara and Yeats.
On Monday 30 June, MPs debated a ban on grouse shooting. Chris Packham with the support of his anti-shooting group, Wild Justice, created a petition using parliament’s online process which delivers a debate on any issue in return for 100,000 clicks. This was the third time that Wild Justice has generated such a debate. When MPs could be debating a multitude of other subjects important to our way of living in this country, they had to spend time going over this again. Thank goodness the debate ended with Agricultural Minister Daniel Zeichner responding on behalf of the Government confirming that they have no plans to ban grouse shooting.
With few Chesapeakes picking up on grouse moors, you may wonder how this affects our breed but, be warned, these anti-shooting organisations will start with one species and then try to work their way through everything until there is no legal shooting left. No one who shoots is safe. I can only imagine how relieved all the gamekeepers on the grouse moors must have been … and all the local people and hotels who gain their income from the many visitors during the grouse shooting season.
There is a new chairman at the Kennel Club, namely Ian Seath, a dachshund man who has been on the Kennel Club board since 2019. Let us hope for some sensible decisions from the top.
Christine Mayhew bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
29 June 2025
At Blackpool Championship Show last weekend, Tracy Boyles’ boy Gibbs won best of breed and his long awaited third CC, having been the ‘bridesmaid’ for so long with 8 reserve CCs. Gibbs is now Show Champion Pixiesrock Mr Tumnus by Bleyos JW, and a delighted Tracy celebrated in style.
Bred by Lisa Murch, Gibbs is sired by Sh Ch Arnac Weatherdeck Buoy and out of Chesepi Utica. He is an experienced show dog, and is one of a handful of Chesapeakes having won his Junior Warrant. Big congratulations to owners, Tracy and her husband.
The judge on the day was E.P. Hollings who had 19 Chesapeakes to cast her eyes over on the day.
The reserve dog CC also went back to Scotland with Lorna Murray and her lovely veteran (and best veteran on the day), Takoda Nathan.
The bitch CC was won by Cathy and Simon Broomfield, Maddie Mahon-Hunns and James Newton’s Glaneils Don’t Worry Be Happy, with the reserve CC going to Janet Morris’s Penrose Victoria. There were no puppies present on the day.
Next stop in the championship show calendar was Windsor Championship Show where the sun shone and the wind blew, and blew. This was interrupted halfway through the day by a sudden and dramatic thunderstorm and downpour. Luckily the wind and sun dried everything in record time.
Judging the breed was Mrs J Miller who had 20 dogs to go over. She made Riptide Gentleman’s Relish her best of breed for a delighted Richard Playle, whose partner Tilly Thomas was away in Scotland so had to make do with a telephone report.
Roly, as this young dog is called, was expertly handled by Gemma McCartney, who also handled the best puppy in breed, Mayhew’s BB’s Chesapeake Breeding Dory for Arnac.
The bitch CC was won by Lorna Murray’s Muireatai Miracle of Dreams, with Lorna also winning the best veteran, again with Takoda Nathan. Lorna’s long six-hour journey from Scotland was worth it as this was her first CC and the look of delight on her face said it all.
Another delighted winner was Sharon Baxandall who won the reserve bitch CC with Battsrock So Fine and headed off in the opposite direction home to the Isle of Wight.
Reserve dog CC was Janet Morris’s lovely deadgrass dog, Longmeadow Barnegat Bay’s Surfer at Penrose. Best special beginner went to Angela Corcoran’s youngster, Oakmarsh Kingsley Adsila.
I was stranded in the Windsor car park for some time as the shank of my VW key completely sheared off and dropped somewhere on the showground. Luckily my long-suffering husband drove the 1½ hours with the spare in order to save me but I’m still recovering from the shock of the price of a new key – £350.00.
Stop press and a report from Lorna who says:
A nice wee day out on Saturday at Larkhall District Canine Club on Saturday 28th June under judge Ian Sladden. Takoda Nathan took group 3 in gundog veteran.This was music to my ears as I had just mentored the judge at Windsor Show and knew that he had a good eye for a dog. With so many ignoring our breed in the group judging it’s nice to know that one of the up and coming breed judges has the courage to give a good group placing to a Chesapeake.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
22 June 2025
An annual event, the minor breeds team competition was held last Sunday. With each retriever breed taking turns in hosting the event, this year the Curly Coated Retriever Club did a great job, with bacon butties on arrival and tea and cake at the end of the event.
My thanks to Rhian Poulton for this report:
On Sunday 15 June we travelled down to Upper Shadymoor Farm, Shropshire, to the minority breeds working test. It was hosted by the Curly Coated Retrievers, by kind permission of Joy and Kevan Fox, and judged by Sue Margerison and Warren Jones.
There were 5 teams of 3 dogs and a reserve if they had one. Our team consisted of Anthony Ciraolo and Ebb, Mark Poulton and Otto, Dave Compton and Ranger. There were 4 tests.
Test one: a marked retrieve thrown from a spinney in the middle of a field approximately 80 m away with a strong wind coming from right to left. About half way, and stood back to the right of the running line, a man fired a distraction shot.
Test two: two blinds in a wood. This test was described as “a hunting test”. There was a left and a right blind in an old pheasant pen. You had to send your dog to the described area where they had to hold the area and pick a dummy. Ebb was feeling clever at this point and did a perfect retrieve of both dummies in her mouth on her first run, which somewhat confused the judge who had never seen a dog do this before.
Test three: a blind in the shade of an old oak tree, distance approximately 60 m. Again there was a distraction shot off to the right and you had to run quite a short angle away from the hedge to get the correct line for the blind. All three dogs completed this beautifully with a little bit of handling.
Test four: this was an incredibly simple water retrieve, more like a puppy test standard. A simple throw into a nice inviting pond, swim 15 m and bring back to the grass lawn. This did prove which dogs could sit steady and quiet until the judge asked you to send your dog.
There was a great atmosphere all day and the grounds were super. The dummy throwers and shot always being up wind caused some problems for the air scenting dogs, who had the urge to follow their noses. The teams placed 1st Irish Water Spaniels, 2nd Nova Scotia Duck Tollers, 3rd Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, 4th Flatcoat Retrievers, 5th Curly Coated Retrievers. Anthony took the honour of being awarded Judges’ choice with the ever reliable Ebb, after a run off with one of the Irish Water Spaniels. The pair were just one point behind the top dog of the day too! A great effort. The Chessies held their own in good company!
Here is an unusual request from Sebastian Salvat who is a fashion marketing student at London College of Fashion, currently working on a start-up called Chiora.
Sebastian says
Our mission is to prevent brushed-out dog undercoat from dogs going to waste. This naturally shed fibre, which is often thrown away, has shown incredible potential in early tests, being up to five times warmer than wool and comparable in softness to cashmere.
It’s important to know that we’re not here to commodify dogs. As a dog owner myself (to both a Border Collie, an Australian Shepherd and 2 Mixes), I’ve always found it such a shame to throw away this soft, completely natural by-product. Our long-term goal is to transform this overlooked fibre into high-grade yarn, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional textiles while honouring the animals we live with.
Our immediate goal is to collect 8-10kg of undercoat to support our R&D phase but this will be something ongoing. We ask for a minimum of 500 grams per shipment, simply to keep the process sustainable and reduce unnecessary transport and packaging. The fibre can be stored in paper bags or cardboard boxes, and it can be collected gradually over time, there’s no rush. We’re currently working on pre-paid labels to facilitate everything.
If anyone else is interested in taking part in this experiment and supporting the students, please contact Debbie Herring at debbie.herring99@gmail.com and she will co-ordinate with Sebastian. All owners need to do at the moment is keep their fur and bag or box it.
I have to say that once my dogs start shedding their coats in earnest, and the Dyson cries out for help, I comb out any loose undercoat and can often have piles of the stuff floating around the garden (I try never to do it inside), so it would be great to not have to throw it away. I certainly will start collecting.
Thank you to Maria Kapsali who very sweetly let us know that the photo we attributed to Aquamanda’s Yogi Bear last week, was in fact Yogi’s mother, Kanutten aka Cinnamon Scent Tickety-boo who was bred by Maria and is owned by her and Margunn Tvedten. Obviously my understanding of the Norwegian language is not as good as I had fooled myself into thinking. Kanutten was in fact best veteran in show. With apologies, we give you the correct photo this week: the best dog and best in show winner, the genuine Aquamanda’s Yogi Bear handled here by co-owner Heidi Sageng Sommerstad.
Stop press news: We have a new show champion in the breed having gained his title at Blackpool Championship Show – Tracy Boyles’ now Sh Ch Pixiesrock Mr Tumnus by Bleyos JW. Big congratulations.
All Blackpool news next week.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
15 June 2025
The Club recently held a very successful Breed Appreciation Day (BAD) and multiple choice exam (MCE), for show judges. I gave the Powerpoint presentation which included many different photos of the dogs working and at the show ring. As usual, I emphasised the need for this breed to remain a working dog and be truly dual purpose, with no difference in the show dog and the working dog.
We are lucky in as much as most dogs in the show ring today are genuinely working dogs during the shooting season, and some have more strings to their bows by way of obedience and other ‘hobbies’. Long may it continue.
Some 83 people booked to attend but a few absentees and last minute cancellations meant that 78 attended on the evening, with 72 taking and all passing the exam. This is a very positive result for our up and coming judges. With very few Chesapeake specialist judges in existence, it was good to see a Chessie person taking the steps towards a judging future, namely Amie Mellersh-Tett who is now listed on the Kennel Club’s Find a Judge at Level 2. Congratulations Amie.
Whilst educating our judges, these breed appreciation days and exams also provide a good income for the clubs running them and this one made a profit of over £1000 which has been banked by the club treasurer thereby boosting the club’s bank account.
The Euro Challenge is a gundog competition held every year at the Game Fair where teams from across Europe compete for the coveted Euro Challenge Trophy, showcasing the skills of both gundogs and their handlers.
Through a series of tests in a simulated shooting environment, the dogs and handlers demonstrate just how versatile these retriever breeds are.
This year there will be seven European teams of three competing over the two days. Each team features three dogs from recognised breeds: a Labrador, a Golden Retriever, and one other recognised gundog breed. This year both the English team and the Irish team have a Chesapeake as their third dog, namely Anthony Ciraolo and Ebb for Team England and Mary Murray and Cara for Team Eire. This is a great opportunity to showcase our breed and I am sure that we all wish both handers and dogs who reached the high standard needed to qualify for their respective countries the best of luck on the day.
The Norwegian Chesapeake Club’s major event this last weekend consisted of a working day with a working test, and a show judged by Ronny Blomme, a well known FCI judge from Belgium. Incidently, Ronny produces some of the lovely picturesque advertisements that many breeders use to publicise their dogs.
Ronny awarded best in show to a good looking male who I had the pleasure of meeting on my last trip to Norway, namely Aquamanda’s Yogi Bear, bred by Margunn Tvedten, who many of you will know from her many visits to Crufts. Co-owned by Margunn and handler Heidi Sageng Sommerstad, Yogi is sired from frozen semen by Margunn’s great long-gone dog Arnac Bay Wantuck, brother to Wager and Winota who were also successful in England and Ireland respectively.
Yogi’s dam was bred by our Greek friend Maria Kapsali from chilled semen sent to Greece from Phil Uncles’ own Yogi (Arnac Bay Exe). So quite an international team went into producing this lovely dog.
Best bitch in show was Arnac Bay Hebe who had travelled all the way from England and is the current leader in the Our Dogs top show dog awards for our breed.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
8 June 2025
My thanks to Debbie Herring for this comprehensive report on the Working Minority Retriever Club’s test last weekend. I must say from a personal point of view, I find this tough policy in marking a working test unsuitable for our minority breeds – or indeed even for novice Labrador owners. I would rather encourage than penalise. Let me know what you, the readers, think.
Well done to Debbie for winning what was obviously a very tough test.
Debbie says:
Last weekend the Working Minority Retriever Club visited Somerset and stayed with Fleur and Mark Bament at their farm. Some of us braved camping and others found local accommodation, but we all came together for a lovely pub meal and some laughter at the local pub by the docks. Three Chessies attended: myself with Indie, Sharon with Connie, and Fleur with Chester. We were joined by Tollers, Irish Water Spaniels, Curlycoats and Flatcoats.
On Saturday, Nick Coates, who is an A Panel field trial judge, worked with us preparing us for what might be due to come on day two during the working test. We ran through the importance of teaching dogs the difference between up, over and in for jump and water, hunting areas without guiding the dogs, and the need for getting the basics right, such as stop whistle and heel work before you progress your dog into more technical work. The attendees were split into two groups, half training in the beautiful lake next door and half in a grass field with reeds and jumps and the added distraction of mounds of sheep poop to eat! We then switched after lunch.
On Sunday we had a working test with another A Panel judge Helena Sully and non-panel judge John Bint. Helena briefed us on what she would be looking for and left everyone slightly concerned when we were informed that she would deduct points every time we blew the whistle or used voice commands to direct the dogs. She wanted to see the breeds think for themselves. There would also be a zero for weeing, but she would allow poops. True to her word, she had very little tolerance for dogs who couldn’t work it out for themselves. She said in the world of Labradors and AV where there are so many excellent examples of novice and open dogs, the only real differentiator is the dog’s ability to work unaided. As an owner this leaves you with a dilemma, for example if your dog is coming out of the water and looks like it might want to stop and shake, do you blow the whistle to get them on to you and lose points, or do you risk it and pray they return to you without placing the dummy down to shake, which would result in a bit fat ZERO!
Helena set some very challenging tasks. For the open dogs the hardest retrieve of the day by far, was to send the dogs right across the lake to pick up a blind retrieve with no shot, out on an island, hidden in the bulrushes, but with only the send command and no direction or ‘go back’ as that would lose valuable points. This was a daunting task.
For the novice I felt the most difficult retrieve was a walk up with a long retrieve right alongside the edge of the lake. I must admit I nearly had a heart attack when the dog to my right decided to go off for an attempted swim instead of retrieving, but Indie sat patiently, to her credit, and waited for the dog to be caught and return to the walk up on a lead. Just for added pressure we were the last dog to go on the day, so our water retrieve and walk up was watched on by the entire group of entries. It’s lucky Indie is used to audiences from her Game Fair demos but it really didn’t help my nerves.
All the dogs and handlers did a fantastic job, and everyone enjoyed themselves and came home with something to work on.
I was absolutely thrilled to be told I had won novice with a 70/80 score (mostly due to whistling when I thought Indie might go rogue and a little creeping forward at heel!). Indie hasn’t been the easiest dog to train. She has loads of drive but really struggles to contain her excitement, so we have worked for many hours on walk ups to help contain her wanting to run in and squeaking with excitement. At our first working test 2 years ago we scored the grand total of 4/100, so if you are currently training your Chessie and feeling despair, keep at it, they will come right in the end.
For more information about training and events with the Working Minority Retriever Club you can visit their website. Many of the events are available to non-members if you want to just come along and join in and see what it’s all about.
Results for the day
PUPPY (3 entries): no awards (due to 0 scores on a test)
SPECIAL PUPPY: Nick Burchell’s Nova Scotia
NOVICE (10 entries):
1st Debbie Herring’s Chesapeake, Battsrock Sweet Child O Mine
2nd Nick Burchell’s Nova Scotia
OPEN (4 entries):
1st Judy Hempstead’s Irish Water SpanielThere were no other awards.
Lorna Murray is doing a great job supporting open shows and getting a great payback (not financial!) Results from last weekend’s Carlisle District Canine Society on Sat 31st May under judge Simon Luxmoore were Lorna’s Muireatai Miracle of Dreams who was 1st in the Any Variety Not Separately Classified open class, and then 1st in the Any Variety Gundog open class out of 8 entries.
The dates and venues have been chosen for the Chesapeake Club’s next autumn and spring working tests. The autumn test weekend will be held on 20-21 September in Essex, with a training day on the Saturday and the test on the Sunday. In 2026, the spring test will be in the south, and the autumn test further north. The spring test weekend will be held on 21-22 March on Cowdray Estate, Midhurst, West Sussex. All details will be on the Events page when more become available. Why not make a weekend of it and join the fun or just spectate.
Please send me any news for inclusion in Breed News.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
1 June 2025
We do have some really lovely people in our club.
Rhian and Mark Poulton, who most of you will know, and who are owned by Otto the Chesapeake and a gang of working cockers, have donated £400 to the Club to be allocated to our rescue fund. Rhian explains:
The shoot we keeper on were starting to put charity money back into drinks funds. We didn’t agree with this, so Mark and I started paying to put 30 guinea fowl and white pheasants as ‘fine’ birds down. We then encourage them to be shot by not fining the gun who shot it, but fining every other gun £20 for a guinea fowl and £15 for a white pheasant.
We can choose the charity the fines go to. Last year we had £400 for Gamekeepers Welfare Trust but this year it was £800 so we’ve split it between Chessie Rescue and North West Springer Spaniel Rescue. The shoot is “Siddington Syndicate” near Macclesfield. It’s only a small family syndicate but we hammered them on fines this year.
Various other smaller donations have also gone into the Chesapeake Rescue Fund which is now looking very healthy.
Show news from North Riding Gundog Club on Saturday 24 May 2025 where replacement breed judge Wendy Pickup, on a lovely dry day for the show, gave Naomi and Amie Jane Mellersh Tett’s Oakmarsh Land of Promise of Roguehart 1st graduate, 1st post graduate and reserve best of breed.
Muireatai Miracle of Dreams (Kenzie) won the open class and Best of breed, and Takoda Nathan (Leo) who placed 2nd in open went best veteran in breed. A good day for Lorna Murray, but to add to this, Leo went to Selkirk Canine Society’s evening match where he won best veteran in show, and then went on to take Best in Show under judge Miss Wendy Storie. Lorna says, “Delighted with my boy.”
Bath Championship show was held on their own ground at Bannerdown last weekend. The wind whipped around the marquees at a rate of knots, blowing over the plastic chairs and causing many dogs to spook with the noise and unexpected action. I was proud that I saw no Chesapeakes bothered by it all, not even the puppies, even though many dogs of other breeds were not so happy. There were four puppies present on the day. Three of these were from the same litter, with two ash coloured and one brown. We haven’t seen an ash puppy at a show for many years and it was interesting to see two lovely specimens at the same show.
Both Carol Coode (a very experienced gundog group judge) and I were mentoring two up and coming judges for the breed at the ringside, as part of the Judges Education Programme which is now in full swing. This is a good educational part of a judge’s qualifications (they have to be mentored three times by three different approved mentors), and we are getting through quite a number of people this year. If anyone would like to find out more about the judges’ education, or even if they think that they would like to judge, then go to the Kennel Club website and the Judges Education Programme to learn all about it. We have very few specialist Chesapeake judges and it would be helpful to the breed to have more.
Madeline Mahon has submitted the following report:
The sun was out at Bath Championship show on Sunday 25th May albeit with strong, blustery winds which brought the temperature down a little, but it remained dry. There was an entry of 22 for our judge, Mr Ed Casey, who was giving tickets for the first time in the breed and after finishing his first breed quite early on, Chesapeakes were quickly called to ring 19. He found his principal winners as follows:
DCC: Sh Ch Arnac Bay Huron at Bergelle JW (owned by Mrs M V Mahon-Hunns, Mr J Hunns & Mr J Newton)
RDCC: Glaneils Count on Me (owned by Mr S A & Mrs C L Broomfield)
BCC & BOB: Sh Ch Arnac Bay Hebe Wgc ShCEx Ew22 (owned by Ms J Middleton & Mrs C Mayhew)
RBCC: Glaneils Daydream Believer (owned by Mrs C & Mr S Broomfield, Mrs M Mahon-Hunns & Mr J Newton)
BP: BB’s Chesapeake Breeding Dory for Arnac (Imp Che) (owned by Mrs C S Mayhew)
BV: Sh Ch Arnac Bay Flax (Mrs C S Mayhew)
BSB: Oakmarsh Lauren JW (owned by Mrs L, Mr L and Miss K Blaber)Unfortunately, no placings in the groups but Hebe did manage a wonderful shortlist in a sizeable group under group judge, Mr R Strudwick.
I’m also aware that the Oakmarsh breeders team placed 2nd in the Kennel Club’s Breeders Competition.
Madeline Mahon-Hunns
Sh Ch Tideflight Floki, owned by Jason and Julie Hayes, was entered in the Champion stakes with Michael Craig, a professional handler who Julie has been working with, and Floki placed a very impressive second amongst some top winning dogs. As Floki is one of Jason’s wildfowling dogs, he certainly has earned the dual purpose title.
Kirsty Watts had her Oakmarsh team, consisting of Kirsty with Oakmarsh Little Acorn JW, Angela with Oakmarsh Kingsley Adsila, Laura with Oakmarsh Laurel JW, and Amie with Oakmarsh Land of Promise of Roguehart, resplendent in tweed waistcoats, in the breeders stakes where they also placed an impressive 2nd.
Oakmarsh Laurel was appearing for the last time in the special beginner breed classes having won her way out of the qualification with her recent reserve CC. Even at such a young age, she now has to join the ‘big girls’!
Please let me have your news.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
25 May 2025
Fleur Bament asks if anyone would be interested in a Mock Field Trial if she organised one. This would be pretty much the same as the live game training day that Fleur ran last year but there would be feedback on how everyone would fair at a field trial.
Dogs do need to be reasonably well trained for gundog work, i.e. used to gunfire, steady on the lead, capable of retrieving to hand, and good with other dogs around. The price will be £100 per handler and it would be in October in West Somerset. Fleur would need a minimum of 12 handlers with their dogs in order to run it. Fleur says that if there is enough interest, she will see which dates suit.
This is a great opportunity for those wishing to work their dogs ‘on the real thing’ and maybe run in a field trial at a future date. Full payment will be required to secure a space. Please message Fleur or email fleur.blackmore@gmail.com if you are interested.
Last weekend saw a gathering of 11 Chesapeakes and their owners and handlers for two days of gundog training with Jason Mayhew.
Once again, Molly and John Barker allowed their home near Doncaster to be ‘invaded’ by everyone, and Molly opened up the house for numerous people to sleep in bedrooms and on sofas, with others camping in assorted camper vans and caravans on the grounds. Going the extra mile, Molly even provided a lovely sandwich lunch with some others donating cakes and other goodies.
This was a real social event with a take-away meal on the Friday evening and a pub meal on the Saturday. It is always fun to gather with other like-minded folk. However we were there for the dogs to be trained and Jason certainly put them through their paces, and encouraged everyone to think about what they would do to improve not only their own dogs, but also those who were working each individual exercise. This made everyone pay attention and think! How many times does the gallery revert to general chat and not concentrate? Well this time they were caught out if they didn’t watch and learn.
Jason’s style of training definitely makes people think and analyse, and we all had to keep our wits about us, looking for small signs from the dogs, learning that we all do silly, hardly perceptible things with our bodies, hands and voices, and then making us try to be 100% clear at everything we do in order to help the dogs.
Hats off and a big thank you to Sue Worrall for once again organising a weekend of training and a big thank you to John and Molly for the free use of their land.
On the long journey back South, Jason and I discussed the differences between the education and qualification of Kennel Club field trial judges and Kennel Club show judges, and one of our observations was that the show judges had far more opportunities to learn by having one to one mentoring at shows than the field trial judges who are not standing with a panel judge whilst they are at a field trial. Maybe the KC will realise the benefit of the show system and apply it to field trials?
As promised, the results of the first Scottish Kennel Club show recently. We had no CCs on offer at this show. Mrs C Schofield was judging 17 dogs and awarded best of breed to Sh Ch Arnac Bay Huron at Bergelle JW, Best bitch to Arnac Bay Jellicoe JW, Reserve best dog to Glaneils Count on me, and reserve best bitch to Glaneils Don’t Worry Be Happy. Best Veteran was Sh Ch Oakmarsh Dancing Diva VW, and Best Special Beginner, Oakmarsh Land of Promise of Roguehart.
The Kennel Club has welcomed the recent announcement that pet passports will return, as part of the UK-EU trade deal. Dr Ed Hayes, Head of Public Affairs at The Kennel Club said:
We thoroughly support the reintroduction of the pet passport system, meaning that dogs travelling from the UK will no longer need animal health certificates for every trip – which have proved to be both costly and burdensome for pet owners, and something we have continued to raise concerns about with government officials in the UK.
This is great news for those who are thinking of taking their dog abroad and will certainly save a lot of expense and planning for those UK resident dogs who since Brexit have not been permitted to have a pet passport. Further information about travelling abroad is always on the government website and is worth checking for each individual country.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
18 May 2025
Gifts were bought on behalf of the Club for two committee members who retired at the AGM, namely Maddie Mahon-Hunns, who was our membership secretary, and David Rigby, the working test secretary. Cathy Broomfield kindly sends this report:
The gifts were presented to Maddie and Dave at Scottish Kennel Club championship show in lieu of their retirement from the Committee. Maddie received a blanket of all retriever breeds – the Chessie on there is actually Gus and I know she has admired it before. Dave received artwork of Gunnar’s silhouette filled in with feathers and a shot cartridge all crafted beautifully by Caroline Pont. They were both very appreciative.
Results of the SKC Championship show judged by Swedish judge, Mr H Fryckstrand, who awarded the bitch CC and best of breed to Mayhew & Middleton’s Sh Ch Arnac Bay Hebe WGC ShCEx EW22 who topped the win by going Group 2 (second place) in the Gundog Group under judge Mrs C Schofield, which for those not in the dog showing world, is an amazing achievement.
The dog CC went to Hebe’s litter brother, Mahon-Hunns, Hunns and Newton’s Sh Ch Arnac Bay Huron at Bergelle JW, with reserve CCs going to Broomfield, Broomfield, Mahon-Hunns and Newton’s Glaneils Daydream Believer (bitch) and Playle’s Riptide Gentleman’s Relish (dog). Best veteran was Pont’s Sh Ch Oakmarsh Dancing Diva, and best special beginner went to Mellersh-Tett’s Oakmarsh Land of Promise at Roguehart. 22 dogs showed on the day
With two championship shows at the Scottish Kennel Club, I will give results of the second show in next weeks BNW.
I was really excited to discover that there is now a dock diving organisation in the UK where a competition size pool has been built in Northampton.
This is a very popular competiton amongst Chesapeake people in the USA and, as I understand it, a dummy/bumper is thrown in the air over the pool for the dog, who is being restrained on a platform beside the pool, to jump and retrieve. The object is to measure how far the dog jumps. Of course this would suit our breed, most of whom leap naturally into water. For more information go to www.dockdiving.uk.
Sadly Rachel Herbert (Dallador Chesapeakes) has been in the wars, having had an elbow replacement. Six weeks later she had to have a broken screw removed from a foot, which made her unsteady and she managed to fall and split the elbow wide open to the bone! (I should have given an information warning for that one!)
Now facing another two weeks in plaster, unable to drive and with a bad foot, she has very disappointedly had to pull out from judging the breed at North Riding Gundog show on the 24 May. Our replacement judge for the show will be Wendy Pickup, who judges several gundog breeds and awards CCs in her own breed, Golden Retrievers.
The Northern England Flatcoated Retriever Association (NEFRA) is hosting a Kennel Club Working Gundog Certificate test on 28 June 2025 at Roby Mill, postcode WN8 0QT. This is open to other retrievers and, with these opportunities so few and far between, is well worth the effort to enter. Assessors on the day will be Phil Smithies and Steve Burns (both of whom have judged our Chesapeake working tests in the past).
The cost is £30 and a schedule and entry form can be found on the NEFRA website. Please go to the KC Handbook and review the Working Gundog Certificate details to make sure that your dog is ready to take the test.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
11 May 2025
When Sharon Baxandall messaged me last week with news that her puppy Battsrock Ashes to Ashes had won best puppy in breed, reserve best of breed and then reserve best puppy in show, at Hampshire Gundog Premier Show, I had to tell her that I had already finished breed news and sent it off and that I would note her fantastic wins in this week’s edition. Sharon was naturally thrilled with her results and the fact that she had qualified for Crufts 2026.
Little did either of us know that this weekend Tasha, attending her first championship show, would completely surpass this achievement!
At Birmingham National Dog Show, James Newton was judging the breed for the first time at CC level and attracted an entry of 18 dogs to go over. With our breed first in the ring, Tasha started the day by winning her puppy class and going onto the bitch challenge where, amazingly for a puppy, she won the Challenge Certificate. The dog CC was won by David Rigby’s dark brown dog, Sh Ch Chesepi Waco. Onto the challenge for best of breed and the rosette was handed to the puppy, Tasha, much to the delight of Sharon, who I don’t think has come down from cloud nine yet! So much for qualifying for Crufts the previous weekend! The winning of this CC for Tasha means that she is now qualified for Crufts for life, and all this from a puppy who was awarded a second place in the Club’s recent working gundog tests. True dual purpose.
Tasha is out of Battsrock Sweet Child O Mine and sired by Puntgunner Ebbing Tide, so equally thrilled by this amazing win are Tasha’s breeder, Deborah Herring (Battsrock) and Allen Musselwhite who owns the sire of the litter.
The reserve CCs at Birmingham went to Tracy Boyle’s Gibbs aka Pixiesrock Mr Tumnus by Bleyos JW (dog) and to Laura and Lawrence Blaber’s Oakmarsh Laurel JW who also won the special beginners class. Best Veteran was Caroline Pont’s Sh Ch Oakmarsh Dancing Diva.
Gibbs has certainly been notching up best of breed wins recently with BOB and Gundog Group 2 at Selkirk on 20 April and another BOB at Border Counties on 4 May. The Chesapeakes are no longer being overlooked in the group judging.
A date to keep clear in your diaries is 14 September – Gundog day at Darlington Championship show where the Chesapeake Club’s second open show will be held at Ripon Racecourse. With championship show classes for the breed on the same day, this will be well worth entering both shows.
There are still a few places available on the Club’s training weekend in the Midlands in July, which should be a great weekend. You’ll find the details and a booking form on the Events page.
Please let me have any Chessie news that you would like mentioned in the breed notes. I am always looking for news of all kinds.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
4 May 2025
A big thank you for Sue Worrall’s report on the working test last week. This was a new ground (designed specifically for gundog work and training) and we had a new temporary working test secretary organising the event along with his many volunteer helpers. With some wanting to run their dogs, the judge and owner of the ground, Simon Capstick set the tests for the actual competition. Having had a training day the day before the tests, Simon was able to assess the level of test needed for our dogs in order to sort the wheat from the chaff.
With so many field trial trainers only working and training Labradors and their owners, I felt this was a lovely act as, without diminishing the attributes of our wildfowling breed, with very few exceptions, we are not, and never will be, on a par with the field trial Labradors of the UK today.
By all accounts and reports, and I have had many, it was a lovely, friendly event with all thoroughly enjoying themselves over the weekend, many saying it was the best working test they had attended. Certainly the trainers and judges thought our gang were some of the nicest, friendly people possibly because we set out to have a good time and aren’t as competitive as some gundog groups!
I attended last weekend’s Gundog Challenge at Cowdray Estate. This is an event very ably run to raise money for charity, and has grown in size and reputation. This year had 18 teams of 4 dogs competing in 7 tests. Dogs came from all over, including Austria and Switzerland.
Unsurprising to me, all bar a couple of Golden Retrievers were Labradors. I watched three of the tests which were definitely open standard but doable for any well trained Chesapeake, but most if not all people who want to succeed in field trials and working retriever tests will get a field trial bred Labrador. With instant obedience required and an ability to take commands over instinct, the breed differs from our often ‘self employed’ breed, although there were a few self employed Labradors on the day!
Working Chesapeake people amongst you will know that the Chesapeake was bred to use his own judgement in a difficult and testing environment when he often cannot see or hear his handler. He is a master of the foreshore and will hunt until he finds his quarry, regardless of wind, rough water, mud, tide and eddies, and this just does not suit modern day field trials (held on land with few water retrieves) or gundog working tests.
I bumped into Paula Graystone at the event, running her yellow Labrador. Paula introduced me to the rest of her team as ‘Mrs Chesapeake’ and then proceeded to tell all of those present that the best picking up dog is a Chessie and she still has one. I think that said it all, so I just smiled.
With the arrival of the United Retriever Club’s yearbook this week, it was great to see two photographs of Chesapeakes featured from the URC 2024 spring open show, namely my co-owned Sh Ch Arnac Bay Hebe WGC ShCEx winning best in show, and Kirsty Watts’ Oakmarsh Acorn, sadly no longer with us, winning best veteran in show, the judge being Carole Coode.
A reminder for those making visits to the beach in this hot weather to check out local council websites for restrictions and rules regarding dogs as many come into play on 1st May and if found to be breaking rules, fines can be quite substantial.
Our Dogs current leader for top breeder (show points only) in our breed is listed as Arnac (Mayhew) and Susquidilla with no name but of course is Robyn Haskins in the USA. How nice that someone outside of the UK is up there in the ratings for a change.
Our Dogs current leader for top breeder (show points only) in our breed is listed as Arnac (Mayhew) and Susqudilla with no name but of course is Robyn Haskins in the USA. How nice that someone outside of the UK is up there in the ratings for a change.
Sadly Sharon Augustus has recently lost her home-bred Sharbae Prettiest Star. Well named, this lovely dog was certainly pretty and a lovely example of the breed. I often thought that she was overlooked in the show ring and was well worthy of the title of champion. Sadly that was not to be.
Those who might be thinking of taking their dogs to Ireland, we have always been able to take dogs unrestricted to Northern Ireland as it is part of the UK, but a recent ruling means that a dog now has to have a pet travel document, admittedly free of charge. People travelling with pets should go to the government website to apply. As southern Ireland is part of the EU, different and more stringent rules apply, so an Animal Health Certificate, rabies vaccination, etc., apply as per travelling to mainland Europe.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
28 April 2025
Sue Worrall has sent in the following report:
This weekend was the Chesapeake Club’s Spring Working Test weekend, which was held in a very sunny Lancashire, courtesy of Simon and Nicola Capstick. The venue was a superb setting, within a stone’s throw of the Yorkshire Dales, and comprised various fields with drystone walls, wooden and wire fences, and a grouse moor (complete with grouse).
Simon was our trainer for the day on Saturday, and considering he had only met one Chesapeake before, he must have wondered what he’d let himself in for when we all arrived on his doorstep, not only from all corners of the UK, from Scotland to the Isle of Wight, from Essex to Somerset, but also Ireland and Germany too. He put on a fantastic training day for us all, starting with the basics and how he trains his puppies, before moving on to the more technical work, how to approach straight lines and taking directions, tackling obstacles, and eventually having the remote dummy launcher up on the moorland. There were a lot of us, and all at different stages, but Simon adapted the exercises to suit each dog and handler. As usual with the Chesapeakes, there was good humour all day long, and we finished the training with lots to think about and remember … and then 24 Chessie owners went to the pub for an evening meal together.
Sunday was the day of the working test, with judges Simon Capstick and Anthea Shelley. We had a great entry of 23 dogs, with 2 absentees, so 21 dogs running. The tests were challenging but doable. Sometimes you look at a test and think that it looks a bit harder or the distance is a bit longer than you’ve practised, but your dog surprises you; sometimes you think your dog will have no problem and then you fluff it up! Both Simon and Anthea were encouraging and patient throughout, giving handlers tips when things went wrong and pointing out what we could work on – as well as complimenting what went right. Huge thanks to them for creating such a great atmosphere throughout the day.
The Puppy class was won by Anthony Ciraolo’s 9-month old Fowldeer Flowing Tide, with Sharon Baxandall’s 7-month old Battsrock Ashes to Ashes coming second. It was truly lovely to see these two puppies heading out to the retrieves with such enthusiasm. The Novice Dog/Novice Handler class was won by Nick Glanvill’s Pixiesrock Green Kirkle, who Nick has only owned for two months! She was closely followed in second place by Nick’s beautiful Chesepi Viroqua, with just two marks separating them.
The Beginner class was won by Great River Ticino of Eastering, owned and handled by a delighted Cathy Acheson. Cathy’s Thane was quite poorly just a few months ago, so to come back from that and win the Beginner test was really something to celebrate. In second place was Mary Murray’s Sea’n Land Master of the Sea for Riverrun, with Vincent Acheson’s Petros coming third. A Certificate of Merit was awarded to Debbie Herring’s Battsrock Sweet Child O Mine.
The Open winner – Claudia Breitgoff’s Sea’n Land Islay – had travelled all the way from Germany, combining the trip with a visit to meet her newly born granddaughter. Claudia’s Islay was a class act all weekend, and great to watch. In second place was Lancashire born and bred Franeo Ebbing Tide, owned by Anthony Ciraolo. Anthony was also presented with the CBRC Corrie Cup for Top Working Chesapeake in 2024. A Certificate of Merit was awarded to Mary Murray’s Riverrun Everybody’s Friend, who at 8 years old was also awarded the Best Veteran of the day. The judges were unanimous in awarding the Judges’ Choice for the dog they would most like to take home to Claudia’s Sea’n Land Islay.
Huge thanks to Anthony Ciraolo for organising the event, as well as to Nicola Ciraolo and Tilly Thomas for stewarding, to Ant’s son Theo and his friend Stuart for throwing and firing, and to Ant’s son Frank and Mary’s daughter Una for giving out numbers, selling raffle tickets, and generally making us all smile. It was a smashing weekend we will all remember: beautiful venue, warm sunshine, great judges and trainer, and a fantastic bunch of like-minded people getting together with their Chesapeakes to enjoy their dogs together. This is what being in a club is all about and I loved every minute.
Chrissie Mayhew
bobmayhewQhorses@aol.com
20 April 2025
My grateful thanks to Debbie Herring for this report of yet another get together of Chesapeakes and their people for gundog work. It is so refreshing that all of these attendees, who also show their dogs, are keeping the dual purpose aim well and truly alive.
Last Sunday the Working Minority Club hosted a Working Test Training Day in Selborne, Hampshire.
The purpose of this day was for members to gain a better understanding of what is required when running your dog in a working test. The day started with a talk from our judges explaining expectations from a judge’s perspective. Our judges Ken Green, a B panel kennel club Field trial judge, and Jane Manley talked about etiquette and dog and owner behaviour, including the importance of thanking judges and helpers, wearing smart clothes and being respectful of the land we were on.We then ran through the importance of reading and understanding the Kennel Club J Regs (for those who don’t know, J Regs is a book of rules and guidelines that judges abide by when assessing dogs and handlers at a field trial or working test) and how some areas can be open to interpretation such as agreeing in advance of a test whether a dog peeing or pooping could be a zero score or points deducted.
The judges also explained that they might also look for things like how direct a dog retrieves and follows guidance, the pace and enthusiasm of the dog going out and back, looking for a dog’s ability to use its nose and hunt an area, and how they would assess a dog if they put a dummy down to reposition it for a better hold, as opposed to dropping a dummy to go and sniff or take a pee. The J Regs is an essential read for anyone considering entering Working Tests or Field Trials and can be downloaded from the KC website J Regs Mini Guide 2025.
Once the brief was over, we then split into two groups with our judges and ran through some test scenarios, pretending we were in a test environment. After each dog had run, the judges discussed how they would have scored the test, what we may have lost points on, and ways that we can train to improve those areas. Sometimes they were as simple as working on heelwork or steadiness, other times they were about whether we might give too much or not enough assistance to our dogs when hunting a blind retrieve. For many, with our keen water dogs, it was working on the challenge of doing a blind retrieve along-side water without the dogs deciding to add an impromptu swim to their test!
At lunch time the rain started lashing down, but despite the weather we had some laughs along to the way and learnt a lot about viewing a test through the eyes of a judge. Everyone left with some new insight and something to work on.
It was lovely to have so many Chessie people with us: Sharon and Connie (who split her nail, so Sharon ended swapping and training with her puppy Tasha), Peter and Mink, myself and Indie, Angela and Arya, Fleur and Chester, and Vroni was kind enough to come dummy throwing for us.
Photos are of all the Chessies, and Peter and Mink doing their best centerfold pose.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
13 April 2025
News from Australia where an English-bred Chesapeake, Australian Supreme Champion Sharbae Rose of Tenarda, aka ‘Rose’, was awarded BOB at the Sydney Royal Easter Show and then went on to get BOB at the CACIB Show giving her her CACIB title. This now makes her an International Champion. Big, BIG congratulations to owner Margaret Wedgewood and, of course, to her very modest breeder, Sharon Baxandall.
It was lovely to see Allen Musselwhite of Langstone Wildfowlers, win the wildfowling class at the club show. As many of you will know, Allen has suffered some serious health problems in the last couple of years and is only recently back shooting on the foreshore. Allen secured us some extra prizes for the show from BASC and has always been a great supporter of the breed and of the Club. His first Chesapeake, Arnac Bay Maine, was in 1996, and since that time he has had dogs from Wales and bred his own litters, the last one being represented by Ty, who Allen brought this last weekend.
Ty himself is now a ‘dad’ having sired a recent Battsrock litter for Debbie Herring who brought her own pup to the show to win best dog puppy. Quite a family event. Sadly Sharon Baxandall was unable to bring Tasha, her pup from the same litter, but Tasha made up for it this weekend by winning 1st in the Any Variety puppy stakes at the Isle of Wight Canine Association’s open show. Early promise for these pups.
Just along the coast from Langstone is Chichester Harbour where dire news has hit the Chichester Wildfowlers Association. The Chichester Harbour Conservancy Board has made the decision not to grant renewal of a licence for Chichester Wildfowlers’ Association to conduct wildfowling on Chichester Harbour Conservancy managed land. The decision was made at the board meeting held on 31 March 2025. At the meeting the board heard representations from the Chichester Wildfowlers’ Association and from West Sussex Wildlife Protection.
Following debate, the board found wildfowling on land managed by Chichester Harbour Conservancy to be incompatible with the organisation’s primary strategic focus on the conservation and restoration of nature. Consequently the Conservancy Board took the decision to give one year’s notice of termination from 19 May 2025.
For all of us pro-shooting folk, this looks like the beginning of the end as more voices are heard and acted upon from those who are anti shooting. Sad times and something that no one responsible for developing the Chesapeake Bay Retriever breed could ever have imagined.
How many times have we bemoaned the fact that we are so widespread over the country and it is difficult to get a training day for our breed. Yes, it is often possible to join a local gundog club and be swamped with black labradors and labrador obsessed trainers, but there is nothing like joining with a group of like-minded Chesapeake owners, and this is what is happening more and more in the Lancashire area (North of Watford). Karen Preece got together this Sunday with Sue Worrall and Anthony Ciraolo and with five Chessies between them in glorious countryside, they put their dogs through their paces and tested them on tough terrain, helping each other with tips and manpower for throwing and setting out dummies. It’s hard training alone and trying to teach a dog to mark when you have no dummy thrower is an impossibility.
If you have access to a training ground (a field) and fancy joining up with some others, even getting in a trainer between you, just let me know and I will advertise it in breed news, or we can put it on the club Facebook page. It is so important for a Chesapeake to use his brain and even if you have no intention of shooting over him, he, and you, will enjoy the training and working experience.
Chudleys dog food who so very kindly and generously sponsored our club show, have asked to remind everyone that Chesapeake Club members get a discount of 30% on any Chudleys food they buy from their website. This is an incredible offer and certainly saves me money, especially with dog food generally being more expensive now than ever before. Chudleys do an amazing range of foods for all palates and ages including some grain-free and for sensitive stomachs. Contact our Membership Secretary Sharon Baxandall if you are a member and don’t already have a note of the discount code.
A gallery of images from last week’s CBRC championship show is now online, with open show images being added over the next few days. You can purchase digital images from the gallery (£5 per image), with all proceeds going directly to the CBRC Rescue fund. This pays for Chesapeake dogs that have come into rescue for one reason or another and helps with any associated costs. Sadly some breeders are happy to take the original cost of a puppy but do not provide any back up if things go wrong, something they are supposed to do. If you would like to purchase any images of your dog, please contact Sue (chesapeakeblue@btinternet.com) or use the contact page on www.watersplashphotography.co.uk.
It’s now less than two weeks to the CBRC working test weekend, so if you would like to join in with the training day and/or enter the working test, it’s time to get those entries in. The closing date for entries is 16 April – that’s this Wednesday! Full details and an entry form can be found on the Events page.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
6 April 2025
This last weekend saw the highlight of the Chesapeake showing calendar with the club show being held at the Kennel Club Building on the National Agricultural Centre showground. This venue proves ideal for our show with an indoor building (useful in wet weather), a hotel on site, and a paddock big enough to run a scurry at the same time as the show. Thankfully the weather was amazingly good for April and our Greek visitor, Maria Kapsali was, for once, too hot whilst her homeland had rain!
Mark Straw once again ran a very successful scurry which was won by Naughty Nutty (aka Oakmarsh Land of Promise) for Amie Jayne. Obviously Naughty Nutty was Good Nutty on this occasion!
With two shows and some specials classes, it was a packed day as usual. All results will be posted on the club website but the main winners were as follows: Championship show best in show Thompson’s Sh Ch Arnac Bay Harvest; reserve best in show was Mayhew’s Sh Ch Next Generations Arnac Arctic Storm, a USA-bred dog; best puppy was Mayhew’s BBs Chesapeake Breeding Dory for Arnac who was bred in Switzerland and arrived in the UK in January this year. Best veteran was Griffin-Wood’s Ch Migwells Soloman’s Puzzle, another with overseas connections having been sired by a US dog via frozen semen.
In the open show, best of breed was Broomfield’s Glaneils Count on Me (sired by Migwell Soloman’s Puzzle); reserve best in Show and best veteran was Pont’s Sh Ch Oakmarsh Dancing Diva; and best puppy, again Dory (as above).
The now established and very popular wildfowling class prompted a very puzzled look from our very experienced Kennel Club judge, Martyn Rees, whose expression was priceless! With two entrants in full wildfowling gear (one complete with stuffed ducks and gun), Martyn said later that he didn’t know at first whether to judge the fancy dress or the dogs. This class always draws spectator attention and amusement and has proved a real success since its inception last year. Martyn said that he enjoyed his day immensely and I have a feeling that this class will stick in his memory forever.
Alexandra Adshead posted on her FB page that she had a lovely time judging the special award classes, saying that everyone was so lovely and welcoming. These classes give her experience to carry on in her judging career with the breed.
The open show was judged by our new secretary, Tracy Boyles, who had been chosen to judge over a year ago before she took on the role as secretary. Tracy is a Chesapeake owner herself and is an experienced judge qualified to give championship certificates in a wide range of breeds, namely Basenjis, German Longhaired Pointers, and Portuguese Podengo. Who would have guessed? Tracy too was very complimentary about the dogs and exhibitors on the day.
This year the show was sponsored by Chudley’s Dog Food who so generously gave small bags of food to all 1st prize winners and big sacks to the main winners in each show. This company also give a good discount to all Chesapeake Club members – that AND having a picture of a Chesapeake on their banner must make them the number one dog food company for the breed. Please support them.
Prizes of gundog dummies (or bumpers, depending on where you live) were very popular for our working breed and their owners, and the majority of these were from Sporting Saint who also donated small dummy keyrings and lanyards to all exhibitors. Again, another really good company who have a great selection of gundog equipment on their website at very reasonable prices. I have used them for many years and have found them to be very competitive.
An unexpected and unusual parcel of goodies for prizes for working dogs came from John Rothery wholesale gun supplies via our local pub network and the amazing huge canvas goose dummy donated was admired by many. Those who won the dokken dummies provided by John were thrilled as these are much sought after, being very life-like in both looks and weight, so a very big thank you there.
I think we all felt for Sharon Baxandall who was unable to bring her dogs as they had caught kennel cough at a recent show, but Sharon still made the long journey from the Isle of Wight in order to provide the judges’ lunches and organise the raffle. What a girl!
One not often seen face was Sandy Hastings (Chesabay Chesapeakes) who came to steward the specials classes very efficiently.
We are very lucky in having a good committee and friends, all willing to roll up their sleeves and pitch in with the enormous amount of work needed to run any event but particularly the club show. The team work shown this year was splendid and, like a hive of bees, everyone worked together. I have never seen the show dismantled and the site cleared at such an incredible speed. A case of many hands make light work.
With Molly Barker retiring as secretary this year, a presentation was made of a picture of one of her dogs to mark the occasion. Molly has been part of the Club for so many years and has put in so much time and dedication that she was recently made an Hon. Vice President of the Club. Luckily she is staying with us as a committee member where her years of knowledge in the breed will be so very useful.
And so another show comes to an end, this time organised and prepared for by the exceedingly calm and efficient Gemma McCartney. The hall is booked for next year for Sunday 22 March, with a seminar on the Saturday, so book the dates in your diary. We look forward to this annual get-together.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
30 March 2025
First, to all those attending the club show this coming weekend. Sue Worrall will be taking photos at the CBRC shows next weekend as a fundraiser for Chesapeake Rescue. High-resolution digital images will be available after the show for a donation of £5 to Chesapeake Rescue. Any payments will made directly into the Club’s bank account. This generous offer is not only a bargain for the buyer, but a chance to continue to build club funds.
There was another notable show win for a Chesapeake when Sharon Augustus won best puppy and the reserve best in match at the Isle of Wight Gundog Club last week with her pup, Battsrock Ashes to Ashes, bred by Debbie Herring. A very appropriate name for this beautiful ash-coloured Chesapeake.
I know that I have said this before but there was a time not so long ago when a Chesapeake never got into the main awards and, even if a really good specimen, we were overlooked time and time again for the more popular breeds. It is so nice to note that judges are considering our breed. Maybe it is because they are now more knowledgable due to judges’ education? I do know that if a judge is unsure about how the breed should look and match the breed standard, they are unlikely to pick them. It is good to have a fair crack at the whip
The Club’s annual awards were announced at the recent online AGM as follows:
- The Corrie Cup for top working dog or bitch: Franeo Ebbing Tide
- The Isis Shield for top working puppy dog or bitch: Riptide Gentleman’s Relish
- The Mr Cree Memorial trophy for top working veteran: Arnac Bay Grebe at Riptide
- Ted’s Challenge Trophy for most species retrieved: Sh Ch Arnac Bay Hebe
- Dawnflight Trophy for best field trial dog or bitch: not awarded
- The Battle Award for most improved handler: Angela Corcoran
- The Westering Plate for top dual purpose dog or bitch: Sea’nland Master of the Sea
- Chesabay Trophy for top dual purpose dog or bitch puppy: Riptide Gentleman’s Relish
- Chase’s Challenge Shield for top obedience: not awarded
- The Barry Shield for top show dog: Sh Ch Arnac Bay Huron at Bergelle JW
- The Glaneils Cup for top show bitch: Sh Ch Arnac Bay Hebe
- The Fudge Tankard for top show puppy: Oakmarsh Little Acorn
- Sharbae Rebel Rebel Trophy for top show veteran: Sh Ch Arnac Bay Flax
- Top Special Beginners in Shows: Angela Corcoran and Oakmarsh Kingsley Adsila
- Chessie Chat Trophy for best article in the previous yearbook: Gemma McCartney for her tribute to Ice
Congratulations all winners. A sample of photos here and we hope to publish photos of you all in future news. Please send me any news of you and your dogs.
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
23 March 2025
This weekend saw a two-day gundog training event for Chesapeakes take place at Cowdray Park in West Sussex with resident trainer, Jason Mayhew.
This weekend is organised every year by Sue Worrall and, as usual, places were filled very quickly with the regulars who make the trip, several coming long distances from way up North. As always, a great and friendly atmosphere prevailed, with laughs a minute from Jason’s antics.
We all had a great time, everyone encouraging each other and joining in with their failures and their successes, taking the micky out of each other and generally having a good time socially.
Work was centred on gundog obedience incorporating the timing of commands and encouragement, the use of the whistle. We are always reminded of how deaf our dogs are if we only use our recall whistle and don’t use our voice and body! I don’t think a single dog completed this exercise first time which was a bit embarrassing as we were all confident that they knew what we were asking for.
With this being the first training session of the year for many, it was surprising how the winter months, the different ground, and the presence of an audience, caused our dogs to seemingly forget so many of their previous knowledge. Or was it just their way of having a good joke at our expense?
With this weekend in the bag, everyone departed on their journeys with the intention of working hard on their homework. Jason is the trainer for another weekend of Chesapeakes organised by Molly Barker later this year where I am sure everyone from this session will be word perfect … but knowing dogs, maybe not!
I don’t normally mention dogs’ birthdays in BNW but there is an exception to the rule for those who have achieved a significant age and this week it is the turn of Gemma McCartney and Margaret Woods’ Sh Ch Nunneyswood Drifting Snow who reached the grand old age of 15. Drift had a great show career in her day and won best of breed at Crufts in 2014 with Gemma handling her.
I have told the story many times but when Margaret needed to breed Drift’s mother to produce this litter, the snow fell on southern England like we had not seen for many years. We hardly ever get more than a few inches but on the day of the planned mating, it fell and fell. Margaret was in the Isle of Wight and her plan of coming over on the Ferry and driving ½ hour to Midhurst was scuppered as she didn’t feel comfortable that she would make it in her car. I had the stud dog and a Landrover Defender and so the solution was simple – I would drive to Portsmouth dockyard and meet Margaret who would come over as a foot passenger. The plan worked and the snow did not defeat the Defender, although the roads were littered with abandoned vehicles. We met, the dogs met, and the only hiccup was that the car park and all the surrounding area was so icy that the decision was made to mate the dogs in the back of the Landrover where the rubber mats provided some grip for the love making! It worked and the resultant litter were named with snow related names!
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com
16 March 2025
Entries for the club shows close on Monday evening! With so many great prizes to be won, don’t forget to enter.
There will be a scurry at the show with the fastest times winning prizes. For those who are unfamiliar with this, a training dummy is thrown a short distance and the dogs are timed on their speed of retrieval. All good fun and not taken very seriously!
Whenever I had a litter of puppies and they went to their new homes, I would give the new owners a membership form for the Chesapeake Club and encourage them to join. Why you may ask? Well apart from the obvious advantage of knowing about any events or activities for the breed giving people a chance to join up with other Chesapeake owners, members would annually get the yearbook which contains a mountain of information about our breed in the UK, from stories and reports of what has happened the previous year, to health test results and breed information, etc.
These days the Club has a website that covers so much of the information previously only found in the Chessie Chat, and the Kennel Club has an online health checker facility for the results of individual dogs, but with more and more information gathered each year, the yearbook is a godsend and a lovely keepsake for years to come. I still have the very first book, then named Chesapeake Chat.
But what other purposes does the Club fulfil? The Club runs two gundog working tests each year, which are usually weekend get-togethers. Most of the dogs running in the tests will not compete in any other working tests all year; they may be picking up dogs who like to get together with other Chessies and watch each others’ dogs work. The Club also runs one championship show and will again this year be running two open shows. These shows are the most well attended Chesapeake events of the year, with the avid showing owners being joined by those Chesapeakes who don’t enter any other dog shows all year – it’s all about getting together and enjoying the dogs. The Club runs breed seminars, for both owners and show judges to learn more about the breed, its history, function and conformation. As well as these main events, there are gundog training days, the Working Chesapeake Tests, opportunities to run in team events, and a platform to promote your breeding.
Every club has to appoint a chairman, secretary, treasurer, committee members, and in the case of a breed club, a breed health co-ordinator and a judges education co-ordinator. Most breed clubs, like us, also have a rescue section to help re-home dogs. In our club, as a working breed, we also have a working test secretary. All these positions are filled by volunteers.
The Royal Kennel Club overseas the rules for shows, field trials, official working tests, obedience, agility and many other events. They hold lists of judges for all approved events and their online ‘find a judge’, recently activated, is proving a great success for show judges and societies looking for a judge.
As it has done for many years, the KC deals directly with and ‘polices’ the breed clubs for want of a better word with rules and regulations. The KC is also there to advise and offer help should any section of Club have any queries.
Club members can also take advantage of a really good discount code for Chudleys dog food.
All this for £10 single UK membership a year, £12 for joint, and overseas at £15.
A real bargain!
Christine Mayhew
bobmayhewqhorses@aol.com