2026

So pleased to say that Quiz – a powerful dog I’ve long had a strong liking for – has continued his winning ways during the Spring circuit in 2026. At the Gordon Setter Association Open Stake at Dunphail in Mid-March under judges Michael Houston and Barbara Smith, he retained his hold on the Open Stake which he first won in 2025 He had a super find after a couple of cuts, working out quite a long way to produce his birds and then was tested by being run on. He was put down a number of times in the second round and always ran with great power and width. One of the things I really admire about him is his clean-ness – he very rarely gets caught up on scent – has a great width of beat which he sets for himself and doesn’t need too much holding.

He figured in the awards in the next Open again 2 days later, ending up in the awards at the Pointer Club of Scotland Open Stake at Cawdor Estate under judges Lester Anderson and Gwenda Dale. I was really pleased the way he took his game and marched forward so positively to produce his birds.

I’ll admit to a handler error at the Scottish Gundog Association which cost him any success that day, but he came back in the next and final Open Stake run by the Scottish Field Trials Association when the judges Nicky Ackerley-Kemp and Dunc Sutherland awarded him the win on a day when weather conditions were cold and blustery with some nasty hail and snow showers made handling and seeing the action very difficult.

2025

Quiz really came of age this year. He has become a very consistent force – with a lovely natural beat and so very reliable on his birds. He started of the year with a 2nd in the Irish Field Trials Association Spring Open Stake.

On arriving in Scotland for the Spring circuit, I was over the moon with the run he had in the first round of the Northern Counties Pointer and Setter Society Open Stake. He had beautiful open ground to show himself off and that is precisely what he did. He really took on the ground and had a super find on the extreme left hand side of the beat – his bracemate put him under quite a bit of provocation and when the birds were flushed he remained totally steady, even though I was quite a long way off him. He waited so reliably for me and then completed the job. The gallery confirmed that it had been pretty impressive work. This performance gave him a second spot to start with. The next trial was the Open Stake at Dunphail with judges Davy O’Neill and Gwenda Dale. Some very impressive running and a find with a long work out in Round 2 was enough to secure the win for him – his first Open Stake win.

The Summer circuit yielded some more very pleasing success. The first grouse Open Stake of the Ulster circuit was the Ulster Irish Red Setter Club at Glenwherry with Bill Connolly and Stephen Clarke having the book. Again Quiz’s trademark strong quartering and game ability saw him clinch the stake and achieve his UK Field Trial Champion title.

Two weeks later we headed to the Irish Championship and saw a first round draw where we were working the side of a hill with lots of turf banks to challenge the flow of the run. After some strong running, I saw Quiz throw up his head and break his cast, pulling forward a little before slamming onto point. Some birds broke far out to the right as I was walking up to him – which was the direction he had been heading, but hadn’t got that far. They didn’t distract from his concentration at all. On working him forward, he roaded out positively and produced the bird he had been on, cleaning his ground on command afterwards most effectively. On Day 2, the weather conditions were very blustery with a strong gusting wind. We were drawn in the second half of the Second Round along with Billy Grace. The ground was quite open, but there had been a sprinkling of deer seen, which provide strong scent and temptation for dogs. However, after a fairly lengthy second round when he hunted the ground with power and commitment, we had no further contact with game or temptation and were picked up. The judges ran a couple of other dogs out in an extension to the second round, but when we returned to the cars and gathered for the presentation, I was delighted to learn that Quiz was announced as winner of the 2025 Irish Championship with an Excellent qualification. The other award winners all were graded Very Good. All in all, a pretty successful couple of weeks.