The last six months we have seen a lot of campaigning on social media. Often very random with suggestive comparisons comparing our Australian Retriever Trials to overseas Field Trialling and Working Tests. The two sports could not be further apart.
What can you do to help secure our future?
We must develop a side-by-side sport like Retriever Trials but with modifications to suit and incorporate Artificial Game (Plastic/Rubber)
When I arrived from the UK, I had successfully campaigned a dog in Open trials and recently been selected to trial for the UK Gundog Team, nothing could have prepared me for Australian Trials. It was like a baptism of fire. Once I started to compete in Australia, I realised over a short period of time, that how I trained a dog on what to do in the past, was light years apart and I knew very little.
Australian trialling is unique. It has a complexity built in that you are not aware of until you step up at the top level. It’s one of the hardest and most rewarding dog sports there is and its individual to this country. Attached below is a short history of the sport for your perusal.
Over the next ten years I retrained myself and retaught my dogs. My old boy Red Dog became one of the most successful and best finishers on the circuit. I met, like-minded people and continued to learn. Although there were aspects of the sport I did not agree with, white coats and big whistles, there was several areas that I could easily relate to.
I progressed through the Judges Training Scheme and eventually became a Championship Judge. I also Judged the post Covid National in NSW 2022.
I have never ever felt the need to change the sport to suit my own agenda or modify it within a sport discipline. What I have done is accepted the sport for what it is and tried where I can to add value based on my experience both as a competitor and Judge.
Go back to the previous rule change (2017) I suggested we should implement an out of season sport, just in case one day, one State is informed that they can no longer run their dog trials on cold game. I was quickly shutdown! Fast forward the people who vetoed my suggestions, we are now all a little older, a little slower maybe and are much more reluctant to change. We now want to modify this great sport to incorporate artificial game!!
If one State is allowed to do this for whatever reason (that horse has gone) it will mean the end to our sport, I know several purists will walk. You could say that’s just an excuse, I can guarantee it will happen. We cannot have a sport inside a sport that has the same point scoring system to award dogs titles. It is a totally different sport!
The way forward is to have a different sport with modified rules to accommodate artificial game, previously tabled in 2018, with separate titles.
This is simple nothing less nothing more, no disruption to the tried and tested system we have. Do not take the easy wrong over the difficult hard few months of different paperwork to develop a new sport side by side, giving States the option to run either.
I will as always volunteer to help if required to formulate one of the previous tabled artificial game sports if required. I would ask States to be very careful how they take this forward for voting in July as it could possibly see the demise of our sport sooner rather than later.
Please speak to the historians of the Sport who have credibility from their duck shooting and hunting days its not ours to change we are only the caretakers; we must preserve our heritage.
Karl Britton
HISTORY
The FTCA and the KCC (Victoria) agreed that the first water test was conducted in 1942, on the firm basis that No Championship points would ever be awarded as it was not the real thing.
The rules stated that one retrieve would be from water and the other across water using cold game. (Ref - Extract from the origins 50 years of Retrieving trials. Section The beginning.)
In 1955 the rules for retrieving trials were drafted and accepted with a large degree of reference to the Labradors and the input of the 5th Duke of Buccleuch and the 3rd Earl of Malmsbury in developing specialist retrievers in the 1870’s and the importance to retain good working attributes.
This was not to be a Test, but a trial and Championship points could be awarded for the first time in Australia.
1st June 1957, the first trial was conducted and Rosemoor Rajah won the event and went onto become the first KCC RTCH, later becoming KCC Dual Champion, after being awarded the challenge at the Royal Melbourne Show.
In 1958 further trials were held and NSW drafted a similar set of rules and started to hold trials.
When the ANKC was formed these rules amalgamated.
The ANKC National Championship was initiated and run on a rotating State basis. The winner being awarded the National Retrieving Trial Championship. All these trials were and have been conducted on cold game.