An informative and amusing blog from the lovely Amy Fair, of Hurworth Photographs who shares her experience of photographing the Gun Dog Scurry at the Shooting Show back in February.

”The Shooting Show was held at the Newark Showground over the weekend of 25th / 26th February and I was invited by the Scurry Bandits to take photographs of the gundog scurries that they were running over the 2 days.

The Scurry Bandits are orgainsed by Bob Powell and his group of helpers – they’re a very friendly bunch and there’s always lots of banter.

Ok, so what’s a gundog scurry?  In basic terms a gundog scurry is a course of 4/5 obstacles (usually bales but occasionally they’re natural obstacles such as tree trunks or even water) and behind each of the obstacles there’s a dummy to be retrieved.  So, the dog’s handler sends the dog to the obstacle, the dog jumps over the obstacle, picks up the dummy and then retrieves the dummy to the handler.  This happens until all of the dummies have been retrieved.

So this is great fun with a bit of harmless competition thrown in for good measure – it’s all done against the clock!!  The stop watch starts each time the dog crosses the line to go out on retrieve and it stops each time the dog crosses the line on its return.

Some of the dogs taking part are total novices.  It’s lovely to see a dog who’s doing its first retrieve and doesn’t entirely understand the game.  You can see them thinking “So you want me to jump some bales & bring the canvas dummy back to you??  I’m a gundog, I’m used to standing on a peg.  Where’s your gun & where’s the pheasant?!?!”  Some of the dogs are total professionals and know their job inside and out.  They clear the obstacles and mid-flight are already looking for the dummy.  Thankfully there are novice and advanced classes so dogs are competing against their own levels.

Gundog scurries are great fun to photograph.  The speed the some of the dogs move at is quite incredible and can be tricky to photograph, especially on an overcast day in February.  As the photographer you have to sit really still & not be a distraction.  Not all dogs like to have their photograph taken and can be put off by a huge lens pointing like an unblinking eye in their direction.  Also the handlers can be very entertaining – occasionally very vocal and vigorous with their hand signals.

I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been jumped on by a dog whilst I’ve been sat on the floor taking photographs of scurries.  When this happens you have to stay really still and not give the dog any attention – most of the dogs are very friendly and your instinct is to give them some fuss but if you do this there’s every chance the dog will make a B line for you next time it’s sent out to retrieve.  This could completely scupper their chance in the competition.  Also, remembering it’s a competition, you do sometimes get CHS (Competitive Handler Syndrome) and “the photographer moved” is an easy excuse for the dog not doing well.

The Scurry Bandits events are sponsored by Gilpa dog food and Lintran transit boxes and there’s always a cash prize – so there are some great prizes up for grabs! 

The Scurry Bandits run scurries at the Living Heritage series of Game and Country Shows plus a number of other country shows around the UK.  There’s bound to be one close to you and if you’ve got a willing dog I’d definitely suggest you give gundog scurries a go.”

About Amy:

Passionate about the countryside. Addicted to taking photographs! 

Hurworth Photography is the passion of Amy, a keen amateur photographer based near Northallerton, North Yorkshire.   Amy is a farmer’s daughter with a natural love of the countryside who for many years has developed her passion for photography. Amy undertakea numerous types commissions – hunting, shooting, eventing, polo, racing, point to points, hunt rides, canine/equine portraits – event photography of all kinds.

 www.Hurworth-Photos.co.uk

 We had a fabulous weekend at Bredon School. Set amongst the beautiful rolling countryside on Worcestershire and Gloucestershire border. The location for the second leg of The Schools Challenge was an incredibly handsome one. The weather forced the organisers to make the sad decision to cancel the Country Fair on the Monday due to severely water logged grounds. However, the formal gardens played host the picturesque course and the sponsor marquee were just fine and made for a jolly good weekend.

It was sensational to witness to high level, professional shooting from the competitors, it really was spectacular. It was inspiring to see just how calm and collected this next generation of shooters were, and to see the talent coming through, needless to say they shot like pro’s.

There were roughly 40 competitors in the morning on Sunday and over 100 in the afternoon, followed by a prize giving in the School presented by Sir Malcolm Guthrie and the Headmaster.

A very wet and windy Monday, stil made for a very well attended open shoot.

The sun made an appearance on Sunday as the challengers lined up to take their shots over the formal Headmasters Lawns and fountains, while the school towered over them in the background, in terms of spectacular places to shoot, this certainly would take some beating. Likewise with the shooting, with most classes ending in a shoot off. Gripping stuff.

The Schools Challenge also happened to be our first ever time out as an ‘exhibitor,’ so it was super special for us. We kitted out our little stand with vintage china ala S&CBC, cake, leaflets and bunting and a fabulous Musto jacket which was an incredibly generous giveaway prize from our very good friends from www.outofthecity.co.uk. It was great to be amongst the sponsors and get to meet so many of the visitors, and to get so much support from David Florent and his team – for which we were extremely grateful for.

We caught up with one of the entrants, Alex Greves, 15, Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club Member, who was entering The Schools Challenge for the first time.

So. How long have you been shooting for Alex?
I first started when I had a go on a ‘have a go’ stand in February  then came to the Shotgun & Chelsea Bun Club in March at Oxford Gun Co and have had a few lessons,  and have been hooked from there.

My goodness, so literally you’ve only just started – good for you Alex!
Yes not long at all really!

Are you here with your School?
No my school doesn’t do clay shooting, so I’m here as an individual.

What’s it like to take part in the Schools Challenge?
Fun, but very nerve wracking!! The waiting around is the worst, especially as I’m on my own and not part of a team, but as soon you take the first shot, that’s it, nothing matters.

How do you stay calm?
Just try not to let the pressure get to me, then when I’m on the stand and I have my ear protectors on and am in the box it’s not like anyone is watching anyway, so I can shut it out.

You’ve not been shooting that long, have you got your own gun?
Yes I’ve got a nice 20bore Browning. There’s a quarry near where I live that do a 30 bird shoot on a Wednesday and Sunday so I go and practice there as much as I can.

What’s it really like competing, what’s the atmosphere like on the inside?
The girls are really professional and very good. Some of the parents take it really seriously and some of the boys have a bit of an attitude!!

Huge thanks to Alex for talking to us and congrats for taking part. Definitely one to watch for next year!

So, the shooting was incredibly tight and the standard was exceptional, here are the results:

The Shools Challenge, Champion of Champions went to Taylor Hedgcock with a combined score of 95 ex 100.