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Dog Competitions
Ireland's Top Gun Dog & Working Dog Events
At the IRISH GAME FAIR Shane's Castle, Antrim
In spite of totally unjustified and what appear to be mischievous and misleading claims by other event organisers, whose own
competitions and prize structure appear to be falling even further behind what is indisputably Ireland's largest and most
varied canine event, Irish dog owners know which event will have the widest range of dog events, the greatest number of
competitors and the top prizes and that is the Irish Game Fair and Country Lifestyle Festival at Shanes Castle, Antrim on
the 25th & 26th June 2011.
DOGS,DOGS, DOGS!
We are delighted to announce that the Kennel Club will host an information stand for gundog owners at IRELAND's TOP GUNDOG EVENT.
and that www.dogandcountry.tv will make a dedicated Irish Game Fair canine
programme starting with the launch at Stormont.
Gundog Events Saturday 25 June 2011
The Chudleys UK and Irish Interclub Test featuring 10 teams of Golden Retrievers from all over the UK.
One of the best opportunities to see the top working golden retrievers in action and a unique event to Ireland's top Game Fair
and Gundog event
Prizes Crystal Tankards plus Dog Food for the Top Team and the Top Novice and Top Open Dogs.
Golden Retriever owners with sponsors at Stormont
The Feedwell Dog & Gun Competition organised by the URGRC
There are two competitions:-
An Individual Competition - where the handler will run his/her dog in the Novice Gundog Test (mainly seen retrieves) and shoot
ten sporting clay pigeons.
Entry Fee £5 (does not include admission to Fair)
1st A Webber BBQ Value £180 sponsored by Haldane Fisher £30 and a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
2nd £30 and a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
3rd £20 and a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
Rosettes to Fourth place

A Labrador shows fine style Photo By Nikky Cahill
Novice Open Test – which is also a qualifier for The Barbour Novice All Ireland Game Fair Handling Championships
top four dogs will qualify for the final at the Irish Game & Country Fair Birr Castle, Co Offaly on the 28th August 2011
Prizes :
1st A Family Set of Garden Benches (Barcelona and Noah's Ark Children's bench) Value £71 sponsored by Haldane Fisher,
£40 and a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
2nd £30 and a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
3rd £20 and a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
Rosettes to Fourth place

Two Benches from Haldane Fisher
Entry Fee £5 (does not include admission to the Fair)
Prizes Sponsored By Feedwell and Irish Countrysports and Country Life Magazine
The Top Four dogs qualify for the final to run off against the finalists from Birr at Birr Castle for a Barbour Linhope Endurance 3-in-1 Jacket.

Lord Percy the designer of the Barbour Linhope coat
Please Note: Entrants in the Dog & Gun event must not practice on the clay lines before shoot in the competition.
For Further details – Contact JOE JOHNSTON – Telephone 028 8673 6432
On Saturday 25th June : Cocker and Springer Spaniel Tests
Redmills Spaniel Tests
Open Test organised by The NI Cocker Club
Novice and Open Tests organised by the Antrim & Down Springer Spaniel Club.
Class Prizes : 1st £40 2nd £25 and 3rd £15
Top Spaniel will receive a Crystal Tankard and a Family Set of Garden Benches (Barcelona and Noah's Ark Children's bench) Value
£71 sponsored by Haldane Fisher
For Further Details of the Spaniel Tests contact Willie Thompson Tel: 028 90962441
Gundog Events Sunday 26th June 2011
Sponsored by Feedwell - official Gundog Sponsors
The Feedwell International Gundog Team Test – Ireland's only REAL International event
Organised by the Mid Ulster Gundog Association (Contact Joe Johnston on 028 8673 6432) or Robbie McGregor (028 2766 8867)
starts at 09.30am
Teams: N Ireland, South Ireland, Holland, Ulster Select and Wales
Prizes:-
1st Team Prize £200 plus bags of Feedwell Dog Food
Rosettes to 4th place

Real International Teams including Danish, Welsh & Dutch Teams at the Great Game Fairs of Ireland Photo : Nicky Cahill
Feedwell International Open Test
Organised by the Mid Ulster Gundog Association starts at 1.45pm sharp entries in advance or taken on the ground. Entry £5
does not include admission to the fair.
Prizes:-
1st £50 Plus a BBQ sponsored by Haldane Fisher value £180 plus a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
2nd £40 plus bag of Feedwell Dog Food
3rd £30 plus a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
4th £20 plus a bag of Feedwell Dog Food
Rosettes to 4th place

BBQ From Haldane Fisher
Entry Fee £5 (does not include admission to the Fair)
All Ireland Game Fair Handling Championship
Top four dogs qualify to meet the top four dogs from Birr 2010 and the top four dogs from the Ballywalter Game & Country
Living Fair for the coveted title of All Ireland Game Fair Retriever Handling Champion 2011.
The Prize for this includes a top of the range box from DT DOG Boxes worth over £400 plus a watch sponsored by Gardiner
Bros, Belfast value £250.
The top four dogs will also form the Northern Ireland team to compete in North v South event at Birr on the 27/28 August 2011.
Gundog Scurry Championship Final – Sunday 26th
The top four fastest dogs overall from Ballywalter Game & Country Living Fair and the top four fastest dogs at
Shanes Castle will meet in the final. The Winner will receive a crystal tankard and a Big Bill suit sponsored by Charlie
Keenan Countrywear.

Winner at Ballywalter
IRELAND's Most Prestigious Terrier & Lurcher Events are staged at Shanes Castle
The 24th anniversary Barbour/Irish Countrysports and Country Life All Ireland Terrier and Lurcher Championships Show and Racing.
With a Barbour Coat plus the opportunity to win the coveted All Ireland Champion Title - this is and has been since its inception
Ireland's largest gathering of terrier and lurchers , the REAL All Ireland Championships and indisputably the blue riband event
of its kind in Ireland. Racing will take place on Saturday with the Show on Sunday.
Sponsors and Lurcher & Whippet Owners at the Launch at Stormont
Prizes: Overall Show Champion Barbour Coat worth £400 – This will be judged from Champion Terrier, Champion
Lurcher and Champion Whippet.
Top Terrier & Lurcher qualify for the Midland Game Fair Championships.
Show Prizes : Champion Lurcher £50 plus Tankard; Champion Terrier £50 plus tankard; Champion Whippet
£50 plus tankard plus bags of dog food. Trophies & Rosettes for Each Class.

2010 Terrier & Lurcher Winners
Racing : Over 23" Lurcher, Under 23" Lurcher and Whippets All winners £40 plus bags of dog food.
New REDMILLS INTERNATIONAL LURCHER CHAMPIONSHIPS The Champion Lurcher qualifies for the Five Nations International Championship
Final to take place at the Irish Game & Country Fair on Sunday 28th August 2011. The prize fund for the winner of this
championship is expected to exceed €1,000 and the winner of the Shanes Castle heat qualifies for €50 towards at Birr.
The REDMILLS MASTER McGRATH CHALLENGE TO FIND THE FASTEST LURCHER IN THE UK and IRELAND
This is a competition that has excited great interest all over Ireland and the UK. A number of qualifying heats have taken place and
others are planned for the GRAND FINAL over 150 yards to take place at Shanes Castle on the 25th June 2011. Please note there will
NOT be a heat at Shanes Castle but after the final, the normal ALL Ireland Terrier & Lurcher Championship racing will take place
over the normal longer distance.

Lurchers in Square
The Winner of the Master McGrath Challenge will win €500 , A Barbour Coat worth €500 plus a portrait of their dog by
well known canine artist David L Prescott plus dog food and other ancillary prizes.
The Irish Game Fair is the top canine event in Ireland
If all of these competitions were not enough to more than justify the organisers claims to be Ireland's largest and most varied
sporting and working dog event the organisers have put in place many other canine attractions including
AND
Keith Mathews - probably Ireland's most reputable dog trainer, famed for his practical refreshing teaching manner and his
ability to rehabilitate dogs with extreme behavioural problems and 'Red Zone Aggression' - is to appear exclusively at the
great Game Fairs of Ireland at Shanes Castle, Antrim and Birr, Co Offaly. AND to try to better his WORLD RECORD set at the
BALLYWALTER GAME & COUNTRY FAIR.

Crowds Watching Keith at Ballywalter
A Top TV Dog Trainer, often described as 'Ireland's Legendary Dog Whisperer,' Keith burst onto our TV screens with his own hit
dog training series Good Dog Bad Dog, where he demonstrated the art of canine control and obedience, with his usual enthusiasm
and waspish humour. Keith also appeared as the canine expert on the BBC's highly rated topical weekday programme The One Show
reaching an estimated audience of around 5 million.
Announcing Keith's exclusive appearances at Shanes Castle 25/26 June and at Birr on 27/28 August, Game Fair Director Albert
Titterington said:
"This a real coup for the Great Game Fairs of Ireland. The man behind the renowned Copperbirch Dog Training Academy & Behaviour
Centre is a leading figure in canine care and arguably is the most widely recognised trainer in Ireland. And not just in dog
training, but in almost every aspect of canine expertise, dog psychology and obedience training, behaviour modification, grooming,
showing, nutrition and breeding to name but a few.
Apart from demonstrating his considerable expertise in training the dog and handler on TV, Keith has had a very successful time with
his Labradors in his chosen sport of Field Trialing, by not only making up an Irish Field Trial Champion but also gaining the
coveted Irish Kennel Club's Retriever of the Year accolade.
Keith will be giving main arena displays on both days of the Fairs as well as conducting one to one clinics with pet owners on
the Irish Countrysports and Country Life magazine stand.
His presence at the Fairs will further enhance the reputation of both events as among the largest and certainly the most varied
'doggy' events in Ireland. With International gundog team and individual events; the All Ireland Game Fair All Comers Gundog
Handling Championships; the All Ireland Novice Gundog Handling Championships; the dog & gun events; novice and open spaniel,
retriever and minor breeds tests; the Gundog Group Show; the parade of gundogs; the 24th All Ireland Annual Terrier & Lurcher
Championships – show and racing; the World of Gundogs Marquee; the dog agility show and demos; the gundog scurry; retriever and
spaniel demonstrations; sheep dog displays and horse and hound displays; plus a wide range of trade stands featuring everything
the dog owner could possibly want and now Keith, these really are events not to be missed by anyone with any sort of interest
in dogs."
"Added to his unique ability in dog training is the indisputable fact that Keith is a born entertainer, who will have the main
arena crowds enthralled with his masterful displays. I have no doubt that our Shanes Castle and Birr audiences will learn a lot
from Keith while at the same time enjoying a display choc a bloc with sheer entertainment."
Keith commented: "I regard it as a privilege to be asked to represent my craft. To be present at the two Great Game Fairs of Ireland
is to be present at the summit of excellence."
Albert added: "Keith's success is characterised by his no nonsense hands-on approach. He is often consulted when all other avenues
have been explored and failed. He has that rare quality, instant rapport and an apparent mystical bond with dogs and Keith will be
on hand to chat to dog owners eager to learn from this renowned expert."
If you are dog owner or gundog handler do not be misled by misleading and unsubstantiated claims from other event organisers – the
BEST CANINE EVENTS are staged at the IRISH GAME FAIR and COUNTRY LIFESTYLE FESTIVAL at SHANES CASTLE.
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