Gamekeepers, beaters and pickers-up from across the UK are getting ready for one of the highlights of the gundog calendar – Crufts 2014.
The UK’s largest shooting organisation, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), will host the gamekeepers’ classes at Crufts. Gamekeepers, owners of working gundogs, gundog teams and young handlers will compete in the classes. They will be held on Gundog Day, Sunday 9th March 2014 in Hall 5 at the NEC in Birmingham.
The BASC gamekeepers’ classes are unique at Crufts. Each dog in the gamekeepers’ classes is a genuine working dog and Crufts gives handlers an opportunity to show their gundogs in their prime.
The top individual gundogs owned by gamekeepers will go head-to-head in the main arena for the Best in Gamekeeping class title, competing for the Northesk Memorial Trophy.
BASC will once again hold the popular demonstration scurry, where dogs undertake retrieves against the clock. The demonstration will start at 12:30pm.
Glynn Evans, BASC’s head of game and gamekeeping, said: “The gamekeeper classes at Crufts put working gundogs in front of a global audience at the biggest dog show in the world.”
The BASC gundog programme is sponsored by Chudleys.