Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club
Keeping the Irish Water Spaniel working!
Steady at Rock Curly-coated, whip-tailed and long- legged, the last thing an Irish water spaniel (IWS) looks like is a spaniel. Delve into the history of the breed and you soon discover that there is little or no spaniel blood coursing through the veins of these striking-looking dogs. No-one can quite agree on what the IWS's ancestors are, but it's a fair bet that there's a touch of poodle, curly-coated retriever, perhaps even Irish setter, in there somewhere. The name spaniel has long confused the Kennel Club. When an IWS appears in the show ring, it is still classified as a spaniel, but not when it runs in a field trial. Until 1984, Irish water spaniels did compete in spaniel field trials in Britain, but since then, they have run in retriever trials, just as they have done in Ireland for many years. Talk to IWS enthusiasts and watch the dogs in action, and it seems that the Kennel Club still may have got the breed's classification wrong. The majority of working water spaniels will readily point game, suggesting that this curly-coated Irish dog is really the only native HPR in the British Isles. Pointing is just one of its many talents for, according to its supporters, the IWS hunts better than a retriever, and retrieves better than a spaniel. However multi-talented the IWS may be, the breed has one major disadvantage. Its arresting appearance has made it popular with the showing fraternity and, as a result, it has long been bred for its looks rather than its ability. Yes, there are good working strains of IWS around, but they are the exception rather than the norm. Fortunately, the working water spaniels do have a strong ally - the Sporting Irish Water Spaniel Club (SIWSC). Founded in 1908, the club flourished for some years, but then died with the onset of World War I. In May 1989, the historic club was re-formed again, and it now boasts a membership of more than 100, including full-time gamekeepers, professional gundog handlers and field triallers, roughshooters, pickers-up and beaters. The SIWSC has not, as yet, gained Kennel Club recognition, chiefly because of the existence of the Irish Water Spaniel Association. The latter is now more concerned with showing than working, and all the members of its former working committee have shifted their allegiance to the SIWSC. The first meeting of the SIWSC since this political upheaval was held last month at Rock, near Kidderminster, Worcestershire. It was a two-day meeting, with training classes and a clay shoot on the Saturday, and breed-confined working tests on the Sunday. If you judge the health of a breed by the enthusiasm of the owners, the Irish water spaniel is in good heart. More than 30 spaniels congregated at Rock for the weekend, bringing with them their owners from all over England, and even as far away as Holland. The Dutch contingent numbered a dozen IWS aficionados, though they were only able to bring two dogs with them. David and Janet Hakeney kindly provided the attractive ground at Rock. There was plenty of room to camp in the orchard, while the fields, woods and ponds provided ideal testing grounds for the dogs. Jan Hakeney's handsome and friendly Lusitano horses - the breed used for mounted bullfighting in Portugal - watched the proceedings with considerable interest. The Sunday working tests got off to a good start with the special class for beginners, the latter taking in to account both the dogs and the handlers. The judges were Lois Ferrans and Martyn Ford, who found the standard of work encouragingly high. Lois has long been a stalwart supporter and breeder of the working IWS, while Martyn has enjoyed considerable showing and trialling success from his Cüboglach IWS kennel. The test was won by Melvyn Hurst and his two-year-old bitch, Kirkmarsh Valley Mist, with Arjen Mets's dog, Saracen Eminently Eamon, coming second, making the journey from Holland worthwhile. All six entrants in the puppy class (6 to 12 months old) were litter brothers or sisters, born in November last year, and bred by Lois Ferrans. No doubt Lois was delighted to see so many of her pups in action, and not one of them disgraced her. The winner was Mrs Jill Clancy's Killountain UIva, with Trevor Bailey's Killountain High Pheasant in second place, and Lois in third with her little bitch Killountain Cley . Unfortunately, host David Hakeney was unplaced with his puppy, who has already decided that he prefers picking-up proper game to dummies. The novice was a closely contested competition, with many encouragingly strong performances. Judges Pat Taft and Laurina Blankenspoor were well pleased with the quality of the dogs, awarding first prize - and the Rockmoor Perpetual Trophy for the best performance of the day - to Jill Clancy with her four-year-old dog, Goldenacre Dubhlinn. Gamekeeper John Rolfe, the club's chairman, took second place with Phelan Fergal, and Graham Smith was third with Kirkmarsh Shanti . Experience paid off in the open, with Susie Ferguson winning with her six-year-old dog, Radicott David. Denise Hurst's Killountain Donovan at Kirkmarsh was second, with Lois Ferrans's veteran 11-year-old dog, Killountain Trader, third. Fourth place was taken by one of the Dutch entries, Dutch and Int. Ch Killymuck Maolagain Maigue, proving that successful show dogs can also work satisfactorily in the field. Pat Taft, an A-panel retriever judge, was heard to remark afterwards that he thought that the dogs' overall standard was "brilliant", and that he was thinking seriously about getting one himself. If you want to see Irish water spaniels in action, the SIWSC is holding AV retriever gundog working tests and an Irish water spaniel breed-confined novice test at Rock. For further details, contact Lois Ferrans, tel (01704) 541051, or Denise and Melvyn Hurst, tel (01142) 471989. Irish water spaniels - the facts The Kennel Club's breed standard states the Irish water spaniel is an enduring, versatile gundog for all types of shooting, particularly wildfowling. Certainly, the dense, waterproof coat gives excellent protection against the cold, while the dark liver colouring blends well with the background of a winter marsh. However, according to Martyn Ford, a founder member of the SIWSC and successful breeder of genuine dual-purpose dogs, "they're not so much water dogs as wetland dogs, and the Irish epithet 'Bogdog' is a much more accurate and appropriate name. "The breed as we know it today was bred in Ireland to hunt, flush and retrieve snipe and wildfowl in the bogs, marshes and river estuaries, where its large, spreading and sometimes webbed feet gave it the ability to work terrain where other dogs struggled. Today, the Irish water spaniel is a gifted all-round gundog that is equally at home roughshooting, beating in line, or picking-up. It is gifted with an exceptional nose and often points game, an added attribute for a hunting dog." No-one knows for certain how many working water spaniels there are in the British Isles. However, educated guesses range from as few as 50 to as many as 200. The SIWSC would very much like to hear from anyone who works this breed, whether their dogs are KC registered or not. Copyright: Shooting Times and Country Magazine