Lay on McDuff

It is hard enough to qualify for the International Gundog League (IGL) Retriever Championship, let alone actually win. The 2019 fixture was held at the Glenalmond estate by very kind permission of Astrup-Fearnley. This incredible ground provides challenging and diverse cover and a huge variety of game which, over the three days, definitely put the dogs and handlers to the test.

Emerging triumphant was Declan Boyle, an A-panel judge with the Irish Kennel Club, this time on the competitors’ side with his impressive dog FTCh Miller Mcduff (Paddy). The pair also won the 2017 Irish Retriever Championship.

For this year’s IGL contest, Paddy was one of 64 qualified to run — 47 dogs and 17 bitches. Four were golden retrievers.