On trial on grouse
The first Champion Stake for pointers and setters was held in April 1869 on Sir Vincent Corbet’s estate near Shrewsbury, 40 years before the first retriever championship and 45 ahead of the first spaniel championship. The judges at that inaugural Champion Stake were Viscount Combermere, Sir Vincent Corbet and Captain Denman and the trial was held in April on paired partridges.
The winner of that first Champion Stake was Mr R Garth’s pointer dog Drake, who was, by contemporary accounts, a truly outstanding dog. For the next three years, the event was split into two sections, one for pointers and one for setters. Drake was the top pointer again in 1870, with Mr T Statter’s English setter dog Bruce winning the setter prize.
From the earliest days, field trials were not just a friendly competition between working dogs. They were started with
