lurcher330 2,297 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm’s. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jf1970 328 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lurcher330 2,297 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not Quote Link to post Share on other sites
IrishNationalCountryFairs 1 Posted July 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Thanks to the couple who have pm'd so far. I will be in touch and i do hope that we hear from the rest as they certainly have made plenty of defamtory comments that i hope can be discussed face-to-face but we'll see. As i have said I am happy to listen to your views on how things can be improved but I don't feel that you all have a concensus between yourselves as to what really constitutes the type of event you are looking for. I am seeing a common concensus with the price but as to the rest well maybe through discussions with some of you we will see a trend appear. Now if the issues are genuine then I should be seeing more pm's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jf1970 328 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lurcher330 2,297 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 (edited) Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? no i did'nt judge the whippets there last year and most of the dogs that were there might not work but i can only judge what's put in front of me but the bitch i picked in the working class i know for a FACT that it works but did you have your dog there and did you enter it in a class? Edited July 19, 2011 by lurcher330 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Irish Lurcher 1,013 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 First of all allow me to state my intent; I have no great desire to attend any meeting regarding the Ballinlough Game fair, period. The complaints regarding the show should act as a guideline for you in relation to further shows, simple. The problems were obvious for all to see on the day and those who attended were correct in their summary. I have not and never will act in an advisory capacity regarding the running of any game event in Ireland; I do not posses the necessary skills required to advice on same. I am of the believe this is a perfect example of deflecting the problems that were evident at the show upon the people who have high lighted the issues, take on board the issues raised and resolve same and you are sure to see real dog men return to your show. Many thanks for taking the time to address the issues and I hope that you and your committee take the simple steps outlined by members of this forum and many others on the day. Best Regards 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Irish Lurcher 1,013 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? no i did'nt judge the whippets there last year and most of the dogs that were there might not work but i can only judge what's put in front of me but i bitch i picked in the working class i know for a FACT that it works but did you have your dog there and did you enter it in a class? Graham dont think anyone is knocking you. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Irish Lurcher 1,013 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? I would like to correct you regarding your point that none of the whippets never worked, I know for a fact that some of the lads there with whippets work them, fact. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jf1970 328 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 ok mate fair point, i shouldn't have said none are worked, but i would bet that there wasn't many there on sunday that were, you made a good point that the show has to improve before real dog men go regularly with proper working dogs, graham you are right in that you say you can only judge what is put in front of you, i am in no way directing any of this at you and i'm sure you done a great job over the weekend, no i didn't enter my dog on sunday, i don't enter into dog shows. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jf1970 328 Posted July 19, 2011 Report Share Posted July 19, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? no i did'nt judge the whippets there last year and most of the dogs that were there might not work but i can only judge what's put in front of me but the bitch i picked in the working class i know for a FACT that it works but did you have your dog there and did you enter it in a class? how do you know for a fact that the winner you picked works? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lurcher330 2,297 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 (edited) Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? no i did'nt judge the whippets there last year and most of the dogs that were there might not work but i can only judge what's put in front of me but the bitch i picked in the working class i know for a FACT that it works but did you have your dog there and did you enter it in a class? how do you know for a fact that the winner you picked works? i know the bitch in the working class works because a lad i used to hunt with until we had a fall out hunts with him now lamping ferreting and digging .the same man that owns that bitch has a couple of bedlingtons that he digs with which stuck in my mind because you dont see many ground working bedlingtons Edited July 20, 2011 by lurcher330 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jf1970 328 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 (edited) Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? no i did'nt judge the whippets there last year and most of the dogs that were there might not work but i can only judge what's put in front of me but the bitch i picked in the working class i know for a FACT that it works but did you have your dog there and did you enter it in a class? how do you know for a fact that the winner you picked works? i know the bitch in the working class works because a lad i used to hunt with until we had a fall out hunts with him now lamping ferreting and digging .the same man that owns that bitch has a couple of bedlingtons that he digs with which stuck in my mind because you dont see many ground working bedlingtons ok mate no bother, if it's simon you are talking about? then i must admit he did have one of the better looking whippets there. Edited July 20, 2011 by jf1970 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
lurcher330 2,297 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Having just returned late last night from Ballinlough Castle, I am now just reading the feedback regarding the show. I have to say that I am somewhat surprised by the negativity in these comments since neither me personally, nor my co-director, were made aware of any of your issues on the day; in fact the feedback I received from your fellow competitors while over in the Lurcher & Terrier area was very positive. However, we thank you for pointing out your concerns and you can be assured that we will listen to what you have to say. I would now personally like to invite the following people from the forum who raised concerns to meet with us, at a venue convenient to you anywhere in Ireland, to discuss how you feel we can improve this event for the future. We are not asking for your name but would ask that you private message us with a contact number so that we can set up a meeting with you: Michael Rennicks Fat Man Skinny Bullcross13 Toasty Cheeky Pup Auldboy Alan626 Irish Lurcher Mackel Mad4digging Carraghsgem Kegs Blue One Unlike the show in Moira, the Ballinlough Castle Country Fair is a young event, only in its third year. We do however strive to have the same standard of lurcher & terrier event at both shows. I consciously moved the L&T events to directly beside the main entrance point this year so that everyone attending the show was walking in right beside the L&T arena. I am well aware that you all like to park ringside and this is the closest point to the centre of the fair that allows ringside parking and is also suitable to race dogs and have your show rings. With regards to judging, I personally was in the main arena when the All Ireland Champion Lurcher, Terrier and Whippet were being picked and I can assure you that from my experience of working lurchers and terriers over the years, I would have had a very tough decision and would have quite willingly taken any of those dogs home with me, including the whippets. Judging is down to personal choice of that particular judge on that particular day. I are already looking at a number of ideas to ensure that judges are not the same at all events. With this in mind, rather than come on and criticise judges, I am more than willing to accept suggestions from you for judges at future events but they must have experience working the particular dogs they would intend to judge. In relation to there being less at the show, well this year in addition to the usual produce, crafts, shooting & fishing stands (including 10 from overseas) and the usual gundogs, clay pigeon shooting and main arena acts (3 of which were brought in from overseas), new this year to the Ballinlough Fair was the Hunt Chase, Dog Agility, Pet Show, Ferret Racing & Showing, Gundog Snooker and the Poultry Show & Sale. I am sure we can all agree that prices are up everywhere and this is no different for traders. They have to incur significant fuel costs to bring stock the length and breadth of the country to shows like ours but there were bargains to be had and I heard of plenty. They simply cannot keep costs at what they were 5 or 10 years ago. However if game fairs and shows like ours are to survive then this is a price we all may have to pay. I look forward to your pm's. Derek Lutton Derek all 3 judges on the day do WORK the dogs that they judged on the day.I judged the whippets and i have owned and worked whippets for the past 15 years and i dig with the Terrier judge aswell if you have owned and worked whippets for the past 15yrs, would you say that the whippets that were shown were of a good working standard? Every whippet that was in the ring had the potential to work but it's not for me to say that the owner work their dogs or not some where a bit heavy but thats exspected for this time of year but in the working class the dogs that were picked were in my eyes most capable of carrying out a day or nights work.my own whippets are out working 7 days days a week all year round but if i decided to lay them off in the summer you would not be able to tell if they worked or not saying that every whippet in the ring had the potential to work is just another way of saying that they don't, just because a dog isn't worked during the summer doesn't give the excuse for it to be over-weight, surely for a whippet to win a working class it must at least look as if it works, i know for a fact that the whippets that were there are never worked, did you judge the whippets last year aswell? no i did'nt judge the whippets there last year and most of the dogs that were there might not work but i can only judge what's put in front of me but the bitch i picked in the working class i know for a FACT that it works but did you have your dog there and did you enter it in a class? how do you know for a fact that the winner you picked works? i know the bitch in the working class works because a lad i used to hunt with until we had a fall out hunts with him now lamping ferreting and digging .the same man that owns that bitch has a couple of bedlingtons that he digs with which stuck in my mind because you dont see many ground working bedlingtons ok mate no bother, if it's simon you are talking about? then i must admit he did have one of the better looking whippets there. 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lampman 7 Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I have to whole heartily agree with the sentiments of the previous contributors regards the show, complete and utter waste of time. The entrance fee did not reflect the value for money that was expected from the show, the lack of quality judges was evident for all to see, mind you the terrier judge was some what fair in his approach, the lurcher judging was a farce, my blood was boiling when the over all winner was announced, talk about keeping it close to home, but then again when you have judges who allegedly judge their own dog what do you expect. The show should be renamed to Ballinbollix, because that's what the show was, a load of bollix, rant over, will never attend again. just wondering what you mean when you say keeping it close to home and why the judge was a farce Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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