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ALL IRELAND AND UK TERRIER & LURCHER CHAMPIONSHIPS

 

Following a Review of our Terrier, Lurcher and Whippet Events the Great Game Fairs of Ireland team will be making the following changes to our programme to bring them into line with our other countrysports competitions . This includes the re-allocation of prize money and the dropping of FREE tickets .

 

1. The GREAT GAME FAIRS of IRELAND Master McGrath Challenge for ELITE lurchers ( both Over and Under 23”) will have qualifiers throughout the UK and Ireland for a FINAL at Shanes Castle on Saturday 24th June.

Prize Structure will be as follows :

Winner : Winner : £250 plus Bronze Trophy plus Barbour Coat ; winners cap and Racing Coat. Runner Up £100, runners up coat plus Carriage Clock plus racing coat. All qualifiers attending the fair get a limited edition qualifiers cap.

2. The GREAT GAME FAIRS of IRELAND Mick the Miller Challenge for non elite Traditional lurchers – We define lurchers as any cross other than whippet x greyhound or 3/4 or greater greyhound. Qualifiers will be staged throughout the UK and Ireland including a qualifier with an enhanced prize structure at Shanes Castle and a FINAL at Birr Castle on the 26th August.

To qualify for this race dogs at the time of qualifying MUST NOT have run as an elite dog ( whether they have won or not).

Winner : £250 plus Bronze Trophy plus Barbour Coat ; winners cap and Racing Coat. Runner Up £100, runners up coat, plus Carriage Clock plus racing coat. All qualifiers attending the fair get a limited edition qualifiers cap.

3. Five Nations Terrier Championships – qualifiers staged throughout the Uk and Ireland for a FINAL at the Shanes Castle Game Fair on the 25th June.

Winner : £250 plus Bronze Trophy plus Barbour Coat ; winners cap and Racing Coat. Runner Up £100, runners up coat, a Carriage Clock plus racing coat. All qualifiers attending the fair get a limited edition qualifiers cap.

4. Five Nations Whippet Championships – qualifiers staged throughout the UK and Ireland for a FINAL at the Shanes Castle Game Fair on the 25th June.

Winner : £250 plus Bronze Trophy plus Barbour Coat ; winners cap and Racing Coat. Runner Up £100, runners up coat, Plus Carriage Clock plus racing coat. All qualifiers attending the fair get a limited edition qualifiers cap.

5. Five Nations Lurcher Championships – qualifiers staged throughout the UK and Ireland for a FINAL at the Birr Castle Game Fair on the 27th August..

Winner : £250 plus Bronze Trophy plus Barbour Coat ; winners cap and Racing Coat. Runner Up £100, runners up coat, plus Carriage clock plus racing coat. All qualifiers attending the fair get a limited edition qualifiers cap.

Applications are invited for qualifiers by emailing Albert Titterington to a.j.titterington@btinternet.com

Edited by AlbertJ
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Albert if your holding the terrier five nations at shanes a lot of shows after june will miss out and only a handful of shows will have Qualifiers. Why change from Birr and it is at the end of the show season to moving it to the middle of the show season does not really make sense

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Danny,

 

As you are aware our team ( not just me) have worked very hard to give terrier, lurcher and whippet owners and organisers of qualifying shows the best prize fund and competitions in Ireland and at least equivalent to the other sporting events we run at the fairs. Most of the prize fund has been put up out of the pockets of our team and to be blunt most of the team have pointed out that disputes within the other sports are settled on the ground with the minimum of fuss and little or no bitching on social media. In short they ask why invest fairly huge sums of money to be insulted!

 

On a personal basis my main motivation in running the fairs is to promote and defend countrysports and as such I largely accept my colleagues' argument for diverting the money into sports which generate good PR rather than those which generate negative publicity.

 

However I also think most problems can be solved and that we should continue to promote and defend ALL countrysports and I have persuaded my colleagues to fund me for one more year for the terriers, whippets and lurchers. I have made suggestions for the events above and will be bringing forward more new suggestions for the racing and show ROI championships at Birr and the All Ireland Championships at Shanes.

 

Regarding the Five Nations Terrier event at Birr in 2016 while there were some nice dogs in the final and a very fine winner, the numbers who chose to compete in the final did not justify the effort we had put into providing it and basically the alternatives were to drop it altogether or try it for one more year at Shanes. Basically we will be working on the basis of 'use it or lose it'. The FN Lurcher Championship Final will continue to be at Birr.

 

Terrier & lurcher owners who choose to compete at Birr will not really lose out as there will be some changes to the showing and racing at Birr including new events and good prizes for terriers and lurchers.

 

I have built in a little flexibility into the Five Nations events for those show organisers who feel they may have been disadvantaged by the change of venue for the FN Terrier Championships and if they contact me directly I will explain this to them.

 

Albertj

Edited by AlbertJ
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Some FACTS about Terriers , Lurchers & Whippets and their locations in our shows for those unfortunate people with a chip on their shoulder who appear to see something discriminatory in everything :

 

BIRR CASTLE

1. The location of the terriers & lurchers at Birr was chosen in consultation with our event organisers in order to have :

 

(a)As long and flat a racing course as possible

(B) Ringside parking for show and racing and the CLOSEST parking to the main site.

 

2. At Birr the terriers and lurchers are situated in the same area as our clay pigeon shooting and are closer to the main area than the 'elite' shooting. They also take a lot of valuable space in what is our only on site car park so terrier & lurcher competitors get preferential treatment to normal public patrons. A side field is hired from a local pub landlord for access to the fair and he and we allow terrier & lurcher competitors to camp in it FREE of CHARGE - no other competitors have this facility. The Five Nations Championships were staged in the main arena we couldn't put them any more central.

 

SHANES CASTLE

1. The location of the terriers & lurchers at Shanes was chosen in consultation with our event organisers in order to have :

 

(a)As long and flat a racing course as possible

(B) Ringside parking for show and racing and CLOSE parking to the main site.

 

 

2. At Shanes the terriers and lurchers are situated in the same area as our dog agility and Pedigree Dog Show ( both of which prefer ringside parking) and are closer to the main area than the 'elite' shooting. Once again terrier & lurcher competitors get preferential treatment to normal public patrons. The Five Nations Championships are staged in the main arena we couldn't put them any more central and we have displays of lurcher work & long netting and terrier racing in the main arena.

 

The terrier , lurcher & whippet prize structure at both fairs is one of the best in Ireland and at least as good as the other sports at the fairs.

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  • 1 month later...

Applications for qualifiers coming in thick and fast. Can organisers note that it is their responsibility to email us results of qualifiers within one week of the show taking place. Photographs too would be useful( especially if Margaret Mc Stay is not present) - I can't promise but they will be considered for publication in the magazine.

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  • 1 month later...

That's Albert everyone who quitions him has a chip on there shoulder

 

Skip,

 

I responded to a person who erroneously claimed that we put 'the commoners to the back fields of the show were the elite doesn't have to see them'.

 

This person was totally in error as to why the Terrier,Lurcher and whippet events which require space for racing and ringside parking, are located where they are at our fairs.

Other events such as the Five Nations finals which do not require this space are staged in the main arena.

 

What bit of this do you not understand?

 

Albert

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just another way of pushing the commoners to the back fields of the show were the elite doesnt have to see them.

I wouldn't blame them looking at some of the participants it would be in the interest of disease control to keep them away from the main arena because they didn't look like they had their vaccinations.THATS THE OWNERS IM TALKING ABOUT AS THE DOGS LOOKED FINE ?
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Albert, you should be ashamed of yourself liking jiggys comment....!!! We all can't show our dogs off in tweed's and cowboy hats!! So those in denim and hunters aren't great or upperclass enough! IS IT THE DOG'S WE JUDGING OR THE OWNERSHIP ALBERT????????? IS THAT SIMPLE ENOUGH FOR YOU..I REST MY CASE!!!

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Albert, you should be ashamed of yourself liking jiggys comment....!!! We all can't show our dogs off in tweed's and cowboy hats!! So those in denim and hunters aren't great or upperclass enough! IS IT THE DOG'S WE JUDGING OR THE OWNERSHIP ALBERT????????? IS THAT SIMPLE ENOUGH FOR YOU..I REST MY CASE!!!

 

Perhaps Jiggy or someone else can explain to you that he meant this as a JOKE. You should really take that huge chip off your shoulder as you really are becoming a JOKE with your constant and persistent attempts to find something or anyone to criticise. The purpose of the original post was to give information to those genuine lurcher, terrier and whippet owners who want to race or show their dogs in a sporting fashion for some great prizes. We don't have any particular dress code for handlers !!!! Nor in fact did Jiggy mention clothing - this was the chip on your shoulder imagining he said something!

Edited by AlbertJ
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  • 3 weeks later...

It was indeed a joke and as a working class man I didn't see anyone looking down on me! In fact it was the opposite and I found the organisers over friendly and outgoing and I never met them before in my life it was just general conversation at the side of the ring.

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It was indeed a joke and as a working class man I didn't see anyone looking down on me! In fact it was the opposite and I found the organisers over friendly and outgoing and I never met them before in my life it was just general conversation at the side of the ring.

 

Jiggy, What about a best dressed Terrier or Lurcher owner competition with you as the judge?

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It was indeed a joke and as a working class man I didn't see anyone looking down on me! In fact it was the opposite and I found the organisers over friendly and outgoing and I never met them before in my life it was just general conversation at the side of the ring.

Jiggy, What about a best dressed Terrier or Lurcher owner competition with you as the judge?

only ladies need apply it will be like Galway races?
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