The Game Fair, which is being held 28-30 July at Ragley Hall in Warwickshire, today announced that the inaugural Minority Breeds Gundog Competition will take place at this year’s event.

The new Minority Breeds Gundog Competition, which is being organised and run by The Working Minority Retriever Club, will be contested in the Hertford Arena on the third and final day of The Game Fair. It will showcase the remarkable abilities, talents and versatility of gundog breeds that have historically received less attention than popular breeds such as labradors, springers and cockers, while helping to encourage their preservation and appreciation.

With teams of four dogs and their handlers representing each of the minority gundog breeds, the competition will be split into two sections - retriever teams and spaniel teams. The retriever section will be contested from 9:30am, and the spaniels from 1:30pm. The retriever section will see teams of curly coated retrievers, Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers, Chesapeake Bay retrievers and Irish waterspaniels battling it out for supremacy.

The spaniel section will feature teams of clumber spaniels, Welsh springer spaniels and the Lagotto Romagnolo. Sadly, due the decreasing number of people working these breeds, the owners of Spanish water dogs, American cockers, Sussex spaniels and field spaniels were unable to form teams for this year’s event. Team details have already been submitted to The Working Minority Retriever Club to be entered into the competition, and while prizes are still being finalised, there will be trophies for each handler and their dogs from the conquering teams.

The dogs and their handlers will be asked to complete a range of retrieves including seen, blind and memory retrieves in cover and over jumps. The tests will be set to simulate a true gundog working environment to give it an air of reality for both dog and handlers. The retriever tests will be judged by Di Stevens who is an A Panel Judge and the spaniels will be judged by Tom Sheppard a B Panel Judge.

This new addition to The Game Fair underscores the event’s commitment to showcasing every aspect of country life and celebrating the rich heritage of all working dogs.

Judy Hempstead, a committee member of The Working Minority Retriever Club, KCAI and WGC assessor and non-panel judge explains: ‘’The Game Fair is such a great opportunity for us to highlight these lesser-known breeds. Due to their numbers being far lower and their capabilities so often misunderstood, they are frequently overlooked by people looking to buy a working gundog. They mature a little more slowly, which does occasionally impact on their training development, but with the correct training and a consistent approach these breeds have so much to offer. They certainly have endearing characters, albeit characters that are a little challenging at times!”

As well as the competition, visitors will also be able to watch the minority retriever breeds in action in an exciting display in the gundog demo ring with Neil Varney on both the Friday and Saturday of the event. 

The Game Fair’s director James Gower added: "This is such a great competition! It embodies our commitment to shining a light on everything that makes the British countryside so special, and that includes the remarkable capabilities of gundogs from lesser-known breeds. We believe that this event will contribute to the recognition of these breeds, and know visitors will enjoy seeing the dogs in action.”

www.gamefair.org