From Training to Mock Trials. This how we prepare..
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/989488856535400449
Snakes are not our best friends in the field, we found these two interesting inserts aboutB Scenting Puff Adders..
https://www.thinglink.com/scene/866364382412537859
Upcoming Litter
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THE STORY OF THE SAFTC
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FIELD TRIALS IN SOUTH AFRICA
by B.L.Kraut.
History tells us that the first official field trial for Pointers and Setters took place at Cannock Chase, a beautiful country estate near Stafford in England on the 1st day of May 1866. B Men who loved field shooting and pointing dogs had come together with the purpose of trying their Pointers and Setters in actual competition, one against the other to ascertain their real qualities and to see whose dog was the best. This initial venture created considerable discussion amongst pointing dog owners and can be regarded as the starting point from where the great sport has grown and expanded. From its origin in the United Kingdom, the sport grew from strength to strength. Eight years later on the 8th October 1874, the sport had its inception in America near Memphis, Tennessee.
The discovery of diamonds at Kimberley drew men from all over the world, each hoping to make his fortune. Many of those who ventured forth to the diamond fields, which abounded with game, brought with them their guns and their dogs. The year 1880 saw the outbreak of the first Boer war and the advancement of British troops as far as Irene, a village situated to the south of Pretoria. Upon the cessation of hostilities in 1881, many British immigrants settled in Pretoria and its environs. In 1889 gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand and again the rush was on by men from all over the world and in particular Britain.
With the abundance of game to be found in and around the tent town that was later to become known as Johannesburg, pointing dogs accompanied their masters. The years 1899 to 1902 were marked by the second Boer war, resulting in Britain annexing the Transvaal with its gold reserves. Again the influx of British officers, who had had the benefit of shooting over dogs in their native land, brought more pointing dogs of the finest breeding to South Africa.
Some 42 years after the first field trial in England, in the year 1908, one John McIlveen, an avid hunter and lover of pointing dogs who had had experience of field trials in Britain, together with a handful of other pointing dog lovers formed the South African Field Trial Club, which became the fountain-head of all field trialing in Southern Africa.
The initial members of the club included D.F. Gilfillan, the founder of the prestigious national law firm of Bowman Gilfillan Incorporated and after whom the suburb of Littlefillan in Sandton is named, Major Th E. Mavrogordato, Dr. J A E Murray, J A (Bertie) Van der Byl, F J Finch Smith, Richard Curry. H.N.Wood, the clubs first President and W.Ferrett the first Club Secretary and also the first person to Judge a Field Trial in South Africa. Others who were early members of the club and who were pioneers of the Transvaal were , D.Erasmus (Erasmere -Pta.) P.J.Roux (Rouxville-Jhb.), H.Bramley (Bramley -Jhb.), Paul Selby (Selby- Jhb.).etc.
