Date of birth 03/12/2015
FTW Stauntonvale’s Mr Grey x FTAW Threevalleys Dawn Approach of Fletchingly
TRAINING AND WORKING RISKA
Riska has been easy to train and instinctively seems to know what I want her to do. She is calm, yet fast, stylish and very responsive, with excellent gamefinding ability.
WORKING TEST RESULTS
It was my intention to start competing with Riska in puppy tests at the start of the season when she was 15 months old, but she sustained a nasty gash to her knee, meaning that she had two months off work, which is far from ideal with a young dog.
She entered her first working test just before she was 18 months old, and this was the SEGS Novice water test at Isenhurst on 28th May 2017. My dogs always seem to relish the challenging ground at this venue, and Riska gave me some lovely retrieves across the lakes, so I was delighted to be awarded third place, just one point behind the dog that was second. A good start to Riska’s career.
The other highlight of this summer was when I ran Riska in the URC novice test at Popes Oak on 16th July and she came second out of a field of 40 competitors, just one point behind the winner. She was only 19 months old at the time and was competing against some experienced dogs.
Riska entered a total of eight working tests in 2017, with results as follows:
28th May 2017, SEGS Novice Water at Isenhurst, 3rd place.
11th June 2017, UGS Novice Water at 500 Acre Wood, CoM.
18th June 2017, Bakadam Novice, 10th place.
16th July 2017, URC Novice at Pope’s Oak, 2nd place.
30th July 2017, UGS Novice at Gardner’s Farm, 4th place.
3rd September 2017, UGS Novice at Pope’s Oak, 5th place.
10th September 2017, Charity test at Mereworth, 3rd place.
8th October 2017, SIWSC Novice at The Pheasantry, CoM.
10th June 2018, UGS Open Water at 500 Acre Wood, 3rd place.
17th June 2018, UGS Inter Branch Final at The Pheasantry, member of the team placed 4th.
30th September 2018, SIWSC at Broad Oak, 3rd place.
28th April 2019, UGS Open Qualifier at Isenhurst, 4th place.
16th June 2019, UGS Inter Branch Final at The Pheasantry, member of the team placed 4th.
14th July 2019, Bakadam Open at the Montreal Estate, 4th place.
9th May 2021, URC Open Qualifier at Waterhatch Farm, 3rd place.
23rd March 2024, Wye Valley Veteran at Felton Court, 1st place.
20th April 2024, CNWSRSS Open at Checkley Wood, CoM.
28th April 2024, Labrador Retriever Club of Wales Veteran at Ffynongain training ground, 1st place.
19th May 2024, United Retriever Club Border Counties and Cotswolds at Rockhampton, 3rd place.
9th June 2024, United Gundog Breeders Association Open at Leighton Hall, CoM.
FIELD TRIALS
Riska had her first run in a novice field trial before she was two years old. This was the UGS (Kent and East Sussex) trial at Blackmore in Essex on 18th November 2017 and she was placed third, having achieved a two dog eyewipe on her last retrieve of the day, so a very pleasing start to her trialling career.
Her next run saw us pick the wrong bird, which was my fault entirely – Riska is very fast, so there is only a split second to stop her in the right area and my reactions just weren’t quick enough.
On Friday 19th January 2018 we ran in the Southern Golden Retriever trial at Tenterden, which we won, so I couldn’t have had a better season with this lovely honest young dog.
HEALTH TEST RESULTS
Riska has a current clear eye certificate, 0 elbows and 3:4 hips; she is clear for CNM, EIC and SD2, but a carrier for PRA, so she will be mated to a dog that is clear for PRA to ensure that her puppies will not be affected by this condition.
