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Birr Castle Game Fair - Racing & Showing 27Th August


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THE ROI TERRIER, LURCHER & WHIPPET CHAMPIONSHIPS BOTH RACING & SHOWING at the IRISH GAME & COUNTRY FAIR, BIRR CASTLE ON SUNDAY 27TH AUGUST 2017.

 

NOTE : Following suggestions from competitors it has been decided to run all of the terrier, lurcher and whippet events in one day Sunday 27th August with RACING Starting at 11.00 and Showing Starting at 14.00 hrs. Full Time Table below :

 

1. Before 11.00 am Registration of competitors for Mick the Miller Racing at Game Fair HQ on the main site.

 

2. Before 12.00 am Registration of competitors for Five Nations Lurcher Championships at Game Fair HQ on the main site.

 

3.THE FEEDWELL TERRIER, WHIPPET & LURCHER RACING CHAMPIONSHIPS SUNDAY 27th August starting 11.00 am sharp.

LURCHER RACING

 

  • The Over 23" ROI Lurcher Racing Championships. - Winner €50 sponsored by Countryside Alliance Ireland Plus Trophy & Bag of Feedwell Dog Food; Runner Up & Bag of Feedwell dog Food
  • The Under 23" ROI Racing Championships . Winner €50 sponsored by Countryside Alliance Ireland Plus Trophy & Bag of Feedwell Dog Food Runner Up & Bag of Feedwell dog.
  • The Under 21" ROI Racing Championships Winner €50 sponsored by Countryside Alliance Ireland Plus Trophy & Bag of Feedwell Dog Food; Runner Up & Bag of Feedwell dog.
  • Bull Cross ROI Racing Championship Winner €50 sponsored by Countryside Alliance Ireland Plus Trophy & Bag of Feedwell Dog Food; Runner Up & Bag of Feedwell dog food
  • The Whippet ROI Racing Championships Winner €50 sponsored by Countryside Alliance Ireland Plus Trophy & Bag of Feedwell Dog Food; Runner Up & Bag of Feedwell dog food
  • The Terrier Racing Championships Winner €50 sponsored by Countryside Alliance Ireland Plus Trophy & Bag of Feedwell Dog Food; Runner Up & Bag of Feedwell dog

 

4. 12.30 MICK THE MILLER CHALLENGE

 

Followed by THE DIRECTORS CHALLENGE

This is restricted to dogs that have not won a race at any event in the UK or Ireland

There will be three sets of heats for dogs classified as follows:

  • Rough Coated Lurcher Any size Winner Trophy
  • Bull or Terrier /cross Lurcher Any size Winner Trophy
  • Smooth Coated Lurcher/Long dog any breeding other than (2) Any size. Winner Trophy

The top two dogs from each classification will run in a six dog final

Winner €50 sponsored by Countryside Alliance Ireland plus Trophy plus a bag of Feedwell Dog Food ; Runner up bag of Feedwell Dog Food.

 

5. ROI CHAMPIONHIP SHOW 2.00 pm Rosettes, Trophies & Cash Prizes sponsored by Irish Countrysports and Country Life magazine Dog Food sponsored by FEEDWELL

  • OVERALL SHOW CHAMPION €50 + Trophy
  • CHAMPION LURCHER €50 + Trophy + FEEDWELL Dog Food. This is the final qualifier for the Red Mills & Irish Countrysports and Country Life Five Nations Lurcher Championship.
  • CHAMPION TERRIER €50 s + Trophy + FEEDWELL Dog Food.
  • CHAMPION WHIPPET €50 + Trophy + FEEDWELL Dog Food This is a qualifier for the 2018 Red Mills & Irish Countrysports and Country Life Five Nations Whippet Championship.
  • PUPPY CHAMPION Trophy
  • CHAMPION PET Trophy
  • Bag of FEEDWELL TURBO for all class winners - Rosettes to fourth place

 

TERRIER CHAMPIONSHIP SHOW : JUDGE : JOHN HENDRICK

  • Terrier Pups under 1 year
  • Terrier under 12".
  • Best Pair of Terriers
  • AV Working Terrier
  • Jack Russell Type Dog over 1 year old
  • Jack Russell Type Bitch over 1 year old
  • Lakeland Type Dog over 1 year old
  • Lakeland Type Bitch over 1 year old
  • Fell or Patterdale Dog or Bitch over 1 year old
  • Border Dog or Bitch 1 year old
  • Plummer Terrier Dog or Bitch
  • Cross Bred Dog or Bitch over 1 year old
  • Veteran Dog or Bitch over 7 years of age.

Championship - from unbeaten terriers other than pairs or puppy. Puppy goes forward to the puppy championships.

 

LURCHER CHAMPIONSHIPS: NIGEL QUINN

 

  • Any Variety Lurcher Pup under 1 year old
  • Whippet/Lurcher Dog or Bitch over 1 year old( NO PURE BRED WHIPPETS)
  • Best Pair of Lurchers
  • Any Variety Lamping Lurcher Dog
  • Any Variety Lamping Lurcher Bitch
  • Smooth Lurcher Dog over 23" over 1 year old
  • Smooth Lurcher Bitch over 23" over 1 year old
  • Rough Lurcher Dog over 23" over 1 year old
  • Rough Lurcher Bitch over 23" over 1 year old
  • Rough or Smooth Lurcher Dog under 23" over 1 year old
  • Rough or Smooth Lurcher Bitch under 23" over 1 year old
  • Collie Lurcher over 1 year old
  • Terrier Bred Lurcher over 1 year old
  • Bull Bred lurcher over 1 year old.
  • Veteran Lurcher - Any Lurcher over 8 years of age

Championship - from unbeaten Lurchers other than pairs or puppy. Puppy goes forward to the puppy championships.

 

WHIPPET CHAMPIONSHIP : TRACY CROSBIE

  • Whippet Puppy Dog under 1 year old
  • Whippet Puppy Bitch under 1 year old
  • Whippet Dog over 1 year old
  • Whippet Bitch over 1 year old
  • Working Whippet Dog
  • Working Whippet Bitch
  • Whippet Pairs
  • Veteran Whippet

Championship 1st from classes 3,4,5,6

 

FAMILY DOG SHOW:

  • Any Variety shown by a child under 12 years of age
  • Any Variety shown by a Lady
  • Any Variety shown by a Gent

Champion Handling Class from the above classes Receives Trophy & Rosette.

 

6. THE FIVE NATIONS CHAMPIONSHIPS

The FINAL of the RED MILLS /IRISH COUNTRYSPORTS & COUNTRY LIFE FIVE NATIONS LURCHER CHAMPIONSHIP JUDGED BY A THREE JUDGE SYSTEM WILL TAKE PLACE IN THE MAIN ARENA AT 5.30pm. WILL ALL QUALIFIERS REGISTER WITH FAIR HQ BEFORE 12.00 noon.

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.

All qualifiers attending receive a special commemorative cap sponsored by www.jointhemigration.com JUDGES : Kieran Young; Donal Smith and Alan Crosbie

 

The GREAT GAME FAIRS of IRELAND Mick the Miller Challenge for non elite Traditional lurchersWe define lurchers as any cross other than whippet x greyhound or 3/4 or greater greyhound.

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. Note at the time of registration at Game Fair HQ before 11.00 am for the final at Birr all owners must declare the breeding of their dog. Any dog that is more than three quarter greyhound or has run as an elite will be excluded at this stage.

 

NOTE : WE HAVE A POLICY OF NOT ALLOWING PUPS OR DOGS TO BE SOLD ON SITE. WE HAVE SUGGESTED TO THE GARDA THAT WE WILL DEAL WITH THIS WITH THEIR ASSISTANCE AND THAT WE DO NOT NEED THE PRESENCE OR ASSISTANCE OF ANY OTHER ORGANISATION. ANYONE ATTEMPTING TO SELL DOGS or PUPS WILL BE REQUESTED TO LEAVE THE FAIR and THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS FOR PEOPLE BREACHING THIS POLICY. YOUR CO-OPERATION WITH OUR POLICY WILL BE APPRECIATED.

Edited by AlbertJ
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  • 3 weeks later...

Edwin and I are just back from making final arrangements in Birr and great news in acquiring more sponsorship for ALL of the competitions. It might surprise some people on this forum entitled GAME FAIRS is that is exactly what we do - WE ORGANISE GAME FAIRS, not just simply Terrier, Whippet and Lurcher shows and have been organising Game Fairs ( including terrier and lurcher shows) for 39 years and 63 events.

 

In fact Edwin ran one of the first major terrier & lurcher events in ireland in 1979.

 

Our fairs concentrate on bringing all of the main countrysports representation organisations together; putting together a rich mix of trade stands to cover all of the sports and providing a great range of non stop entertainment to interest the whole family - this includes bringing attractions from all over the UK and Ireland.

AND of course it includes one of the best clay pigeon competitions in Ireland, some good gundog competitions, a wide ranging angling section focused on involving and giving coaching to the young ( all free); a Living History Village including re-enactments and medieval jousting ( where kids and families can freely wander through timeline from Vikings to William III interacting with costumed re-enactors) all within an action packed entertainment programme plus the opportunity to see the wonderful grounds of Birr Castle.

 

AND of course WITHIN this we have the local Roscrea Club organising the ROI Terrier, Lurcher and Whippet Championships and highlights such as the FN Lurcher Championships and the MICK THE MILLER Challenge. All entry fees in the competitions go to the organising club who thank you in advance for your support as it is used to stage other events for the terrier & lurcher fraternity throughout the year.

 

Also throughout the year the Great Game Fars of Ireland support a huge number of sporting and charitable events and at each fair we work with normally three charities with one nominated charity as our main one. This year at the Birr Castle Fair we have our main charity as the local Shannonside Sub Aqua Club Rescue service who cover a vast geographical area and their work includes recovering bodies from sea, lake or river. This is an active club, which likes to do action high profile fund raising, and our arrangement is that we have paid for the hire of mini buses and drivers for the club to operate a special bus service from the main car park to the main gate allowing visitors for a small donation to a good cause to save their energy for enjoying trading the c200 stands - all with at least one bargain and usually with several.

 

THE GAME FAIR PROGRAMME is available on www.irishgameandcountryfair.com and a fair preview available on www.countryportsandcountrylife.com

Edited by AlbertJ
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Thanks to CAI for coming on board to 'beef up' the cash prizes and to FEEDWELL great supporters of ALL Countrysports for sponsoring food for both SHOW & RACING.

 

Also to RED MILLS for sponsoring the FIVE NATIONS lurcher championships - remember still a chance to win the ROI Champion Lurcher Title and qualify to take your chance in the big ring.

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      AIDY TOAL WITH THUNDER AND SCAR
      ***OVERALL CHAMPION AND BEST IN SHOW***
      GED DONAGH WITH BROCK
      RESERVE
      PAULA BEGGS WITH PACO
      ***TALLY HO NORTHERN  IRELAND CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS***
      SUSAN McCANN WITH PENNY
      Congratulations to all above winners
      And Finally, may I take this opportunity on behalf of the Tally Ho Working Dog Show to thank the judges on the day for a job well done.
      Childrens Handling Class  
      Margaret Mc Stay
      Ladies and Gents Handling Class
      Margaret Mc Stay
      Pets
      Michelle Darby
      Whippets 
      James Mullen
      Lurchers 
      Jonathan Kirwan
      Terriers  
      Sam Kirwan
      Strong Dogs
      Chontelle Mc Meekin 
      Bullies
      Carla Mc Donnell
      Tally Ho Northern Ireland Champions of Champions
      Peter Morgan
      Judging is not an easy job, but the judges were all consistent and fair  
      A Big thank you to the Racing team Matt Lee/Joanna Relf Lee and Matthew Lee for running the racing on the day so efficiently. Your experience and input is invaluable and of this we are extremely grateful. 
      There were 3 very willing young people helping Peter out on Saturday. Conor Creagh/Callum Jones and Kerry Ann Hughes you all done a great job and everything ran like clockwork. 
      As usual it was evident a lot of hard work and sleepless nights was put into organising this top show and all Peters shows in the past to make them so successful, and all along the way Peter has done this single handed.
      And Finally, Finally it is with a heavy heart I am writing this and hoping it will not come to fruition.  Peter has said to me this is the last show he will run. But  with hope in my heart I am hoping he might change his mind. 
      Peter you have given 20K plus to charity over the years, encouraged our young country men and women to carry on the tradition in the ring and in the field, and given Country Sports a great window through your shows over the years. I have known you now through country sports for over 20-25 years and probably longer, and all through that time you have never faltered away from the Canine world. 
      The prizes, the cups, the childrens handling class and bouncy castles at your shows are second to none. The time and money you put into your shows for our enjoyment is a credit to you.
      I will conclude for now Peter hoping at some time down the road, maybe you will change your mind and have another show in 2026. It was nice to be your friend through the ups and downs in the Country Sports world. 
      God Bless to we meet again.
       Margaret Mc Stay
       
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