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6 Wednesday <strong>January</strong> <strong>15</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz<br />
Our People<br />
SELWYN TIMES<br />
Ross Wilson<br />
What it takes to make a good gun<br />
Ross Wilson of Greenpark<br />
Huts and his talented<br />
labrador retriever Brynderin<br />
Ted recently won the title of<br />
NZ gun dog of the year. The<br />
61-year-old speaks to Devon<br />
Bolger about what sparked<br />
his interest in the sport and<br />
what makes Ted so special<br />
What first got you into gun<br />
dog trials?<br />
It was a bit of a coincidence<br />
really. The Sinclairs, Sue and<br />
Stu from Springston, must have<br />
heard that I wanted another dog<br />
because my one at the time was<br />
getting a little old. I ended up<br />
buying Ted from them. They<br />
were really big on trialling and<br />
encouraged me into it too after<br />
that. That’s how it all happened.<br />
I had done a lot of trapshooting<br />
when I was younger and thought:<br />
‘Oh well, I suppose I like guns<br />
and dogs, why not?’ They taught<br />
me everything I needed to know,<br />
they’re very good at what they<br />
do. They have Ted’s sister and she<br />
is amazing too. So I pretty much<br />
just took it all in and it went<br />
from there.<br />
Can you explain what gun<br />
dog trialling is?<br />
There could be 25 to 30 dogs<br />
competing on the day. When it’s<br />
your turn to go, the dog first has<br />
LOYAL: Ross Wilson with Ted. The labrador retriever has won the NZ gun dog of the year.<br />
to walk directly beside you for<br />
about 5m inbetween two pegs.<br />
Once he’s there you stop and step<br />
clear of your dog. A bird dummy<br />
then gets thrown up from about<br />
100m away and falls. The dog<br />
has to look at it and study it to<br />
mark where it is. Once three<br />
birds have been thrown I have to<br />
say fetch. He will then hopefully<br />
run in a completely straight<br />
line, you can’t deviate by more<br />
than 1m, find the bird straight<br />
on and bring it directly back to<br />
me. It’s all on points. If the dog<br />
hasn’t deviated or done anything<br />
wrong you won’t have lost any<br />
points.<br />
Do you have any particular<br />
achievements in the sport that<br />
stand out?<br />
There’s really been two. We<br />
headed to Alexandra last year for<br />
the NZ Gundog Championships.<br />
Ted was awarded gun dog of<br />
the year which is across all the<br />
dog breeds and is based on how<br />
many points and titles you win<br />
for the entire year. It was a huge<br />
surprise when I got it, it was such<br />
a thrill. The other one that stands<br />
out is the Banbury Shield. In<br />
November last year, the Southern<br />
Golden Retriever Club held<br />
their annual gun dog trial. The<br />
first trial was for the Arangold<br />
Trophy which all breeds can<br />
compete for. Ted and I ended up<br />
with the highest points to win<br />
that and then on the last day<br />
of the competition Ted came<br />
second in his trial which gave<br />
him the highest points overall for<br />
the weekend and we took home<br />
the Banbury Shield.<br />
Can you tell me about your<br />
trapshooting days?<br />
I first got into it when I was<br />
about 18. I was introduced by<br />
a good friend and thought I’d<br />
give it a go and ended up loving<br />
it. I didn’t get properly into it<br />
until I was about 28. I ended<br />
up winning trophy after trophy<br />
and my goal became to shoot<br />
for my country. I went on to<br />
achieve that in 1995 and that<br />
same week I won a New Zealand<br />
title competing against everyone<br />
from around the world. It was<br />
mindblowing.<br />
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Find out about the latest releases and activities to keep the kids entertained.<br />
Sat 18 Jan West Melton 10am–12pm Shopping Centre<br />
Tue 21 Jan Dunsandel 10am–12pm Community Centre<br />
Burnham 1.30–3.30pm The Hub<br />
Wed 29 Jan Kirwee 10am–12pm Kirwee Bowling Club<br />
Greendale 1–3pm Community Hall<br />
Thu 30 Jan Whitecliffs 10–11.30am Domain (weather permitting)<br />
Glentunnel 12.30–3pm Community Centre<br />
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