Mike Lewis, left, was one of the speakers

The Bearded Collie Club held their first A3 and A2 Assessment Days on 19th October at the Tomlinsons Training and education centre near Markfield, in Leicestershire.

Organised by committee member Paula Brooks and with tremendous assistance and support from other members of the committee and club members who generously gave of their time to bring their dogs, it was a most successful event.

It attracted sixteen candidates, both specialist and non-specialists and it was a pleasure to see such a large proportion of young people involved in the day both as candidates and as handlers. The morning was given over to presentations by Barbara Walker-Smith on the history and background to the breed, Stephen Appleby on the breed standard and Mike Lewis on conformation and movement in the breed.

In the afternoon (and after an excellent lunch) the formal assessments began. Those wishing to be considered for the A3 list began by taking a written exam before being divided into pairs and going over several dogs and reporting on them.

They then had an opportunity to compare their notes with those of the assessors. The more experienced candidates - several already on a A3 lists but who have not yet had an invitation to judge the breed with tickets - were then assessed individually being given thirty minutes to go over five dogs, place them and write reports on each one.

The day was well managed and all the administrative details were in place. There was even a response sheet asking candidates to evaluate each section of the day and requesting suggestions for improvements.

The day attracted sixteen candidates, both specialist and non-specialists