The
United Spaniel Association which was formed to represent the
views and needs of all eight sporting spaniel breeds is proud
to be holding the next European Spaniel Congress. This prestigious
event takes place between 22nd and 25th April 2004 at The
Abbey Hotel in Malvern, Worcs.
The history of the congress goes back to 1960 when some of
the European countries started discussions on matters affecting
spaniels and so formed the European spaniel council, later
to be known as the European Spaniel Association. Since 1960
congress has been held approximately every three years and
member countries throughout Europe have had the pleasure of
hosting the event.
It was held for the first time in England in 1970 at Oxford,
and again in 1983 at Malvern. the year 1993 saw the congress
take place at Nottingham and the secretary then was Chris
Bexon who is now the President of the United Spaniel Association.
Chris also becomes chairman to the European Association until
2007 when Austria takes over to make arrangements for the
next event taking place that year.
Evolved
The
Association is proud to have many prestigious names in its
history and to have a well-integrated team as its present
day committee. Although the club has no individual members,
each member club sends each delegates who form the committee
and a strong team of dedicated workers has evolved. The
Association works closely with all its member clubs and
relies on their generous support not only for this event
but throughout every year.
For 2004 the congress week really starts on Saturday 17th
April with the United Spaniel Association open show being
held at The Sports Connexion, Ryton, near Coventry. As well
as the usual panel of breed judges chosen by the member
clubs there are two European judges taking on various stakes
and Variety classes, with Peter Beyersdorf, who is president
of the German Jadgspaniel club judging Best in Show.
On Thursday 22nd there is a council meeting and a get together
at The Abbey Hotel in the bar for any guests who arrive
that day. Although the Association is prevented under Kennel
Club rules from holding a spaniel show open to all under
the FCI rules, as a part of the weekend, the events have
been arranged to coincide with WELKS and particularly Friday,
which is gundog day. For those visitors arriving from abroad,
there is transport to take them to the show, and no doubt
several will also take the opportunity to bring their dogs
to a large championship show. Sheila Jakeman and her committee
have kindly extended the hospitality of the show to our
guests.
On Friday evening a social get together has been arranged
sponsored by Our Dogs newspaper and free to everyone who
wants to enjoy a pleasant evening in the company of dedicated
and experienced spaniel enthusiasts. Peggy Grayson has agreed
to be present for the evening and we are sure that her expertise
will be much in demand.
The Kennel Club is supporting the congress weekend, and
will have a stand on both the Friday evening and Saturday
together with some of their team of experts including Anne
Greeves from the Field Trial department who will be displaying
pictures from their archives.
Several spaniel breed clubs will have stands displaying
memorabilia, and items for sale and of course their breed
experts will be on hand. This is an unrivalled opportunity
to talk with our counterparts from Europe on all matters
spaniel.
The official congress takes place on Saturday and is sponsored
by PURINA. The programme for the day will start with an
official opening followed by speakers who include Peggy
Grayson on the history of sporting spaniels; there will
be an illustrated talk on working with spaniels given by
Kennel Club representatives and Cathryn Mellersh PhD on
DNA profiling of inherited diseases. In addition to the
speakers there are reports which were commissioned at the
last congress on ‘Regulations for Field Trial Classes
throughout Europe’ and ‘Breeding Rules for Spaniels
throughout Europe’. In the afternoon there will be
various papers presented from member countries and we have
already received several topics which will no doubt invoke
lively debate. There will be opportunities for questions
and the day finishes with a report from the council meeting.
A festive dinner with music for dancing from ‘Full
Circle’ is arranged for Saturday evening and a grand
raffle with some extra special ‘doggy’ items
is planned.
Once again the Association is grateful to its major sponsors,
Our Dogs, Pro Plan, Fosse Data Systems and The Kennel Club
for their support. Gifts for the raffle would be most welcome
from any organisation that would like to have their name
associated with the congress.
Obliged
On
Sunday the 25th April it’s the turn of the working
side of spaniels to be displayed. The Association is obliged
to The Whitfield Estate near Malvern for permitting the
use of their land for a show spaniel-working test. Again
transport will be available and refreshments can be purchased.
The event has sponsorship from the English Springer Spaniel
Club. More details of this test are available from Shula
Shipton on mishules@btinternet.com. And details of the judges
will be published nearer the date.
The above information will hopefully give a taste of this
exciting weekend and more details can be viewed on the websites
of the European association at www.eurospaniel.com and the
United Spaniel Association on www.unitedspaniel.co.uk .
Both these sites will contain additional information as
it is finalised or the secretary, Gina Bowers can be contacted
on 01427 811405 or gina@marchlands.org
Gina Bowers, Secretary USA
