Chris Atkinson to run Drake at Irish Game Fair

[Nimrod]

Yes it's official.

Chris will run Drake when in Ireland at the end of May.

Watch here for more information.


Nim

[paul young]

Drake who?-paul

[badbullgator]

Chris will run Drake when in Ireland at the end of May.

Drake who?-paul

Yep, that could open a nice can o' worms without further explanation

[SloppyMouth]

Chris will run Drake when in Ireland at the end of May.

Drake who?-paul

Yep, that could open a nice can o' worms without further explanation

Server check, check, check...1, 2, 3...

[paul young]

it was a serious question. i wondered who was loaning their dog to Chris to run. very generous of them to include him in the retriever portion of the fair, not just the calling aspect.

paul, who is always rootin' for his friend!

[ducksoup]

Are we talking about Drake the DU dog????

[AmiableLabs]

Are we talking about Drake the DU dog????

If it is, then Stewart better fill Chris in on his unusual handling technique.

[Chris Atkinson]

Nimrod must be travelling right now as he's been a bit difficult to pin down.

I'm sure he'll be back with more information.

From what I've been told, if I were to handle a dog, it would be a FT (or similar) titled Irish/UK bred, born, raised and always-resided, labrador. I'm quite sure this is not the same Drake as the one known here as "the DU dog". I would imagine, though, that this Drake has some similar bloodlines and heritage to the Drake you all are thinking of.

I'm really looking forward to all of the cool stuff that Bill's asked me to do at the Gamefair. Getting a few days in advance of the event to become familiarized not only with the new handler/dog interactions, but the "new way of handling" for this American, will be a blast!

I've watched the UK style handling in person a few times as well as on TV and it still looks a bit "foreign" to me. As a dog person, I'm anticipating that the dog and I will get to know each other pretty well in a few days. Hopefully the UK way of lining, casting and handling in general is a bit easier to transition to, than changing a golf swing. I suspect it will be.

Brother Bill, the suspense is getting me! We all know that Mike's dog is not flying from Mississippi for the trial unless Mike himself is doing the handling. Can't wait to read or hear more about Drake!

- Counting the days....Chris

[ducksoup]

Chris
No matter what Drake you end up with I'm sure you'll do great -- and have a lot of fun -- but it'll be interesting to see which Drake it is ????

[Nimrod]

Yes.... you all guessed it.

There is more than one dog named Drake, especially here in Ireland, but I thought I would just still the pot a little.

Of course, Drake the DU dog did run at my event three years ago and was on the winning US gundog team. This Drake, however,is a very well bred Irish Labrador who is already a Field Trial winner this side of the pond.

Chris is right when he said he and Drake will become familiar with each other and I know they will do well at the event.

Sue UK, you remember her, will be spending three days with us too and will accompany Chris on one of his training sessions. She is the non-running captain of the England retriever team and a very experienced handler/breeder in her own right.

Organising Chris' trip here was easy, I just booked a plane for him. Organising the European teams is a nightmare and they are mostly only a ferry trip away from Ireland!

My daughter has thrown down a challenge to you Chris. She is a mean duck caller. You have been warned!

Nim