David Jones
Over the years I have often heard how the Nationals needs a judge from the East Coast or the Mid-West or West in order to make it fair. Also, I heard how certain people were not attending because a certain person was judging. I invite you all to ome and compete because I don't care where you're from, or if we have been friends or foes, because I love a great Springer, run by a great handler and trainer. All the rest is totally irrelevant.
My father gave me my first Springer at age four. Apart from a brief time in 1981 when I traveled to Texas, I have never been without one. At age ten I started accepting money for exercising and training dogs. So at age 47 I have over forty years of professional experience with Springers and hunting dogs. In 1975 I moved to the Saighton Kennels to work as a Gamekeeper for Talbot Radcliffe and I stayed there until 1981 using two or three Saighton Springers per season.
Upon my arrival in Texas, I helped open and run Strong Kennels in Victoria, Texas until its closure in 2002. I then opened Strong Gundogs using dogs going back to the ones originally imported from the Saighton Kennels. Some of my present dogs go back seven and eight generations to my first Saighton Dog, Silla of Saighton. I have had many wonderful Springers over the years but the two that stick in my mind the most are F T.CH. Strong's Seamus and F.T.CH Braw Bairn of Suthron Glen. These were two awesome Field-Trial and hunting dogs and amongst their many accomplishments, they were first and second place National High Point Dogs in 1986.
After an intense four or five years in field-trial competition, I happily retired back to the ranch to hunt and try other avenues of competition. In the late 90's we made a come-back with F.T.CH Strong Brodie, a wonderful dog with tons of natural talent and one of the easiest high-powered dogs I have ever trained. In my last season of running Brodie, an extremely busy hunting season stopped me from competing with him as much as I would have liked and I only managed to get to five field-trials where Brodie took four second places. "Close, but no cigar," and I often wish I could have gone to more trials and made him a National High point dog like his Grand-Sire Seamus because Brodie deserved it. I have complete faith that he could have done it easily.
I am very honored to have been chosen to judge the 2004 National English Springer Spaniel l Championship and look forward to this great event.
I wish everyone the best of luck.
David J Jones .