Judge Paul McGagh 2007 National English Springer Spaniel Amateur Championship

Judge Paul McGagh biography

Paul McGagh

I grew up in Northern England where my Mum & Dad were in the pub trade. Ours was a workingman's pub. Most of the customers were coal miners or retired from the mines. The miners embodied a tradition of owning hunting dogs, almost always lurchers of terriers, which they used to poach rabbits and hares off of local farmland and shooting estates.

These men and their dogs were colorful characters and I loved to spend all my spare time with them, I am sure to their great annoyance. The old timers could vividly recall the days of war rationing where the difference between a good rabbit dog and a mediocre one was having meat on the table or going without. Not surprisingly, my first dogs were a lurcher and a Border terrier.

When I was fourteen and through the help of our neighbor and good friend Pete Hall, I acquired a well-bred Springer Spaniel pup I named Kim. My reason for wanting a spaniel was to gain access to being on a local shoot. This, in Turn, might earn an introduction to get permission to hunt rabbits. Kim turned into much more than a gateway to legitimate rabbit hunting. She was conduit to a whole new world for me, both literally and figuratively. I have never been without a spaniel since.

I have been very active in Cocker trials since their resurgence in 1993. However, Vicky and I have had a great time over the past few years competing in Springer Trials, particularly on the West Coast. We have made many new friends through these wonderful dogs.

It is an honor to judge the 2007 Amateur National with Chuck Nelson and I wish all the competitors the Best of Luck