Thread: Pointer and Setter Trials

Even so, Snorre had a greater impact at stud than anyone in Norway could have imagined.

The impact, or otherwise, that a dog has on a breeding programme is to a large degree dependent on the state of the breed when that dog comes into the gene pool. English setters in Ireland, were in a poor state, bar a few notable exceptions, when S'norre appeared on the scene. Johnny used him very effectively but the S'norre effect is still being felt. My interpretation of what Johnny told me was that even though he was pleased with how his first import had worked out he couldn't see anything of the same quality to continue with so he went back again to Norway. I'll agree to disgree on the quality of Odin's breeding but whoever the next dog was it was going to find it difficult to make the same impact simply because S'norre had worked extremely well.
As an interested bystander the most interesting developement is that the more recent imports have had an immediate inpact. It will also be interesting to see how the three or four french imports work out.

The immediate outbreeding impact would definitely be there, whether the gene pool was decent or not (though of course easier noticeable if it was in a bad state). The real measurement comes a few generations later, to see what actually keeps surviving at a higher quality. If we specifically talk about G'Snorre vs Odin, then I can say that Johnny hit the Storeskar kennel at the exact right time when importing Snorre. It is a kennel which has produced a lot of pups but none better than two-three litters in the mid 1980s. G'Snorre came from a re-mating done in 1986. The same combination done in 1984 produced C Wasaki who won a high profile young dog trial in 1985. The kennel also produced a dog called F Quito from a similar combination in 1985, using the father of Wasaki/Snorre on their half-sister. Snorre's father Tiurhaugens Keiser Albin was by the exceptional American imported stud Equimark, who I mentioned earlier (Equimark was sold by the Smith Setters because he didn't have a proper 12 o'clock tail..) and a mix of the best old Norwegian lines and the legendary Swedish kennel Ekebäck. Snorre's mother Urskogens Fatima was a well bred Swedish import who impressed in forest trials, where English setters traditionally hadn't done particularly well in Norway.

If anyone is interested you can check out the Norwegian Winter Championship on NM Vinter 2014
The individual championship starts today with 200 qualified dogs. You can see the starting lists here http://www.hvfk.org/images/NMVinter14/VK/VK-parti.pdf
60 dogs will go through to the semifinals on Saturday, while 18 dogs will be competing in the finale on Sunday.

My mate Geir B. Larssen won last year with his pointer Barentsviddas B Sortebill. (Geir is my closest partner-in-crime and we bounce ideas off each other with the pointer breeding.) He's starting both Sortebill and C Nansen today but is away from home a lot in his work, so his hopes of going all the way to the final might be slim this year. Another trial kicks off tomorrow (Exit Cup), open for dogs who have been knocked out of the Championship. The final on Sunday (which will be Sunday evening NZ time) will have live updates, brace by brace..