Our dogs
Jay
Our first cocker was a small black and white bitch called Beinnmhor Jessica (Jay). Her dam’s line went back to Gwibernant Eel and Gwibernant Sal and, beyond that, to Jordieland dogs.
Jay ran in a few trials including the Yorkshire Novice Cocker at Stanhope in 1994 when she was awarded Guns Choice. A sound little bitch, she was let down by Andrew’s inexperience at the time but proved to be a lovely all-round dog.
Calypso
In 1995 Jay was mated to Parkbreck Loop of Kirkstall, an Open Stake winner, and produced three puppies including a diminutive liver bitch that we kept called Wintergill Calypso.
Calypso turned out to be our first Field Trial Champion. She won four Open Stakes, never lost a run-off and was never put out of a trial for a fault. Gaining over 30 field trial awards, nearly all of them being 1st, 2nd or 3rd, she was remarkably consistent but was unlucky in the three Championships she ran in.
Paddy
In 2002 we mated Calypso to FTCh Larford Carp. We kept a black dog from that litter, called Whaupley Scarp (Paddy).
Paddy was a joy to train, he ran in his first field trial at Middleton in Teesdale aged 18 months and after a struggle on a retrieve of a snipe he was awarded a Certificate of Merit. After a couple of 2nds and 3rds in his next few trials, he went on to win the Midland Counties Novice Cocker trial before he was two years old.
Reiver
In January 2001 Andrew qualified FTCh Wintergill Calypso and FTCh Maesydderwen Soloman for the Cocker Championships held at Conholt in Hampshire. After two very good runs Soloman came to within a whisker of winning the Championships but unfortunately he moved in the run-off and was awarded Guns Choice. At that time we were lucky enough to own his full litter sister, Maesydderwen Suki. She was mated to FTCh Rigfoot Teal, an outcross with Scottish bloodlines, and we kept a golden dog that we called Whaupley Reiver.
Born in 2000 Reiver developed quickly and won an Any Variety Novice stake against Springers at the age of 18 months. He was made up to Field Trial Champion after winning his second Open trial in the Lammermuir Hills, this time run by the Scottish Field Trial Association.
A wonderfully consistent dog, Reiver won over 20 Open Field Trial awards and gained a Diploma of Merit in the 2004 Cocker Spaniel Championships. Reiver was to produce Swedish Cocker Spaniel Championship winner SW FTCh Whaupley Tramp, Field Trial Champions in Sweden, the United Kingdom and our own Field Trial Winner Goldengroves Gripper (Bobby).
Maesydderwen Suki (Reiver’s mother) is also the great grandmother of Kiltonbeck Warlord (Fudge). Fudge has produced our own FTCh Meadowsedge Shooting Star (Dizzy), FTW Meadowsedge Ptarmigan (Tarn) as well as two Swedish Championship winners and other winners and award winners in the UK, Finland and Sweden.
Fudge
Fudge was a field trial winner by FTCh Larford Cateran and out of FTCh Kiltonbeck Pixy who won the Cocker Club trial at Castle Douglas ‘on ice’ during the middle of a very busy grouse season whilst he was picking up virtually every day. He was a lovely dog, compact and powerful with a fabulous temperament and confirmation.
He sired many lovely pups both here in the UK and in Scandinavia who have gone on to compete with success in field trials, work on shoots and also just be lovely companions/pets.
He sired our own FTCh Meadowsedge Shooting Star (Dizzy) who won four Open Stakes and who was 2nd in the Cocker Championships in 2016. Also by Fudge is both FTW Meadowsedge Ptarmigan (Tarn) and also Whaupley Nordmarka, the winner of the Swedish Cocker Championships in 2012 and the second placed dog, in 2013. Fudge was retired and living in the house for a number of years and sadly died just after Easter in 2020. A much loved dog whom we miss very much.
We have won Field Trial Awards with 42 cockers to date, five have been made up to Field Trial Champions and many others have been winners. In addition to that we have trained two Champions for other people.
Torngat Bernice
Dot (Torngat Bernice) was a really consistent dog with 15 novice awards, and a 4th in an Open but she never won a trial. As well as nearly always being amongst the highest awards at each trial, she consistently made sure she didn’t win by making a silly mistake, usually at the end of her second run!
Amongst Andrew’s favourites would be Bobby (FTW Goldengroves Gripper). He won the first trial he ran in and during that trial, as well as hunting like a thing possessed, he retrieved five rabbits, two grouse, two pheasant and a woodcock. We believe the Retriever Championship has been won with less. Andrew never ran him again. He enjoyed picking up with him so much that he has spent all his time since on many hundreds of days picking up and he is still as sound as the day he won his trial. That day was also quite special as Fiona also won 2nd place with a lovely small black bitch Megan (Clynneparc Saffron) who pulled off a lovely retrieve of a grouse that was a runner, having done a lot of days picking up and putting her experience to good use!
Not be outdone, Fiona soon after that won a Novice trial with Swift (Thornie Teasil) the first time she had handled her after Andrew had failed to finish the five trials he had run her in!
Tilly
Tilly (FTW Whaupley Ygritte) is a bitch by Fudge and out of a bitch whose dam line goes back to Reiver’s sister, who ran in her first trial in October 2015 aged 16 months. She has proved to be an outstandingly consistent bitch, gaining 16 awards in all sorts of trials throughout her career. She was retired at the end of last season having been placed 2nd in her final trial, an Open qualifier for this year’s Cocker Championships which was held on perfect rabbit ground on the edge of a grouse moor which was where she excelled and was hugely experienced.
Tilly
Tilly
Dizzy
Finally, for the moment at least, is Dizzy (FTCh Meadowsedge Shooting Star). She ran in 15 trials, won five of them, had a 4th and a 2nd, four Certificate of Merits and then finishished 2nd in the Cocker Championships held at Dunira. She is going to be a hard act to follow!
This record is all the more remarkable considering she was bought as an eight-week-old pup by a ‘professional trainer’ who declared her, aged six months, to be no good and a ‘non-retriever’ and was bought back by her breeders, our friends Nick Cook and Kris Thompson who, like us, were determined for her to prove her critics wrong. How short-sighted to have written a dog off so young without giving her time to mature and develop her ability.