Judges:

William Meldrum:

I am 72 years old and was born in St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland. I first became interested in training gundogs in 1952. Run in the first Field Trial 1954. Qualified for first British Retriever Championship 1958 with FTCH Heathside Roots winning an award of Honor.
1st FTCH 1961 Glenfarg Bunting
2nd 1961 Championship
3rd 1962 Glenfarg Skid
First Championship 1963
Became dog trainer to H.M. The Queen 1964, making 7 FTCH. Best known was Sandringham Sydney who went on to win 4 Champion Stakes and 3 Game Fair Trophies. I became Head Keeper on the Sandringham Estate in 1983 until 2001 and did not have much time to take part in Trials.
I have organised the ground for Retriever Championships three times wich I have also had the honour to judge twice; organised the ground for over 60 Retriever tests, and judged the Game Fair three times.

Robert Stobbart:

My Name is Bob Stobbart, I am 51 years old, have two grown up daughters and live not far from Durham city in the North east of England. I am an "A" panel judge for the U.K. kennel club and have judged for a number of years on the continent. I am employed as a prison officer in Her Majesties Prison, Durham. Previously, I was employed as an electrician, working in coal mines. It would appear that most miners, because of where they worked, enjoyed outdoor pursuits, shooting, fishing and hunting etc. I am no different.
I have been involved in shooting since I was a boy, I used to go beating on a very big estate not far from my home where they shot 2,500 birds each day, twice each week, 5,000 birds/week !!!!!
I have had dogs all my life, however, as I watched the dogs work on the estate, I decided as soon as I could, I would have a Golden Retriever. Immediately I was married, I left my Terrier with my parents and bought a Golden, not a very good one, despite being a test winner, it was very stupid so I gave it to my sister, all my family now have dogs from me !!!
After joining the English North east gundog clubs about 30 years ago, and learning to train and work dogs correctly, I soon gained a little success, I have owned and trained a succession of dogs since , Labradors and Goldens, all of which have either won tests or trials. The most successful is a Golden Retriever, now 10 years old, and still working hard, FTCH Robenda Souix who competed twice in the U.K. Kennel Club Championship. At the moment I am trialling a very promising black Labrador dog, Ebony Black As Night, I have great hopes of this dog. Thank you for inviting me to judge this prestigious event, may I wish you all success.

Terry and Gaynor Bailey:

Terry and Gaynor Bailey of the Gunstock Labradors have made up three Field Trial Champions also won hundreds of prizes in Trials, Tests and even Championship Shows, particularly if you count the prizes won by our Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. Between them they have judged in New Zealand, South Africa, France and Switzerland and held seminars in the USA.
The Gunstock Labradors all hold good Hip and Eye Certificates, have wonderful temperaments and have been exported all over the world. They both judge Field Trials and Tests extensively in the UK. Terry has judged the Retriever Championship once and the Irish Championship twice.

Phil Wagland:

After graduating from Oxford University I was a teacher of Geography in large Secondary Schools preparing pupils for their GCSE and Advanced levels, but am now retired so I can spend more time with dogs.
Anna and I bought our first golden Retriever as a pet, but from working stock. We soon became involved with training it, running in working tests, and picking up at shoots. After a few years I became Secretary of the North Midland Area of the United Retriever Club. The URC is the largest Retriever Club in Britain, running shows and field trials, plus working tests and training through nine regions or areas. In our classes and tests we get Labradors, Goldens, Flatcoats and occasionally a Chesapeake. My wife Anna helps with the training and also handles her own dogs successfully. Currently Anna and I have six Golden Retrievers, varying from 2 years to 14 years in age. Each of them has earned awards. As you can imagine there are famous working lines in their pedigree, Holway, Standerwick etc.
My first Open Trial winner was a bitch called Pebbletoft Ruby, which we bred ourselves. She won over 20 working tests. My best trial dog is Field Trial Champion Standerwick Rhumba of Pebbletoft. She has over 20 field trial awards including six first places.
We kept two pups from Rhumba’s first litter, Pebbletoft Rock and Polka. Both have many test and trial awards, including two 1st places in field trials. Two others from this litter have also won trials, F.T.CH. Pebbletoft Jazz owned by Trevor Gibson and Pebbletoft Jive owned by Gwen Knox. I also have a younger bitch from Rhumba’s second litter called Pebbletoft Chorus who has earned 10 FT awards.
All our dogs enjoy working tests in the summer season, and have won many awards at all levels, and also been in the winning teams at inter-club events on several occasions.
You will know that I am an A panel Field Trial judge. I am also the Field Trial Secretary for Northern Golden Retriever Association, running six trials per annum. I have also been in charge of the Game Fair gundog tests on several occasions. I have judged a good many trials and tests, including working tests in France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Finland as well as tests and field trials in Austria.