The following article " My Experiences of the Irish Championship" was written by Jean Brown following her win in 2003, where she became the only the second woman to win the stake in the 45 year history of the Championship

There are some trials that you just would not miss and the Irish Championship is one of them. In fact it is not just a trial it is an experience and a reminder of all that is great and sporting about working setters and pointers. The whole event is organised by Tom Dunne, Field Trial Secretary of the Irish Kennel Club, whose personality, hard work and wife Betty, ensure that everything runs with superb Irish efficiency! It is always without fail, a weekend to remember and cherish and one of the great highlights of the dogging year!

The location of the Championship varies depending on the density of game available but for a number of years now it has been held on the mountain above Kinnity, in County Offaly. It is a great location, almost in the centre of Ireland, with an excellent pub called Dolly's that bears witness to much of the socialising that is an integral part of the whole event.

It is a good days travel from where I live in Northumberland to Kinnity but always a journey that is embarked upon with excitement and anticipation. We look forward to this trial all year long. Prior to the event we have received tantalizing snippets of information about the Irish dogs and conditions: whose dogs are going well and picking up the awards; what the birds and ground are like, and who is judging the Championship. The question remaining on our minds is always 'have we done enough to hold our own?' Kinnity presents two challenges, the first are the Irish and their excellent dogs and the second is the hill! You cannot expect to survive the hill at Kinnity unless you and your dogs are super fit and have lots and lots of stamina. It is quite simply the toughest hill to compete on. At first sight it looks as though it might be quite nice, a little bit hilly but with a fairly even covering of grass and heather. However looks can be deceptive and in this case they tell an outright lie. This hill is like no other you will have ever walked. It is full of tussocky grass between which is soft, spongy moss and the combination of climbing over the tussocks and out of the moss is quickly exhausting, even for the fittest. In addition since there is no heather burning carried out in Ireland there are no easy bits of short new growth to look forward to walking over. It is all tough, rank, old heather that begins to feel as though it is a mile high! As if this were not bad enough the event is run over two days as opposed to the more traditional one. The requirement for two days is because the dogs are all run on the clock for a minimum of fifteen minutes and since there are often as many as fifty dogs competing the two days is required to allow sufficient time to evaluate all of the dogs over at least three rounds.

Jean Brown with the 2003 I.KC. Championship Winner FTCh Luska Finn

Despite the fact that we all know that we are facing two of the toughest trailing days of the year we all thoroughly enjoy disadvantaging ourselves prior to the trial by drinking far too much Guinness in Dolly's and having far too little sleep as the laughter and banter flies back and forward between the competitors.

Steve Robinson has won the Irish Championship three years in a row between 1998 and 2000. The first year he won with Lusca Max and the second and third years with Ardoon Jack a dog who has become a legend in his own lifetime such is his ability, stamina and unrelenting consistency. In 2000 the Foot & Mouth outbreak prevented the English and Scottish competitors competing in Ireland. However Jack competed again in 2001 and was extremely unlucky not to find game since his run in the third round against Aidan Dune's Irish was nothing short of breathtaking and will remain etched in the memory of those privileged enough to be able to say that they were there. It was the last time that Jack competed and was a superb finale, one of those moments when the hairs stand up on the back of your neck as you realize that you are witnessing something truly extraordinary.

This year was the second year that I have competed although for many years I used to attend just to enjoy the camaraderie and the good sport. It is such a great way to spend two days that even without dogs it is well worth the trip. In the two years that I have competed I have won a third (excellent) in 2002 with Will Sloan's Field Trial Champion Molly Iken and in 2003 a first (excellent) with my own Field Trial Champion Lusca Finn, making him an International Field Trial Champion. Since I was the only woman competing and only the second woman to win the stake in the history of the Championship it was a particularly special achievement.

In thanking the judges on behalf of the competitors I had to acknowledge that you've never really been to a field trial until you've walked the hill at Kinnity!

This is the card that I sent out to friends after winning the Irish Championship. The text inside the card read 'After winning the Irish Championship Finn and Jean didn't need the ferry to get home'