Working Test – Judges Biographies

The WSSC are pleased to confirm judges for the Working Assessment 12th April are Maaike Groot and Kevin Hawkes. (bio below) Please support these knowledgeable judges at our test to be held by kind permission of Mrs C Madeley at Bottom House Farm Checkendon Oxon RG8 0NR. Sponsorship for this event is provided by Platinum and Chudleys. 

Maaike – Bio

My name is Maaike Groot and I live just outside Berlin, but originally I come from the Netherlands. My first Welsh Springer Spaniel arrived in 1999, followed by a second in 2002. With the two boys – Kipper and Bertie -, I tried different disciplines: obedience, agility, gundog training, rally obedience and mantrailing. I got involved in our local dog training club and trained to be an obedience and agility instructor. The gundog training I did with Kipper and Bertie was offered by our dog training club and mainly consisted of retrieving. Bertie and I also followed training offered by a spaniel group, but in the summer, hunting was not trained to avoid disturbing birds’ nests. The result was that when I entered a working test, we were somewhat clueless when it came to this part of the test…

After the two boys had died and new pup Lander arrived in 2015, I decided I was going to focus on gundog training this time – next to basic obedience and ringcraft. Lander (Isfryn On The Spot) was bred to be dual purpose and he has proved himself both in the ring and in the field. We started going to a spaniel trainer when he was four months old and this is where we both learned the basics. In 2017 I moved to Germany where we practised mostly on our own. I was lucky to be able to work in England for a year, and we made the most of this by training with several fantastic dog trainers. We were also able to go on shoots a few times, which helped me understand much better what a spaniel’s working ability and temperament should be. Lander and I have participated in working tests in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany. Since we moved back to Germany, we have trained in a small group with other spaniels. Lander will be 10 this year but still loves to work.  

I feel honoured to be asked to judge at the WSSC’s working assessment in April and I look forward to seeing Welshies and other minor breeds work.

Kevan – Bio

Hi, my name’s Kevan Hawkes.  I started training Clumber Spaniels 7 years ago as Ziggy, our first Clumber, was in my wife’s words ‘a devil dog’.  As a pair we have managed to be quite successful in tests and trials, winning Novice and Open Minority Breed tests and managing a couple of 3rds and 2 COMs in Trials. We also managed to be awarded a COM in an AV Open Test. Neo, my young dog is not quite 2 and has already won Puppy and Novice Minority Tests and placed in an Open so he’s coming on nicely.  I am a gundog trainer at Nuneaton Dog Training Club where I am trying to pass on some of the knowledge that I have acquired over the years.