Shooting Times & Country Magazine
Kennel Club opens centre of excellence for gundogs
The Kennel Club celebrated the official opening of its Emblehope and Burngrange estate in Northumberland earlier this month, with the aim of developing the site into a centre of excellence for working dogs.
Kennel Club chairman Simon Luxmoore delivered an introduction to assembled guests, followed by a tour of the 7,550-acre site and its facilities. Attendees then had the opportunity to accompany a mock field trial, held by the Scottish Field Trials Association.
It is hoped that the estate will support a wide range of working dog and shooting activities at a time when there are fewer pieces of suitable land available to hold field trials and gundog training.
Caroline Kisko, Kennel Club secretary, explained: “The Kennel Club aims for Emblehope to become the premier site for all working dog activities in the north of England. Working dog and shooting clubs that wish to train their dogs and carry out activities involving gundogs are finding it increasingly difficult to find suitable land to hold activities, and we want to offer Emblehope as a solution to this.
“Gundogs are some of the fittest and most mentally stimulated dogs in the UK, carrying out functions that they were originally bred for, so it is important that they are able to be worked on suitable land. The official opening of Emblehope and Burngrange estate has given working dog clubs the opportunity to visit and see first-hand all that it offers,” she added.