Watch out , the Continentals are coming.For more decades than anyone can remember , British field trials have been a virtual closed shop. True , Irish dogs have always been able to take part , but our draconian quarantine laws ensured that no competitors ever ventured across the Channel with their dogs. Now , thanks to passports for pets , it is relatively easy for Continental handlers and their dogs to travel to Britain to compete in trials. A Precedent was set at this year's CLA Game Fair at Shuttleworth , when handlers and dogs came from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Sweden and Switzerland to take part in the Anglo-European Challenge. As anyone who watched the event will know , the quality of the European dog work was excellent. From a test at the Game Fair to a real British field trial is a relatively small step.

Last month, Louisianne Noteborn-Schmit made a pioneering trip from her home in Maastricht to take part in a field trial. Incidentally , though Louisianne lives in the Netherlands, she is Belgium by birth, holds both French and Luxembourg nationality, and is married with a German, so is as close to a true European as you are likely to meet anywhere. And yes , she does speak fluent English, and even gives her dogs commands in English. For Louisianne's flatcoat retriever, Trioaks Ticket , this was his second return to the country of his birth. Louisianne had collected him from his breeder, judi Seall, six years ago, as a seven-week-old puppy, at witch time there seemed little likelihood that he would ever set paw in England again.Passports for pets changed allthis, and his first return was in May this year, when Louisianne hoped that he would be able to take part in the field trial class at Crufts.

Continental Champion flatcoat, Trioaks Ticket, hoping for a UK field trial award in the country of his birth.

Such plans were dashed by the kennel Club, whitch ruled that , as Ticket had never won an award in a field trial in Britain, he wasn't eligible to appear.The fact that he has won  field trials in France and Belgium was ignored. Frustrated by petty KC bureaucracy, Ticket was entered in the open show class against 21 champions, were he won a reserve. In contrast, entering Ticket in a British field trial wasn't a problem as, being British born, he is KC Registered. Getting a run was more of a challenge. He finally made it into the draw for an AV novice retriever trial to be held by the Flatcoated Retriever Society at Horningsham, near Bath, on 17 November. It was Judi Seall who alerted me to Louisianne and Ticket's plans to compete over here. Judi had invited them both to join her for a day's picking-up on the Bereleigh Estate in Hampshire three days before the trial, so  I went there to see them. When I met Louisianne, she was looking remarkably bright, despite travalling through the previous night and managing just an hour's sleep. As for Ticket , well, he appeared to be delighted to get out of the car and get a nose full of real English country air. He is, however, an accomplished travaller,as Louisianne averages 30,000km a year, driving to shows and trials. Thanks to the autoroute system, Louisianne's home near Maastricht is just a three-hour drive from Calais. However, Louisianne didn't want to miss her regular Tuesday-night gundog training class in Belgium, so she and Ticket had attented the class, then travelled on to the Channel Tunnel, catching a train in the early hours of the morning. They than carried on to Bereleigh in Hampshire via the M20, M25 and A3, arriving at 5.30am. The journey had been straightforward.Travelling with a dog through the tunnel is, according to Louisianne, "easy, as long as you now the rules. The trouble is most Continental vets don't know how to fill in the forms, and this is where problems can arise for some people.

"Louisianne had brought just one flatcoat with her, leaving another four at home. They are the only genuine working examples of their breed in Holland ( the others are only doing working tests), despite the fact that the Flatcoated Retriever Club of Holland has 2,000 members. Ticket is an accomplished bencj dog, too, and is a show champion in six different countries. The future for trialling dogs in Holland isn't good. Louisianne believes that the pressure from the Greens is likely to lead to field trials bieng stopped in the country within the next couple of years. "We have demonstrators at every trial. For dog people and horse people, coming to the UK is like a dream coming true." Maastricht is close to the Belgian border, and a relatively easy drive to France, so Louisianne does most of her trialling in these two countries. "Getting a run in France is easy, as eight trials are often held in one day at a single site, with each trial taking place in adjacent fields. This allow 96 competitors per day. It is expensive, as each dog has six birds bought for it- the Guns must be able to shoot them. In a French trial with either 12 or 16 entrants, three or four dogs run together for an hour under a single judge.The best dogs then go through to compete together to decide on the winner. If you are quick, it's possible to run three different dogs in three different trials in one day. You have to run to you car to get the next dog, so there's no time to get nervous. French trials give young dogs lots of experience, so I take my dogs there first before trialling them in Belgium, where the trials are run in a similar way to those in Britain. "However, there are still lots of differences. Continental trials don't have spectators, while the entry fees are much higher than in the UK- usually the equivalent of about 35 pounds. There's  no prize money, eighter, and often there's not even a rosette, let alone a cup." Ticket's day at Bereleigh gave him the chance to encounter more pheasants and partridges in a single day than most Continental dogs probably see in a lifetime. Shoot owner Bill Tyrwhitt-Drake was holding a partridge day for a group of friends, but each drive resulted in scores of pheasants being put over the Guns.

Louisianne and Ticket were picking-up under Judi Seall's guidance. Though the pair may have had considerable experience of Continental trials, British trials are radically different, so Judi was giving them strict tuition in how to behave, what to do and what would be expected of them. On the first drive, they simply watched, as a busy main road made picking-up here dangerous, while on the second drive, they stood in a field of roots 300 yards behind the Guns. Ther were no easy birds to pick up, but there were numerous tests of Ticket's steadiness. On the third drive, they moved up to the line of Guns. "Make Ticket sit in front of you,"Judi instructed. "No, don't talk to him, but do make sure you hold his attention. He should be watching you, not the Guns, the birds or the other dogs. If you need to gain his attention, rustle something in your pocket." Louisianne obeyed, but then started to roll-up a cigarette. "No, not a fag," instructed Judi. "You're meant to be concentrating on the dog!." Postscript from Judi Seall: "The trial was not a success for Ticket and, unfortunately, he was not in the awards. But it did give them an insight into our system. Undaunted,Louisianne is absolutely determined to get an English field trial award next season. Her bitch , "Beck of Chelborough", looks likely to be her prime contender, having won a field trial already in France this year". David Tomlison.