INTERNATIONAL GUNDOG LEAGUE

Pointer and Setter Society

Constitutional Rules

1. That the object of the Society be to promote the Breeding of pure Pointers and Setters, and to develop and bring to perfection their natural qualities. In order to carry out these purposes, an Autumn Trial—on grouse, if practicable—shall be annually held within the United Kingdom; and also Spring Trials on partridges shall be held (if possible), either on the Continent, or in the United Kingdom.

2. That the Society shall consist of a President, Vice-Presidents, a Central Committee, and an unlimited number of members, and that there may also be appointed triennially a Vice-President and Honorary Secretary for each separate Country or Colony. That these officers, after election, be empowered to call Sub-committees of their fellow-countrymen (being also members of the Pointer and Setter Society), to advise and report to the Central Committee.

3. That one-third of the Central Committee (exclusive of the officers) shall be withdrawn by lot each year, at the Annual General Meeting for the first two years, and afterwards by rotation, and members shall be elected to fill their vacancies; the retiring members to be eligible for re-election. The President, Vice-Presidents, and Honorary Secretaries shall be ex-officio members of the Central Committee.

4. That the entire control and management of the Society shall be vested in the Central Committee (of which three shall form a quorum), who shall have power to make bye-laws and decide upon all matters in dispute not provided for by the Rules of the Society; and further that any member of the Central Committee, if unable to be present at a Central Committee Meeting, shall be permitted (upon application for same) to vote by proxy, duly signed, upon any resolution appearing upon the agenda paper, except as provided in Rule 8.

5. That each Candidate for admission shall be proposed and seconded by members of the Society. The Candidate's name, rank, residence and profession or occupation, if any, shall be sent to the Central Secretary a fortnight before the election of Candidates at the Central Committee Meeting; and that each member of the Central Committee be advised, at least seven days beforehand, of the proposed election of a new member of the Society.

6. That the election of members shall be vested solely in the Central Committee, and be made by ballot, two black balls to exclude.

7. That for the present no entrance fee shall be charged, and that the annual subscription shall be two guineas, payable 1st January in advance; and that any member whose payments shall continue in arrear for six months shall (due notice of such arrear having previously been given in writing by the Central Secretary) have his name struck off the list, and shall cease to be a member of the Society. Any member joining the Society after the 31st of August in any year shall not be liable for an annual subscription for the current year. Life membership may be acquired upon payment in a lump sum of twenty guineas.

8. Any member of the Society who shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Central Committee to have in any way misconducted himself in connection with Dogs, Dog Shows, or Trials, or to have acted in any way which would make it undesirable that he should continue to be a member, shall be requested to retire from the Society; and if a resolution to that effect shall be carried by three-fourths of the Central Committee (present and voting), duly summoned or warned to the consideration of the case, the member so requested to retire shall henceforth cease to be a member of the Society.

9. That subscriptions and donations, after payment of all liabilities, shall be applied in such a manner as the Central Committee may determine, for prizes at Trials or Workers' Classes, at not more than one Dog Show each year, or otherwise; and all balance shall be invested for the use of the Society, in such a manner as the Central Committee shall direct.

10. That Central Committee Meetings may be held at each Trial Meeting of the Society, or at such other times and places as the Central Committee may determine, notice thereof having been duly sent to each member of the Central Committee.

11. That the Annual General Meeting of the Society be held in May or June in London, and that a Special General Meeting may be called at any time, and at such place as may be agreed to by the Central Committee, on the requisition of six members.

12. At every meeting the President, or one of the Vice-Presidents, shall be chairman, or, failing these, a member of the Central Committee; such chairman to have a casting vote at all meetings. And, further, the minutes of the preceding meeting shall be read, approved, confirmed, and signed by the chairman at the commencement of the next subsequent meeting.

13. Any member may withdraw from the Society on giving notice in writing to one of the Honorary Secretaries, or to the Central Secretary, provided always that such member shall be liable for his subscription to the Society for the current year in which he gives such notice.

14. That the Central Secretary shall enter the name and address of each member of the Society in a Book kept for that purpose.

A. E. Sansom,

Secretary,

12 and 13 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden,

London, W.C.

INTERNATIONAL GUNDOG LEAGUE

Pointer and Setter Society

Rules for the Trial Meetings

1. In Single Stakes the competing dogs shall be drawn into pairs by lot, dogs belonging to the same owner being guarded from each other as long as possible. The Judges having seen each pair run as drawn, if possible, will at the end of the first round give to the Committee the names of those dogs which they consider have a chance of being placed. The Committee will then proceed to draw these dogs again, taking care that dogs which have met in the first round do not run together in the second. At the end of the second round the Judges will call up at their own discretion, any dogs they require further, and run them as they choose. If any dog would, by the withdrawal of his antagonist before running, be left untried, the Judge may order him to run with any dog similarly circumstanced in that round, or with the dog that has the bye. The dog that has drawn a bye, if not called for previously by the Judges, shall run as one of the first pair in the next round.

2. In Brace Stakes, the two dogs running together must belong to the same owner, and the order of running in the first round shall be decided by lot. No dog shall be allowed to form part of more than one brace at the same meeting, and only one man at a time shall work any brace.

3. In all Stakes the Judges will, except in cases of undoubted lack of merit, try each pair in the first round for at least fifteen minutes, and in Single Stakes the first and second prize dogs must have run together, likewise the second and third. In the Brace Stake, all prize-winning braces must have been down twice.

4. The Judges are requested not to award a Prize to any dog unless they are satisfied that he will back of his own accord.

5. The Judges will, in making their awards, give full consideration to the manner in which the ground is quartered and beaten, and are requested not to award a Prize to the dog of any owner or handler who does not beat his ground, and work exactly as he would do were he actually out shooting.

6. The Judges will avoid, if possible, holding a dog so long on his point, for the purpose of securing a back, as to cause the birds to run: but if the pointing dog be so held on a point by order of the Judge, he shall not incur any penalty for misbehaviour in reference to that particular point.

7. The Judges shall not decide the merit of a dog's running from the number of times he points game, backs, etc., but from the style and quality of his performance as a whole. Dogs are required to maintain a fast and killing range, wide or narrow, as the necessity of the case demands; to quarter the ground with judgment and regularity; to leave no birds behind them; and to be obedient, cheerful, and easily handled.

8. The Judges are requested and empowered by the Committee to first caution, and upon repetition of the offence, turn out of the Stake any breakers not beating the ground to their satisfaction; not keeping together or out-walking their opponents; unduly whistling or shouting, or behaving in such a manner as, in the opinion of the Judges, is detrimental to the chances of success of their opponents. Any breaker or owner who feels that the behaviour of his opponent is unsettling his dog, may request the interference of the Judges.

9. A gun must have been fired over all aged dogs as well as puppies before they can be awarded either a Prize or a Certificate of Merit.

10. Certificates of Merit will be awarded with a view to the establishment of Workers' Classes at the Dog Shows, and as a guide to purchasers of dogs which, though not in the list of Prize Winners, give promise in their work of being valuable sporting dogs. In a Brace Stake this honour may be conferred on one dog without reference to the behaviour of his companion.

11. The Judges are empowered to withhold a Prize when, in their opinion, no merit is shown, and to exclude from competition bitches on heat, or any animals they may consider unfit to compete, and the entry fees of such dogs will be forfeited.

12. After the first round the Judges may order a flag to be hoisted at the end of each individual contest to indicate which of the two competitors has shown the greater merit in that particular trial. The hoisting of the "colour" of a dog whose performance on that one occasion has been the more meritorious will not necessarily imply that his opponent is debarred from winning in the Stake. When a striking evenness of merit is shown, both flags will be hoisted simultaneously; and, conversely, when there is a total lack of good work, no flags will be displayed.

13. In the event of the weather being considered by the Committee unsuitable for holding trials, it shall be in their power to postpone the meeting from day to day until the Saturday following the first day of the trials, on which day either the stakes not already decided shall be abandoned and their entry fees returned, or a fresh draw for them shall take place, at the discretion of the Committee.

14. If, from unforeseen circumstances, the Committee deem it advisable to alter the date of the meeting after the closing of the entries, this may be done by sending formal notice to all competitors that they may recover their entry fees by exercising the option of cancelling their entries within four days from the date of such notice. All entries, however, about which no such application is made, within those four days will stand good for the meeting at its altered date.

The Committee also reserve to themselves the right to abandon the meeting at any time, on returning the entry monies to the competitors.

15. If any of the advertised Judges be prevented from fulfilling their engagement for either the whole or part of the Meeting, the Committee shall appoint any other person to judge, or shall make any other arrangement that to them seems desirable.

16. The Committee have the power—if they think fit—to refuse any entries for the Society's Trials, and if they consider that any persons by their conduct or otherwise, are undesirable visitants at the Society's Trials, they shall exclude such persons from the Trials, without being obliged to assign any reason for their action.

The disqualifications of any other recognised Trial Society—British, Continental or otherwise, shall be upheld by this Society.

17. An objection to a dog may be lodged with the Secretary at any time within seven days of the last day of any meeting, upon the objector depositing £5 with the Secretary, which shall be forfeited if the Committee deem such objection frivolous. All objections must be made in writing.

18. Upon any case arising not provided for in the above rules, the members of the Committee present shall decide, and their decision shall be final.