Get Your Best Friend Ready For All The Fun of Galloway Country Fair

Get Your Best Friend Ready for all the Fun of Galloway Country Fair

• Great day out for all the family – and that definitely includes the dogs
• Thrill-packed weekend at Drumlanrig Castle and Country Estate
• Meet expert trainer Lee Hartis and his amazing gundogs
• Sponsors include SP Energy Networks, Foresight, Community Wind Power Ltd, and Lloyd Ltd

Whether your canine companion is a Jack Russell or a Great Dane – it will have huge fun coming with you to the Galloway Country Fair.

The weekend event at Drumlanrig Castle and Country Estate, Dumfries and Galloway, on 12 & 13 August is a celebration of family and country life – and that very much includes dogs.

• The Buccleuch Dog Show, on Sunday, has two categories – one for gundogs and another for everything else.
• The gundog scurries are open to every kind of dog that wants to have a go – they can even win small prizes.
• Then there are the retriever and spaniel tests, which are a chance to watch highly trained working dogs put through their paces.

The scurries and tests are organised by the Galloway Gundog Association, which was formed by enthusiasts around 20 years ago and has been involved with the Galloway Country Fair during all its 11 years at Drumlanrig.

Susan Edgar, Club Secretary, said: “The scurries are for fun. Any breed can take part, we’ve had greyhounds, Alsatians, cockapoos and Jack Russells.

“Lots of the dogs are from outside the gundog world, family pets, so they’ve never tried anything like it before.

“They just have to run out, retrieve a dummy and bring it back. There’s a fence they are supposed to go over – though some go under and others go through. It’s great fun, there’s a real comedy element.”

Entry is on the day, and dogs can have more than one go in case they don’t get the idea first time.

The tests are for trained gundogs – with entries taking place in advance. It’s a chance to see around 36 dogs display their obedience, patience and ability to track down dummies that have been thrown or hidden from sight.

And Sunday’s Buccleuch Dog Show (entries need to be registered in advance) is one of the most popular events of the entire weekend – with dogs of every possible shape and size gathering in the main arena.

The well-known trainer Lee Hartis will also be showing off the skills of some of his remarkable gundogs.

Lee, who has taught all over the UK and Europe and has trained numerous Labrador field trial champions, said: “I’ll be showing the full range of training, starting with young pups and how to teach them to get used to the lead and to sit and stay, right through to everything that a fully trained adult gundog can do.

“And after the demonstrations I’ll be happy to chat to people and offer some training tips either at the ringside or down at the Chapel Farm Premium Dog Food tent.”

Anna Fergusson, Drumlanrig Estate Director, said: “It’s a great family weekend where dogs aren’t simply allowed – they are at the very heart of many of our activities and events.

“In fact, one of the big attractions for many people is to see all the wonderful dogs that have come along for a day out at Drumlanrig.

“As ever there will be a huge amount to see and do in this big annual celebration of country and family life. And by taking advantage of the advance booking discounts it’s even better value.”

The fair will have an abundance of stalls, including ones where you can buy everything a dog could want.

Pop into the Chapel Farm Premium Dog Food tent and you can chat to David Lisset, Buccleuch Kennels Manager and his team, about the food he originally had formulated for the estate’s own gundogs and is now available to the public with recipes to suit all breeds.

He said: “It’s like running a football club – you have them all there, the juniors, the reserves, the premiership team.

“And you get all sorts – with their different personalities. There are the ones that are really keen to learn, the ones that won’t pay attention and the ones that are always up to mischief. So you have to get the training right for each of them.”

Weekend highlights will include:

• Riders of the Storm – daredevil equine acrobatics.
• Flyin’ Ryan – amazing motorbike stunts
• The Lamb National – sheep racing, with the chance for you to take part
• The Sheep Show – fun facts and dancing sheep
• The free children’s fun area
• Great food and drink plus cooking demos
• The Craft Marquee
• Defender Jam, the giant annual get together for fans of all things Land Rover.

Galloway Country Fair sponsors include SP Energy Networks, Foresight, Community Wind Power Ltd, and Lloyd Ltd.

Pearse Murray, SP Energy Networks, said: “SP Energy Networks is delighted to be one of the principal sponsors for the Galloway Country Fair 2023.

“We are currently investing over £2 billion in our transmission infrastructure as we carry out the required changes to achieve a cleaner and greener future for us all. The Dumfries and Galloway region is a key part of that, with plans to invest more than £100 million around the Thornhill area, which will bring significant benefits to the local economy and support local people and communities.

“Please join us at Drumlanrig and chat over the plans and work we are doing in the region to make Net Zero a reality.”

Diane Wood, Community Benefits Director at Community Windpower, said: “Community Windpower Limited are proud to sponsor this year’s Galloway Country Fair, a fantastic fun-filled event aimed at families and rural businesses within Dumfries and Galloway.

“CWL are pleased to be supporting another event located close to our operational Sanquhar Community Wind Farm and our in development Sanquhar II Community Wind Farm. We hope that everyone visiting has an amazing time.”

Visit www.gallowaycountryfair.co.uk for further information and keep up to date with the latest news, or check out @GallowayCountryFair on Facebook and Instagram.