The Red Mills Interview Albert Titterington interviews Shauna McGroarty on her ‘dual approach’ to showing and working her golden retrievers.
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hen chatting some years ago with Nigel Carville while I was shooting at Drumbanagher Estate, he said that when he read our magazine many years ago, the first pages he turned to were the ones featuring the gundog interviews. Many other people have requested that we make this a regular feature, so we have ‘kicked off’ the current series with a rather unique one with Shauna McGroarty. Unique because Shauna is not only one of an increasing number of female trainers and handlers but quite uniquely has had success in both the field and showring. Q : Shauna. Can I take you right back to the start and ask you what
was your first dog and when and how you acquired it? A : My first Golden Retriever was given to me when I was 2 years old by my godmother, Miriam, his name was Paddy and my parents and I later had a couple of Goldens as a family. Kim was my second Golden Retriever, she was training to be a police dog but she didn’t work out. She was an amazing dog and went with me everywhere. Q : When did you purchase your first golden retriever (a) pet or show and (b) working and trialling What was their breeding and their names ? A : I left for University in Glasgow when I was 18 and I did not return to NI until I was 29, my priority on returning
was buying my own house and my own Golden Retriever (these two tasks went hand in hand). I acquired my first Golden Retriever from Uel Craig (Lawpark Kennels) in 2006. Bella’s KC name was Lawpark Jazz Singer at Tamniarn and she was from show breeding. My interest was stimulated for working and a couple of years after this I purchased my first working line Golden out of Peter Bate’s FT Ch Birdsgreen Sweet Reward of Castleman’s. His name is Barney (Amberdolly Hamlet at Tamniarn) and he is 14 and still very much with us. Q : What is your prefix and why did you choose it? A : My prefix is Tamniarn and it has family roots.
Shauna in action handling one of her Golden Retrievers during a field trial Countrysports and Country Life Winter 2021
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