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Record number of teams to compete in this year’s Skinners International Retriever World Cup

For five years the Skinners International Retriever World Cup has attracted the finest handlers and working dog breeds from across the globe to the Highclere Game and Country Fair. With this year’s anticipated event including a record 15 teams from across the World, competitors will go head to head hoping to beat last year’s champions, Wales.

Integral to many shooting sports, gundogs are masters at work in the open countryside and excel in working tests and agility exercises. The Highclere Game and Country Fair is a great day out for dogs and handlers alike, and this World-Class event showcases only the finest of gundogs battling it out for the championship title. So come along and see if the 2009 winners can defend their championship title!

Welcoming teams from Northern Ireland and Norway for the very first time, the competition is set to be the biggest yet. The stunning 'Capability' Brown landscape in which the Highclere Game and Country Fair is set provides some of the most challenging and visually spectacular tests ever seen in a major championship. Here are the competing countries, Team Captains and Judges for this year’s event…

Countries and Team Captains Competing for 2010

Austria – Andreas Pözlberger              Denmark – Danny Fraser
England – John Halstead                      France – Gilles Testard
Germany – Anja Möller                        Holland – Frank de Vries
Hungary – Oliver Kiraly                        Ireland (N) – Keith Mathews
Ireland (Rep) – Laurence Hennessy    Italy – Stefano Martinoli
Norway – Erling Skotner                      Scotland – Hugh Paterson
Sweden – Karin Thunander                 Switzerland – Daniel Marx
Wales – Mark Bettinson

2010 Judges

Ireland (N) – Martin Rush        
Sweden – Birgitta Staflund-Wiberg
England – Tess Lawrence
England – Douglas Raven    
England – Peter Cole

Click here for more information on what's going on at this years Highclere Game and Country Fair, or become a fan on Facebook and stay up-to-date with developments as they happen.