This section is from the book "Sporting Dogs. Their Points And Management In Health, And Disease", by Frank Townend Barton. Also available from Amazon: Sporting Dogs; Their Points and Management in Health and Disease.
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 nag 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.
 
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