A battle of the HPRs

A unique team challenge will showcase the talents of 11 hunt, point and retrieve breeds; David Tomlinson takes a look at the contenders

- David Tomlinson

“GERMAN shorthaired pointers are rubbish.” It was a statement made with an air of authority, but there was a twinkle in the eye of the man making the claim during a Norfolk pheasant shoot, revealing that this was a windup, phrased in a way that he knew would provoke a debate. It succeeded and, for the next 10 minutes, the arguments about the merits of the various HPR breeds flowed as freely as the sloe gin.

I listened with interest, but didn’t say a word — I followed the maxim that it’s better to stay quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all possible doubt. I heard claims that German wirehairs were too headstrong, Weimaraners had been ruined by the show ring, German longhairs too flashy, spinones too slow, Brittanys too fast and, perhaps most damning of all, wirehaired vizslas were too easy to train. It was entertaining stuff.

I’ve never owned nor worked an HPR of any breed, but in the 20 years that I have been writing this column, I have had the privilege of observing in the shooting field almost all of the breeds of HPR recognised in this country, plus some that aren’t, so can categorically say, without a touch of bias, there’s not a duffer among them.

But is there one breed that stands out above the others? It’s a difficult question, but the answer might be forthcoming on Sunday, when the very first HPR Team Challenge takes place at Pipers End Farm in Longdon, Worcestershire.

Organised by the Worcestershire Gundog Society, it will feature 11 teams, each representing a single breed. The breeds are, in no particular order, German shorthaired pointer, German wirehaired pointer, Weimaraner, Hungarian vizsla, Hungarian wirehaired vizsla, spinone,