Lucy, age 23 months, won the first Cocker trial held April 4, 1993 at Fort Collins, Colorado. She became the third Cocker Field Trial Champion of the new millennium and the third Cocker to be featured on the cover of Spaniels in the Field, all before she was 3.
Paul purchased her while visiting his family in England during the summer of 1991. He had been referred to Carl Colclough, who is very knowledgeable about English Cockers. It turned out to be a fortuitous summer as Nancarrow Rosy Mantle (Brit) was purchased a few weeks later. These two foundation bitches were to produce 1/3 or 10 Field Trial Champions when the total number of Cocker Champions at that time numbered 30.
Lucy epitomized the classic “busy action of a Cocker” in heavy undergrowth. Many other Cockers will not enter this type of cover, seeming to “bounce” off of heavy underbrush. Lucy finds it the most fun and wiggles in without any hesitation often leaving her wagging tail as your last sight of her. While she generally has a merry, very happy attitude, it is at its height when going into cover. She tends to do her best work in the woods or in close cover and we are particularly fond of using her for rabbits, even though she does well on pheasant, quail and huns. She doesn’t have the physical build or the speed you might like to see for wide-open spaces or large fields.
A small bitch, she has an
exceptionally heavy liver colored coat that seems to protect her from cold or
damage from weeds or thorns, but the same coat seems to harbor a chronic case
of mites that cause her great distress and coarseness to touch. We’ve been
somewhat successful in controlling mites by using Frontline, although not
completely effective. Lucy is also prone to scratches on her eyes, due to her
drive in heavy cover. She seems stoic towards pain unlike some others that are
“drama queens.”
Lucy and her son Porter, Christmas 1998 (right).
She does show a marked propensity to gain weight unlike most Cockers that are more characteristically not good eaters. Not a great athletic dog or flashy runner, her quartering was more appealing due to her small size and busy action rather than a graceful lope. She was very eager as a pup, almost annoying. She does possess a pure honest desire to please. She is very easy going, happy and loving Cocker good with children and other dogs.
While Lucy will show a preference for 
Paul when he’s present, she transitions easily to anyone, especially if they take
her hunting! She seems to like any and everyone. The word hyper would
not be totally applicable, but a need to be in physical contact is evident.
At the Idaho Field Trial in March 1995, Paul was running Lucy under Janet Christensen who was one of the judges. The brace mate flushed a bird that took a crossing pattern over Lucy’s beat. You could extrapolate it would land, if not on top of Lucy, within feet of her. Paul pipped his whistle and Lucy whirled around dropping to a hup instantly. The shot bird landed two feet from where Lucy sat.
Lucy hunting in Arizona Desert - note catcus mid left December 2000 (left).
The members of the gallery held their breath to see if Lucy would break. Lucy never took her eyes off Paul or even seemed bothered by the other dog coming across the course and taking the bird within inches of her. Even with that great performance, she only took a third place that day!
Lucy retired to Pasadena in 2000. Her last true
hunt was for quail in Arizona where she ran until her feet became bloody. She
became deaf by age 13 and cataracts were evident.
Sex: Female
Sire: Maesydderwen Griffin
Dam: Burn Hill Megan
Breeder: Carl Colclough
Owner: Paul McGagh
Breedings: Bred three times. Twice to FC Omachie Tarf and once to
Griffin’s Pride Rocky.
Produced Four Field Trial Champions: FC Warrener’s Mistle Thrush,
FC Warrener’s Blackbird, FC Warrener’s Song Thrush,
FC Warrener’s Red Grouse
Championed: March 10, 1995
Retired: 1998
Number of Lifetime Points: 22