My parents are Anthony (Tony) & Beverley (Bev) Drinkwater. My parents had their first Irish setter in 1971 and very soon started showing. They created their UK Kennel Club prefix ‘Brabrook’ in 1972. They formed this name by taking the first letter from the Christian names of my Mum, Bev ‘B’, Sister, Rachel ‘R’ and my Dad, Anthony ‘A’ which formed the ‘BRA’ of the name and the latter part ‘brook’
coming from our surname Drinkwater relating to a brook. In 1988, when I was 10 years old, my parents stopped showing as they spent a lot of their time supporting me in the sport of ‘BMXing’ where I was excelling and winning many trophies in the UK. I later took a keen interest in Rugby and again I became very good for my age, playing for my local team and school and I had the privilege of being invited to join the famous ‘South West Barbarians’ a well-known Rugby Football Club. I also had a period playing football which I enjoyed, and I could have gone on further, but I was carrying a little too much weight in my Rugby physique at the time. Our last Irish setter died in 1995 and home just never felt the same again without the addition of an Irish. So in November 1996, I raised the money to get one and this lead to my parents returning to showing again while I was working abroad in Germany & Spain on water mains, gas mains and directional drilling. They were succeeding in the show ring, firstly gaining junior warrants and then on to making two show champions in True Blade & Red Rose. Since that they In April this year, I, my parents and ‘The Magnificent Seven’ (7 Irish Setters) moved from Bristol to Herefordshire in the UK. In contrast to Bristol, Herefordshire has many green fields and lovely countryside for walking the dogs and it’s also my parents and family’s home town. It’s also great as we have 3 Ringcraft clubs nearby. Since moving to Herefordshire, I have been busy working on getting the house and the facilities up together so that I can run my own Dog Grooming and Dog Day Care business. This is something I have wanted to do for some time now. In preparation for this, I have just completed my City & GuildsLevel 3 Certificate in Dog Grooming qualification. While completing this course, I entered my very first dog grooming competition which was the Newcomer class in The British Dog Grooming Championships. This certainly was a different environment to dog showing!have also breed two show champions. I have to say, I feel I should have gone to watch a grooming competition before putting myself in a competition like this. The competitors in my class had two/two and a half hours to groom their dog (depending on breed size/grooming technique) and I didn’t relax for the whole time, it was very nerve wracking! Unfortunately I didn’t get placed in the top 3 of my class, but the judge told me that I did very well for a first time competitor with an Irish Setter. Looking back, I’m glad I did it, as it was a great learning experience and a great competition. Competing and getting feedback from the judge is invaluable in helping you to improve your skills and confidence with the breed. Maybe one day there will be a competition where you groom and then show. What a competition that would be! In dog showing I haven’t achieved as much as my Mum and Dad have, but outside of the show ring, I have been doing my Kennel Club Certificates. I have gained the last point needed for JW for our Irish Setter Troy, who my Mum & Dad put into my name for my Birthday. This Year I got Ryan his Stud Book Number by coming 3rd in Crufts and at Bridgewater Premier Open Show, I handled Biddy, who got Best Puppy in Show.
