Petra

Since 1992 Labrador Retrievers have been my constant companions and enrich my life tremendously. The working ability of Labradors have always inspired me to train them to the highest standard possible. My first dog was bred along show lines and quickly demonstrated his limitations to train him to a decent level for tests and trials.

In 1995 I got my first Labrador, bred from pure working lines. This dog, named Chuck vom Tennikerweidli, showed so much natural working ability and my training effort brought him very quickly at a decent open level. Unfortunately, Chuck died of cancer at the age of 6 years.

Between 2001 and 2006 I took a break from my active participation in competitions due to the birth of my son Moritz. Then Ragweed’s Trace came into my life, who I started breeding with under the kennel name Lesser Burdock. Trace, who is out of Ragweed’s Joplin and FTCH Craighorn Bracken and a litter sister to Int. FTCH Ragweed’s Travel, was a very stylish, hard going bitch with great game finding abilities. With Trace I gained several awards and a second place with RCACIT.

In the summer of 2009 Trace was mated by FTCH Greenbriar Viper of Drakeshead and two months later the first Lesser Burdock litter was born, which proved to be a successful combination. Two of Trace’s first offspring became international Field Trial Champions: Lesser Burdock Abbotstone and Lesser Burdock Ansdell. With Trace I started breeding working Labradors successfully. Unfortunately, she died in December 2017, at the age of 11. I achieved my biggest success in 2012 by winning the European Championship (ICC – Individual Challenge Cup) with IntFTCH Lesser Burdock Ansdell aka Jodie in Montodine, Italy.

Besides breeding, training and trialing my own dogs, I enjoy judging working tests all around Europe. In 2021 I also became an FCI Field Trial B-Panel judge.

Ton

I grew up in the countryside in the south-western part of the Netherlands. Since my early years I’ve enjoyed spending a lot of time in nature. At the age of nine I shot my first pigeon on our own grounds by secretly taking one of my dad’s guns without him knowing it ;-) Hunting and dogs have played an important role in my life since then.

I was 18 years old when I got my first shooting licence and my first Labrador Retriever. My dad didn’t allow me to get my licence without having a decent gun dog. So I started to train my first Retriever at the age of 17.

Since then I have been able to have several FT winners and four FT Champions. At the moment we own three black Labrador bitches, one black dog from our own Lesser Burdock kennel and a male Cocker Spaniel puppy, named Rocket.

I became an FCI Field Trial and Working Test judge in 2010. Since then I have judged FTs and WTs all across Europe, including novice trials in England. I also judged the European Championship (EC) in France in 2014, in Austria in 2017 and in Hungary in 2021.