JUST A DECOY The Retirement of French Level II Decoy....Peter Cointe

E. Suggett

Last year when I went to the 2003 NARA Championship, I saw for the first time a French decoy in live action on a Ring field. This particular French decoy was Peter Cointe. I’ll be honest, when I thought about the level of work that a French Level II decoy would be bringing from France to an American Championship, I thought I was going to be witnessing some very over-the-top antics being pulled out of the pocket of this decoy. I was the photographer on the field for the all levels on both days, so I had an up close and personal view of everything that was going on. I could see every move and every expression from Peter. Before, during and after all of the exercises. I could even hear him speaking to the judge, Michel Valladon, and to the competitors. I must say, I was finding myself in a much corrected position from my original expectations of “who” and ‘what” I though Peter was going to be. I was pleasantly surprised and most of all, ashamed of myself for thinking that Peter was going to be a show boat in a suit. Boy was I wrong. Peter stood as an example of everything you would expect to see from a French Ring decoy. He was athletic, fast, intimidating, strong, honest, fair, knowledgeable, and a true sportsman overall. He was there for the dogs. Plain and simple. You could see it. You could feel it. I left that competition with a huge impression of Peter. One I’ll never forget. So naturally, when the question came for our club [Southern California Malinois Ring Sport Club] to bring over a decoy from France to join us in the hosting of our first trial, there was no other decoy that came to mind other than Peter Cointe. When we called upon Peter for his services, he gracefully accepted. Little did we know at that time, Peter had already officially retired from Ring as a competition decoy after his respectful showing at the French Championship that took place in June. But here is the type of person Peter is...he still agreed, for “one last time” to come out of his new retirement to fly all the way over to the United States and assist our organization in what would come to be his true “Final Trial”...on American soil. We were blown away and more excited than ever to hear him accept our need. Not very many people knew that Peter had recently retired, he didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. But we wanted to at least acknowledge our appreciation for his efforts in going out of his way to support Ring here in the United States. Peter’s performance was exactly what everyone was expecting at our trial. He was everything we thought he would be and more. It was such an honor for us to see him here, once again, decoying for this sport that so many of us share a passion for around the world. When the trial was over, we presented Peter with a plaque and a special shadow box filled with photos of him working at the 2003 NARA Championship and at the 2004 French Championship. These photos were surrounded by little hand made suit, baskets and bamboo sticks. The presentation of these items to Peter came as a total surprise to him. Because you see, Peter himself did not even know that we knew about his retirement. Our judge, Michel Chirat, was the one that let us in on the little secret. So when we presented Peter with his plaque and shadow box, his true emotions spoke for him when he literally could not find the words to speak at all. In closing, I’d like to share a portion of a converstaion that Peter and I had the night after our trial was over. Peter and I sat up until 3:00 a.m. in the morning, while the rest of the house was asleep, and talked about what it meant to be involved in Ring. Peter said that to be in Ring, you need to truly love it, whether you are a handler, a judge, or a decoy. It’s a sport that takes dedication. The type of dedication that can last for years. But in the end, no matter how much you love the sport, and no matter what hat you choose to wear, it all comes down to ONE thing, he said...the dogs. Peter told me that his greatest teachers in the sport of Ring were always the dogs. Each dog that he has ever worked, trained or observed on a Ring field, those were the dogs that he has learned more from than any person could have ever taught him. He said that we can never lose our focus of how important it is for everyone that practices Ring, to never forget that it must always be about the dogs. Peter also went on to say that he always appreciated the praise he would get from people about his decoying skills. Yet at the same time, he said that he always felt guilty about receiving such praise. Because in his mind, he always believed it was the dogs who were the true “celebrities” of the sport, if you will. Not the decoys. I told him that I agreed with him about the dogs, but that I also thought he was still one of the best decoys I’ve seen thus far and deserves all of the credit he has been given over the years. He looked at me for a minute and then simply said...”I’m just a decoy.” How very humbling, I thought. Very humbling. I’m so glad that I, along with many others, have had the chance to be a friend of Peter Cointe’s, and to learn from what he has to offer toRing. His presence will be sorely missed on many Ring fields near and far, that I’m sure of. I also know, for a fact, that he will miss Ring as much as Ring will miss him. Just take a look at the picture in the center of this article. That is the last picture taken of Peter in his career as a trial decoy. The last picture, after the last exercise, as he watched the last dog he would ever work on a competition field fade away from him. The look on his face, I think says it all.

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