It looks like there will be an old fashioned ‘Shoot Out at OK Corral’ or that is Red River Retriever Club this weekend, December 12-14. Not one, but two high point contests may possibly be decided right in Bonham, TX.

Never in field trial history has the finish to the High Point Derby dog contest come down to one trial with both contenders going head to head….tail to tail. Leading the pack with 66 derby points is ‘Coolwater’s Knockout’ or Punch owned by Jay and Stacy Patton. Punch is out of Debra Bredesen’s ‘NFC AFC Five Star General Patton’ and Alex Washburn-Weidlein’s ‘AFC Coolwater’s Makin Trax’. Both parents are National finalists and have had wonderful careers of their own.

Following Punch is ‘Truline’s Walla Walla Sweet’, or Pink, with 65 points and owned by Michael Spalding from WA. Pink is out of another NFC, ‘NFC AFC Clubmead’s Road Warrior’ and ‘FC AFC Tequila Sunrise IX’ who is Patton’s sister. Pink and Punch are actually cousins!

With star-studded pedigrees, kissing cousins, ‘KPR’s Wet Willie’, and up-and-coming Chocolate star ‘Upon the Wings of an Answered Prayer’ entered also, this Derby could well be one you shouldn’t miss! FindRetrievers.com will have online reports from this contest Saturday and Sunday.

Another one to watch will be the Open which begins on Friday. Currently in the lead with 25 points coming off a win last weekend at Cape Fear NC is FC AFC Cody Cut A Lean Grade owned by Chad Baker. Also entered and needing a win to tie is FC AFC Trumarc’s Stormin Norman II with 20 points and owned by Mark Rosenblum.

High Point Open dog and Derby Dog may possibly be decided right in Bonham this weekend, and FindRetrievers.com will be there with online reports and photos to follow!

SATURDAY 12/13 REPORT….

Open is not finished running their water blind. Grady is in good shape. Will have callbacks tomorrow.

Derby has not finished their first series. 10 dogs left to run in the morning. Very nice test with the long bird around 350 yards and flyer around 150. 2-3 dogs picked up and a few handles. Punch, run by Bill Hillmann, had a nice job, and Pink, run by her owner Michael (Scott) Spalding, had a nice job. Willie, owned and handled by Jim Pickering, hooked a gun, and the judges decided that no more dogs would run until morning.

SUNDAY 12/14 UPDATES AS THEY COME IN!

8:30 a.m. 4 Dogs left to run in the Derby which began at 7:30 a.m. The Open water blind whistles made a few dogs pop this moring, so they are now alternating derby and open dogs until this series is complete. The weather is 66 degrees with winds forcasted 20-30 mph gusting to 35.

11:45 a.m. The derby has a tough converging double set up. Long bird is a hillside mark thrown into the wind which makes the line very hard to hold to the bird. There have been a couple of pick ups and a few nice jobs. Rob Erhardt has a couple of nice jobs and Pink had a nice job. Punch went behind the gun on the long mark and had a big hunt. The gallery is placed 250 yards from the line with 3 holding blinds to the line, so it is very hard to watch.

12:05 Open is finished with the water blind and Grady and Norman are back! 14 back to the water marks. It’s a triple with a long retired through the flyer fall. More to come!

12:55 p.m. 21 Back to the 3rd in the Derby. Just running test dog.

2:57 p.m. Open reports that the long retired bird is almost 500 yards through the flyer with 120 yards to the water and then a 300+ yard crosswind swim. Grady picked up 3 birds clean! Norman had a double handle breaking down in the flyer fall with a pop. Schrader also had a dog with a nice job. Many are having trouble with hunts on the flyer and the short bird also.

Amateur results: 

1. Mark Rosenblum with Morey
2. Mark Rosenblum with Norman
3. Charles Bearden and Rudy.
4. Scott Carruth and Wiz with
5. RJ going to Chad Baker and Louie.

Derby’s 3rd series has the same long mark as the Amateurs had, but it is thrown the other way. The second mark is an island bird. It is reported that a dog Cyndi Gunzer is running, Louie, is running a nice trial.

3:30 p.m. Derby is almost finished with their 3rd series. Most dogs completed the test satisfactory with just a few going behind a gun, so the judges have decided to go into a 4th series.

Open is finished….waiting on placements.

4:10 20 dogs back to the Derby 4th series. Callbacks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 33, 35

5:03 Derby has set up a water double with another flyer that lands in little cover and a big long swim to the last bird. Eight dogs have run and some are having hunts on the flyer if it is shot too long. Punch did an excellent job and Pink took the water wide for a big swim, but then winded the gun station and came up with the bird nicely. The word now is that if they don’t finish, the judges will score only 3 series!

5:20 Derby has scrapped the 4th! The judges are placing this derby with only 3 series. Waiting for results…

Open placements:

1. FC Mad River’s Maggie McBunn – Mike Molthan, Owner – Frank Cicero, handler
2. FC AFC Two Step’s Tomboy – Tom Vaugh, Owner – Bill Schrader, handler
3. Trumarc’s Costalotmore – Mark Rosenblum, Owner – Danny Farmer, handler
4. FC Bear Creek Ebonstar Truman – Kevin Regan, Owner – Bill Schrader, handler

6:30 p.m. The Field Trial Committee has decided that the Derby 4th series that was stopped will be completed in the morning. The following dogs will run Monday morning: 21, 22, 25, 26, 29, 33, 35!

The High Point Derby dog contest continues to get more exciting by the minute with the last series scrapped and placements decided but not given. The Field Trial Committee rules that the 4th series must be completed and will continue in the morning. With several dogs having nice trials going, the question is “will they show up??” The Derby is down to the wire and will be decided tomorrow!  

MONDAY 12/15 UPDATES!

7:30 a.m. Weather report: 25 degrees and overcast, Winds NW at 16 mph with gusts to 25. Forcast high of 31 degrees with winds NE 15-20. With the following 7 dogs left to run, and several dogs in contention…… who will show up in these conditions? 

Looks like the final contestants have all shown up. 5 dogs have run under these conditions and most are having huge hunts. Rob Erhardt’s dog has done a nice job.

Derby placements

1. 7

   Bear Creek’s King Louie

   Kelly Hepworth

   Karl Gunzer/Cyndi Gunzer

2. 1

   Silvertip’s Total Commitment

   Rob Erhardt Jr

   Robert Erhardt

3. 13

   Dogwoods Fear Factor

   Jeff Kimble

   Tim Milligan/Jeff Kimble

4. 10

   TRULINES WALLA WALLA SWEET

   michael spalding

   Michael Spalding/Karl Gunzer

Not sure about jams….

The High Point Derby dog of 2008 (unofficially) comes down to a tie between Coolwater’s Knockout ‘Punch’ and Trulines Walla Walla Sweet ‘Pink’ with 66 points each! What a fantastic year for both dogs and the people involved in the making of two National High Point Derby Co-Champions. Congratulations to all! The last time there was a tie between High Point Derby dogs was in 1959 with Ace’s Sheba of Arden, LF, and Ace High Scamp of Windsweep, LM, both with 38 points.

FC AFC Cody Cut A Lean Grade (Grady), owned by Chad Baker, ‘unofficially’ remains the High Point Open dog this year with 25 points. Congratulations Chad, Grady, and Handjem Retrievers for another fantastic retriever!

(All point results remain ‘unofficial’ until all trials are tabulated by the AKC and Field Trial News)