Open first series

A beautiful day greeted the competitors this Friday, March 5, with a high of 78 degrees and steady South wind. Open judges Grayson Kelley and Dave Hemminger set up a challenging triple with a long gun  approximately 275 yards shot first and then retiring, followed by a short gun directly to the right of the flyer and retiring, and then the flyer shot last. Most dogs had a little hunt on the flyer and then hunted either the short retired or the long retired. There were several handles and pick ups early. Success rate got better intermittently through the afternoon with a few nice jobs. The judges called it a day with dog #80 and will begin with #81 Saturday morning.

The derby completed their fourth series at dusk. Contestants indicated that judges Jim Pickering and Mark Medford set very challenging tests and which showed each young dog’s strenths and weaknesses very well. This field of derby dogs completed each test surprisingly well. Top dog honors were awarded as follows:

Derby fourth series

• 1st Place – #13 L and L’s Cowboy Up handled and owned by Lorne Langevin
• 2nd Place – #8 Soggy Bottom’s Braveheart owned and handled by Mark Sehon
• 3rd Place – #11 Fordland’s Gladiator owned and handled by Sam Milton
• 4th Place – #2 Drakes Bay Pretty Penny owned and handled by Rod Pfaff
• RJ – #7 St. Elmo’s Maximillian Mutt owned and handled by Bill Wertz
• Jams went to #12  Magic Trick’s Lotus Flower owned by David Aul and #16 Oh Liz Just Charge It owned and handled by Ken Wood

Amateur first series

Saturday finds another day just as beautiful as the last. Morning contestants are greeted with overcast and slight fog, but the day clears and warms quickly. The Amateur stake begins with judges Dave Kress and Brooks Gibson setting up a tight, technical quad with an out of order flyer.  The go bird lands in front of the flyer station and most dogs want the flyer. Some stumble onto the go bird on the way out and complete the four retrieves.

31 of 65 dogs are called back to the Amateur land blind including some clean handles. The following dogs will begin tomorrow:  6, 8, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 31, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, 54, 59, 60, 63, and 65.

Qualifying dogs were treated to a nice day with judges Bill Wertz and Lou Magee. Most dogs performed the tests well and 11 out of 27 finished the competition with Jams or placements. Top dog

Qualifying fourth Series

honors were given to Bobby Lanes’ “Ali” handled by Charlie Moody.

• 1st Place – “Lanes Let’s Get Ready To Rumble” owned by Bobby Lane and handled by Charlie Moody
• 2nd Place - ”Huntleigh’s Thats A Winner” owned by John Hughes and handled by Greg Lister.
• 3rd Place - ”Bluegoose’s Passion for Jazz” owned by Russ and Olga Archer handled by Chris Ledford. (Third place and a close finish to second mentioned by the judges)
• 4th - ”Keeping Kellys Cool” owned and handled by Butch Gregory (the only amateur handler to place in this qualifying).
• RJ - “Wynflat’s GPS” owned and handled by Heather Stewart
• Jams were awarded to: “Cosmo’s Guns to Glory” owned by Ronald Roberts, “High Marks Black and White” owned by Jeff Amendola and Irene Carr, “Mississippi Midnight IV” owned and handled  by Wendell Barton, “Poplar Forest Free Bird” owned by Mabs and Read Holland, “Winterhaven Price of the Fleet” owned by Richard Berry and Eddie Chandler, and “Belle Shain’s High Head Jim MH” owened by Read Holland.

Open judges set up a double land blind which was scrapped when the wind shifted. Judges quickly set up a tough double land, water blind with poison bird. Rumours in the crowd placed the long water blind at 675 yards.  52 dogs attempted the double blind which presented problems in many areas. The day slowly progressed and the series will be completed Sunday morning. The following dogs were called back from the first series: 1, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 47, 49, 50, 51, 52, 55, 56, 57, 58, 61, 62, 64, 65, 66, 67, 69, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 81, 82, 86, 87, 89, 90, 92.

Sunday competitors were anxious to begin their turn at the Amateur land blind. The bird was planted at around 350 yards and the dogs were greeted with a dry pop at the line. Most dogs flared right or left of the gun. Some navigated the dry gun well but were lost at the end in cover and a tree line. Successful amateurs called back to the water blind are: 8, 10, 15, 23, 24, 26, 35, 36, 40, 41, 42, 44, 45, 49, 50, 54, 59, 60, 63, and 65.

Open handlers finishing the double blinds successfully and invited to the water triple are: 1, 11, 15, 19, 29, 30, 42, 44, 47, 56, 57, 58, 65, 69, 89, and 90. Judges set up a water triple with two retired guns.

Amateur handlers successfully completing the water blind and invited to the fourth series are: 8, 10, 15, 20, 26, 35, 41, 42, 44, 49, 50, 54, 59, 60, and 63. Judges in the Am set up a triple with a retired gun to the right at 375 yards shot first, a water bird to the left shot second, and a go bird flyer shot across a small spit of water.

Jimmy Darnell wins the Open with Diamond! Her first Open win! Final results are:

• 1st Place – #90 “AFC Wild Wings Girls Best Friend” owned and handled by Jimmy Darnell
• 2nd Place – #1 “Mitimat You Go Girl” owned by Tim and Tami Thompson and handled by Paul Sletten
• 3rd Place – #57 “AFC JB’s Rude Attitude” owned by Dick and Charlotte Kaiser and handled by Paul Sletten
• 4th Place – #29 “Delpond’s Pink Champagne” owned and handled by Mark Menzies
• RJ – #69 “Hunter Runs Boo Boo” owned by Kit Johnson and handled by Paul Sletten
• Jams: Digger/Dave Ward, Sunny/Chris Ledford, Flipper/Dave Ward, Cane/Jimmy Darnell, Betsy/Paul Sletten, Chevy/Chris Ledford, Hope/Marty Kress, Pride/Bobby Smith.

Amateur handlers finished the day late with the following results:

• 1st Place – #26 “Beat The Rush” owned and handled by John Stracka
• 2nd Place – #10 “Lake Country Sunshine” owned by Gary McIlwain and handled by Jessi Kent
• 3rd Place – #41 “Twinbranch Pilgrim’s Pride” owned and handled by Bobby Smith
• 4th Place – #35 “Muskie’s Foxfire Laser” owned by Paula Horsley and Rich Berry and handled by Rich Berry
• RJ - #20 “FC AFC Real Southern Gentleman” owned and handled by Mark Menzies
• Jams: #15 Shock/John Stracka, #42 Maggie/Jessi Kent, #54 Callie/Danny Luttrell, #59 Libby/Jason Fleming, #60 Fox/Joe Cooper, #63 Susie/Stan Chiras