Activities included:

8:00 Retriever Trial

10:30 Chad McClatchy - Desoto County Sheriff Dept. K9 Team specializing in Narcotics, Tracking, & Attack

11:00 Judy Otto - Training Coordinator - Mid-South Search & Rescue

12:00 Lunch

Obedience Demonstrations

Shelby County Obedience Club

6:15 Dinner and a HUGE RAFFLE

7:00-9:30 Band Rockers Oysterfella!!

Many activities were provided for the kids such as a Jump House, Bean Bag Toss, Blue Bird House building and loaner dogs were provided for any Kid to run a dog!

Results of the Retriever Trial were as follows:

Seal Team 6

• 1st Place Mark Evans and Elvis
• 2nd Place Tammy Bell and Rip
• 3rd Place Tony Price

Bootcamp

• 1st Place Marsha Huffman
• 2nd Place Charlie Wagner
• 3rd Place Jackie Gilbert

Special Guests Norris & Janis Galatas were on hand also! Norris has a service dog named Willie that was provided by The Tower of Hope. SFC Norris is a wounded solider with the Mississippi Army National Guard. Serving the 155th Brigade Combat Team, he was wounded by an IED blast on April 19, 2005. Janis has written a book titled “A Soldiers Courage”.

Click this link to order Janis’s Book at Amazon

Click this link to view photos of the event

The Tower of Hope’s mission is to empower people who are living with a disability or a chronic illness to live more independently by providing them with specially trained service dogs. Our primary focus is on providing these amazing animals to combat-wounded veterans – those that have suffered great physical or mental trauma defending freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. Having a service dog to help get through the day, and to be a constant companion, is truly a life-altering gift that we can give to these brave men and women.

You can help us give those in need a chance to lead a better life, one with greater hope and purpose. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation to The Tower of Hope. It costs more than $25,000 to train each service dog. Every dollar donated helps us fund the training of another service dog and enriches the life of someone in need. We also welcome anyone who can volunteer their time or services to help our cause.

Click this link to donate to the Tower of Hope or contact Charles Dwyer via email at cdwyer@ur.com

I have recently been introduced to a group called The Tower of Hope, www.thetowerofhope.org . Please take a minute and check out their website, they provide service dogs for wounded military. The Tower of Hope was founded in 2006 by Cathy Carilli, as a tribute to the memory of her husband, Tom Sinton, who was murdered in the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.

We have a pretty unique bond with our dogs, most all of our free time is involved with doing something around them, we eat, drink, & sleep our retrievers. All of you are so passionate about dogs that it is life changing. You have through education, kids days, training days, etc have extended the web of our passion throughout our communities. Here is a perfect opportunity to be part of something bigger.

The Tower of Hope’s mission is to empower people living w/a disability or chronic illness to live more independently by providing them w/specially trained service dogs. Their primary focus is providing these amazing animals to combat wounded veterans at no charge.

The people that are provided these service animals have made sacrifices for us in ways we will thankfully never have to endure but we can understand and be part of an opportunity to give them back some sense of normalcy that they have lost protecting our freedoms. Who better to participate in something like this than the local retriever clubs. Our lives revolve around the freedoms these folks protect that allows us the opportunities to go out and enjoy the country that we were privileged to be born in. The world is changing and our rights & freedoms are constantly challenged and scrutinized, who knows that better than sportsmen & women?

I would like to offer our help in a program that is currently underway called “100 Dogs in a 1000 days”.

On Saturday May 28th (Memorial Day Weekend) we will have a charity event for The Tower of Hope. Frank & Houston Watson have generously donated the use of their property for the event through Jeremy Cantrell. The address is 2123A Potts Camp Road Waterford, MS 10 mins south of Holly Springs, MS.

We will have a retriever event with placements as well as activities and events for everyone.

In the works:

*Service Dog Team demonstration

*Drug & Bomb Dog demonstration

*Competitive Obedience demonstration

*Kids Activities;

• Blue Bird House Building Station
• Dog event for the kids, can run a dog even if they don’t have one!
• Games
• Water Slide

Will have lunch and Dinner Available on site, working on having a band for Sat, Night! Will be a raffle after the ribbon ceremony for the retriever event.

Thank You!

Charles Dwyer

A maximum of 40 entries will be accepted for the two day event. Contact Trey Lawrence at 731-267-9104.

Friday, July 02, 2010 – Sunday, July 04, 2010

Held in Sauk Rapids , MN

Entries Close: Thursday, June 24, 2010 11:59:59 PM CST

Click here to sign up!

DOG HANDLER TEAM FEE: $525.00

MEMBER OBSERVER FEE: $110.00

NON-MEMBER OBSERVER FEE: $160.00

• Increasing Focus in Marking
• Marking to the exact spot
• Understanding the e-collar
• How to send an electronic message to your dog, the right way!

Date: Saturday June 26 & Sunday AM June 27, 2010

Time: 9:00AM—5:00PM Saturday, 9:00AM—1:00PM Sunday

Location: Rug-ged Retrievers, 10745 North Ellicott Hwy, Calhan CO 80808

Bill has trained more High Point Derby dogs than anyone in the history of Retriever Field Trials. The following dogs started their field training using the methods on the DVD.

“Training a Retriever Puppy”

Registration: $150 (Checks, Visa, MasterCard & PayPal accepted)

Please contact: Jo Anne or Tim Harris 719-347-2621 or Email: info@ruggedretrievers.com

NOTE: LIMITED SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE

CLOSING DATE HAS BEEN EXTENDED

SIGN UP NOW!!!

The cost of the seminar includes dinner with Bill on Saturday night and one on one discussion.

***NEW TRI-TRONICS COLLAR WILL BE GIVEN AWAY AT THE SEMINAR***

Other Tri-Tronics accessories will be given away including: Car Chargers, Tracer Lights, Collar Holsters, Collar Straps, Lanyards & more.

Educational Booklets & more, donated by Eukanuba for all participants.

First Place: Hyfly’n Turbo Jet owned by Wendy Bicknell of Georgia and handled by Ray Voigt of Handjem Kennels

Second Place: Candlewood What in Blue Blazes owned by Lydia Fekula of Wisconsin and handled by Ray Voigt of Handjem Kennels

Third Place: FC AFC Weezer Retreezer owned by Bob Johnson, Lydia Fekula, and Jeff Schuett of Wisconsin and handled by Ray Voigt of Handjem Kennels

Fourth Place: NEW FC! FC AFC Wild Wings Girl’s Best Friend owned and trained by Jimmie Darnell of Wildwood, MO

Reserve Jam: FC AFC Wild Chase for Blue owned by Tommy and Brenda Parrish handled by Chris Ledford

Jams: NTK’s Wicked Wished owned and handled by Deb Stukey, Lucky If He Makes It owned and handled by Jason Fleming, AFC Hunter Runs Boo Boo owned by Kit Johnson and handled by Paul Sletten, White Knuckle Knights owned and handled by Trey Lawrence, AFC Twinbranch Pilgrim’s Pride owned and handled by Bobby Smith, Tequilla Rose VII owned by Bill and Juliann Benson handled by Ray Voigt, Dominator’s High Spade owned and handled by Mark Medford,

Hyfly'n Turbo Jet owned by Wendy Bicknell wins first Open entered!

Hyfly’n Turbo Jet just out of the derby and purchased by Wendy Bicknell of Georgia comes out and wins the first Open All-Age he was entered! Congratulations to all!

Open land series was a triple thrown from right to left. Right hand birds had white ribbons on them so the dogs could see the birds better with the background and tall sage. The middle bird was a hip pocket to the flyer. Land blind was not ran within the marks. We ran off the same hill but due to the wind the judges chose to run a cross wind blind behind the marks through the sage. Up front was a sage bush with an open hole the dogs had to go through right off the line, from there down the hill through a brief open field and a gradual slope up into the various sage field. To the right of the line thick sage, to the left of the sage open grass areas, the true line was on the edge of both. Behind that dogs fell off a little hill and disappeared for a brief time as they came up the other side through the sage brush. Dogs weaved their way through the sage and up to the end of the blind. The strong cross wind was from left to right.

Amateur water blind was your standard get in the water, over a point out to sea and head to the other side and up the hill to the end of the blind. Some dogs did NOT want to get into the water and skirted the shoreline ending up out of the water way too early, others went in a little wide into the water and others had trouble on the point and yet some had a difficult time at the end climbing up and to the left away from blind going up the hill. The wind was increasing with each dog that ran and was right in the dogs face as they headed to the blind so blowing loud whistles was necessary.

The weather was COLD! Friday a cold front hit the trial with a strong wind and rain. The weather did improve by the time the land blind started with the exception of the wind. Overall the entire weekend was cold especially water temperatures which took it’s toll on the Derby dogs with only 3 dogs finishing and placing. The cold water did not seem to effect the Am and Open dogs as much, although, a few dogs did avoid the water as much as they could on the blinds. The wind was the biggest weather factor for the entire trial. The wind was not blowing at a constant direction and strong gusts developed ahead and behind a cold front. Sunday was not as windy but it was not calm either. Depending upon what time you ran your dog, some had a light wind with no rain and others ran in a pouring rain with strong 20+ mph winds. Luck can play a big role in this game!

Temperatures dipped into the upper 20′s Sunday morning and highs only reached the lower 50′s for a few hours in the late afternoon. Despite the chilly weather the dogs ran well and we greatly appreciate the workers in the field for braving the cold wet and windy weather for us to run our dogs.

The SRFTC folks put on a well organized and planned event and everything run very smoothly so it was fun for all of us. Thanks Samish Retriever Field Trial Club! Look forward to running your event again next year.

Open land marks

Judges Phil Heye DVM and Bruce Ahlers DVM, and past National judge, provided very challenging land marks for the talented Open dogs and handlers. A triple with two retiring guns and a flyer station in the middle gave dogs problems with both retired stations. 39 Dogs were called back from the series and invited to run a land blind of which 26 survived. A long water blind was next on the agenda providing judges 14 dogs for the 4th series. Joe Harp handled Greg Cross’ dog, Hardscrabbles Captain Morgan, to an FC title weekend with the Open Win. Alex Washburn handling Coolwater’s Storm Chaser came in 2nd with Paul Sletten and FC Dominators Autumn Creek Gamble in 3rd and Mark Edwards with Take Me Now or Lose Me Forever in 4th.

Qual land series

Qualifying judges Lanse Brown and Lou Magee provided competitors a hard in-line triple against a hillside for their marks and a land blind behind the flyer station to challenge even the best handlers. A water series followed with the blind run first and a triple with a retired gun to follow by invitation. 9 dogs survived to finish this series with Alex Washburn handling Coolwater’s Hawkeye Legend in 1st place. Mark Edwards took 2nd with Hawkeye’s Double-Down Kate and Joe Harp 3rd with Ace on the River III. Bobby Wills cam in 4th with Nick of Time Jazz Star MH.

Qual water series

Derby dogs were the next to finish with placements as follows: 1st place – Rob Erhardt handling Thunder’s Bootscootin’ Abe 2nd place – Rob Erhardt handling Pin Oak’s Texas Tea 3rd place – Marv Baumer handling Nebo’s Uptown Girl 4th place – Mark Edwards handling Lucyana’s Full Speed Ahead.

Amateur judges Jason Fleming and Henry Ragle began the Saturday morning series with a big land triple with a long retired gun and middle retired gun and a go bird flyer. Both retired guns provided problems for many dogs. Judges were generous with callbacks and invited 35 dogs to the land blind. A generous 28 dogs completed the two land blinds and were invited to the water blind which began on a rainy and cold Sunday morning. With rain, wind and a challenging dry pop, shoreline water blind only 12 dogs survived the invitation to the water marks. Placements were as follows: 1st place – Mark Medford handling FC AFC Jamestown’s Perfect Ten 2nd place – Tammy Bell handling Ragin’ Max Steel (Qualifies him All-Age) 3rd place – Mark Medford handling Dominator’s High Spade 4th place – Jay Chesshir handling Ride Sally Ride III

Compliments to the Central Arkansas Retriever Club members who helped with the trial. The grounds, the help and the hospitality were excellent. Many thanks to the judges and the field trial committee for the preparation, commitment, and cleanup required to host a first class field trial. Hunt Chairman – Jay Chesshir, Event Committee – Jeff Henard, Jim Byrd, Mark Miles, Dana Giovanello, Reece Hudson, Keith Holsted, Event Secretary – Amanda Holsted

Rockerin Retriever Training Complex

The Tulsa Retriever Club held their fall trial at the beautiful Rockerin Retriever Training Complex in Stillwater, OK, under cold, gray skies the weekend of Oct. 23-25. Grounds were immaculately groomed giving the selected judges many nice fields in which to set up their tests.

The Limited All-Age judges, Moe Schubble and Gary Davidson, chose a very large field to set up a challenging triple. The long gunners sat to the right of the line at approximately 375 yards and threw their bird into a nice piece of cover before retiring. A shorter gun sat across a small pond at 200 yards throwing a bird which landed at the edge of the pond. This gunner retired into a layout blind providing problems for many dogs. The flyer guns were then placed far to the left and shot a nice duck flyer into a large area which provided some big hunts. Dogs which successfully completed this series were: 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 15, 18, 20, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 37, 42, 45, 48, 54-61, 64, 65, 68, 70.

Open 1st Series - Flyer guns

Open 1st – retired guns

Owner / Handler Amateur judges, Greg Seddon and Chip Miles, also chose a nice large field with large patches of cover and terrain for dogs to negotiate. A gunner set to the right at approximately 325 yards throws first and retires. A second gun set in the middle of the field around 290 yards and nearer the flyer guns throws second and retires. Flyer guns were set closer in at 155 yards and shot a nice bird which usually landed behind a nice patch of cover.  Amateur dogs surviving this nice marking test were: 1, 3, 8-10, 14, 15, 17, 19, 20, 24-26, 28, 29, 24-36, 38-41, 44-52.

Amateur 1st series

Derby judges, Jack King and Art Geddes, chose a property about 15 minutes away from the main property which was also very nice with much cover for dogs to negotiate. Excellent water was also available for the judges to test these young dogs. Mark Edwards took 1st and 2nd places with Lainee and David Munhollon’s young male dog, Gotta Heart of a Warrior, taking top honors and Brandon and Shelly Wall’s young female, Alabama Slamajama, taking second. Rob Erhardt came in third with David Aul’s Magic Trick’s Otis and Dan Hurst’s Robber’s Stray Bullet coming in 4th.

Open Land Blind

With 30 dogs back Open judges set up a land blind which was over 300 yards and past a small pond. Even the most seasoned pros were challenged with the blind and only 18 dogs survived. Dogs called back to the water blind were: 5, 12, 15, 18, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 37, 42, 48, 54, 57, 59, 60, 65.

Qualifying 1st Series

Qualifying judges, Jack King and Art Geddes, completed their derby and then set up a Qualifying test with what looked to be a nice double with a land blind, however, many dogs never made it to the land blind. The long bird seemed impossible to get to, and many suspected it was due to the fact that it was through the area where the handlers parked for one of the derby series the previous day. Out of 31 Qualifying dogs, Paul Rainbolt took 1st with his dog Riverdance Iron Horse Allie. Second place went to Chris Wilson’s dog Ozark’s Queen Latifah. Third place went to Tyler Sheppard handling Jo Burson’s dog Jo’s Dusty Southern Breeze and fourth to Dr. Anna Curry’s Golden Retriever, Gingrocks Kokopelli of RCK. 

Amateur Land Blind

 Amateur judges set up their land blind to the right of the flyer stations with a dry pop coming from the same gun used in the flyer fall. The blind wreaked havoc with many of the younger dogs who were heavily influenced by the old fall. The 19 Handlers to survive the blind and invited to the water blind were as follows: 3, 8-10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 26, 34, 36, 38, 39, 47-51. 12 of these were invited to the water marks. They are as follows: Pat Kenny with Nick, Alex Washburn with Alley, Ken Robbins with Anna, Jim Pickering with Willie, Linda Noga with Annie, Mike Loggins with Tiger, Gerald Bailey with Jester, Pat Kenny with Mac, Tim West with Jefe, Al Wilson with Twister, Paul Rainbolt with Ramsie, and Linda Noga with Rooser.

Open Water Blind

Open judges then went to their water blind with 18 dogs. Dogs heard a dry pop and then were sent for the blind. A single duck decoy was placed in a pocket of water near the end of the blind to the left of the line. 13 Dogs successfully completed the blind and the following teams were invited to the water marks: Bill Schrader with Gretzky, Mark Edwards with Rip,  Rob Erhardt with Trudi, Mark Edwards with Bunny, Bill Burks with Judi, Sharon Gierman with Jr, Mark Edwards with Maxie, Rob Erhardt with Barkley, Alex Washburn with Chase, Mark Edwards with Piper, Mark Edwards with Caddy, Al Wilson with Pearl, and Alex Washburn with Punch.

Open Water Marks

Open

Amateur Water Marks

Amateur

Qualifying

Derby

Click here for complete Event Results

Click here to view trial photos and slideshow!!