The Difference A Day Makes!

With the beautiful weather here in Texas, some that has traveled here may have forgotten what the weather is like in their home state. 

For all of you from Wisconsin, here is what you have missed...a 30 degree drop in temps within 24 hours!

48. FC-AFC Duck Buster's Red Barron, "Buster" YLM, Paul Sletten

Owner: Lou Magee

Open Stats: 1st placements - 4; Other placements - 12; Career Points - 41.5

9:55 am

Right Flyer - Buster had a short hunt on the near edge for a turns, then he moved mid field for his bird.

Short Retired - He went out short of the hidden guns for a turn or two. He then moved on and got deeper to the right side of the guns to circle around back and get his bird.

Left Flyer - Buster went up the levee and crossed the pond and hunted wide right behind the guns swinging almost to the long retired. He came back to the area in front of the guns, hunted to the right of them then got deep but he worked it out to get his bird.

Long Retired - Buster got up very wide right for a hunt then worked it out to get his bird.

 

 

VIDEO of the Sixth Series – Water Quad

 VIDEO of the Sixth Series – Water Quad

 

6th Series - Conditions Update

9:46 am

Weather/Wind

You can see the impact the wind change is having on the hunt pattern of the dogs. They are working into the fall area from the right to the left.

Rerun - 44. FC-AFC Yours Truly Indigo, "Tru" BLF, Chris Ledford

Owners: Mark & Suzanne Medford

Open Stats: 1st placements - 7; Other placements - 11; Career Points - 50

9:43 am

Right Flyer - Tru made a bee line to the bird.

Left Flyer - She made a couple of loops towards the gunner and over to get the bird.

Short Retired - Tru had a brief hunt in the area then came back with the bird.

Long Retired - She went up the backside of the gunners hid, then Tru worked the draw to get into her bird.

 

 

{IMPROMPTU] Workers' Party

At the conclusion of yesterday's testing, there was an impromptu Worker's Party held right there on the grounds. Like all things "2020," this, too, was atypical, but welcome all the same. The Hostess Committee had put out gifts of camo embroidered soft-sided coolers  carefully arranged by individual committees. These coolers were a special gift from Ray Voigt of Purina and David Carrington of Avery Sporting Dog.

Knowing that the typical gathering and meal was out of the question due to COVID protocols and restrictions, these gifts were chosen to thank the many volunteers for all their dedication and hard work – before, during and after the event. This "village" of workers was particularly necessary, especially this year, with so many unknowns leading up to the event. These coupled with the provided refreshments were appreciated by all after a long hot day in the field!

FT Chairman John Caire lead the proceedings and thanked all in attendance. A round of applause was heard as John welcomed Ray Voigt and David Carrington up to the table. As an extra surprise, there was a one-year Retriever News subscription certificate tucked into three of the coolers. In addition, all the Committees had their "official" photo taken by Mark Atwater of UpClose Photo. … A good time was had by all.

FT Chairman John Caire, David Carrington of Avery Sporting Dog and Ray Voigt of Purina

FT Chairman John Caire

Thank you Purina and Avery!!

Fun Facts - Handlers

Handlers

6 – Amateur Female  3 – Pro Female

13 – Amateur Male    18 – Pro Male

Multi-Dog Handlers

Danny Farmer (6) #9 – 18 – 28 – 37 – 47 - 56

Al Arthur (3) #1 – 29 – 42

Scott Harp (3) #19 – 39 – 49

Ty Rorem (3) #2 – 33 – 43

Casey Adams (A – 2) #42 – 50

Jim Beck (2) #8 – 59

Andrew Curtis (2) #4 – 34

Andrew Kahn (A – 2) #31 – 60

Chris Ledford (3) #3 – 16 – 44

Tim Milligan (2) #30 – 55

Paul Sletten (2) #17 – 48

Mike Taylor (2) #10 – 38

Rerun - 41. FC-AFC J & C's Another Round In the Chamber, "Bullet" BLM, Joseph Couey

Owner: Joseph & Cathy Couey
Open Stats: 1st placements - 1; Other placements - 3; Career Points - 11.5

9:23 am 

Right Flyer - With a tight circle Bullet got his bird.

Short Retired - He came in right of the blind then circled to get out to the left side and get his bird.

Left Flyer - Bullet went across the pond and straight to the guns. He hunted hard around the gunners then expanded his pattern to work it out and get his bird.

Long Retired - Getting in right of the bird, Bullet quickly turned left to grab it!

 

 

No Bird - 47. FC Trumarc's Gratuity, "Tippy" BLF, Danny Farmer

Tippy and Danny received a no bird at 9:22 am. They will go back in line for a re-run.

46. FC-AFC Mudslinger's Amazing Vision, "T Bone" YLM, Clint Avant

Owners: Dale Willard & Northrup Larson 

Open Stats: 1st placements - 5; Other placements - 10; Career Points - 42

9:05 am

Right Flyer - T Bone had a nice angle across the field straight to the flyer.

Left Flyer - He tipped the levee and went across the pond on a left angle straight to the fall area. With a tight hunt T Bone got his bird. Nice..

Short Retired - He went across the pond then went out towards the long retired and got deep of the short stations. He turned left and came back down to get his bird.

Long Retired - T Bone went back across the pond and up the right side of the line to the gunners hide station. He hunted the area right of the station thoroughly before coming back across the road on the left to get his bird.

 

 

6th Series Water Quad - Day 2 - Test Dog

The handlers were invited to look at the line as the gunners take test throws and shots. There are no clouds today so the judges waited a bit for the shadows to clear and the glare from the rising sun to reduce.

The temps are starting in the 60's today and the wind is out of the northeast at 9 mph. There is no dew on the ground, so the scenting conditions will be the same throughout the day.

8:42 am - Labrador Female "Bess" test dog came to the line.

Right Flyer - Bess angled towards the flyer but than squared up the hill to come in behind the gunners. She was handled to the bird.

Left Flyer - Bess was in the field under the fall and worked the area close to the gunners. She began to expand her hunt pattern then got her bird.

Short Retired - Nice recovery on her bird.

Long Retired - Her line took her up the backside of the gun hide. she had an extended hunt and came into the bird.

 

 

 

6th Series - Day 2 - Water Quad

We are back for Day Two of the 6th Series Water Quad at the Fuller's #2 property in Paige, Texas. The mat for this test sits on a rise facing the south towards a pond that angles east and west with fingers stretching farther east.

Bird One (Long Retired) is located in front of the mat and is a dead hen pheasant that is thrown left landing 240 yards from the line. The gunners retire behind a well brushed blind. The line to this bird is over a knoll through the finger of the pond and half way up a hill on the far side. This is dotted with trees and covered in knee-high grass. 

Bird Two (Left Flyer) is a rooster flyer thrown and shot to the left and landing approximately 240 yards from the mat. This is the left hand bird in this test. The line to the flyer takes the dog the full width of the pond and up the hillside.

Bird Three (Short Retired) is a dead hen mallard thrown to the left onto the edge of the pond 160 yards from the mat. This bird is between the first and second bird and sits just to the handlers left. The line to this bird will take the dog over a small levee then across the pond into a shallow water of the far side. This bird lands with a splash.

Bird Four (Right Flyer) is a hen pheasant flyer shot out of the test to the right at approximately 200 yards. The gunners are on the right side of the hill with a finger of water on the way. The dog's line to this bird will take it out across a small finger of water and up a wide open hill side, landing it in knee high grass.

This is a tight quad. The two flyers on the right and left sides are stand outs. The two retired birds are in the middle of the test and are very well disguised. The mixed bag of birds will cause even greater difficulty towards the line to the left stand out flyer and will be confusing to the dogs facing them up hill on the wrong side of the gun.

Sixth Series Water Quad

Bird #1 – Long Retired – 240 yards

Bird #2 – Left Flyer – 240 yards

Bird #3 – Short Retired – 160 yards

Bird #4 – Right Flyer – 200 yards

Diagram and Sketch by David Morrison

Day 5 - Wednesday, November 11, 2020

Goooooooood Morning, Giddings!!!

Today we will be completing our 6th Series Water Quad. Dog #46 will be our first running dog being called to the line at 8:00 am! We have 21 dogs that need to complete this series including the #25, 29, 41 & 44 that will have their re-run today!

It's looking like it will be another beautiful Veterans Day here in Texas with a high in the mid 80's and sunny! Currently we are at 61 degrees with a wind coming from the north at 3 mph.

We will be starting here shortly, so stay tuned and remember to refresh your browser for the latest updates!

Day 4 - Recap

What a day it was today. We started this morning with dog #9 at 8:54 am. We finished with dog #45 at 4:51 pm. Here is what the day brought...

We had our gun changes between dog #22 & 24 around 10:48 am. This became an extended gun change due to some birds escaping. But once everything got under control we were back up and going. Our second and last gun change of the day came after dog #35 at 3:11 pm.

This test had an honor so dogs #34 Mickey (from WI) and #35 Mickey (from TX) had to split up. So #35 went after #36!

We had 29 dogs come to the line with 25 of them starting this series. Four dogs will be getting their re-runs tomorrow.

We had 12 no birds; 8 re-runs; 2 double handled; 6 handled and 2 picked up. 

It was an eventful day!! 

Also announced was the Workers Party on the grounds starting at 5:00 pm. A much needed unwind time for all the people that are working so hard making this event possible.

We will complete this series tomorrow, November 11 (Veterans Day) with 21 dogs to run. The test dogs will be called to the line at 7:30 am with the first running dog #46 to follow at 8:00 am!

Have fun at the workers party, remember to thank your military, past and present!

Good night!

45. FC-AFC Seaside's Gorgeous George, "Clooney" BLM, Ryan Brasseaux

Owner: Frank Jones & Michael Robicheaux

Open Stats: 1st placements - 5; Other placements - 12; Career Points - 51.5

4:31 pm

Right Flyer - Clooney had a brief hunt in the area and found his bird.

Short Retired - Clooney exited the pond between the two points. He made a loop to the right of the bush then worked his way back to the shoreline to find his duck.

Left Flyer - long flyer - He proceeded directly to the fall area but ended hunting deep up the hill. After a determined hunt, Clooney came up with his rooster.

Long Retired - Clooney found the bird after a methodical hunt!

 

 

No Bird - 44. FC-AFC Yours Truly Indigo, "Tru" BLF, Chris Ledford

4:28 pm

Tru and Chris came to the line and received a no bird. They will be getting their re-run tomorrow as we are about to finish for the day.

43. NAFC-FC Steadfast's Bachelor Special, "Croc" BLM, Ty Rorem

Owners: Monte & Pam Wulf

Open Stats: 1st placements - 7; Other placements - 9; Career Points - 51

4:14 pm

Right Flyer - Croc went straight to the fall area and his bird.

Short Retired - Croc went over the levee and crossed the middle of the pond getting over the long point her circled the back side of the gunners hide and went straight left to get the bird.

Left Flyer - He went over the levee and across the pond, then drove up the far hill getting under the arc of the bird for 4 or 5 passes to work his way to the left and get the bird.

Long Retired - Croc got into the pond on the right side of the line and up the hill and went straight to the fall area and the bird.

 

 

Rerun - 41. FC-AFC J & C's Another Round In the Chamber, "Bullet" BLM, Joseph Couey

 Bullet and Joseph came to the line and received a no bird. They will go back in the line for a re-run!

40. FC Freeridin Rikki Tikki Tavi, "Tavi" BLF, Marcy Wright

Owners: Tyler & Naomi Evans

Open Stats: 1st placements - 1; Other placements - 7; Career Points - 15

3:56 pm

Right Flyer - Nailed it

Short Retired - Tavi went over the levee and swam the pond. She drove past the blind with the gunners, but turned back down the draw and quickly jumped in to the small pond for her bird.

Left Flyer - She went up the hillside under the arc and hunted deep. With a big loop wide right Tavi came back to the fall area for her bird.

Long Retired - She drove the hill on a angle right of the gunners hide. Getting deep, she came back down and the bird.

 

 

[IMPROMPTU] Workers' Party

 Be sure to stick around on the grounds tonight for an impromptu Workers' Party. We will finish around 5 pm in order to have some fun and refreshments … See you there! Be there or be …