Saturday, June 24, 2006 |
A nice sunny day greeted participants again. It was almost unbelievable - a whole week without rain! The 9 would be held in a new area, much closer to town, Driving down a narrow winding road to the test, a crop dusting plane could be seen swooping and spraying fields a short distance away.
The host ranch was in a valley surrounded by high hills. The line for #9 was located high on a steep side of one of them. The climb would have probably challenged a mountain goat. The blind was located about 375 yards from line. Test dogs ran at 7:30 and the first running dog at 8:05. Since the test dogs had been unable to do it as had 3 of the 4 running dogs, Judges scrapped the test. It appeared dogs were not able to see the handlers on the steep slope, plus a rising sun cast a glare over the site.
Another blind was quickly organized a short distance away and test dogs were again called to line. The line for #9B was on the lower slope of the same hill and faced a different direction. The site was a grassy pasture field at the bottom of the hill that had a fairly wide dirt road running perpendicular to the line To the left of the road a single gunner in a white coat sat on a chair. He was the blind planter. The blind, a dead cock pheasant lay at the base of several stick deep to the right of the planter, about 280 yards from line.
The host ranch was in a valley surrounded by high hills. The line for #9 was located high on a steep side of one of them. The climb would have probably challenged a mountain goat. The blind was located about 375 yards from line. Test dogs ran at 7:30 and the first running dog at 8:05. Since the test dogs had been unable to do it as had 3 of the 4 running dogs, Judges scrapped the test. It appeared dogs were not able to see the handlers on the steep slope, plus a rising sun cast a glare over the site.
Another blind was quickly organized a short distance away and test dogs were again called to line. The line for #9B was on the lower slope of the same hill and faced a different direction. The site was a grassy pasture field at the bottom of the hill that had a fairly wide dirt road running perpendicular to the line To the left of the road a single gunner in a white coat sat on a chair. He was the blind planter. The blind, a dead cock pheasant lay at the base of several stick deep to the right of the planter, about 280 yards from line.
Test 9 from line, planter in test position
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Test 9 close up, planter standing at blind
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At 9:15 a.m., a single test dog demonstrated that the test was quite
do-able.Soon the first running dog appeared on line. Most recovered the
blind with less than 6 whistles. Some had only one or two and at least
two lined it . The ninth ended shortly after 10 a.m. All except
handlers were moved to the tenth site a short drive away. At the new
site it was announced that all 18 were back for the 10th!
Land/Water Quad
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Two shot flyers
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Two retired guns
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The 10th was a land/ water Quad with two shot flyers and two retired marks. The line was located on a dike overlooking a grassy pasture that had a stream snaking through it, left to right. Across the stream to the left, two sets of guns were stationed relatively close together. The far left one shot a flying duck angled back to the right where it landed in pasture grass140 yards out .while the other,threw a dead duck flat to the right that landed at the bottom of a dry swale 120 yards from line. A good distance to the right and much deeper out, a third group threw a dead duck angled back to the right where it landed across a small piece of water 254 yards away. To the far right and closer to the line, a fourth set shot a flying cock pheasant back to the left. It fell in the pasture across the stream nearly155 yards from line. The order was: Long right middle (dead); short left middle (dead); left flyer duck; right flyer pheasant. As the dog was sent for the pheasant, the long right middle and short middle guns retired. It took about 15 minutes a dog to complete.
A number of dogs ran the bank to the long pheasant, but most recovered with minimal hunting. After that, `handles took the remaining birds in different orders. There seemed to be no "right way to do it. Most of the problems occurred on the long, right middle mark, Some hunted the backside of the guns while others went out of sight only to appear with the bird. Most hunted it to some degree.
A short intermission was needed for some ATV "wranglers" to shoo curious cows from the site. Overall the do ork was amazin. However two did handle and one broke. By 5 p.m. the 2006 Nationall Amatuer was over and a ceremony followed within the hour. After a brief ceremony thanking all workers and participants, Trial Chairman Suzanne King and President Charles Tyson introduced and presented each finalist with their ribbon, pin and a sterling silver photo frame The winner was then announced as FC AFC Carbon Copy of Horn Creek, owned by Frank and Christine Kasheravof !
After the congratulatories, photos and joy, Frank invited all to a party in town. - a wonderful way to celebrate the occasion.
A number of dogs ran the bank to the long pheasant, but most recovered with minimal hunting. After that, `handles took the remaining birds in different orders. There seemed to be no "right way to do it. Most of the problems occurred on the long, right middle mark, Some hunted the backside of the guns while others went out of sight only to appear with the bird. Most hunted it to some degree.
A short intermission was needed for some ATV "wranglers" to shoo curious cows from the site. Overall the do ork was amazin. However two did handle and one broke. By 5 p.m. the 2006 Nationall Amatuer was over and a ceremony followed within the hour. After a brief ceremony thanking all workers and participants, Trial Chairman Suzanne King and President Charles Tyson introduced and presented each finalist with their ribbon, pin and a sterling silver photo frame The winner was then announced as FC AFC Carbon Copy of Horn Creek, owned by Frank and Christine Kasheravof !
After the congratulatories, photos and joy, Frank invited all to a party in town. - a wonderful way to celebrate the occasion.
