Central Prairie Field Trial Club March 13, 2022
The old phrase," What a difference a day makes" was never truer. On Saturday, the high temperature was maybe 22 and gusty winds all day long. On Sunday when the trial was over, the temperature was in the 60s. Actually the dogs did not mind the 20s as much as the handlers and judges. Day light savings time kicked in, yet everyone still got to the trial on time and we started at the scheduled time.
Thanks to the Ellis's for use of their farm to hold our trials. This farm allows us to run two courses at the same time, which is so helpful with trials with a big entry. Judges for the day were Rick Stanford, Dan Hampton, Brad Hargis, and Dan Crunk. Rick and Dan Hampton judged the shooting dog, derby and gun dog while Brad and Dan Crunk judged the puppies. Jae Crunk put together sandwiches for lunch. Good judges, good grounds and a good lunch are all ingredients for a successful trial.
Entries were down again and I guess this just is a sign of the times. Two young handlers ran dogs. Declan Wheat ran his grandfathers Gun Dog and John Ellis ran a nice Puppy. Declan's grandfather , Frank Christie, indicated that Declan was hooked.
A Special thanks to Purina and Gun Dog Supply for their continued support of field trials. Their support definitely adds to the quality of field trials.
Amateur Shooting Dog
Craig Hiatt piloted Roxie PF to a first place finish in the shooting dog stake. Roxie must like Orchardville, because I believe this is her 3rd straight win on these grounds. Roxie had 6 finds in her half hour and really had a great race, always to the front and going to the spots that are holding quail. And for the third straight trial Danny Draffen's PM Red finished 2nd. Red had 4 finds and a huge race. Although Roxie has finished each time in front of Red, it has always been close. Ken Black came down and brought his Deuce PF to the trial and left with a 3rd place finish. Deuce had 4 finds for her 30 minutes and a solid race.
Amateur Derby
The largest entry for the day was the derbies. Jack Glover again won the Derby with his SF. Pepper had two broke finds and a great race. She ran big but still handled for her handler. Steve Fuess piloted his SM Rip to a second place finish. Rip had 4 broke finds and filled up the country. JD Waters PM Buck took home the 3rd place plaque with a pleasing race and 2 finds. The Derby stake was filled with entries that showed a lot of promise.
Amateur Puppies
The puppy stake only had 6 entries, but the quality of these 6 was wonderful. Jack Glover again repeated from Saturday with PF Liza. This entry filled the country and was so attractive on the ground. Running as big as she did in the 20 minutes, she still was in sync with her handler. Finish a very close 2nd was Bert SM for Steve Fuess. This setter also ran the course big, yet listening and handling for his handler. Third place went to Ty for Charles Bowlin. Ty shows a lot of promise and certainly filled up the course.
Amateur Gun Dog
This scribe has never seen what happened in the Gun Dog stake. Craig Hiatt entered a young PF Sadie in this stake and what makes this amazing, is Sadie has only 3 legs. She had lost her leg in an accident earlier in the year. Sadie had 3 finds that met shooting/gun dog standards. Second place went to Jack RSM for David McCuan. Jack a 3 finds in his brace and always hunted to the front. Third place went to Declan Wheat, a youth handler with Patch PM. Patch had 3 finds and a strong race. Decklan's grandlfather Frank Christe was so pleased that his grandson enjoyed handling Patch the last two days in field trials.
Thanks to all handlers and volunteers for coming to our Spring trial. Hope to see you the second weekend in November!
Central Prairie Field Trial Club winners
Amateur Shooting Dog
1st – Craig’s Runin Roxie, PF; Craig Hiatt, handler
2nd – Double D’s Red Lancelot, PM; Dan Draffen, handler
3rd - Crow Creek Deuce, PF; Ken Black, handler
Amateur Derby
1st – Glover’s Pepper Shaker, SM; Jack Glover, handler
2nd – Elm Hills Longblack Train, SM; Steve Fuess, handler
3rd – My Way Big Trail, PM; JD Waters, handler
Amateur Puppy
1st – Glover’s Liza Menelli, PF; Jack Glover, handler
2nd – Elm Hills Bojangle Bert, SM; Steve Fuess, handler
3rd – Bowlin’s Honky Tonk Tyler, PM; Charles Bowlin, handler
Amateur Shooting Dog (jc@f)
1st – Craig’s Runin Roxie, PF; Craig Hiatt, handler
2nd – My Thodical Killagan Flush, ISM; Dave McCuan
3rd – Christie’s Illini Patch, PM; Declan Wheat, handler
