NBHA 2026 Futurity
l to r, 1st place Run To Wynn with Andy Erne, 2nd place Loghome Lizzie with Andrea Ward, 3rd place Hard Hats Andy with Chris Leeson, and 4th place JD's Happy Jack with Dan Draffen
2026 Futurity winners
1st – Run To Wynn, PM; owner, Brett Eikenbary / handler, Zach Erne
2nd – Loghome Lizzie, SF; owner, Rick & Karen Torres / handler, Tom Waite
3rd – Hard Hats Andy, SM; owner, Jim Smith / handler, Chris Leeson
4th – JD’s Happy Jack, PF; owner / handler, Dan Crunk
NBHA 2026 Futurity
This was our 40th Futurity for the NBHA.
The grounds at Grovesprings are the perfect venue for both the qualifying round and the one hour callbacks. Our judges this year were Bob Burchett and Mark Livingston. We started Friday after naming our Champion and Runner Up for the Breeders Championship. Our numbers were down this year and I was expecting this with last year's numbers down for the Jerry Kilgore Puppy Classic.
I would like to apologize for slacking on my notes in the qualifying rounds. We did have a lot of bird work. Some clean and polished, some more of a happy puppy. I will say having this trial in February can show different levels of maturity. A bad birthday could put a dog in the Futurity that was running in the puppy class 2 months earlier. We still have standards that need to be considered. This trial is special to me. I've put a ton of work into this for the last 6 years. It should be looked upon as the best of each bred that could be used to better our breeding programs. Some of these dogs stood out with style, race, and knew what they were there to do. We have to look for that potential that will place these dogs in the next level for success.
Our first-place dog came from the first brace of the callbacks Sunday morning. Run To Wynn. This pointer male was bred by Matt Pendergrass. He is out of Cockleburr Dragon Tattoo x Imagine. Wynn also won the Jerry Kilgore Puppy Classic last year. Wynn had a back at 11 minutes. His first find was at 26 near the big chute in Sycamore bottoms. He took a little pressure from his bracemate. At 35 he would have a stop to flush on the big hill past the Sycamore tree. He was always to the front and a pleasure to watch. Wynn was handled by Zach Ernie and scouted by brother Andy Ernie. These two are a great team. A new team on the rise seeing success. And they are also great men to be around.
Our second-place dog came from the third brace. Loghome Lizzy was a standby dog. Lizzy was bred by Andrea Wood Ward and she is out of Dale Creek Rising Moon x Dale Creek Zed Bebe. She is owned by Rick and Karen Torres. Lizzie's first find was at 14 in breakaway bottoms. Tom kicked up a single. Her second find was across the road entering into Sycamore bottoms. This bird had help from her bracemate flushing. At 45 minutes she was pointed near the Little vine loop. See again had pressure from her bracemate and they both took the birds out. Lizzie is fast and snappy and fun to watch.
Our third-place dog is Hard Hats Andy. Owner Jim Smith and Handler Chris Leeson. Andy was bred by Jim Smith. He is out of Hard Hats Bad Dotty x Glover's Flintstone. Andy had three points in which he flushed birds himself before Chris got to him catching the last one. Mark said he finished strong and to the front.
Our fourth-place finisher was JD's Happy Jack. This pointer male is owned and handled by Dan Crunk. He was bred by Wade Williams and out of Blue Mounds White Rain x Phillips Linebacker. Jack was in the second brace of our callbacks. Jack had his first find at 18 in one of the long fields west of Sycamore bottoms. At 30 Dan flushed a pair in Sycamore bottoms. Jack had his last find at 46. Jack had a few steps with each find marking flight. He had a good race hunting the edges and very stylish moving and on point.
Our gracious sponsors Purina pro plan. Purina is our largest sponsor and donating so much dog food to our winners. Garmin donates collars to our winners in every Championship. On X hunts is one of our new sponsers. They are donating an elite membership to our winners. Gundog Supply donate gift certificates. Mulebrand clothing’s does coupons for our winners. Gundog Central takes care of our website. I would like to personally thank you all. Without your support we would be lost.
In closing I would like to thank everyone for allowing me to host these trials the last 6 years. I hope the next person that takes on the task of the Futurity will uphold the standards and keep our future breeding programs held to the highest level possible. Be honest with everyone and treat them fairly and with respect and you will be treated the same. May God Bless you all.
Christian Ogle
