WELCOME to the Official Blog of the 2016 National Amateur, June 18-25 held this year in Stowe, Vermont. This year's Blog is brought to you by the Retriever News and our Official Sponsors Purina and Avery and also Sponsored by Ainley Kennels,Move The Dog,Mountaintop Custom Kennels,YBS Media,Elite Retrievers and Retriever Training Forum. We hope you enjoy these multi-daily updates and please come back often! This year we encourage visitors to participate in the National Amateur discussion located in the comments section of each post. These areas are a great outlet for remote communication and commentary for those unable to attend this year's NARC. Also, please keep an eye out for trivia, surveys and other interactive activities!The Retriever News team consists of Tina Styan, Gwen Jones and Tera Lanczak. We would also like to welcome Pat Burns, of Elite Retrievers this year as a Contributing Sponsor to the blog. Please don't hesitate to share any items of interest or photos that you think the retriever community might be interested in. Send submissions to Tina Styan at: tstyan@theretrievernews.com Subject Line: 2016 NARC Blog. Thanks in advance and enjoy the coverage...
Phase II of the 2016 National Amateur Retriever Championship has officially begun. The 5th series land quad marks the beginning of phase II. This is where the National turns into “The National.”
Hen flyer pheasant memory birds are the norm. And a tough fall can be a deal breaker. Some of my most vivid memories at Nationals have been 5th series land marks. It is not uncommon to walk up and look at one of these quads with 2 flyers and utter “Oh My God ...”
Today’s test challenged handlers to think outside the box in regards to order of picking up the birds. Some handlers insisted on getting the short retired gun before the long flyer. And others chose to go with the dog’s preference and get the flyer first. Each way presented its own consequences. The dogs that retrieved the short retired 2nd tended to push off that line and set up a hunt behind the long flyer. When that happened their hunts took them very close to the longer retired gun. Others that took the flyer prior to the short retired were at risk of lining by the short left bird. All in all, the handlers were forced to read their dogs and be willing to go to plan B.
What you will see develop is, the dogs that are really on their game, will start to rise to the top. The marking setups will get more challenging and you will witness some incredible dog work.
Take it from someone who has been there ... When a great dog gets in the zone, it will take your breath away.
So stay tuned for an exciting 2nd half of the 2016 National Amateur!
We are done for the day! Test #6 tomorrow will be a land blind.
Callbacks to the 6th will be posted from the Town and Country resort as soon as we have them!
L flyer: Traveled the path left of the fall, made several passes in front of the trees then took a turn near gunners and found her bird
S Retired: Drove deep of the tulles, continued to drive toward the L flyer and was handled to the bird
L Retired: Traveling a path at the holding blind, disappeared into the tree line, reappeared at the same point she went out of sight, began to establish a hunt along the tree lin and found her bird
75. AFC MS Micro Doodle Dandy, "Micro," LF, Tom Bogusky
S Flyer: Hammered it!
L Flyer: Front Footed it!
L Retired: Smacked it!
S Retired: Dog drove through the fall area headed toward the L Flyer, the dog hunted around the tree, in and out of the cover out of sight, then when the dog reappeared, she was handled to the bird.
L Flyer: Drove under the arc deep, turned and snatched up the bird!
S Retired: Traveled to the levee, hunted deep on the levee for several passing before getting into the water, hunting the shore and working down the levee into the area to retrieve the bird
L Retired: Dog drove to the mark, jumped in the wood line and out of sight, and when he reappeared the dog was handled to the bird.
Handle 47. FC Midway Twin City Limits, "Leo," LM, Seth Kelly
S Flyer: Perfect Mark!
L Flyer: Initial hunt deep of the fall, working back and forth in heavy cover, then made a move inward, established another hunt before hunting his way to the bird.
S Retired: Drove past the fall on the upwind side, got deep and was handled to the bird.
L Retired: From holding blind, made a pass to the left, then made a pass to the right and then had his bird.
Pick-Up 34. Cold Black Jack, "Jack," LM, John Stracka
S Flyer: Stepped on it!
S Retired: Drove past the fall area, made way over the levee, found the holding blind, hunted the levee until he found his bird.
L Flyer: Drove through the fall again, established a hunt deep, increased the sise of his hunt, handle was attempted, couldn’t recover and the dog was picked up.
Re-Run 21. FC-AFC In The Hunt Farm's Executive Sweet, "Sweet," LF, Linda Bogusky
S Flyer: Rapid Retrieve!
L Flyer: Took the perfect line, missed the bird on the upwind side, went deep, circled in, established a hunt, then it was discovered the bird was still alive and running. They will give #21 a re-run at the end.
Pick-Up 31. FC-AFC RMR'S I Have a Dream, "Marti," LF, Joel Harris
S Fly – to Reheel – Smacked it!
L Fly – Went in front of gun then drove deep, established deep and right of the fall then traveled left and deep before the dog was attempted to handle. However the dog ended up being picked up.
11. FC-AFC Aksarben's Black Skyy MH, "Skyy," LM, Alice Woodyard
S Fly – Nice job!
R Ret – Split area with L flyer came back to where to the gun blind, worked out to bird
S Ret – Came in on right end of tulles, turned left and found his bird
L Fly – Deep through the fall area, hunted deep behind the gun, deep right, back left of the fall, still hunting, back to deep/came back and picked up the very short bird.
Today the 5th Series is being held at the Simonds' Elmore Ponds Testing Site, directions are located in the training/test site manual posted on the 2016 NARC BLOG IN THE LEFT MARGIN; click on the test description for each Series and it will give our location.
Today's Series 5 is a big test with four marks to be thrown on the land. These Judges are savvy to say the least, they have situated birds falling in areas the dogs are less likely to want to hunt. Great bird lacement is how we determine the dog's marking abilities.
The first mark to be thrown in this land quad is a Hen Pheasant Flyer. This gun station is nestled in the middle of this quad and measures a distance of 172 yards. The L Flyer is thrown flat and to the left, we will refer to this mark as the pLong Flyer, (L Flyer). The L Flyer is landing in short to medium native grasses.
The next mark to be thrown is situated to the right and slightly shallow of the L Flyer. The throwers are throwing this dead Hen Pheasant hard angle back toward a wood-line landing in medium cover tight against the wood-line. After all the bird are thrown, the gunners disappear and retire into the wood-line. We will refer to this mark as the Long Retired or (LR).
The third mark to be thrown in this Land Quad is a big swing across the test to the left corner of the field. The gunner's are standing a top of a levee throwing flat to the right with the bird landing in heavy, soggy marsh grass at the base of the levee. The third mark is a dead Hen Pheasant measuring a distance of 135 yards. The gunners are retiring in a brush covered holding blind at the water's edge of the pond in which they are standing to throw. We will refer to this station as the Short Retired or (SRET).
The final bird or go-bird of this Land Quad is a big swing across the entire test to the right corner of the field. This mark is shallow of all the rest of the marks and situated to the far right of the field. They are throwing a Drake Mallard Flyer flat to the right. This bird is landing in short to medium native grasses as well.
We will be located at Simonds' Elmore Pond & Field Test Site today. This site is in the on-line training/test site manual. We are told there is no cell phone reception or data coverage in this area. We have made arrangements to bring coverage via limited local source. We will be testing things out this am before Series 5. However, we estimate coverage of each dogs performance will be delayed a considerable amount of time, at least an hour or two. We appreciate your patience.
1. FC-FTCH Handjems Artful Dodger, "Dodger,” LM, Jim Dorobek 2. NAFC-FC Texas Troubador, "Tubb," LM, Martha Russell 3. NFC-AFC Robber's Stray Bullet, "Bullet," LM, Hank McNeil 4. B&D's Chocolate Mariah, "Windy," LF, Don or Bettye Brawley 5. FC-AFC SK's Dirty Little Secret, "Vegas," LF, Betsy Madden 6. Daybreak Second In Command, "Joshua," LM, Bill Landau 7. FC-AFC Texaco's High Tesse, "Star," LF, Alex Abraham 8. AFC Trifecta's Black Gold, "Slick," LF, Lisa Kane 9. FC Utopian Sixteen Hands, "Hunter," LM, Gary Zellner 10. AFC Lucyana's Full Speed Ahead, "Straight," LM, Laura Parrott 11. FC-AFC Aksarben's Black Skyy MH, "Skyy," LM, Alice Woodyard 12. NAFC-FC Hardscrabble Roxie McBunn, "Roxie," LF, Bill Benson 13. AFC Jorja's Tarbaby Tempest, "Tempy," LF, Jake Fredericks 14. FC-CAFC-CFC Jazztime Cut to the Chase, "Chase," LM, Paul Hanson 15. FC-AFC Ragin Eye Of The Storm, "Cane," LM, John Thomas 16. Mac's Sweet Eleanor Rose, "Rosie," LF, Mike McDaniel 17. Road Tripp, "Tripp," LM, Mark Medford 18. FC-AFC Son Of A Preacher Man, "Billy Ray," LM, Duncan Christie 19. FC-AFC Good Idea's Outta Sight, "Stevie," LM, Ken Neil 20. NAFC-FC Dottie Ray's Ivy League, "Ivy," LF, Andy Kahn 21. FC-AFC In The Hunt Farm's Executive Sweet, "Sweet," LF, Linda Bogusky 22. FC Topbrass Linekin's Riptide, "Rip," GM, Cam Clark 23. FC-AFC FWR'S Wood River's Highest Summit, "Denali," LF, Mark Brashear 24. FC-AFC Valtor's Hayseed Kid, "Kid," LM, Breck Howard 25. AFC 3R's Mister Cross Your T's, "Tommy," LM, Fred Kampo 26. FC-AFC Moxie Gunner, "Moxie," LF, Russ Hardy 27. FC-AFC McKinley First Ascender-Hudson, "Hudson," LM, Bill Barstow 28. FC Tremblin Earth's Cosmic Rider, "Tex," LM, Kate Simonds 29. Smoke'N High Heat, "Smoke," LF, Charlene Koeth 30. Bay Blue's Indigo Girl, "Indy," LF, Marv Baumer 31. FC-AFC RMR'S I Have a Dream, "Marti," LF, Joel Harris 32. FC-AFC Mitimat Rock Paper Scissors, "Rocky," LM, Lydia Fekula 33. Dottie McFizz, "Dot," LF, Nancy White 34. Cold Black Jack, "Jack," LM, John Stracka 35. FC-AFC Lil Chin Music, "Lil," LF, Chester Koeth 36. Gunstock's Harbor Houligan, "PJ," LM, Yvonne or Charles Hays 37. FC-AFC Bluenorth's Rock Hard Ten MH, "Ten," LM, Barb Radtke 38. FC-AFC Wight's Goddess of Victory MH, "Nike," LF, Tracy Wight 39. FC-AFC-FTCH Laird's Cynful Wisdom, "Wiley," LF, Chris Parkinson 40. FC-AFC Shelbie's Liberty Bell, "Libby," LF, Chris Byers 41. FC-AFC Good Idea's National Pair, "Dolly," LF, Ken Neil 42. Aragorn XIII, "Aragorn," LM, Julie Cole 43. Holland Cliffs Sweet Inspiration, "Sugar," LF, Alvin Hatcher 44. FC-AFC Bob and Ed's Excellent Adventure, "Chef," LM, Ed Krueger 45. AFC Kirkwood's Ace of Lone Star, "Lexie," LF, Casey Adams 46. FC-AFC Bay Blue's All American Girl, "Libby," LF, John Russell 47. FC Midway Twin City Limits, "Leo," LM, Seth Kelly 48. FC-AFC Bayou Teche Eye On The Ball, "Slider," LM, Lauren Hays 49. FC-AFC Delpond's Aunt Jemima, "Jemma," LF, Mark Menzies 50. FC-AFC Mulligan Off The Rainy "T", "Mully," LM, Randy Spangler 51. Watermark's Ramrod, "Rowdy," LM, Gary Storch 52. FC-AFC FTCH Alexus - Pursuit of Perfection, "Lexi," LF, Lynn Cole-Kimball 53. FC-AFC Cool Fuel, "Nitro," LM, Rich Pingatore 54. AFC Lake Park Diamond In The Ruff, "Ruff," LM, Charles Bearden 55. FC-AFC Hockley Creek's Big Hitter, "Manny," LM, Robby Bickley 56. FC-AFC Sundog's Maximum Pursuit, "Max," LM, Andy Kahn 57. FC Straight to the Heart-Dagger, "Dagger," LM, Johnny Armstrong 58. FC-AFC Choco Lickity-Split, "Choco," LM, Don Brawley 59. FC-AFC Maple Creek's Mattie Mae, "Mattie," LF, David McMahan 60. FC-AFC Good Idea's Have It Your Way, "Whopper," LM, Ken Neil 61. AFC Tucked Away At River's Edge, "Tucker," LM, Alex Abraham 62. NFC-AFC Keeno's Gizmo CC, "Gizmo," LM, Bruce Hall 63. FC-AFC Lock Five's My Mother's Keeper, "Keeper," LF, Jamie Woodson 64. FC-AFC Make It Happen Captain, "Cappy," LM, Gary Zellner 65. AFC Got It Made in the Shade, "Shade," LM, Bobby Smith 66. Backwater Sweet Bay Magnolia, "Bay," LF, Keith Pharr 67. FC Lil Whiskey Girl, "Lily," LF, Judy Despenas 68. FC-AFC Baypoint's Westminster Abbey, "Abbey," LF, Don Fregelette 69. FC-AFC JJ of Red Rock, "JJ," LM, Jim McBee 70. FC-AFC Greenwing Tall Timber, "Krumz," LM, Craig Stonesifer 71. AFC Rawhide's Rowdy Trail Boss, "Rowdy," LM, Tommy Grimes 72. FC-AFC Fresh Squeezed Juice, "Juice," LM, Mark Medford 73. FC-AFC Lubys and Whitewaters Pirates Jewel, "Jewel," LF, Jeffrey Schuett 74. AFC Wood River's Mr Big, "George," LM, Bill Fruehling 75. AFC MS Micro Doodle Dandy, "Micro," LF, Tom Bogusky 76. FC-AFC Indi Go Girl, "Indy," LF, Darlene Houlihan 77. Topbrass Montana Lonesome Dove OS, "Gus," GM, John Robinson 78. FC-AFC B Bumble, "Stinger," LM, Fred Kampo 79. AFC Red Dog's Anything Goes, "Porter," CBRM, Bill Burks 80. FC-AFC Spirit of Denali-Genet, "Genet," LF, Bill Barstow 81. AFC Winneshiek's Wild Wind Scamp, "Scamp," LM, Dave Robertson 82. FC-AFC Coolwater's Hawkeye Legend, "Legend," LM, Alex Washburn 83. Jet Black's Supersonic Boom, "Sonic," LM, Judy Powers 84. FC-AFC Good Idea's Texas Scratch, "Rosie," LF, Ken Neil 85. FC-AFC Chopper's Final Approach, "Billie," LF, Joel Harris 86. Knockout Punch II, "Joe," LM, Jim Cope 87. FC-AFC Leica Sabertooth, "Tiger," LM, Terry Rotschafer 88. FC-AFC Candlewood's Life Is A Highway, "Freeway," LM, John Stracka 89. FC-AFC Ruff Rivers Oasis On The Plains, "Colby," LF, Northrup Larson 90. FC-AFC Freeridin Miss Kitty, "Kitty," LF, Theodore Shih 91. FC-AFC Candlewood's Skyrocket, "Sky," LF, Tommy Parrish 92. FC-AFC-AFTCH Jaybar American Idol, "Reuben," LM, Barbara Younglove 93. FC-AFC Dottie Ray's League Of Her Own, "Dottie," LF, Andy Kahn 94. FC-AFC Contempt of Court, "Ruckus," LM, Susan Bledsoe 95. Red Dog's Ain't Misbehavin', "Zoe," LF, Sydney Gardave 96. Brink's Buster Brown, "Buster," LM, Jeffrey Bandel 97. AFC Lane's Thrilla n Manilla, " Frazier," LM, Michael Robicheaux 98. FC-AFC Watermark's Miss Kali Hart, "Kaylee," LF, Sonya Harrigfeld 99. AFC Trinity's Moose on the Loose, "Lucy," LF, Cindie Little 100. Kirkwood's Blue Grade Lady, "Gracie," LF, Casey Adams 101. FC-AFC Lanes Lets Get Ready To Rumble, "Ali," LM, Bobby Lane 102. FC-AFC Atlastastar, "Rinny," LF, Martha Blank 103. FC-AFC Forry's Charmed One, "Piper," LF, Lynn Budd 104. FC Delpond's Pretty in Pink, "Bella," LF, Mark Menzies 105. FC-AFC Contrails Sky Queen, "Reina," LF, David Opseth 106. FC-AFC Good Idea's Second Wind, "Vapor," LF, Ken Neil 107. FC-AFC Windy City's Mighty Mouse, "Mickey," LM, Charlie Hines 108. FC-AFC Buck IN Bobby, "Bobby," LM, Mary Ahlgren 109. FC-AFC Aran Island's Finnegan, "Finnegan," LM, Pat Martin 110. Chances R Jean Louise Finch, "Scout," LF, John Goossen
