Reported By Dennis Voigt assisted by Rosalind Pentecost and Diana Beatty

Pre-trial Activities

The location of the 2000 Canadian National Amateur was the Luther Marsh Wildlife Management Area west of Orangeville, in the pleasant pastoral countryside of southern Ontario. During the week before the ground crew had a great deal of work to prepare the sites. Ontario had had record rainfall during June and the cover had grown high and thick. Fields were still wet and cutting tractors were buried on several occasions. The set-up crews and judges worked hard all week to get enough tests and alternates.

Judges for this years National were Jim Lloyd from British Columbia (Western zone), Ron MacKenzie from Manitoba (Central Zone) and Howard Yee from northern Ontario (Eastern Zone). The field Trial Chairman Steve Smith had put together an experienced field crew with Ron Craig as Head Marshall, Orley Hamilton as assistant Marshall and Bill Cummings as Grounds Chairman. A large crew of club workers and several set-up dogs helped them. Only a few training groups showed up early in the week but by Saturday, July 8 everybody had arrived and was preparing for the Banquet Sunday night.

A National Retriever Club of Canada directors meeting was held at noon on Sunday chaired by President Earla Lardner and assisted by National Field Trial Secretary Marg Murray. It was determined that the 2001 National Amateur will be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from July 16-21. The judges will be announced later this week.

The Banquet was an excellent event started with a Scottish Highland piper leading in the head table. Louise and Lorne Langevin played a major role in social activity organization. Field Trial Chairman Steve Smith MC'ed the evening which featured various raffles including a Tritronics Pro 500 collar, a Zinger Winger, a host of smaller items as well as a Silent Auction. The highlight was the Calcutta in which lively bidding ensued under the auctioning skills of professional trainer Dave Thompson. A great time was had by all on the eve before the serious work began...

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Tests 1 and Two - Triple and a Blind

Monday, July 10 - Day 1

Day 1 dawned with perfect weather for a summer National-clear skies and 60 degrees. The opening test was set-up right behind the headquarters on the East Side of Luther Marsh. The scheduled 10 am start was most welcome to contestants and workers who had partied late last night at the Banquet (see Pre-trial activities). The first set-up was a combined first and second series and involved a land triple and a land blind. The test faced southeast and the judges got their sought after wind form the north-west. The center bird at 190 yards was thrown angled back to the right. The second bird was on the right at 110 yards and thrown left converging to the center bird.. The last bird down was on the left at 130 yards and thrown to the right. All 3 marks were mallard ducks. After picking up the 3 marks, dog and handler retired behind a holding blind while the land blind was planted. A hen pheasant was planted 250 yards from line and deep and to the left of the center bird.  The line to all four birds was from a mat perched on an embankment and a narrow piece of water at it's base had to be crossed for each bird. This put the gunners out of sight shortly after launching and dogs had to reorient after crossing the water.

At 9:45 Honorary test dog, FTCH AFTCH Pilkington's Teddy Bear, was run by Bill Cummings on a duck thrown by a Zinger-Winger supplied by manufacturer Rob Sampson.. The aging Teddy well known for his online antics did creep but didn't break. At 10:00am, the first official test dog ran, a female Flat-coat Retriever, Amani Wynfield Ace the Hole, handled by Heather Stewart. She had excellent marks and a 3 whistle land blind. The second test dog, a male black labrador, Candlewood's Non Stop Go, handled by Dave Broomhead, also had very good marks. On the land blind he demonstrated the pitfalls that many handlers would soon encounter. Getting to the blind appeared to be relatively routine for many dogs but judging the depth and handling at the end was difficult for handlers. The test dog was stopped short and then boxed around the blind before getting it.

The first dog, #1 FTCH Gahonk's Tizzy, owned and handled by Cathy Thompson started at 10:20 am. The test proceeded very smoothly all day with the wind staying quite consistent, as scattered clouds became more prevalent. The temperature climbed to the mid 70's by the afternoon. Overall the marks were done quite well with a few nervously watched hunts on the wrong-side on the center bird. The danger here was getting trapped in the drag-back from the land-blind. Several dogs hooked this gun but soon located the bird. Throughout the day the blind continued to challenge the handlers. Dogs that went a few yards deep often disappeared or were hard to see when stopped. Many dogs had multiple whistles in the vicinity of the blind. Handlers hoped that the judges would take into account the difficulty in seeing dogs and judging depth.

The test ended at 7:12.
Four dogs were dropped after the second series leaving 51 to start the 3rd.
Three of the dropped dogs were picked up and the fourth broke.
The dropped dogs were #14, #38, # 48, # 56.
Tomorrow, the test dog will be at 7:40 and the first dog at 8:00am. # 12
starts.The planned test is a water blind with a poison bird.

The Judges (L to R) Jim Lloyd, Ron MacKenzie and HowardYee

The Handlers

The Gallery