|
MNRC Sunday, September 17th |
| |
| |
| This
morning started off at 6 AM for most of us as we
gathered at the Wawasee school for the opening ceremonies.
Unfortunately, the weather prevented the parachute
jumper from participating in the ceremonies due
to wind conditions. After being welcomed to
the area and the 2000, all the flags were presented
after Daphne Black said a few words and a prayer
for safety and remembrance. |
| |
| The
crews left first to start setting up with the judges
and now we were well under way. On both tests
the first dog ran at approximately 10 AM.
The test dogs preformed admirably and presented
the handlers with ideas and thoughts of how to run
their own dogs for each test. By now the temperature
is about 60 degrees with crystal clear blue skies
and a breeze coming out of the northeast to east
at about 5 to 10 mph. Overall it was a beautiful
day to run dogs. By noon, the temperature
rose to 77 degrees with a slight breeze and a bit
of humidity. The warmest that it got was about
4PM when the temp hit 81. |
| |
| Since
I realize that the internet surfers want new information
each day, I’ve decided that today’s report will
be on Group A while tomorrow I will give you B’s
report and if there is any changes I’ll report that
too. Right now it looks like A will be switching
to another test possibly at noon while B should
move a little later in the afternoon. Group
A ran dogs 1 through 82 and B ran 1 through 62.
I will try to get back to the hotel to be able to
post the callbacks from both tests. |
| |
| One
other small mention that I forgot yesterday.
Next year’s MN will be held in Shawnee, Oklahoma.
This year at the meeting the board has chosen to
hold the 2002 MNRC in Bend, Oregon with Salem Retriever
Trial Club as the host club. We all hope to
see as many of you as possible at both events. |
| |
Scenario
for Group A on Test 1—Land
On such a beautiful day, you and several hunting
buddies decide to go on a pheasant hunt. They
just happen to beat you into the field and are already
set up. As you come up to this field from
a slight ridge, your hunting partner who is behind
a very large bush flushes one out to the left of
the bush. He shoots and drops it onto the
slight rise in the middle of this valley.
But immediately the third member of your hunting
party shoots one that lands at the base of some
small scraggly bushes next to an old dead log.
But don’t go yet because some stranger has wandered
into your hunting party’s area from yet more bushes
on you close right side and he’s got one down there.
Now your trusty and loving companion can do his
job. On the way back from retrieving his first
bird, two more hunters yell and shoot one, which
lands to your left out in this bowl shaped area
in the grass. Since you are such a good guy,
you let your dog retrieve their bird, even though
in your head you are really wondering why on this
earth would a person hunt pheasants without a dog.
Now you can pick up the other two birds, which of
course your dog does because he’s a world-class
marker and has no problems with “the little mouse
falling off the wheel”. Now you might think
that you are done and it’s time to move to a less
“hunter populated” field to have more fun.
Wrong!! All your hunting partners want to
do is to shoot more birds for this new guy that
just came over the same ridge as you did.
He evidentially forgot shells for his gun too.
But they nevertheless want you and your dog to wait
“just until we shoot 1 more time.” |
| |
| Pitfalls—When
all the handlers went to the line for the first
time to watch the test dogs, it truly looked for
all intent to be a straightforward walk up triple
with a diversion and an honor. Given the terrain
where the pheasants land and the fact that the wind
is swirling in the area of the flyer, this straightforward
test just became pretty “meaty”. Quite a few
dogs have double handled. One place that seems
to be a problem is the second bird down. If
the dog veers to the left which is how the natural
terrain goes, he will pass to the left of the dead
log and immediately is into the open field behind
the gunners. With the wind and the crazy way
it swirls there, some dog catch crate scent and
do not want to come back out. There aren’t
any tricks to this test, nor is it a breaking test.
It is plain and simply a marking and memory exercise.
|
| |
| As
far as I saw and heard, slightly over a handful
of dogs did the test clean without having to handle.
|
| |
| Needless
to say, all of us were excited to get this event
underway and have enjoyed ourselves immensely today.
Thanks go out to all the workers for a job well
done!! |
| |
| Terry
|
| |
|
|
| |
