After approximately three weeks of hot, dry weather the caravan left headquarters under threatening grey skies. The 2001 National Amateur was officially started with the throwing of ceremonial singles for two long-time members of the Saskatoon Retriever Club, Ed Adolf with his dog Aces Wildcard and George Whyte and his dog Raindancer’s Stormy Weather.
The first series was a land triple set up in a pasture a few kilometers North of the clubhouse. The first bird, a cock pheasant, was thrown at the middle gun station from left to right at a distance of 184 yards after which the gunners retired behind a bush. The left-hand bird, a mallard drake, was then thrown from left to right at 216 yards. Finally the go bird (mallard drake) on the right was thrown from left to right at 158 yards. The middle gun station was directly north of the running mat and there was a gentle north east breeze. The male and female test dogs, handled by Darrell Holowach and Al Dutcheshen, were run at 7:30 a.m. and then the judges called for the first dog.
In accordance with Murphy’s Law, a light rain began just as Annette Leptick was announcing the name of the first dog and handler. The rain increased in intensity and a break of approximately fifteen minutes was taken for the rains to subside after dog number 12 ran. The intensity of the rain varied tremendously as the remaining dogs ran the test but it did not seem to be a factor in the performance of the dogs. Several dogs had trouble with the retired middle bird as they were pushed to the left side of the gun by the wind, clumps of wolf willows on line to the bird and a very inviting slough shoreline. All forty seven running dogs had run the test by 1:30 p.m. The marshall delivered the callbacks shortly thereafter and announced that the second series would be a cross-wind land blind with a poison bird to be run between the marks of the first series. The dogs called back to the second series were : 1-17, 19, 21-24, 27, 28, 30-34 and 37-50.
The unsettled weather continued as the second series was being set up and proved to be troublesome for the rest of the day. Over the next four hours the test was interrupted several times for heavy rains, lightning and a funnel cloud which formed approximately 3-5 kilometers to the north east of the test site. With no sign of a break in the weather the judges decided to scrap the test and begin a new land blind, at 7:30 on Tuesday morning, starting with dog 31.
Judges (L to R) Orley Hamilton, Ray Koskinen and Peter Martin
