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Test 1 -Land Triple
Overnight a fast moving cool front brought welcome relief from hot, humid weather the previous few days. It was in the 50's with a good breeze as the 2002 National Amateur Championship began. Test dogs ran at shortly after 7:30 with the first dog on line at 8 a.m. Test dog was Independent St. Patrick with Al Petkau handling while the bitch was Keith Merlin's Jim's Lassy Annie of Stoneoak. Both did well.
The first series was a stand up land triple in a grassy field with a few bushes scattered about set of guns stood deep to the left. They threw a dead drake slightly back to the right. It fell in meadow grass about 177 yards away. To the right and closer to line a second set was positioned. They threw a dead drake to the right where it fell grassy cover 131 yards deep. The closest gun was on the right and they a dead drake to the left about 102 yards away. The order was: middle, left and right. None of the stations retired and it took about 5-6 minutes per dog.
Most dogs did well on the test with a few looping the middle guns. Since it and the right mark converged, some may have overcompensated for the line to the right one while others swung off the throw and did not see it all the way down.
A large gallery thoroughly enjoyed the work and applauded those with good jobs.
By 12:30 or so, the marks were completed and Judges produced callbacks. They became instantly popular when it was announced all were back for the second, a single land blind in the same field.
Test 2 - Land Blind
The blind was quickly organized and within the hour was ready to run. The mat had been moved off the first series berm, to the left on flat ground. The line to the blind, a dead cock pheasant was to the right of the previous left mark. About 1/8th of the way out, there was a large rock surrounded by weeds and thistles. The line to the blind was directly over it. Since it was difficult to see beyond the rock from the flat line, handlers were allowed to move laterally to handle. By 1:30 the test dogs demonstrated the blind and competitors quickly fell into line. Dog #11 initiated the series. It took only about a minute or two per dog and was completed by 3:30. Once again, all dogs were called back and happy handlers headed back to town to celebrate their good fortune. The third and fourth series were rumored to be a water triple and water blind, but which would be run first was uncertain. Later it was announced that dog #21 would lead off water marks Tues.a.m.
