Tuesday's weather was
a duplicate of Monday. It was cloudy in the 30's with
sun (and warmth) arriving by mid morning. The third was
a land water quad set up around the left side of lake
35.
The line was
located behind a winding gravel road and a good distance
from the water. In front of the , the land dipped
down to the shoreline edged by sparse, varied brown
cover. To the left was a bay and curving shore culminating
in a point protruding into the water from the left.
A small, tree/brush covered island lay to the right.
Between it and the point was a channel of lunging water.
Deep of the site lay a large expanse of big water.
One set of guns was positioned
on the far left, on top a fairly steep ridge with trees
and brush covering the slope beneath. They threw a dead
rooster to the right where it fell in grassy cover near
or between the trees near the base of the ridge about
100 ids. out. A flyer station was positioned on the
far right, in short grassy cover. The shot a flying
drake to the right landing in the grass 90 yards away.
Between these two marks there were two other sets of
guns. One was on the island a short distance behind
and tight to the flyer guns. They threw a dead duck
to the left where is landed in front of a small reddish
oak tree near the left shore 150 yards from line. A
fourth group stood on the far point between the island
mark and the left ridge guns. They threw a dead duck
across the channel to the right where it landed in the
island shore 180 yds away. The order was: left, middle
right, middle, left, and flyer last. As the dog was
sent for the flyer, the other three gunners retired
to blinds very close to them. Just beyond the road and
on line to the 3 right marks lay a pile of big branches
that could deflect dogs from a line.
It took a bit of time to organize
the quad, so the first test team Joanne and Ryan
came to line at 7:05. They did an admirable job and
were followed by Marty who needed a handle to
recover one bird.
After, judges moved the live guns farther to the left,
tightening the line to the right middle mark. At 7:26
the first running dog, #69 appeared on line.
The close flyer was exciting and
could dim memory of the other three Some dogs did run
past it and a few hunted the water with one handle up
to noon. Most handlers took the far left pheasant second.
It's placement on a side hill combined with the fact
it was a pheasant, caused some "shopping" hunts. The
last two converging marks caused the most difficulty.
Many sent for the short, middle right bird third, only
to have dogs slide down the left shore and hunt the
far point. Some also sent for that bird second possibly
hoping to leave an "alley" between it an the right middle
mark to avoid a switch on these two relatively close
marks. In either instance, dogs would go to the left
point, hunt it and eventually lunge across the channel
to where the duck lay. Others either hunted the water
and would not come back while others viewed the channel
'"picture' and drove between the 2 shorelines on their
way to the distant big water shore. A number of handles
occurred on that mark.
The short right middle bird also
proved dangerous. A few seemed to think they had
recovered that bird and lined into the water to the
right of the island. Very few, if any, recovered from
that position and had to be handled. Others would channel
down the left side of the island. A few recovered, but
some handled. The series took between 9-10 minutes per
dog and there was some doubt if it could be finished
by night fall.
Changing light and switching winds
affected the test to some degree, but the results remained
fairly constant. By 4:55 p.m., lengthening shadows and
waning light began to obscure the marks. After dog 60,
the test was suspended until Wednesday morning. 4 dogs
remained to run the third. No partial call backs were
given and the test will resume with a test dog at 6:45,
running dog #61, no earlier than 7 a.m.
The fourth test was rumored to be
a land quad in a different area after the third was
completed.
Eukanuba Dog food, Roy Pelton rep,
hosted an wonderful dinner at a fine facility right
on the way home from Weldon Spring. Weary participants
welcomed the casual dining experience. The food, conversation
, and company was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Kudos to
Eukanuba and all involved.
