TEST 1 LAND TRIPLE:
A beautiful, sunny morning greeted competitors as they walked the short distance from the Clubhouse to the site of the first test in the walking caravan led by marshall Doug Hildebrand. The temperature was a cool 11C (52F), but promised to warm up quickly. The judges set up a wide-open stand-out triple with use of the varied terrain on each bird. The test was run facing North and the wind was light from the SouthWest as the test began.
The No. 1 (left) bird, 314 yards from the line, was a cock pheasant thrown from right to left with the line to the bird through a wide finger of heavy grasses approximately 200 yards from the line. The No. 2 (center) bird was a hen mallard thrown with a large arc from left to right 162 yards from line, towards a small running mound. The dogs had to enter heavy grass cover to get to this bird, but the cover was fairly light where the bird actually fell. The No.3 (right) bird (240 yards) was a drake mallard thrown from left to right just at the end of a large pond (no splash). The line to the bird was through swimming water, which started approximately 150 yards from the running line. There was a dirt road paralleling the curved left edge of the water - this was clearly the quickest way to get to the gunner and the bird but was decidedly not the line. The dogs, handlers and judges were on top of a large running mound with an outstanding view of the test and the impressive Saskatoon Retriever Club grounds.
The female test dog, Fifth Avenue’s Rockin’ Reba, handled by Marlene Benn did a very good job on the test. The male test dog, BlueGoose’s Just Call Me Mister handed by Rob McDougald also did a good job but fell victim to the enticement of the road on the way to the right gun. Forty two dogs went into the first test, with dog 13 scratched for health reasons The first test dog ran at 7:40 am and the first running dog was running by 8:15am.
Many dogs took either the road or the quick edge-of-the-pond route to the right bird, whether they took it as the go-bird or took it later (selecting the short center bird first). They generally found this bird quickly, without much hunting. The short center bird also did not create much difficulty for most of the dogs. The long left-hand bird proved more difficult to find. Many dogs who took the cover on the way to the bird seemed to lose their bearings and came out on the wrong side of the gunner and had big hunts on that side. The wind also shifted to a predominantly west wind with strong gusts, making it difficult to scent the bird when the dog was hunting in the area of the gun. That, combined with this being a pheasant after the dog had picked up two ducks made this mark challenging for many dogs. As the wind gusted from the West, at least two dogs scented the short middle bird on the way to the long go bird, causing them to get it first and making it difficult for the handlers to get a good line to the right hand bird. Two dogs were handled on this test. The test took approximately 6 to 8 minutes per dog, and the last dog completed the test just after 2pm, when the temperature had risen to 27 degrees C (81F). Dog 8 was not called back for the second test.
TEST 2: LAND BLIND
The test started just after 2:30 pm. The running line was on the left slope of the same mound from which the marks had been run - about 10 feet left of the line for the marks, on a downhill slope. Handlers were told they could move to the side after launching their dog but not forward. The blind was 266 yards long, with the line between the center and right marks from the morning. A critical obstacle on the line was a finger of tall grass cover - the correct line to the blind cut about 12 feet of the right edge of this cover and then carried on to cross the road. The wind was light to moderate with some extreme gusts, and remained predominantly from the SouthWest and South until near the end of the test when it was SouthEast. The blind was planted for all dogs by Assistant Marshall/Gun Captain John McDonald and his son Brayden, racing to plant the blind on a 4-wheeler.
The test dogs showed some of the hazards of the blind, with one missing the line of cover and the other having difficulty on the back end. As dogs reached the end of the blind, especially if they were just right of the line, the grass cover made it difficult to see some of the dogs. Also many dogs seemed to have some difficulty seeing their handlers from the back end of the blind - perhaps because they were looking back into a lacework of poplar trees and sky. There were a few excellent jobs, and many good jobs with a little trouble in the beginning or the back end. The last dog finished running at 5pm and callbacks were posted by 5:30 pm. Dog 17 was not called back to the 3 rd test, so there will be 40 dogs running the 3 rd test - a water triple. The mechanics went very well at the trial today and all the Club Field Crew are to be commended for their organization and their industry- they will sleep well tonight. This evening the competitors and workers will enjoy a shishkebob BBQ hosted by Weyerhaeuser, with meat donated by Drake Meats and the major Club Workers will be given packages and dog food by Purina. The bar is open and it looks like it will be a fun evening. Dog 20 will be the first competing dog to run Test 3
