1998 MASTER NATIONAL HUNTING TEST
Day Three: Tuesday, September 15, 1998
Fog in the morning and warm, sunny afternoons are prevailing at this year's Master National. Tuesday morning was foggier and chillier than previous mornings, and the low visibility delayed the start of the test until about 8:45. The atmosphere at this test is relaxed and friendly, a tone set by the judges. Handlers appear to be having a good time. The test is also very well organized - equipment and workers are ready to go on time, worker shift changes are happening on schedule, and aside from a very few minor glitches, the test is running very
smoothly. Credit for that goes to all the attendees, because everyone is contributing in some way.
Section A ran their series in a swampy area with bogs, lilly pads, snags, swamp grass - all-in-all the swimming was tough as the water was thick with obstacles. Plus, the water is surprisingly cold, as the ponds are spring-fed. The test was a water triple with an honor. Both
dead ducks were winger-thrown from the same station, which was on a boggy island. The first bird down was the center mark, thrown left-to-right and landing in a pocket of water behind an arm of the island, about 70 yards from the line. The line to that bird was through some lilly pads and along the island shoreline. behind it. The second bird was thrown right-to-left and landed in the water behind the other end of the island, about 60 yards out. Last, the flyer was shot from near the line, landing in open water on the right 70 to 80 yards from the line. Dogs that had trouble with this either swam past the left mark and hunted the shore behind the fall, or cheated left on the center mark, getting out of the water and onto the island and hunting too far left.
Section A, Series Number 3
Drawing by Terry Elliott
Section A Callbacks: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 19,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39,
40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56,
57, 59, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 69, 70, 71, 73, 76, 77, 78,
81, 82, 84, 85, 88, 89
Total of 61 dogs called back.
Correction: Dog # 3 in Section A was erroneously omitted from yesterday's callbacks.
Section B's test was in Jiggs Pond, named for Bob Pepper's dog Jiggs who was the 1963 National Amateur Field Trial Champion. It's been such a dry summer in Seattle that the only water in Jiggs Pond is 2 small puddles. The area is now a 25 foot deep, 40 to 80 yard wide curving gully, with grassy slopes leading down to a dry mud bottom. There is mint growing on the pond bottom now, making scenting conditions more challenging for the dogs.
The test was a delayed triple - all 3 birds were winger-thrown dead pheasants. The handler sat on a hunting stool just at the edge of the pond bottom, and signaled the judges when ready. The first bird appeared close on the left, from behind a hill that's an island when there's water in the pond, landing in the open behind a large puddle 50 yards out. The second bird dropped to the right of the first and moderately tight, at 114 yards, also thrown from a hidden gun station and also in the open. The judges then released the dog. When the dog was about 20 yards from the line on the way to the long bird, a third bird appeared from up on the rim of the draw, landing in moderate grassy cover about halfway down the slope at about 50 yards from the line (closer from the dog's point of view!). The judges didn't put any restrictions on which bird the dog could go for at that point, it could take the diversion bird up on the hill or continue for the bird it was going for when it left the line. Also, the judges anticipated that well-trained hunting dogs might sit to the flush and shot when the last bird appeared, and wait for direction from the handler. Casting the dog in this situation would not be considered a handle, as it was not the result of poor marking or poor memory. Some dogs got into trouble because they didn't mark the delayed bird, and some others had trouble remembering the lefthand bird.
Section B, Series Number 3
Drawing by Terry Elliott
Section B Callbacks: 1, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,
20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29, 30, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 40, 41,
43, 44, 46, 48, 49, 52, 53, 55, 57, 58, 60, 61, 63, 65, 68,
69, 70, 73, 76, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 87, 90
Total of 56 dogs called back.
Wednesday A and B switch tests. Then on Thursday both sections come
together and run the rest of the tests as one group. Reported by Bob Mearns
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