CKC APPROVES NATIONAL MASTER HUNT TEST STAKE

September 2006 marked the beginning of a new era in Canadian Hunt Tests. At the request of the Retriever Council, the CKC Board of Directors approved the National Master Hunt Test (NMHT) stake to begin in 2007. This has been warmly welcomed by hunt test enthusiasts from across Canada and promises to take hunt tests to the same prestigious national level as the AKC Master National and the CKC National and National Amateur Retriever Championships. In addition, a new CKC title will be awarded to successful qualifiers – the National Master Hunter (NMH) title.

This event has been a long time coming. For the past two years, a dedicated group of hunt test enthusiasts in southern Ontario have been holding non-sanctioned Master Nationals. At the request of the CKC and the Retriever Council to prove that such an event was feasible, the Horseshoe Hunting Retriever Club hosted the first event in 2005 at Luther Marsh near Grand Valley, ON. Any doubts as to viability were put to rest as the event was a resounding success. In 2006, the South Western Ontario Retriever Training Club stepped forward and held the National Master Hunt Test stake at Hullett Marsh near Clinton, ON. Once again, contestants were treated to a top-notch national event with handlers coming from as far away as Saskatchewan, Tennessee and Washington State. The inaugural CKC licensed National Master Hunt Test, hosted by the Eastern Ontario Labrador Breeders Association, will be held September 16 to 21 in Brighton, ON. The event will move west in 2008 when the Saskatoon Retriever Club will be the host club.

The premise of the National Master Hunt Test stake, based loosely on the AKC model, provides handlers with Master Hunter dogs a chance to continue to train and compete in the hope of attaining the NMH title.Held over five days, the NMHT Stake is composed of five tests: Two series of multiple land marks

Although the three judges follow the CKC rulebook, the NMHT stake is more extensive than a weekend test with more realistic implementation of hunting scenarios and equipment. Dogs that achieve this title demonstrate that they are superbly trained hunting companions and are a worthy addition to the retriever gene pool.

In order to run the NMHT stake, a dog must have earned a CKC MH title and have qualified at two CKC Master Hunt tests in the 12 month period from the time of the last event. Grand Master Hunter dogs are automatically qualified. The NMHT will move about the country every year between four zones: East (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec); Central (Ontario); Prairies (Manitoba,Saskatchewan, Yukon/North West Territories); and West (Alberta, British Columbia). The three judges will be selected from the zones not hosting the event by the member clubs from all 4 zones.

In order to administer this event, a new club has been formed - the Canadian Master National Retriever Club (CNMRC). All CKC clubs that hold licensed Hunt Tests are eligible to belong to this club for an annual fee of $50.00. Member clubs will be the backbone of the national club and will have a direct say in all matters through elected representation. Regional Directors will be elected to represent the four zones (two from each zone) and the Executive of the CMNRC will be elected from these eight Regional Directors. In addition to electing Regional Directors, member clubs will be eligible to nominate judges for the NMHT stake as well as being entitled to host the event. For complete details of the administration/government of the Canadian Master National Retriever Club please visit our web site www.canadianmasternational.ca