National Vizsla Association National Championship Events
-Andrew Campbell
Held between March 11-16th, the National Vizsla Association staged the 25th running of its National Championships and Derby Classic, the 19th consecutive at the Sportsmen’s Association grounds outside Grovespring, MO. It was fitting that after contributing significantly to the associated costs the NVA National Championship was the first championship to enjoy the newly expanded parking, corrals, and kennels a quarter-mile south of the clubhouse on Parks Road.
In a change from recent years, the NVA decided to use the conventional second course and channel up through the Clubhouse Loop before returning to the Twin Barns, forgoing the use of Hamburger Hill (behind the breakaway field) except under direst need. With foul weather cancelling several previous trials, the grounds were wet and the creeks flowing -- and the quality of the last winter’s repair work on the road bridges evident throughout the week. The National Amateur championship concluded shortly before the next band of heavy rain came in, prompting a day’s delay in starting the Derby Classic to allow the water flowing over Parks Road to subside.
The Association is deeply grateful to the corporate sponsors who make all of its championships possible, namely Purina, Garmin, Dogs Unlimited, and The Saddle Guy. It should also be noted that with a number of volunteers simply unable to attend for one reason or another, this year’s National events were staffed and managed by a skeleton crew. The bulk of the event’s organization fell to past and present NVA presidents, Justin Hess and Jarrett Bell, while the quality of the help given -- driving the dog wagon, bird planting, organizing hospitality, and coordinating the various raffles -- ensured that this year’s National events ran particularly smoothly and amicably.
National Amateur Championship
NATIONAL AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Winner - Kick Em Up Kimber "Kimber
H - Jarrett Bell O - Jarrett and Allison Bell
Scouted - Allison Bell
Runner Up - Ramblin Rivers Rolling Stone " Stone"
H - Bill Stapleton O - Bill Stapleton
Scouted - Laura Miller.
Judges: Jeff Wallace and John Hott.
The judges recruited for this year’s Amateur championship are both well-regarded and experienced at the national championship level. Jeff Wallace, from Knoxville, IA, is well regarded as a breeder of and competitor with German Shorthaired Pointers under his kennel name, Cajun Kennels; he last judged at Grovespring in December 2018 for the National Bird Hunters Association National Amateur Championship. His judging partner, John Hott, from Hoopestown, IL, has judged numerous national championships and had just come over from judging the national championship for the National Weimaraner Association out at Camp Robinson in Nebraska. The Association is deeply grateful for their experience and diligence in the saddle.
Out of a slightly smaller-than-usual field of 23 starters, the judges named Kick Em Up Kimber, owned by Jarrett and Allison Bell, bred by Ron Chenoweth, and handled by Jarrett as this year’s National Amateur Champion. A multiple national champion, she first placed as runner-up in the open championship in 2013 and won that championship in 2016; on the amateur side, she previously won in 2017 and took runner-up last year. While the winner was no stranger to the podium, taking runner-up was the first major placement for Ramblin Rivers Rolling Stone, bred, owned, and handled by Bill Stapleton. Temperatures were ideal for running dogs, hovering predominantly as they did in the 40s for the duration of the stake, with light breezes for the first day that rose (along with the humidity) throughout the second day.
The Winners:
With the use of a fixed site for its National championships such as the NVA has done, one occasionally has the sensation that dogs are running pre-programmed routes. While the use of a continuous course can offset some of the predictability for dogs drawn for the later courses, a ‘new’ loop in those courses provides both additional challenge and challenge for its competitors. And Kimber (Bell) took on the challenge and reaped the benefit. She ran in the third brace with Cinder (Stapleton), drawing a mother against one of her daughters. With the previous brace picking up early, the dogs would be turned loose from the Twin Barns, Kimber preferring the drainage below the stock pond to go forward, Cinder the grassy shoulder on the right. Coming through into the Bull Pasture, Kimber would take the high side of the shoulder while Cinder would take a deep swing on the lower side of the pasture past the little red shed. Turning up into the lower end of the second prominent draw, a bird would flush from the dry leaves ahead of her, the dog only indirectly responsible for the interruption. Nevertheless, Cinder would have clear sight of the bird in flight and fail to stop in sufficiently mannerly fashion ending her bid at 0:09. For her part, Kimber would swing purposefully through the next two larger fields, eschewing the otherwise shorn, but easy path and taking on the obvious cover around their respective perimeters. This would serve her well as she entered the ‘new’ loop behind the newly renovated overflow parking area and clubhouse. While the grassy cover on these tops was relatively dense and scrubby, Kimber would identify and tackle the outside edge of both sections of the Club House loop, the first dividend paying off at 0:26 on the down slope on the southern side, a pair of birds flushed out from beneath a cluster of oaks and young cedars. Up into the Club House loop proper, Kimber would swing wide out on the right side, coming to a stop at 0:33, a single flushed out from beneath a scrubby bush. Swinging wide once more along the outside fenceline, she would stop once more at 0:39 on the downslope roughly 100 yards before the descent back into the main valley below the Twin Barns, a pair successfully flushed ahead of her. Not surprisingly, she would downshift slightly after the steep climb back up to the Barns, but would emerge from the Valley of Death chute seemingly rejuvenated taking the long, left field edge to the creek crossing and through into the Double Gates field. Across the road, Kimber would disappear over the rise as time would expire, the judges greeted with the sight of her pointed on the lower treeline as they crested out, a pair of birds flushed out from the mannerly dog -- no doubt left of her willingness, ability, and drive to search for game. In the judges’ opinion, it was her final half hour that truly distinguished her performance.
Stone (Stapleton) would run in the fourth brace, drawn on the first course with Rossi (Bell). Both dogs would break away hard down the right edge, working independently through the series of small fields past the Dead Tree cut and down through the first creek crossing -- the water level having begun to drop appreciably even since the first brace of the morning. The handlers would call point at 0:12, the dogs having punched along the obvious southerly treeline and across to the far creekside, where they would both be found standing. A single would be flushed out from the base of an adolescent cedar tree, both handlers firing, Stone rooted for the low, but hard-flying bird. He would then power through the next series of smaller fields and through the road crossing, digging in to the long creekside edge to the right. He would punch through the crossing strip, out along the long edge, and then punch up into the final apron above the third creek crossing, nonetheless acutely aware of where his handler was despite the range. Taking the upper edge of the Island Field smoothly down through to the rocky step and then down the lower right edge of the field below Horsekiller Hill, Stone would come to a stop at 0:36 in the pocket before the climb, looking out towards the creekside in his taut, elongated stance. The bird’s flight would prompt a half-step, the flaw contributing to the separation between winner and runner-up. Nevertheless, once up above Horsekiller Hill, Stone would cruise down the long, left treeline and come to a stop at 0:40 midway down, the dog staunch through the spontaneous flush of the bird at the handler’s dismount. Down off Apple Tree Hill, Stone would handle kindly through the patchwork of small fields in the Little Vine Loop, climbing the next hill and taking the long outside edge below the deerstand to come forward and around the turn to the east. Three-quarters of the way down that long line, he would come to his final stop at 0:54, the birds flushing in animated fashion at the handler’s approach. Time would be called as he moved to exit the field below this plateau, Stone proving his stamina, commitment, and ability to find birds.
The Running:
The inaugural brace of the championship saw Smudge (Bell) brought to the line with Guy (Chenoweth) -- the temperatures in the mid-40s and not to rise more than ten degrees for the remainder of the day. Both dogs would power through the first section of corn fields with ease, the grounds in good shape despite all the rain that had fallen and was flowing through the creek crossings. Smudge would pass through the first creek crossing and out to the far edge of the field -- and come to a stop at 0:13 some 75yds before the corner, a single bird flushed some 10yds ahead of her. Into the field before the road crossing, Guy had already been absent for some time, Smudge working wide around the stock pond, making good use of the obvious edge objectives. Across the road, she would work into the top corner past the Davis cemetery and then come to a stop at the sorghum strip at 0:22. Two relocations would move the dog perhaps 5ft, but with a hop at its flight, a single bird would ultimately be flushed from the thicket. Sent out on the long, creekside edge, she would come to a stop once more roughly two-thirds of the way around it at 0:27, having turned back up into the northwesterly breeze, the birds readily produced ahead of her. Through the Island Field and up over the step, Smudge would take the long, lower edge out towards the pocket down below -- while, finally acknowledging defeat, Chenoweth would ask for his tracker at 0:37. Roughly three-quarters of the way down the lower creekside edge, Smudge would make game and come to a stop at 0:40, although this would prove non-productive. She would lose a gear coming up over Horsekiller Hill, but manage to maintain her pace up over Apple Tree Hill, and around the patchwork of fields of the Little Vine Loop. She would finish up respectably in the Back Gates field, establishing the bar to be cleared.
The second brace featured Reve (Gingrich) and Aarya (Concilio) turned loose up the steep hill from the Back Gates -- Aarya, in particular, swinging wide out on the left side and up around the fenceline below the deerstand to go forward. Down off the plateau, both dogs would swing down into the patchwork of fields to the west, matching each other for drive down the creekside edge of the Halfmoon Field. They would punch out into the Sycamore Bottom and out towards the old sycamore and come to a stop at 0:19, Reve out on the far side, Aarya to the south, looking directly up into the northeasterly wind but, as the handler would decide, backing with all the style one could hope for. Birds would be kicked out from the scrub at the base of the big tree and all would be in order. Through the stream crossing, and out into the next big field, both dogs would make the climb smoothly, Reve opting for the rolling terrain up top on the right, Aarya the lower shoulder on the left. Aarya would come to a stop midway down at 0:32, the handler asking the judges if they had seen birds fly (to which the answer was ‘no’). The handler would elect to flush but after no success, would take the dog on without a relocation. Both dogs would push out towards the big brush piles to the left and come up the fenceline towards the Twin Barns -- where they would would come to a stop together on that lower, left edge at 0:42, Aarya again looking directly up into the wind. Both handlers would elect to flush, but neither could produce a bird -- and rather than try a relocation, both would elect to ends their charges’ bids.
The third brace featured Kimber (Bell) and Cinder (Stapleton) and is already covered in the placements.
The fourth brace featured Rossi (Bell) and Stone (Stapleton) and is already covered in the placements.
The fifth brace drew Ember (Hess) head-to-head with Wrigs (Anderson). Starting at the base of the hill’s exit, both dogs would break out back into the Little Vine Loop. Coming into the field below Apple Tree Hill, Wrigs would tackle the right edge at speed disappearing out of view along the woods edge. In the meantime, Ember would come to a stop midway through the Halfmoon Field at 0:11, but all flushing efforts would prove fruitless and the dog taken on. Into the Sycamore Bottom, she would climb high on the right shoulder and go forward along the long edge. Nevertheless, with Anderson admitting defeat and asking for his tracker at 0:21, Hess would also pick up his dog feeling she was not performing as hoped.
The sixth brace brought Cal (Chadwell) to the line with Imre (Anderson). Turned loose just before the Hill Climb, both dogs would move up the left side of the slope towards the Twin Barns -- with only a brief moment of confusion with Imre stopping for a sufficiently stylish bathroom break that the handler called point -- both dogs would make it over the crown of the hill and into the stock pond field. Dropping down to the left side, Cal would come to a stop on a cover strip at 0:16 turned back into the northeasterly breeze, and looking upslope into sparse, scrubby grass, a pair of birds flushed ahead of her -- his slightly perplexed disposition no doubt prompted by the half-dozen or so that got up out of the draw on her other side when her handler collared her up to take her on. Shortly after being turned loose again, the dog would stop near the base of the stock pond draw at 0:18, another pair of birds prompted into the air, a slight step from the dog at their flight. Through the Bull Pasture and into the next large field, Cal would break down the right side along the line of young fir trees and out towards the two sets of dead trees. While not necessarily seen by the judges, Chadwell then saw something that displeased him and elected to pick up his dog at 0:25. In the meantime, Imre had been working ahead of his handler in a respectable fashion, still snappy in his gait, but after clearing the first third of the Club House Loop, Anderson would elect to pick up his dog at the chute at 0:35.
The seventh brace drew Mia (Chadwell) with BamBam (Gingrich), the rain beginning to spritz for the first brace of the second day. Both dogs would move purposefully through the dead tree cut and out into the pair of small fields before the first creek crossing. Approaching the road crossing, BamBam would swing high up around the little stock pond and come down the fenceline, Mia punching across the road and out to the corner of the Davis Bottom directly ahead of her -- where she would come to a stop at 0:19. Stylish on her find, she would nonetheless be a little loose-footed at the flush of the birds -- but otherwise all in order to be sent through the cut and out into the main part of the Bottom field. She would then punch out along the far creekside, out beyond where the fenceline transects the Bottom midway. Meanwhile BamBam had come through the cut, gone out on the left side of the Bottom field, then come up that transecting line of scrubby trees and come to a stop at 0:26 beneath a young juniper near the middle cut. Nevertheless, not satisfied with his dog’s footwork, Gingrich elected to pick up after the flush. Mia, in the meantime, had been found three-quarters of the way down the creekside edge at 0:28, standing in the cover crop strip looking out to the creekside -- the birds flushed out over the flowing creek. She would move smoothly through the Island Field and up over the rocky ledge and down the long, right edge in the field below Horsekiller Hill. Up through the climb and into Apple Tree Hill, she would move purposefully out on the far fence line below the deerstand -- and then cross the shoulder to the island of trees near its center. Curled back into what seemed to be a southwesterly wind, she would stop at 0:48 about 5yds off the island’s edge -- the only evidence sadly to be found, sadly, a clump of feathers near its perimeter. Down into the Little Vine Loop, Mia would work her way through the series of smaller fields in snappy fashion, time called in the final Back Gates field.
The eighth brace featured Kitty (Stokes) with Louie (Elliott), turned loose at the base of the hill and fired out to the north. Louie would take a little while to get his bearings at first before making the turn to the east; Kitty would swing wide through the turn under the deerstand. Both dogs would work hard through the patchwork of fields -- Kitty taking the long outside edge of the Halfmoon, for example -- and by the time the handlers had reached Old Sycamore Bottom, Louie had been absent for several minutes. He would show up midway through the second field and go out to the far corner where he would get a little hung up before coming around for the turn up the hill to the Twin Barns. Kitty, in the meantime, had crossed over to the left side of the field and punched into the Death Valley chute before climbing up the wooded spur to rejoin her handler on the ridge. Nevertheless, while both dogs remained energetic and enthusiastic, both seemed to struggle to punch out and stay forward -- and both handlers elected to pick up at 0:39 at the Twin Barns.
The ninth brace paired Sawney (Miller) with Mara (Concilio) at the beginning of the stock pond field. Both dogs would break away hard into the wind and down the right shoulder before crossing to the left side of the course above the stock pond. Past the Blue House, Mara would swing out to the right and take the upper slope through the clockwise turn north, Sawney dropping down to explore the descending fingers of the woody draws and subsequently coming to a stop at 0:07 at the lower end of the first. In his The Field Trial Primer (1934), Bill Brown asserted that field trialing represented “a means of enjoying the great out-of-door sport of bird hunting in the most aesthetic fashion.” What Brown was suggesting was that field trialing is a succession of beautiful pictures -- and to that end, one could not have witnessed a more striking picture than Sawney’s first find. Like a Ross Young painting with all its elements carefully composed, the rust-colored dog stood head high and taut against a backdrop of dun, yellow grass, looking up into the dark, sinewy arm of the draw, the sizeable covey of birds lifting off the grassy shoulder ahead of him in a steady wave as the handler approached her dog. Taken on, both dogs would swing around the climbing turn to the east -- but upon reaching the crest, Concilio would elect to pick up her dog at 0:13, feeling she was not showing as strong as she could. Sawney would move through the next pair of fields easily, although not with the same forward punch as he had initially shown, the wind now cold and sharp from the south. He would climb across the left face to climb up into the ‘new’ Club House Loop section and then hunt hard on the outside of the loop, before crossing to the left side of the course after the little pond. He would come to a stop at 0:34, looking out in a patch of young, straggly scrub oak, the wind coming across his nose -- although sadly, despite a lengthy relocation, the stand proved fruitless. He would be taken on, but picked up soon after at 0:41 in the gully below the climb to the Twin Barns.
With the early pick-ups in the previous braces, the tenth brace brought Sig (Hess) head-to-head with Ty (Chadwell) to be turned loose from the Twin Barns down the Valley of Death. While Ty would climb high on the ridge to the right, Sig would take a little time to find his angle of attack. Out into the Sycamore Bottom, Ty would be seen up high on the facing slope, standing off a lone tree at some distance at 0:08, a bird readily flushed out ahead of the stylish dog. Through the remainder of the big field and through the Double Gates, Sig would initially tackle the upper fenceline, Ty the long lower edge all the way to the hook below the Bramhall Cemetery. Both dogs would move smoothly through the next field to the creek crossing below the clubhouse, Sig moving well, but without the same degree of focus as his bracemate, Ty for his part somewhat intermittent in his application, at times moderate, at others the multiple National champion that he is. Up the half-mile steady climb of Hamburger Hill, both dogs labored up the rocky slope -- and at the climb’s climax, Hess would elect to pick up his dog at 0:33. Ty, too, after a spirited effort up the far edge of the hill was also looking tired, but after a dunk in the pond at the base of the climb, he would appear rejuvenated once more and cast out hard into the Breakaway Field. He would look powerful moving along the creekside edges out past the Dead Tree cut, then seemed to fade and lose that intensity between the two creek crossings, before accelerating once more in the patchwork of fields leading to the road crossing. Across the road, Ty would go out into the corner where Mia had had her find -- a pair of unidentifiable birds rising out of the stubble ahead of him -- before finishing his hour out on the creekside edge of the large, Davis Bottom field.
Due to bitches in season running together in the final brace, the eleventh brace saw Briar (Hess) running by himself. After a brief interlude to permit a judge to switch horses, he would be turned loose at the conventional breakaway on the first course. He would power through the first fields towards the creek crossing, then after crossing, climb out to the far treeline edge and take it for its duration before coming down the transverse line of trees to meet his handler for the second creek crossing. Apparently unphased by the lack of direct competition, Briar would power through the next smaller fields and across the road, taking the creekside edge all the way out along the Davis Bottom. He would come to a stop at 0:24, midway up the treeline in the second half of the big field -- a pair of birds ejected from the scrubby edge cover. Across the third crossing and into the Island Field, Briar would get a little hung up coming around the little island and, while moving nicely, come off the edge on the way down towards the rocky ledge at the field’s head. He would take the long creekside edge down into the pocket before Horsekiller Hill, the rain beginning to spit on the assembled throng -- and come to a stop at 0:40 in the corner where Stone had claimed his second find, the birds flushed out towards the creek. By the time the gallery had reached the crest of Apple Tree Hill, the rain had begun to fall consistently -- but Briar would move down the old fenceline on the left, coming to a stop at 0:46, the bird lifting wild immediately afterwards. Down into the Little Vine Loop, Briar would finish up his hour at the Back Gates still moving well, a solid performance that had come close to the winners -- but needing slightly more consistency in his application.
The final brace drew Swagger (Bell) with Shaka (Chadwell) at the base of the hill below the deerstand. Around the hilltop, both dogs would take a little time to get settled into the course, both dropping down into the patchwork of fields behind Apple Tree Hill. Into Sycamore Bottom, Shaka would at least go high up on the shoulder on the right -- although not as high nor as productively as Ty had two braces before. Swagger, in the meantime, had gone out on the left side of the field before crossing along the small creek line and coming to a stop at the far back corner of the field at 0:21. Birds would be successfully produced ahead of her, but both handlers knew what was already in the judges’ books and elected to end things at that point.
National Derby Classic
NATIONAL DERBY CLASSIC
Winner - BGKs Calamity Jane
H - Jarrett Bell O - Jarrett and Allison Bell
Scounted - Allison Bell
1st Runner Up - BGKs Franchi Upland
H - Jarrett Bell O - Jarrett and Allison Bell
Scouted - Allison Bell
2nd Runner Up CV Red Headed Flying Dutchman
H- Brian Gingrich O - Matt Roesner
Scouted - Bill Stapleton
Judges: Jeff Wallace and John Hott.
Both John Hott and Jeff Wallace would stay on to judge the Derby Classic. And from a moderate field of 14 starters, they would name BGK’s Calamity Jane, bred and owned by Jarrett and Allison Bell, and handled by Jarrett, as winner of the 2019 NVA National Derby Classic, and her littermate, BGK’s Franchi Upland, as runner-up; third place would go to CV’s Red Headed Flying Dutchman, owned by Matthew Roesner, bred by Vincent Tuttle, and handled by Brian Gingrich. Due to heavy rains the two days before, high water in the creeks, and sodden grounds, the Derby used an out-and-back course that began at the Double Gates, headed roughly south through Sycamore Bottom, then followed the patchwork of fields through to the Little Vine Loop and concluded at the Back Gates. So readers can orient themselves, I have assigned the following names to the larger fields in that patchwork: heading southeast from the Sycamore Bottom, the dogs encounter the Halfmoon (which carries them around to the south), the Descent Field (where we would descend off the plateau with the large deerstand at the end of the first one-hour course/beginning of the second), the Base Field (at the base of Apple Tree Hill), and then the Little Vine Loop. While the temperatures remained in the 40s, the dogs headed on the outbound course were faced with both a blessing and curse -- a consistent headwind that came in close to 20mph for the entire stake that sapped strength, encouraged some to quarter, but nonetheless enabled them to run into whatever scent was left after the wind had scoured the grounds.
The Winners:
Jane (Bell) would run in the third brace with Denali (Gingrich), both dogs requiring the first section of the field to acclimate to the headwind and the terrain. Through the small creek crossing Jane, at least, had settled into tackling the long right-hand edge then swinging across the treeline roughly parallel with the old sycamore. She would stop midway down it, standing beautifully for the minute or so her handler took to calmly ride towards her. He would get in front of her at 0:05, at which point she broke and assisted with producing the pair of birds in the thicket. In the meantime, Denali would establish a stylish point of his own at the island beneath the old sycamore tree at 0:06, taking a little effort to get gathered up again and out front. Into the Halfmoon, Jane would initially run the left, inside edge before being gathered up and sent out along the outside edge. Through into the Descent Field, she would swing up the curving edge on the left and come to a stop looking out into the creekbed, again standing nicely for her handler to approach at 0:13; while Denali would cruise past her and assist in the flushing of the bird. Into the Base Field, he would run through another pair of birds in the tall grass on its front corner. Jane in the meantime had swung out high and wide in the Base Field coming forward along the creek edge, stopping once more at 0:20, looking down into the draw -- another bird readily boosted into the air. Both dogs would finish up in the Back Gates field, Denali needing more focus to be truly considered despite his athleticism, Jane having demonstrated her clear potential despite the conditions as a future contender with her consistency, style, and bird-finding ability.
Franchi (Bell) would run with Dutch (Gingrich) in the fifth brace. Dutch would take the left edge up through the first creek crossing and out behind the sycamore tree, initially appearing to make game in the corner behind it. Franchi would emulate his littermate and take on the right edge, although with only briefest indication that birds had been in the arm where Jane had pointed an hour before -- but were no longer to be found. He would move forward smoothly into the Halfmoon Field, swinging wide on the long, right edge before coming to a stop midway down that outer edge at 0:10, at least long enough for point to be called and acknowledged by the judge. Into the Base Field, Dutch would swing up through the longer outer edge and down towards the cut before reversing course and delving into the upper, left corner overlooking the creek bed. He would come to a stop at 0:18, seen by the judge before producing the bird of his own volition. He would make game again midway down the outer edge of the Little Vine Loop field, coming to a stop beside a juniper -- although despite his and his handler’s efforts, no bird would be produced although a significant pile of feathers would be found at the tree’s base. He would get a little hung up in the creek bed before the final field, but would otherwise finish seemingly undiminished. Franchi, in the meantime, had stayed more consistently forward through the Base Field and the Little Vine Loop -- and while occasionally leaving a line in the face of a steady, blustery wind, she would accept her handler’s direction and move out on another. Coming into the Back Gates field, she too seemed otherwise fresh despite the conditions.
The Running:
The first brace of the Derby drew Sonny (Chenoweth) with Citori (Bell), both dogs breaking away hard down the long left edge of the big field. The contestants would have to cross what was now a flowing creek at the midpoint of the field and what was a significant headwind going into the back half of the Sycamore Bottom. Sonny would go wide around the shoulder into the turn to the Halfmoon, but then look a little scattered through this next field, Citori would take the long, outside edge to its conclusion in a nice, polished move. Continuing to try and show his Derby, Bell would send Citori to sweep around the long, outside edge of the Descent Field, and through into the Base Field, the dog keen to make the climb up to Apple Tree Hill. Sonny, in the meantime, was demonstrating plenty of drive, although less certain about how and where to apply it. Coming out of the Little Vine Loop, both dogs would drop into the creekside cover on the right at 0:23, and while unseen by the judges, they would encounter a bird and both handlers would fire. They would be gathered up and finish in the Back Gates field.
On the return trip, the second brace drew the same handlers albeit with Diva (Chenoweth) and Sako (Bell). Through the Little Vine Loop, both dogs would move nicely, but appear to have a hard time identifying the big outside edges -- getting no help from the wind hard on their backs. Into the Halfmoon, Sako would eventually locate the outside edge and swing forward around the field in a pretty display, Diva a little scattered in her enthusiasm and youth. Into the Sycamore Bottom, Sako would have bird contact at 0:15 at the base of the big tree and a shot fired. Booth dogs would then congregate to move down the right edge of the big field and take the creek crossing in the lower corner -- Sako then encouraged to continue using the lower, southern edge to finish the field and come up the fenceline towards the Double Gates. Sako would cross the road and drop down the obvious treeline towards the creek, but would be gathered up to rejoin her handler on the top side of the field to finish. Still moving enthusiastically, Diva, too, had taken some wrangling to get her finished up ahead of the judges.
The third brace featured Jane (Bell) and Denali (Gingrich) and is covered in the placements.
The fourth brace saw Savage (Bell) head-to-head with Toby (Gingrich) on the return course. Both would break away smartly, and into the Base Field, Toby would be eager to take the upper, outside arc of the field -- although his enthusiasm would carry him partway up the Apple Tree Hill path. Savage, for his part, was snappy but a little less focussed in his application through these early fields -- nonetheless, electing to try and jump (and then swim) the creek instead of doubling back to reunite with his handler at the Descent field. Into the Sycamore Bottom, Toby would swing out purposefully behind the old tree to go forward down the right edge, then come across the head of the field along the obvious objective of the creek draw -- at the conclusion of which, Gingrich would turn him back down that same edge to keep him from doubling back. Savage had initially started on the left side, but crossed over to the right, climbing the wooded slope above the sycamore tree and encountering a bird at 0:16. Across the road at the Double Gates, Gingrich would send the fast-moving Toby down towards the creek crossing to then turn him forward on the bottom side of the course. Savage had taken the treeline along the center of the course -- and would establish a brief point at 0:23 roughly midway down towards the small pond. Time would be called just beyond the small pond, Savage a little scattered in his application, Toby unable to connect with a bird.
The fifth brace featuring Franchi (Bell) and Dutch (Gingrich) is covered in the placements.
With Atticus (Concilio) a scratch, the sixth brace featured Rock (Gingrich). Turned loose, he would punch through the Little Vine Loop clearly using the downwind edge of one of the median coverstrips to go forward. He would get a little hung up in the flowing creek between the Base and Descent fields, but would move out fluidly on the right side through the Halfmoon. Out into the Sycamore Bottom, the dog would move out to the far side, climb onto the wooded sideslope and encounter a bird in a thicket at 0:14, a shot fired, but no definitive point seen by the judges. He would continue down the right edge and through the creek crossing in the corner, moving well but occasionally losing focus on the way out and through the Double Gates.
The seventh and final brace brought Shelby (Bacik) to the line with an in-season Nova (Gingrich). Through the creek crossing, Nova would head out on the right side, Shelby moving out smartly on the left -- and after some initial uncertainty, she would set up on point at 0:06 at the old sycamore tree, holding for her handler to ride up, dismount, and flush the bird from the scrub at its base. Readily gathered up, Shelby would move into the Halfmoon but insist on running the creekside edge forward -- while Nova would continue to move out nicely but in a less-focused fashion. Into the Descent field, Shelby would keep moving forward consistently in snappy fashion out on the left side, joined by Nova at the beginning of the Base field, with both dogs climbing up the left side. Nova would sadly drop off the line and reconnect with her handler while Shelby would finish the upper line and come to a stop once more at 0:19 in the back corner, standing once more for her handler to arrive and flush ahead of her. Gathered up, she would finish out the Little Vine Loop, still moving with plenty of purpose. Compared to her bracemate, she had moved with more obvious application -- and while her birdwork had been impressive, she had the occasional tendency to loop back that likely cost her with regard to the final placements.
National Open Championship
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP
Champion - CK Touchdown Guy "Guy"
H - Brian Gingrich
O - Ron Chenoweth / Jim Gingrich
Scouted - Bill Stapleton
Runner Up - BGK Gotta Briar in my Boot "Briar"
H - Justin Hess
O - Justin and Michelle Hess
Scouted - Allison Bell
Judges Doctor Ranken and Lou Qualtiere
The judges for this year’s edition of the Championship are no strangers to adjudicating at this level of competition. Dr. Bob Rankin from Edmund, OK has judged the AKC National Championships for German Shorthaired Pointers, Pointers, German Wirehaired Pointers, Weimaraners, and Irish Setters, and while Lou Qualtiere from Marshfield, MO is perhaps better known as an all-age pointer judge, he had nonetheless judged the Red Setter National Championship at Grovespring in 2018 and this same championship in 2016. The Association appreciates their insight and experience over the two days.
From a concentrated field of 22 starters, the judges pronounced CK Touchdown Guy, bred by Ron and Denise Chenoweth, owned by Jim Gingrich, Ron and Denise Chenoweth, and handled by Brian Gingrich as the 2019 National champion. As it was with Kimber in the National Amateur championship, this was a return to the podium for Guy having last claimed the title in 2014. As with the National Amateur championship, the runner-up position saw a newcomer come very close to the top spot -- Briar in My Boot, bred by Jarrett and Allison Bell, owned by Justin and Michelle Hess, and handled by Justin. Briar had already distinguished himself this winter by winning the NVA’s Eastern Shooting Dog Championship in Georgia the previous month.
In the judges’ minds, the two dogs closest to the winners were drawn together in the final brace -- Huntin’ with a Lil Swagger (Swagger), bred, owned and handled by Jarrett and Allison Bell, and Cali’s Wiki Wiki Mai Tai at Sunset (Mia), bred by Brian and Stephanie Fidler, owned and handled by Chad Chadwell and Nancy Browne.
The Winners:
Guy (Gingrich) would run in the fourth brace with Imre (Anderson) on the first course. By the time the brace was turned loose, the weather had transformed into a lovely mild day, ideal for running dogs and the water level in the creek crossings had significantly reduced. Turned loose, Guy would immediately take the left edge forward to be seen across the front at the Dead Tree cut. Imre in the meantime had tackled the right side at a perfectly respectable pace, eager to hunt the long cover strip into the corner where the old elevator had been (and where a lot of the fill for the renovated overflow parking area had come from). Through the first creek crossing and into the second, Guy had established a strong ground race out towards the far field edge before powering up through the next two fields towards the road crossing. He would be seen crossing the road, entering the Davis Bottom and turning left up towards the cemetery. In the meantime, as the gallery reached the road crossing at 0:17, Anderson elected to pick up Imre and take advantage of the dog wagon’s presence -- his dog simply outmatched on this particular day despite having demonstrated a respectable effort. While his handler and the gallery had already proceeded through the Davis Bottom cut, the call of point would come from Guy’s scout at 0:18, the dog tucked into the treeline along the cemetery fence, standing as tall and emphatic through the flush of the bird as the tombstones behind him. Taken on through the cut, he would power down the left side, to be seen on the far apron of the course as the gallery rounded the point. He would be gathered up and sent down the outside edge before being collected for the crossing into the Island Field. He would follow the long outside edge of the field down towards the rocky step where he would be watered at 0:35. He would be watered again at the pond at the top of Horsekiller Hill before being sent due south before turning west along the fenceline below the deerstand. In the judges’ opinion, the strongest dog through 45 minutes by far, he would be found by the scout roughly 150 yards from the exit chute off Apple Tree Hill at 0:48, the birds flushed out from the small congregation of cedars. Down into the Little Vine Loop, he would appreciably downshift but nonetheless finish the hour respectably near the Back Gates.
Briar (Hess) would also run on the first course but out of the seventh brace drawn with Cayenne (Gingrich). The first brace of the second day would be greeted with a frost still intact in the shade and relatively still air. Both dogs would break away smartly in the cool air, Cayenne needing a little longer to get herself oriented while Briar would take the right edge all the way to the old elevator corner before turning across the course along the treeline and then out into the Dead Tree cut. Through to the creek crossing, Briar had established a searching ground race using promising objectives. While Cayenne would cross the creek and take the immediate treeline south, Briar had swung out to the far field edge and then crossed the next field to engage with the far creekside edge. He would come to a stop at 0:14, some 300 yards from the creek crossing, his style lofty, his manners perfect for the bird flushed ahead of him. Through the road crossing, Briar would go out wide to the long creekside edge through the Davis Bottom, swinging smoothly forward all the way to the far corner, briefly exploring the intermediate line, and then zipping out again on the long creekside edge. His effort would be rewarded at 0:25, coming to a stop some 250 yards along that line, birds readily flushed out over the creekbed ahead of the stylish dog. Cayenne, by contrast, was not showing the same degree of focus and commitment in her pattern through the Davis Bottom and her handler elected to pick her up at 0:25. Now alone, Briar would show nicely taking the long cover strip on the outside edge all the way to the rocky step before punching through into the long descending field below Horsekiller Hill. Unlike any other competitor this year, he would stay high and take the long left edge down into the pocket below the climb -- where he would come to a stylish stop at 0:38 in the deep, right corner. Up over Horsekiller Hill, Briar would drop over to the lower right edge, coming forward towards the exit chute via the prominent draw. He would downshift at 0:46, but would pick up again coming into the Little Vine Loop in time for the steep hill climb after the Back Gates. As the judges came over the first major rise, he would be seen climbing out on the right treeline and making the turn to the east. Time would expire with him cruising out on the left side still eager to engage the most promising objectives.
The Running:
The first brace drew Reve (Gingrich) and Sawney (Miller) on the first course, the temperature in the 40s, the wind breezy and largely out of the west. Both dogs would break down the right side all the way to the corner where the old hay elevator had been parked in previous years. Through the Dead Tree cut, Sawney would switch over to the left side before being gathered up with Reve for the first creek crossing. It is worth noting that the creeks were flowing hard and cold, the dogs obliged to swim at least through the first two. Reve would initially run the long treeline ahead of her and cut out along the far creekside before turning back to reunite with her handler at the second creek crossing. For his part, Sawney would be seen running the transverse line of trees to the east before cutting south again along the top, outer fence line -- disappearing from view on the way back. The call of point for Sawney would come with the handler already through the deep trench of the second crossing, the dog found down in the tongue of trees nearly 175yds southwest of the crossing, a bird seen rising from the thicket. In the meantime, Reve had moved forward through the road crossing and out towards the Davis Cemetery edge, coming to a stop in the back corner at 0:20, the bird flushing back towards her and proving to be too much temptation -- bringing her final run in competition to an end. Sawney would course out along the creekside edge and through into the second half of the big field. Doubling back a little, he would nonetheless resume his quest out into the back pocket of the field before being dropped into the third, cold crossing into the Island Field. With the water levels dropping and the temperatures rising throughout the next two days, it is hard to say whether three immersions had taken anything out of the dog, but Sawney would appear to temporarily lose some of the drive that had carried him to this point in the course. He would rebound passing over the rocky step and, while initially beginning on the easy downhill side, would acknowledge the wind coming from the northwest and switch to the upper side for the final third of the field. As he swung around the pocket at the base of Horsekiller (effectively coming off the wind), he would stop at the flush of a pair of birds from the creekside edge at 0:38. Atop Apple Tree Hill, the wind was cold and blustery as Sawney would swing up the old fenceline to swing around the edge of the bowl below the deerstand. He would continue to plug forward through the Little Vine Loop, largely out on the creekside edge, and then up the hill past the Back Gates, giving solid effort but now lacking the punch that would characterize the winners. He would finish his hour out front out on the final spur of the plateau.
The second brace would bring Cinder (Stapleton) to the line with Rossi (Bell) to be turned loose at the Back Gates. Down off the hill, Cinder would sweep across the front towards the creek crossing, Rossi out in the back corner along the creekside edge. Into the Halfmoon, Cinder would swing out wide on the left side and would almost carry the entire line before doubling back a little, while Rossi would punch the length of the shorter, righthand edge -- and out into the Sycamore Bottom, both dogs would move out past the old sycamore and out along the wooded edge to the right. Cinder would eventually make it out to the roadside corner, coming up the fenceline in preparation for the hill climb, Rossi in fact having already made the move and would be found on point at 0:21, deep in the grass, some 75yds from the Double Gates. The initial flush would prove unsuccessful, but she would be asked to relocate -- and after a couple of short adjustments, she would firm up again, and a single produced out the grass. Onward and up the hill, Cinder would come to a stop just over the first crest with a view out to the Barns at 0:24, in a grassy cover strip on the right side, the birds readily flushed ahead of the mannerly dog. For her part, sadly, Rossi would run through a small covey on the left shoulder at 0:27, barely acknowledging that anything had happened, let alone that she should have stopped. Past the Barns and into the stock pond field, Cinder would drop down to the lower edge -- but would cross up over the shoulder before swinging back out. And while performing respectably, especially for early in the stake, her handler knew she could have persisted and punched out on her casts a little more -- and elected to pick up at 0:37 at the Blue House.
The third brace drew BamBam (Gingrich) with Louie (Elliott), the dogs turned loose at the beginning of the Bull Pasture. Swinging around to the north leaving the little red shed down to the left, BamBam would curve around and climb the outer shoulder on the left going deep into the top corner, Louie working the grassy shoulder on the right. Through the gate in the back corner and into the next large field, both scouts would be sent out on the right along the screen of young evergreens towards the two obvious dead tree objectives -- BamBam seen crossing the front near the exit into the next, closely cropped hay field. Both dogs would work out the right side before dropping down into the valley below the Twin Barns (with the overflow parking area directly ahead). Both dogs would take a little wrangling to make the left turn up behind the club house, but would swing around the first spur with relative ease and then up into the back portion of the Loop. BamBam would come to a stop up on top at 0:26, on the low spine of the whaleback looking up into the northeasterly wind towards a pair of young evergreens -- although sadly all flushing and relocation efforts would prove unsuccessful. BamBam would stop once more on the right side at 0:33, looking under a teenage oak, the Twin Barns visible across the valley to the south. A quick reconnaissance would locate a large bowl of feathers on the far side of the tree and Gingrich would elect to take his dog on. In the meantime, Louie had got hung up in the back corner of this top section and would come forward to reconnect with his handler. Up to the Twin Barns, Elliot would elect to pick up his dog, aware that his dog needed a more consistently forward pattern to challenge. BamBam would drop through the Valley of Death chute, the climb to the Barns having obviously sapped her somewhat. She would nonetheless maintain this pace through the Sycamore Bottom and across the road at the Double Gates, taking the lower edge along the treeline all the way down to the pocket below the Bramhall Cemetery, finishing up in the field below the clubhouse.
The fourth brace drew Guy (Gingrich) and Imre (Anderson) and is covered in the placements.
The fifth brace saw Cinder (Gingrich) head-to-head with Ty (Chadwell), both dogs moving smoothly up over the hill climb and then down and round into the Halfmoon Field. Cinder would be the first to punch out into the Sycamore Bottom, needing a little encouragement to get out to the far side edge, but then taking it to its conclusion. Ty, on the other hand, would tackle the left hand edge and take it to the far northwestern corner where he would come to a stop at 0:17, a pair of birds readily flushed out of the cover strip ahead of him. Through the aft section of the big field, both dogs would begin the turn up the hill to the Barns, Cinder coming to a stop at 0:22 at the thicket right at the climb’s base, Ty honoring in high style. However, as the handler got in front to flush, Cinder opted to take a large step forward with him -- at which point, Gingrich elected to pick him up. Ty would continue up the climb toward the barns, working the spine along the top, the headwind coming in stiff from the northwest. He would swing over to the left side in the vicinity of all the major brushpiles before dropping down to the treeline edge and coming up the fenceline to the gate. Into the stock pond field, with the wind blowing around 15mph, Ty was clearly having to work hard to make headway -- eventually dropping down to the obvious draw to go forward in the welcome lee of the stockpond. He would climb out around the pond and immediately get buffeted once more -- his handler opting to promptly pick him up at 0:36.
The sixth brace brought Red (Gingrich) to the line with Kimber (Bell). They would be turned loose just past the stock pond in the direction of the Blue House. Into the Bull Pasture and Red would swung low while Kimber would stay high on the shoulder to make the turn north. They would nonetheless come together in the back quarter of the field at 0:07, Red pointing, Kimber honoring with high style. After some initial conversation about whether birds had been seen leaving (which they hadn’t), Gingrich elected to flush -- birds getting up out of the swale below him. Both dogs would move smoothly through the next two fields, Kimber already in valley below the Twin Barns by the time the gallery reached the old gate, Red working his way around the right shoulder of the hill. He would apparently stay on the contour and wrap around below the gallery and up the shoulder into the hard left turn towards the Club House Loop, Kimber tackling the climb directly and swinging wide out to the spur to the east. A third of the way down the slope towards the access track to the clubhouse, Red would come to a stylish stop at 0:23 roughly 10yds off the path, looking into a cover strip -- from which a pair of birds would be flown. Both dogs would swing up into the back section of the course, taking the outside edge around past the small pond (bubbling with peeper frogs) and coming to a stop at 0:33 beside the teenage juniper on the right side. Both handlers would begin to flush, but after their initial efforts proved unsuccessful, they would take their dogs on -- this being the same tree and same congregation of feathers that had captivated BamBam in the third brace. With the climb up to the Barns, Red would perceptibly downshift as he crested out and swung towards the Valley of Death chute from the left side; Kimber would go high on the right side down that chute, showing up to the front at its end. After a decent absence from view, Red would appear on the left side of the slope before the entrance to the Hill Climb, Kimber also moving across the foot of that slope, as both dogs prepared to cross the road at the Double Gates. Red would come to a stop at 0:53 at the thicket immediately before the road crossing, a decent-sized passel of birds kicked out ahead of him. Across the road to come back in on the top-side, both dogs would take the lower tree line, Red coming to a stop at 0:55, Kimber backing, some 150yds down that line where it forms a small point -- the birds readily flushed ahead of them. Some 150yds further down the line, Kimber would come to a stop on the lower edge of the pond at 0:58, looking into the thicket; sadly, the stand and the subsequent relocations would prove fruitless. In the meantime, Red would finish up his hour below the Old Bramhall cemetery.
The seventh brace featured Briar (Hess) and Cayenne (Gingrich) and is already covered in the placements.
The eighth brace drew Smudge (Bell) with Scout (Gingrich) -- the two dogs turned loose in the Base field. Smudge would break out to the right side to come around that first field, then drop through the creek crossing to enter the Halfmoon. The dog would need a little encouragement to stick on the outside left edge, but would nonetheless finish it out moving smoothly -- while Scout had already passed out of sight after entering the creek crossing. Smudge would then take the left edge after passing into the Sycamore Bottom. Swinging along the creekside midway down the field, Smudge would move out to the far right corner and then up along the roadside edge in preparation for the turn up the hill. Smudge would come to a stop at 0:14 midway down, but all the flushing and relocation efforts would prove in vain. Turned loose again, Smudge would climb the hill and stay out on the lower left edge to go forward. By the time the gallery reached the Twin Barns at 0:22, Scout had been absent long enough for the judge to bring Gingrich his tracker. Smudge, the meantime, had dropped off the left shoulder and down into the Valley of Death, but would be gathered up without too much problem to go out into the stock pond field. While moving smartly out on the left side to go forward, Bell had a good sense of what had already run and elected to pick up his dog at the Blue House.
The ninth brace brought Sidney (Gingrich) to the line with Wrigs (Anderson) where they would be turned loose at the beginning of the Bull Pasture. Wrigs would swing low and come to a stop at a thicket at 0:03 near the second major draw, but sadly all flushing and relocation efforts would prove fruitless. Taken on, he would rejoin the front group in the large field with the two dead tree objectives in the eastern end and head out on the right shoulder planted with very young pines. Gingrich would call point at 0:11 in the back corner, Sydney pointed into a small bramble thicket, Wrigs backing with high style. Sadly, the bird would flush back towards Sydney prompting the dog to move -- and inspiring her bracemate to do so in the process.
The tenth brace saw Sassy (Gingrich) head-to-head with Ty (Vater) to compete on the first course -- the conditions almost warm beneath a bluebird sky. Sassy would burn out down the left side, Ty would work his way along the right, covering the long creekside edge before turning across the face where the old elevator had been. Sassy would remerge briefly out on the left side shortly before the creek crossing, the water levels having dropped significantly even since the morning. Ty would work methodically around the edge to the left before swinging forward on the upper edge around the pond in the field before the road crossing, Sassy doubling back to reunite with her handler. Across the road, she would move out along the long creekside edge while Ty would stick on the entire left hand edge to the midway fenceline -- a move no other dog had actually performed to this point in the championship -- before coming off to reacquaint with his handler. Into the Island Field and Ty would take himself out to the left edge and swing around the smallest of the three islands -- while Sassy had been gone from sight for several minutes already. He would move nicely through the remainder of the Island Field, coming up over the rocky step and then, with the wind swirling out of the north and northwest, he would connect with the upper edge of the field below Horsekiller Hill. He would come to a stylish stop at 0:36 in the pocket at its end, looking out towards the creek edge -- a pair of birds kicked out over the flowing water. Aware that her dog needed to have got out and stayed out a little more consistently to challenge the winners, Vater would elect to pick up at this point -- nevertheless, and despite this, the clear, happy working relationship between the two was evident throughout. In the meantime, Gingrich admitted defeat and asked for his tracker.
The eleventh brace drew Swagger (Bell) with Mia (Chadwell) turned loose at the base of Apple Tree Hill. The action would begin quickly with Swagger running the right side through the Little Vine Loop, a single bird rising unexpectedly behind her as she passed, the dog spinning and stopping to honor its flight at 0:02. Up over the Back Gates hill climb, both dogs would punch out for the left side, Swagger staying wide through the turn and going out to the far fenceline below the deerstand, Mia swinging inside to cut the eastward turn. Both dogs would move easily around the outer edges of the plateau field and drop down into the patchwork of fields below. Into the Halfmoon Field, Mia would already be out in the far corner on the left side swinging forward to the creek crossing ahead of her handler, Swagger the inside edge on the right. She would maintain this line through into the Sycamore Bottom, climbing out high onto the ridge -- where she would come to a stop at 0:21, standing off her birds by at least five yards. Out into the main part of the field, Mia had gone all the way down the left side and across the front along the creekside, going back out and into the wind in preparation for the climb. Swagger, in the meantime, had taken the right edge all the way through the lower creek crossing and out to the roadside, coming upwind along the fenceline to tackle the hill. Up over the ridge and both dogs would take on the lower, wooded edge to the left -- coming to a stop together at 0:31 at the second major finger of woods. Reaching their dogs, the handlers would inquire whether the judges had seen the flight of the covey leaving, the judge higher on the slope affirming that he had -- at which point they would both fire. While Mia swung forward on the right side towards the Barns, Swagger would come to a stop some 150yds forward at 0:34 -- although the flush and the relocation would prove unsuccessful. Taken on, she would stop very soon after at 0:36 looking into a tiny patch of very young oaks nigh on the shoulder, a tiny hawk seen leaving ahead of her -- this time, however, a quail would also be scared out of the tangle ahead of her. Taken forward into the stock pond field to catch the front, Swagger would be handled around and through the Blue House chute -- with Mia on point at 0:42 in the bramble thicket roughly 75yds east of the gap, a running bird produced ahead of her. Both dogs would swing purposefully through the Bull Pasture, Mia primarily working the lower draws, Swagger the upper shoulder -- both dogs appearing to gain rather than fade as the brace continued. After a brief watering in the stock pond at the beginning of the final, shorn field on top, Swagger would work across the left shoulder to drop into the climb, Mia all the way into the valley floor before being turned up the final hill into the Club House Loop. Time would expire approaching the small pond on the crest of this eastward spur, the judges still needing to see the dogs -- and they would be found together directly ahead on the downslope of the spur, Mia pointing, Swagger honoring, a true covey of at least eight birds, rippling out at the initial flush and shot bringing a worthy conclusion to the championship.
Ladies Foot Race
Race Winner : Laura Miller
Costume Winner: Justin Hess