We were VERY fortunate that the foster mom of Hope (female) was there judging so we were able to borrow her blank hand gun and orange or green collar for the braces. We walked the course behind one of the JH teams way before us so we had an idea of what to do.
We were braced with a really nice male that was 1 y/o and it was his first hunt test and 3rd time on birds, just like Toby (6 mo).
At first they ran and played a little bit but as soon as the brace mate locked onto some quail, Toby figured out why he was there. They were both on point and flushed a covey of 3 quail, and that got the ball rolling. All in all, he pointed 3 quail, and I mean an actual point! His first 3 points EVER. Woop! The last point I was able to actually walk up and flush the bird myself, he held steady the whole time. He was a little machine! lol
We met a lot of really nice and helpful people and it def made the experience very welcoming and enjoyable for us. And to top it off, he got his first qualifying score in JH (7.5 all across the board). So we got our first ribbon.
Heres a few pics. This is def a lot of fun and something hubby and I and the 2 dogs can all share in.
Hope hanging out on the stake out
Toby on his stake
Walking to the JH area
Waiting our turn
Proud Mom & Pup
Proud Dad & Pup
