(DGFavor, read very slowly, your time starts now
)Sunrise Saterday morning. Cold and crisp.
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Of a 20 dog stake things were not looking so well for me as I watched each brace break away and watched as best I could through binoculars some of the bird work. I seen some really nice dogs runing.
One Derby break away. Handlers waiting and the cast off
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I originally thought that this walking trial was going to be hard to watch and I would have nothign to do. Little did I know that I was going to park and camp right at the break away for the Puppy and Open Derby stakes. This put me in a position that allowed me to meet some truely fine people.
I became so in to watching all the dogs runing that I found myself worring about my dog doing as well. As you see in the pics above it is very flat. I have never done any training on lawns before. I wasnt sure if my dog would go to huntign or just run around confused. So I decided not to underestimate my dog and just cut her loose and let the judges tell me what they thought.
Judges reviewing their braces. Judges Bill Tanner and Lief Lendrop
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Not knowing how the club was going to announce placements I went to ask the Secratary Edna Miller when we will find out. As I walked into the club house I seen a fellow looking at the brace sheet adn asked if he knew about the results. He replyed "yes it right there on that board". As I looked at the board I seen First place was a dog named Belle. Suprised I grabbed hold of the brace sheet to make sure there wasnt another dog named Belle. There wasnt.
Open Derby Winner
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Belle's run was for the most part to the front only coming in to me a few times. This could have been one of many things but regardless. She handled with little voice from me and ignored her bracemate for the majority of the time except for the first couple minuets. Belle once in the bird field got pointed right away and her bracemate backed. As we approached, the other dog broke causing Belle to break puttign the bird up and her bracemate catching it in mid air. We were to finish our time in the bird field so I did my best to get her pointed once again to be able to work the bird without interfearence. With the 75 degree heat and very little breaze it was gettign tough for the dogs to wind birds but just 20 seconds before time Belle pointed again. Her bracemate finished without a find.
I really thought that there might have been better dogs that ran before me and was shocked to see my dog wining.
Taking a blue ribbon sure gets you knowticed and I made some friends real fast.
Sunday, Ameture Derby
This course was much better to watch as a spectator as we were able to stand right along side the bird field and see how these dogs performed. I managed to watch all but one of the 8 braces. We were braced in the 5th. Scenting conditions were much better and tempratures were milder.
Looking at some bird work from the road side
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At break away both dogs showed much more entusiasm than the day before. Both moving well out to the front and searching likley cover. Both dogs exibited much more range. As the dogs made it into the bird field they had already made sveral quick searches before we arrived into the field. Again Belle got pointed just as I steped into the field. As the other handler and I were approaching her, his dog made two rounds but never smelled what she had pointed and continued his hunt. I had stoped out in front of Belle and asked the other handler if he would wait for me to work this bird before moving around my dog since he was going to walk behind her. At about that time his dog pointed a bird just a short ways away. So I allowed him to go to his dog. As he approached his dog the dog took out the bird and he fired his blank as soon as the bird was air born causing Belle to break point to see where that bird went when she realized she still had a bird. She spun around pointed again when that bird took flight. She had 2 more pieces of bird work. A nice 40-50 yard point and another 2 seconds after the judges called time. So we used it as a training excersize (backing) for the other handler to show his dog another dog on point.
This run was IMO much better than the day before but still there were some really nice dogs. After recieving a win already I was confident I was going to take home another I just didnt know what color. I was actually hoping for Red.
Ameture Derby Winner
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Thanks to Judges Dave Wickens and Ed Goulart
