Friday, August 22, 2008

Howling winds shook the trailers in the Campground most of the night, and participants awoke to a grey, blustery, very chilly morning.  At 6am the temperature was 7 degrees Celsius (45 F) and predictions were for a high of around 12C ( 54F).  The wind was strong from the Northwest already at 8am, and promised to build to 50km/hour by early afternoon. 

After an early morning conference between the judges and the committee, dog 12 was added to the callbacks and invited to run the final series.

The participants and gallery were called to line at 8:10 am, parking along the dike road East of number 2 pond.  The judges were hunkered down in front of some bushes, out of the wind, and the running line was at shores edge in front of them.  It felt like a late fall duck hunting morning, and numerous wild ducks had visited the pods of decoys during setup, flying at warp speed just over the water surface.

Handlers were instructed to do a sneak (walkup) to the line when a duck call from the judges summoned them to line.  They were then to kneel by their dog’s side while the birds went down for the quad.

The judges called for the first bird, and the call was answered by a gunner in a holding blind to the left of the pond running two wingers. The first bird was launched and shot, landing with a splash at the waters edge, 38 yards from line, with the correct line being a slicing entry into the water through a dozen decoys. The second bird was launched as soon as the first shot was fired, and this bird was also shot in its arc – it landed 55 yards away in some wolf willow and shorter brush, and the line to this second bird was only a few feet from the edge of the water.

After some calling back and forth, the third bird was thrown from a holding blind hidden behind a mound across the water to the handler’s right. The bird was thrown right to left and then shot, landing approximately 10 yards from the waters edge in short cover. The distance to that bird was 61 yards.

The fourth bird was thrown and shot after a call from a holding blind, thrown right to left to land at the waters edge, 102 yards away. The correct line to this bird was to stay in the water past the grassy point on the land mass where the third bird had been thrown.

The first test dog was TaylorLab’s Sugar and Spice, MH handled by Sue Taylor. Candy selected the water bird on the left first, taking a good line in the water right to the bird. She then decided to make the big swim to the middle bird, scenting it just as she hit the far shore. She then retrieved the right hand mark with no trouble.  She came back and took a slicing entry to the land bird on the left, over-running the mark slightly on the upwind side but after a short hunt she got the bird.

The second test dog was GMH TaylorLab Muddy’s Crew, handled by John McDonald. John and Crew picked up the birds in the same order as Sue and Candy and experienced little difficulty, perhaps giving participants a false sense of security.

Only 5 of the participating dogs were able to find all 4 birds without a handle, and several dogs handled on two birds. The gallery and participants watched nervously as the test progressed and the wind continued to howl.  Late Fall hunting gear was fashionable and large quantities of hot chocolate and coffee were  consumed.  The test concluded just before noon, and everyone returned to the warmth and shelter of the Clubhouse to await the results of the judges’ deliberations.

Canadian Master National Club Secretary Fred Benjaminson and 2008 National Master Hunt test Chairman John McDonald prepared the qualifier ribbons and bands, as well as duck calls provided by Zink.  Anne Hildebrand, Char Couch and the rest of the social crew set out glasses of champagne to toast the qualifiers.  The qualifiers were announced and congratulated:

Dog 5.  NMH HIGH MILEAGE FIRESTORM MH, AmMH (Pixie)
OWNER: David and Martha Kress, Gallatin, TN USA
HANDLER: Marty Kress

Dog 8. NMH GMH Bailey’s Misty Lake WCX (Bailey)
OWNER: Trent and Stephanie Sproule, LaSalle, MB
HANDLER: Trent Sproule

Dog 12. HRCH UH GMH OTCH Am/Can CH COASTALIGHT WIND OVER TIDE AmUD WCX TD DD  (Rip)
OWNER: Judy Teskey and Wendy MacDonald, Ladysmith BC
HANDLER: Judy Teskey

Dog 13. HIGH MILEAGE HILLTOP’S HUSTLE MH, AmMH, MNH (Hustle)
OWNER: David and Martha Kress, Gallatin, TN USA
HANDLER: Marty Kress

Dog 17. GMH CLUBMEAD’S THUNDERING THOR (Thor)
OWNER: Doug Hildebrand, Saskatoon SK
HANDLER: Doug Hildebrand

Dog 19. CANDLEWOOD’S HIGH MILEAGE HOPE AmMH (Hope)
OWNER: David and Martha Kress, Gallatin, TN USA
HANDLER: Marty Kress

Dog 21. FTCH AFTCH TAYLORLABS TRUE BLUE MH (Blue)
OWNER: Garry and Sue Taylor, Saskatoon, SK
HANDLER: Garry Taylor

Dog 24. FTCH AFTCH GMH CLUBMEADS AUTUMN BREEZE CDX (Breeze)
OWNER: Garry and Sue Taylor , Saskatoon, SK
HANDLER: Sue Taylor

Dog 25. NMH FTCH AFTCH GMH DUDLEY DO RIGHT XXXII CDX AmMH (Dudley)
OWNER: Shirley Greener, Orangeville, ON
HANDLER: Shirley Greener

Dog 26. PRAIRIESTORM HAWK CDX WCX MH (Hawk)
OWNER: Danielle Greanya and Sean Hemmingsen, Saskatoon, SK
HANDLER: Ross Campbell

Dog 28. MISTY MARSH’S MINNESOTA MAGGIE WCX MH JFTR (Maggie)
OWNER: Trent and Stephanie Sproule, Rd, LaSalle, MB
HANDLER: Trent Sproule

Dog 29. SASKQUILL’S PRAIRIE THUNDER MH (Thunder)
OWNER: Doug Hildebrand, Saskatoon SK
HANDLER: Doug Hildebrand

Dog 30.  HIGH MILEAGE JB’S BELIEVER AmMH (Faith)
OWNER: David and Martha Kress, Gallatin, TN USA
HANDLER: David Kress

Dog 32.  MOSSY'S DANGLING PARTICIPLES MH (Rebel)
OWNER: Red and Marlene Wilkinson, Regina SK
HANDLER: Red Wilkinson

All of the handlers were congratulated and toasted. Photos were taken in the Clubhouse area and the Master National Club sponsors Purina and Tritronics were thanked as well as all of the major sponsors for 2008. The judges were thanked for putting in the time and effort to make this a memorable National and the Club workers and committee were congratulated for a job well done. The bar was opened and refreshments were served including a feast of buns, meats, cheese, veggies and fresh fruit. 
 

Submitted by Sue Taylor

Day 5 - Test Diagram

Day 5 - Left	Day 5 - Left Mid.	Day 5 - Right Mid.	Day 5 - Right