Day 3
Series Three - Quarter to Flush
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Report composed by Sue Taylor with help from Tim Fahl (drawings) and Jesse Vanhouwe (technology)
After yesterday’s constant rain and poor road conditions we were all a little stressed about the live pheasant delivery scheduled for this morning at 8am. Many of the usual roads to get to the Club are pretty much impassable, but the pheasants arrived around 8:30am.
The forecast for today is for cloud in the early morning but sunny breaks and a mix of sun and clouds in the afternoon. Winds are forecasted to be light in the morning (<10km/hr NW, then W, then SW) but stronger in the afternoon.
At 8am it was 14C with winds from the Northwest (8km/hr gusting to 15km/hr).
The test is taking place in another bowl region on the Lost River property. There are gentle rolling hills in this area and a few bushes, with a mix of grasses that never grow long enough to require cutting and lots of buckbrush and low cover to hide birds.
Dogs should work off leash as they leave the holding blind, walking by the handler’s side for 10-15 yards until they are told to start hunting. There is a cut path for the handler and they should encourage their dog to hunt right and hunt left in cover on either side of the path. The judges indicated that handlers could encourage their dogs to hunt but wanted to see minimal handling.
There is a live pheasant in a Higgins Remote Releaser down in the bottom of the bowl in the heavier cover. If when the dog is in the area that bird flushes successfully the gunner will be told to shoot and the handler should command their dog to sit. The dog will be judged on whether they are steady to shot. One controlled break is allowed in this test. If the Higgins release is successful, then handlers are asked to continue having their dog quarter to the left, and out of the bowl to end the test.
If the dog traps/catches a pheasant they will need to retrieve the bird to hand but will not considered to have been tested yet on being steady to shot. If the bird does not flush from the Higgins release or if the dog traps the bird then the judges will have the handler direct their dog to continue quartering adjacent to a trail that goes to the right, where there is another live pheasant in a launch box to try again for a flush.
Anne Donauer and Jim Girvan are putting the pheasants in the release boxes for each dog
Our gunners for this test are Reinhold Mattheis and Jeremy Flamand, Gun Captains for the week.
The plan was for photographer Mark Atwater to be hidden in the site in a little blind. As the test progressed he got better photos by walking behind or alongside the judges behind the dog and handler.
Before the participants arrived we did a test run of the Higgins release using Mark Atwater’s dog, Pearl. The dog quartered well and when the bird was released from the trap it flushed well.
Now the participants were invited to come to the property and meet with the judges to start the test. Everyone was clearly excited and glad that this day has arrived.The gallery is up on the hill with a great view of the test. Sponsor banners are displayed, including Purina, SportDog, Garmin, and Kent. Tealgrove Retrievers was the sponsor for this series.
The female test dog today was JENGA again, owned and handled by Angela Borthwick. Jenga did a reasonable job quartering. She was called back a couple of times to stay in gun range. She got a good flush from the Higgins release and sat on the whistle and shot. She then continued to quarter out of the bowl.
The male test dog today was HLR MISTER WISCONSIN MH WCX (Sconnie), owned and handled by Grant St. Germaine. Sconnie was pretty excited and did not really slow down to hunt close. When he was directed to where the box was he found it but the bird did not release. Apparently the bird’s tail was caught in the trap and so it could not flush. The judges made some adjustments and the bird flushed and the gunner shot but Sconnie chased the bird until it disappeared.
In the first 10 dogs two or three dogs trapped the pheasant in the Higgins release and delivered to hand and then proceeded to have a successful flush from the second box. The system seemed to be working well. At least one dog flushed a pheasant that had gone down in the cover after a previous flush and a few pheasants were seen up on the hill looking down on the test with interest.
The test went quickly and the system worked well. All the dogs I watched were steady to shot but the gallery thought that perhaps a few had not been successful.
One unlucky pheasant landed near the parking area and was surrounded by a group of participants who herded it towards Sean Laidley who tackled it gracefully.
At 2pm we got Callbacks from the judges.
All 29 dogs are back.
Dog 1 will start the 4th Series tomorrow. Land marks and blind.
Caravan will leave the Clubhouse at 7:30am.
The day wrapped up with a party sponsored by Purina to celebrate all the workers of this year’s event. The workers and guests gathered in our banquet tent for a pizza supper and some beverages. During the meal Event Chair Jeff Morari thanked each worker by acknowledging their contribution and giving them an official 2023 Canadian National Master pin. All workers were entered into a raffle which was used to determine the order that workers got to choose from several prizes on display including handler swag bags, hats, dog food, dog treats, etc. Upon the completion of dinner our Leroy Mulrooney was announced as our 50/50 winner and a very successful silent auction was closed.