Judges

John Kuepferling (Quebec)

I am honoured to have been selected to judge the 2023 National Master.

Golden retrievers have been a part of our family for the past 30 years. My performance event history started with competing in obedience trials. We were then introduced to the hunt test game by some friends. After seeing how much the dogs loved game, these became our performance event priority.

We have been running in hunt tests for 20 years. We started with rescue dogs, running in Junior and Senior stakes. We then acquired our 1st field pedigree golden in 2009. Ronin went on to earn his Master and National Master titles at 3 years old and his Grand Master title at 4 years of age.

I've been judging hunt tests for about 15 years, mostly in Quebec, with a few judging assignments in Ontario and New Brunswick.  I'm looking forward to judging with Bill and Peter and watching great dogs from across the country do what they love most.

Thank you to the Saskatoon Retriever Club and all the volunteers and sponsors that make these events possible.

 John

Bill Marshall (Alberta)

First of all, I would like to thank you for inviting me to be one of the judges. I consider it to be an honour.

My experience with and love of Golden Retrievers goes back more than 40 years when I “married” into this breed. My mother-in-law gave us a Golden puppy as a wedding present, and from then on, I was hooked.

I began competing and judging in the NAHRA program in the 1990’s. Since then, I have competed on both sides of the border and judged across Western Canada and into Alaska.(Working Certificate, Nahra and CKC Hunt Tests). I look forward to the fall when I can be out hunting water fowl and especially pheasants.

I consider the CKC Hunt Test program to have a strong correlation to what we want our dogs to accomplish on a day’s hunt. Because of this, I believe tests should reflect real life hunting situations.

Having Chaired the 2019 National, I know the commitment required by any host club. I applaud the Saskatoon club for once again stepping up to put this event on.

Finally, I would like to wish all the competitors great success!

Peter Ferin (Ontario)

I am humbled and feel very privileged to have been nominated to judge the 2023 Canadian National Master Hunt Test.

As a waterfowl and upland hunter for 50 years, I got involved in Retriever Hunt Tests 25 years ago.  I have handled Labrador Retrievers and Golden Retrievers in WC’s, Hunt Tests and Field Trials.   In 2018, I handled my dog, NMH GMH Elmingo’s Shanghai Surprise MH QFTR (Asia), to her NMH and look forward to competing at future NMH’s.  I am qualified to judge at all levels of WC, Hunt Tests and Field Trials.  My love of dogs and hunting has translated into my artwork as well.  I am an award-winning wildlife artist known for my realistic portraits of sporting dogs and waterfowl in addition to my decoy carvings.

I’m excited to judge with John and Bill and look forward to setting challenging and realistic hunting scenarios that display the true qualities of a valued hunting retriever.

Thank you to the Saskatoon Retriever Club for hosting this fabulous event.  I look forward to meeting everyone in August and wish you all the best of luck!

Peter Ferin