Gun Dog Forum

This is how its done, folks. From the June 2 American Field, the AFTCA Region 9 Championships:

"Rocky Knoll Rose (Lockhard) and Idaho's Lucky Strike (Heaton)
dashed from road and over hill. Rose ran a very appealing race and
had a fine chukar find at 45 along long hillside, everything in
order at flush and shot. Strike, callname Ben, had a beautiful limb
find at 9 to right front on hill beyond the small valley. He was
stylish and rigid at flush of two sharptails and at shot. He was
strong and forward, disappearing at times but always appearing to
the front. At 45 he backed Rose handsomely on her chukar find. To
the front and out of sight down in big draw, Ben was found on point
by John Mandell who was scouting Rose. John called point and
directed everyone into the area. He and one judge whoaed Rose into
a back when she appeared. As one judge and Heaton approached Ben,
the Judge's horse flushed the rooster pheasant Ben was pointing.
Ben was rigid as handler dismounted and shot. An exciting piece of
bird work and a grand example of sportsmanship by Mandell; the find
was ultimately what won Ben the Championship and caused Mandell's
setter to be the runner-up. At the awarding ceremony one judge told
Heaton to thank Mandell for the win."

Yup, it sure was. It's a gentleman's game for sure and those guys are both great examples. What goes around comes around!! We'll get opportunity to re-pay hopefully in the future!!

I'm pretty sure the other scout, when he got done chit chatting in the gallery about the stuff he'd been reading on Gundogforum.com, was gonna get out there and find that dog at some point!!!

OK, so who was the "other" scout Doug?

Awwwwright, I confess. We were actually doing the buddy approach. I was down riding the very brushy washed out bottom of the draw while John was up higher on the hillside. I'd have eventually come around and spotted the dog as well but John wasn't waiting for any of that and got us all hustlin' to the dog the moment he spotted him. Very cool!!

DGFavor wrote:Awwwwright, I confess. We were actually doing the buddy approach. I was down riding the very brushy washed out bottom of the draw while John was up higher on the hillside. I'd have eventually come around and spotted the dog as well but John wasn't waiting for any of that and got us all hustlin' to the dog the moment he spotted him. Very cool!!

That is cool! Makes that run sound that much better and really shows the Sportmanship of a couple friends getting together to just watch/run a couple of great dogs!

That is a very nasty place to be down in there BTW and a dog is out on a limb digging up a bird when he's in there! When I say John was uphill, I'm talking like looking up at someone on a ladder above ya' but a hundred feet or so. The bottom is horribly washed out and the handlers, judges, gallery, etc. were luckily all on the opposite/same side as the dog. Us lowly scouts were still on the other side facing backtracking a 1/4 mile to the easy spots to cross or going down in the scouting HOF and getting to the dogs ASAP. Never did see how John got across but I know I bailed off the horse, jumped down in the ditch which was straight up/straight down and about eyelevel for me at 6'4" to climb back out of...bout that same distance across. I clawed my way up out of there like I was trying to drag myself back onto a rooftop, had the reins stuck in my belt, then clucked to 'ol Darkyboy to come across. He gathered his back feet right up by his front feet then let fly, about piled on top of me, clearing it by just this much <--> and off we went...all in the name of running a couple bird dogs I guess. You get caught up in the excitement when you know a dog is doing good and probably do some things you ought not to do if ya' wanna continue to work and be a productive member of society!!

All that, and he still had the strength to stack the dog properly for the win photo at the end!

HAHAHA, all that and 1 he!! of a scribe too!