Welcome to AutreyKennels.com!

Titles for 2014

The 2014 year started out real slow and kind of rough for me, in that the end of January I broke my ankle and then in February the cancer came back & I was off to the Mayo Clinic for throat surgery again. But all in all even with the slow start we had a good year. The following dogs titled during the 2014 calendar year:

1. HRCH UH Ace MH owned by Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdenburg NY received a Grand pass at the 2014 Spring Grand and also achieved his Master Hunter title.
2. HRCH Boss MH who is my dog received his Master Hunter title and also qualified for the 2014 Master National.
3. HRCH Sarge MH who belongs to J.C. Pentcost of Pineville LA recieved his Master Hunter title this year.
4. HRCH UH Sue MH who belongs to Polly & Jim Smyithe of Bemidji MN did not title this year but qualified for the 2014 Master National.
5. HRCH Doc MH who is owned by Avis Dominque of Carencro LA received his Master Hunter title this year.
6. SHR Sassy JH who is owned by Monte & Nita Sayer of Natchitoches LA earned 2 titlea this year. She received her SHR & her JH titles.
7. HR Kyah SH who is owned by Chad Hebert of New Iberia LA also earned 2 titles this year picking up her HR title and her SH title.
8. HR Bitzy SH who is owned by Mary Ann Sayer of Pineville LA also earned 2 titles this year , receiving both her HR and her SH titles.
9. HRCH Pirate SH who is owned by Sheldon & Beth Berrecloth of Alberta Canada earned 2 titles this year, in that he got his HRCH and his SH titles.
10. HRCH Creasey SH who is owned by Bobby Nicholes of Lufkin, TX also earned 2 titles this year, picking up his HRCH title and his SH title.
11. MHR HRCH Hux MH owned by Trapper Jahn of Papilloon NE, earned 3 titles this year. He got his MHR title from NAHRA, his HRCH title from HRC & his MH title from AKC. a really strong year for HUX.
12. SHR Rhea JH owned by Beth & Sheldon Berrecloth of Alberta Canada earned 2 titles this year, she got her SHR & her JH titles.
13. SHR Beaux JH owned by Jim Thompson of Dallas TX also picked up 2 titles this year, earning his SHR & JH titles.
14. SHR Shiva JH owned by Tim Fallon of Lake Saint Louis, MO also earned 2 titles this year, picking up her SHR title and her JH title.
15. SHR Elle owned by Jim & Sheila Bowman of Belcher LA earned her SHR title this year, missing her JH title by 1 pass as she came into heat during the time she was to run for her JH title.

2014 Fall Hunt Test Results

South Mississippi AKC Hunt Test

I ran the South Mississippi AKC test at the Cattle Ranch in Demopolis, Alabama with 12 dogs, I ran 8 dogs in Master, going 4 for 8. I passed Ace who belongs to Nancy & Greg Mills of New York, Sue who belongs to Polly Autrey Smyithe of Minnesota, Boss who is my dog, & Bitzy who belongs to Mary Ann Sayer also of Louisiana. This was Bitzy's 1st week end to run Master & her 1st Master pass. Our CONGRATS go out to these dogs & owners as these were some tough test.

I ran 4 dogs in Junior going 4 for 4 and titling 3 of them in Junior. The 3 dogs that titles were Beaux who belongs to Jim Thompson of Texas, Shiva who belongs to Tim Fallon of Missouri, & Rhea who belongs to Beth & Shelton Berrecloth of Canada. The 4th dog was Elle & she belongs to Sheila & Jim Bowman of Louisiana. This was Ella's 3rd pass, she missed running 1 weekend earlier due to a heat cycle. I will be running Master dogs next week end again, back at the Cattle Ranch in Demopolis but with a different club using the same grounds.

2014 Spring Hunt Test Results

Land of Lakes HRC

Land of Lakes HRC test -- We had a real good day here today as we went 3 for 3 in Started, Wade Slotter of Madison Minnesota ran Beau, Shiva, & Rhea and passed them all for me. I ran 9 finish dogs, I had left an opening (10 dog limit) as I had a Season dog I had hoped to enter but at the last minute I didn't enter her as I did not think her water blinds were quite there yet. Our flight passed12 of 26 dogs on a couple of tough test. I passed Doc, Sue, Boss, Pirate & Bitzy,and passed & titled both Hux & Creasey. My CONGRATS go out to the new pass's & especially to the new HRCH titles.

Mississippi Headwaters AKC

I ran the Mississippi Headwaters AKC club hunt test on July 19th & 20th, going 3 for 4 in Master, titling Doc who belongs to Avis & Frank Dominque of Carencro, passing both Boss who is mine & Ace who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of New York. This pass qualified Boss for the Master National. At the same time we were running Master, Hux was in S MN with his owner running him in NAHRA & Hux earned his Grand Master Hunter title. Our CONGRATS go out to both Doc & Hux for their new titles.

I went 5 for 5 in Junior on the Saturday test, getting the 1st Junior pass's on Shieva, Beau, Sassy, Rhea & Elle. On the Sunday test I did not fare as well, all dogs picked up the dead bird in the heavy cover real good , but there was a ditch they had to cross on the way to the flier, 3 of the dogs did a complete somersault with all 4 feet pointed up instead of down and two of them Rhea & Shiva got lost and did not pick up the flier, losing them on this test. Real glad we had worked some long water marks, while I did not have the lily pads to work them thru, the flooded timber we had worked in served them well..

Our next test will be an HRC test, the S Dakota HRC club's 10th anniversary test. See you at the bucket...

Iron Range AKC

I ran the Iron Range AKC hunt test this past week end, going 3 for 5 in Master, passing Boss who is my dog, Doc who belongs to Frank & Avis Dominque of Carencro, Louisiana & Sue who belongs to Polly Autrey Smyithe of Clearbrook, Minnesota. This was Doc's 4th pass, I hope to title him in 2 weeks when we run the N Dakota AKC hunt test.

I went 4 for 4 in Senior, passing & titling Bitzy who belongs to Mary Ann Sayer of Pineville, Louisiana. Passing & titling Creasey who belongs to Bobby Nichols of Lufkin, Texas. Also passing & titling Pirate who belongs to Beth & Sheldon Berrecloth of Alberta, Canada. Last but not least we got a 2nd pass on Kyah who belongs to Chad Hebert of New Iberia, Louisiana. We hope to title her also at the N Dakota test in 2 weeks.

I have already entered the Bemidji AKC test the following week end where I will be running the Master dogs again and will get started running the Junior dogs now that I have about gotten the Senior dogs titled.

Colorado River HRC

We ran the Colo River HRC test with 10 dogs on May 31,14. I ran 8 & Chase Nugent ( my new bird boy) ran 2 in started (his 1st ever test). On the morning test in Season I ran SHR Bitzy, who belongs to Mary Ann & Tommy Sayer, of Pineville La, water was our 1st test, Bitzy picked the marks up clean & 5W the blind. Kyah who belongs to Chad Hebert of New Iberia LA , ran next. She picked the marks up clean & 3W the blind. Next was SHR Major who belongs to Paul Welford of Waynesboro MS, he had 10W on the blind & he also picked the marks up clean.

On to finish, water was our 1st test here also. HRCH Ace who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg NY was my 1st dog, he picked the triple up clean & 3W the blind, next came HRCH Doc who belongs to Avis & Frank Dominque of Carencro, LA, he picked the triple up clean & 2W the blind. My 3rd finish dog was HR Creasey who belongs to Bobby Nicholes of Lufkin TX, he picked the triple up clean & 6W the blind. Next was HR Pirate who belongs to Beth & Sheldon Berrecloth of Alberta Canada, he handled on the right hand bird & 8W the blind. And my last dog was HR Hux who belongs to Trapper Jahn of Papillion NE, he picked it up clean & 4W the blind.

Chase ran started with Sassy who belongs to Monte & Nita Sayer of Natchitoches, LA, she did a nice job on her marks. Then he ran Elle who belongs to Jim Bowman of Belcher , LA & she did a nice job on her marks. So on the morning test we went 10 for 10...

On the afternoon test on land Bitzy had a handle on the go bird & 7W the blind , this was her title & she is now a HR . Kyat picked it up clean & 2W the blind, this was her 3rd pass but she needs 1 more for her title. Major also picked it up clean & he lined the blind, this was his 1st season pass.. On finish land, Ace picked it up clean & 2W the blind, Doc picked it up clean & 1W the blind, Creasey picked it up clean & 6W the blind. Pirate picked it up clean & 1W the blind. Hux handled on the right hand bird & 2W the blind. This was Hux's 1st finish pass. So I wound up going 8 for 8 on the Saturday test.

Chase ran water for his 2nd series, Sassy did a real nice job giving her a 3rd pass. Elle picked up both marks clean but froze on the last bird & did not pass. I will have to work on that...

Not a bad outing , going 9 for 10 on our 1st outing after the Grand with mostly young dogs.

2014 Spring HRC International Grand Hunt Test

Congrats to HRCH UH BCK's Ace of Diamonds MH on his 1st Grand Pass. He is an 88lb black male, owned by Greg and Nancy Mills from upstate NY.

2013 Accomplishments

We really had a good year with the dogs in 2013 in that we had quite a few titles. We also had some low spots as we had some that did not title and then we had a dog pass away while on the dog truck at the 2013 Spring Grand. But all in all a really good year for Autrey Kennels.

1st we had GRHRCH UH Diva MH owned by Mandy Cieslinski who got her 3rd Grand pass with Mandy running her. Diva also had a litter of puppies this year.

2nd was another big title with GRHRCH UH MIllie MH owned by Bron & Susan Hayes, who got her Grand title at the 2013 Spring Grand. Millie also had a litter of puppies this year.

3rd was another big title with GRHRCH UH Mylee MH owned by Mandy Cieslinski who got her Grand title at the 2013 Fall grand. Mylee also had a litter of puppies this year.

4th was HRCH UH Sue MH owned by Polly Autrey Smyithe who passed the 2013 Master National. This was Sue's 1st Master National pass.

5th was a young dog who really did well this year, this is HRCH Striker SH owned by Rick & Marsha Hardy. Striker received his HRC SHR, HR, HRCH titles this year as well as JH & SH AKC titles.

6th was HRCH Ricky JH owned Kathleen Carr. Ricky received his HRC SHR, HR, & HRCH titles this year as well as his AKC JH title.

7th was HRCH Doc SH owned by Avis Dominque, Doc received his HRC HR and HRCH titles this year along with his AKC JH and SH titles.

8th was HRCH UH Dee SH owned by Monte & Nita Sayer. Dee received her HRC HRCH & UH titles this year as well as her AKC SH title. Along with this being a great accomplishment for Dee we also have some bad news in that we lost Dee at the 2013 Spring Grand. Dee passed away while at the Grand from what is commonly caused "Twisted Gut". When we found it, she was rushed to the vet but they were unable to save her.

9th was HRCH UH Ace SH who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills. Ace received HRC HRCH & his UH titles along with his AKC SH title this year.

10th was HRCH Chili SH owned by Mandy Cieslinski, Chili received her HRC HRCH title and her AKC SH title this year.

11th was HRCH Anna SH owned by Geri Autrey , Anna received her HRC HRCH title and her AKC SH title this year.

12th was HRCH Tater SH owned by Mandy Cieslinski , Tater received her HRC HRCH title and her AKC SH title this year.

13th was HRCH Sarge SH owned by J.C. Pentecost, Sarge received his HRC HRCH title and his AKC SH title this year.

14th was HR Creasey JH owned by Bobby Nichols, Creasey received his HRC SHR and HR titles this year as well as his AKC JH title.

15th was HRCH Boss SH who is my dog, Boss received his AKC SH title this year.

16th was SHR Bitzy JH owned by Mary Ann Sayer , Bitzy received her HRC SHR title and her AKC JH title with Mary Ann running her for both this year.

17th was SHR Attie JH owned by Mandy Cieslinski, Attie received both her HRC SHR title and her AKC JH title with Mandy running her this year.

18th was Pirate JH owned by Beth Berrecloth, Pirate received his AKC JH title this year.

19th was SHR Lady owned by Blake Smith, Lady received her HRC SHR title this year.

No major health problems this year, no break downs with the dog truck, no accidents. Just a real busy year in that we ran hunt test 18 week ends this year. We ran in a total of 10 different states during those 18 week ends.

I wish to thank all my clients for giving me the opportunity to work with their dog as well as all the sponsors that have supported me throughout the 2013 year.

Updates from the 2013 HRC Fall International Grand Hunt Test

Well the 5th series has finally gotten here, a high of 50 deg & the dogs are pumped.. We started off with a cold honor, then as the working dog on a walk up. All went well with Mylee on that. On into the field , she quartered well (loves the game ), birds were in Higgens box's. As we got close the judge opened the box. & her bird stepped out, it was about 8 inch from the box when Mylee locked up on point about a foot from the bird, I called her name several times & she stayed locked up. I said hup & she moved on , I blew a whistled @ shot & the gunners killed the bird . Mylee made the retrieve & then we hunted some more & now Gator Point Kennels has another GRHRCH female . My CONGRATS go out to Mandy & to new GRHRCH Mylee!

4th Series... A light mist of rain this morning as we head to the Gunners Up land test, this test is on a grass field. The test is an inverted triple, marks are 72-55-82 , marks are shot middle, left, right . The blind is a keyhole blind between 2 bushes @135 yds. It starts out on grass & ends up in corn stubble. I had been worried about Mylee's nose after being sprayed by the skunk early this morning but I should not have worried. She picked the marks up clean & 3W the blind, going on to the 5th.....

Morning of the 4th series... What a way to start the 4th series. While airing @ 5:00 this morning the dogs found a stripped kitty. 4 of them got sprayed, Mylee who is running the 4th series, Sue, Striker & Doc. Gave all a bath in tomato juice & then a shampoo with an old folk remedy that seems to work.. Doc has had 3 baths as he seemed to have gotten the blunt of it. Sure hope this doesn't effect Mylee's nose... Didn't need this crap today.. Buuuut it is what it is.

Our 3rd series of the Grand was Drake Water, this has been a tough series buuuuut they all have been. This test was a triple L to R with marks 47-80-100 , 1st mark on the bank, 2nd mark on a dike across the water with a double water entry, 3rd bird on the edge of the bank on the 2nd pond, this is a single water entry. The blind at 110 was across water from the 3rd mark but was a double water entry. Once again bird placement was the key to this test , judges had their stuff together, once again the dogs were allowed to hunt until it was apparent they were not going to pick it up. Mylee had her 1st handle of the grand , she had to handle on the middle mark . Then 1W a really tough water blind. She is going to the. 4th which is Gunners Up land test...

Our 2nd series at the Grand was the corn field land test... This test was a triple 44-90-147...with an honor & a 142 yd blind.. Marks 1&2 were kind of a hip pocket with the go bird down the hill past a path. & 1/2 way up the next hill. The blind diagonal across the cornrows,between #2 & #3 marks, across a grass strip & back into the corn rows to finish the blind.. Mylee was my 1st dog, she picked the triple up clean & either 4 or 5W the blind. Choc Ace was next, I lost him on a rough handle on the middle bird. Boss followed, I lost him on a rough handle on the long bird. Black Ace came next , he jumped over the short bird & I had to handle, & 4W the blind. Ace had handled in the 1st series so he did not carry to the 3rd. Doc came next , he picked the triple up clean but I lost him on the end of the blind. Soooo I am only taking 1 dog , Mylee to the 3rd series which is Drake Water which has been a meat grinder so far. Bird placement has been excellent thru out this grand. The judges really knew their stuff. , no tricks , no pencil whipping just really stout hard test. The dogs are allowed to hunt & I have seen some recover & pick up the bird but placement has been such that not many have recovered.

My 1st series of the Grand was Tri-Tronics water. This test was a right to left triple all marks approx 80 yds long. 1st mark behind a point in the water, 2nd mark on an island, 3rd mark up on the bank but you crossed over an island getting to it. The blind was 126 yds (I think that's what they said ) sure looked farther than that. Birds well placed, judges let the dogs hunt, the test took the dogs out.. I didn't do nearly as well as I wanted to. Mylee was my 1st dog, she picked the triple up clean & had either 6 or 7 W on the blind. Striker was my 2nd dog , he picked the triple up clean but I lost him on the blind. Boss was my 3rd dog, he handled on the middle mark but 3W the blind. Choc Ace followed , he picked the triple up clean & 2W the blind. Black Ace next , he handled on the middle bird & 3W the blind. Sue was next , she handled on the middle mark & I lost her on the blind. Sarge was next he picked the triple up clean but I lost him on the blind . Rock was my next dog, I lost him on a rough handle on the middle mark . Doc was my last dog, he picked the triple up clean. & had 5 or 6W on the blind. I went 5 for 9 on the 1st day, sure had hoped to have done better . Tomorrow we go to Purina land , a cornfield rest ...

Updates from the 2013 AKC Master National

Our 1st series at the Master Nat was a land triple with a dbl blind, div & honor.. All rooster pheasants were used, this was a walk up 45-90 flier-60 in a field 100 by 100 yds cut out of a sea of prairie grass. The field was bush hogged in what I call the drunken farmer mode with clumps left, strips, paths, & all the goodies to make it challenging. The flier with the wind left a scent trail 70 yds long that the dogs had to dig out .. If the flier went into the tall grass you could not see the dog, if it failed to find it you could only put it back into the cover. Once marks were picked up you got a diversion, no off of the diversion & run blind #1 @ 85 yds on back side of the flier station. Then pick up diversion. & run 2nd blind under the arc of the walk up. @ 60 yds & honor. Mylee was my 1st dog , she had a handle on the flier , lined the left blind & 2W the right blind. Then came Chocolate Ace, he picked the marks up clean , 5W left blind. & 1W right blind. Sue was next , she also picked the marks up clean. , 4W left blind. @ 5W right blind. Diva was next, I lost her on a rough handle on the flier. . Call backs to be posted on the web -site.. Bird placement made this s rough test , lots of thought went into this one. BILL

Test #2 for A flt at the Master Nat was once again a land test using rooster pheasants. Once again a walk up , birds were right 40 yds, left flier at 91 yds, middle bird at 70. A tight pinch for birds 1 & 3, on last bird back a poison bird diversion, no off. & run blind#1 at 100 yds up against a big bush with a path on ea side of the bush . Blind #2 was a key hole blind under the arc of bird#1, a tight, tight blind. Then you honored .. Mylee was my first dog, she stomped the marks, 2W left blind & 3W right blind.. Choc Ace was my 2nd dog, he had 2 no birds in a row on the flier before the gunners finally killed his bird on our. 3rd trip up.. He picked the marks up like he put them out there. He 6W left blind. & 4W right blind.. Sue was my 3rd dog, she picked the marks up clean, 4W left blind & 3W right blind & had to sit thru the honor & shot flier 3 times as the next 2 dogs both had no birds .. Our next test will be a combo with ducks at the "duck blind" test..

Test #3 for the AKC Master Nat was what they called "duck blind test" this was a water combo with basically 2 down the shore. Bird#1 was across a slough in tall cover, bird #2 is down the shore & lands just at the edge of the water giving you a splash but not drifting. Bird #3 was a flier thrown from your bottom of the hill, going high in front of you, dropping in open water where the gunners then slouched the bird. Pick up the triple & run a blind between #1  birds half way up the next hill . Mylee was my 1st dog , she did not handle but had a big hunt on #1 bird in the tall grass, missing the bird by 2 ft on her initial pass. She then 3W the blind. They dropped Mylee as she had handled in the 1st & now the big hunt . Ace was my 2nd dog, now all the no-birds from yesterday came into play as he broke on the sluice of the flier. Sue was my 3rd dog , she picked the triple up clean, had a small hunt on the #1bird in the tall grass but stayed in the area ... She then 4W the blind... Our 4th series will be in Roy's pond...

Sue did well on the 4th series test. Only 6 out of the 25 dogs that have run 4th series so far today (we're approx 3hrs from finishing it) have picked up the flier without handling. We are going on to the 5th series with Sue. You don't realize how good Sue has been until you realize she hasn't handled in 4 series!

Our 4th series was a combo triple, birds , were right to left, flier 1st bird & if you measured straight across was 90 yds but the way the dog ran , down the hill, thru the pond. & up the other side was probually 140 yds depending on the bird some longer. 2nd bird water mark @ 70 yds that was just off line to the flier & at times in line with the flier. Go bird was a land mark, a hip pocket to the #2 bird @ 55 yds. The blind was diagonal across the pond @ 85 or 90 yds.. Sue my only dog left picked the triple up clean, a small hunt on the flier but never left the area and then 2 W the blind .. Going on to the. 5th, starting at dog. 72 which means Sue will be the last dog to run... Raining....

Sue passed!! Way to go, Sue!!

Spring 2013 - Hunt Test Results:

Elkhorn Valley HRC

I ran the Elkhorn Valley HRC test down in Norfork , Neb on August 24th & 25th with 11 dogs, 9 of which were in finish and 2 were in season. The Saturday finish land test was a hip pocket triple in the hay bales. Marks were 45--85-65, thrown right to left. The blind was between the 2nd & 3rd mark at 88 yds, a blind where it was easy to loose a dog in the bales. The div was on the way back from the blind, there was an honor on this test. Sue was my 1st dog, she had a handle on this test and 6W the blind. She was followed by Anna who also handled but 3W the blind. Boss followed, he picked it up clean & 5W the blind. Sarge was next, he also picked it up clean and was my 1st dog to see the blind picture and lined it. Black Ace picked it up clean and he also lined the blind. Doc followed and he had a handle on this test and 3W the blind. Striker followed , he picked it up clean and 4W the blind. Rock followed , he picked it up clean & 2W the blind. Ricky was my last finish dog, he picked it up clean & 5W the blind.

The finish water test was run in 2 small ponds seperated by a levy ,we ran from the levy.1st mark landed on the left side of the levy in short cover, 2nd mark on the right side of the levy in heavy cover, and the go bird was in the large pond. The blind was angeled across the big pond, angel across the levy past the 2nd mark and on the other shore approx 88 yds. Sue was again my 1st dog, she picked it up clean and 5W the blind. Anna also picked it up clean & 5W the blind. Boss followed her, he picked it up clean and 3W the blind. Sarge also picked it up clean but 6W the blind. Black Ace picked it up clean and 6W the blind. Doc folllowed and he picked it up clean & had 8W on the blind. Striker also picked it up clean and he 6W the blind. Rock picked it up clean and 6W the blind. Ricky was again my last finish dog, he had a handle on this test and 7W the blind. They dropped Doc on this test saying he had too many scollops on his water blind.

I ran 2 dogs in season. The season land test was first. It consisted of a W/U, then a double in the trees at 50 & 75 yards, a diversion on the return of the last mark and a blind angeled away from the marks at 58 yds. Creasey was my 1st dog, he had a good walk up, picked up the double clean and 5W the blind. Pirate was my 2nd dog, he had a good W/U , picked the double up clean but I lost him on the blind due to suction back to the marks. This was Creasey's title, our CONGRATS go to him and to owner Bobby Nicholes.

I went 9 for 11 so that was a real good, titled Creasey to make it even better. Mandy ran the Gator Point dogs and did real well with them.

The Sunday land test was ducks in the trees, this looked like a pot hole cut in the trees that would flood when the river came up but was dry for todays test. Marks were thrown right to left at 40-75-55, a dog had better be paying attention as the trees and shadows make marking difficult. A real tight blind thru the trees at 90 yds gave a lot of trouble on this test. Once again Sue was my 1st dog, she picked the triple up clean & 5W the blind. Anna picked it up clean & she 6W the blind. Boss followed, he picked it up clean & 5W the blind. Sarge had a handle on this test as he over ran the short bird & he 4W the blind. Black Ace picked it up clean & 4W the blind. Doc picked it up clean & 7W the blind. I ran Chocolate Ace today instead of Mandy, he picked it up clean & 3W the blind. Striker had a handle on this test & had 9W on the blind. Rock picked it up clean and 3W the blind. Ricky picked it up clean & 7W the blind.

Water test was ducks on the river, we were on the bank of the river with an island in front of us. The river was about 6 to 8 inch deep with a fast current. This was a triple with birds thrown right to left. Bird #1 was thrown from our side of the river & landed on the island in heavy cover at 60 yds, #2 was thrown from the middle of the island and thrown to the left tip of the island at 65 yds. Bird #3 was thrown from our side into the river at 90 yds but by the time the dog got to it the bird was at 60 to 70 yds as it was flowing. The blind was under was under the arc of #1 bird across the river to the opposite end of the island. Any left hand cast was pushing the dog against the fast moving current, best to line a little left as the current moved the dog to the right. The diversion was on the way back from the blind. Sue was my 1st dog, she handled on the bird in the cover and 3W the blind. Anna handled on the go bird as it was passing her in the current & 5W the blind. Boss picked it up clean and 2W the blind. Sarge followed and he also picked it up clean & 2W the blind. Black Ace picked it up clean and 4W the blind. Doc picked it up clean and 5W the blind. Chocolate Ace picked it up clean & 2W the blind. Striker picked it up clean and 7W the blind. Rock picked it up clean & 1W the blind Ricky had a handle on the bird in the cover & he 5W the blind. I went 10 for 10 with the finish dogs. This was Ricky's HRCH, our CONGRATS go out to Cathleen Carr and to Ricky.

The season 1st test was the water test. This test was also ducks on the river it consisted of a walk up, a flower pot double with the 1st bird landing on a sand bar and the 2nd bird in the fast moving river. Pirate did a good walk up and picked the double up clean. The blind was run on the side of the river into some back water. Once again the suction was too much for Pirate and he wanted to go back to the old fall, I lost Pirate on the water blind. I did not run the land test with him.

So all in all a good week end, 10 for 11 on the Sunday test, just lots of work to get Pirate to understand the difference between a blind & a mark. We head home next week, some of the dogs will go home, others will go on into Grand & Master National training. Our next test will be the Master National in Kansas. See you at the bucket...

Platte Valley HRC

We ran the Platte Valley HRC test in Colorado on Aug 10th & 11th. The club had limited the entrys to 8 dogs per handler so I did not get to run all of the dogs. Mandy was there and while I was running 8 , she was running 7. The weather there was 87 deg with a light south wind, quite a bit warmer than the 68 deg weather that we had been seeing in Minnesota.

Saturday saw the finish dogs starting out with a triple on the river, 1st bird @ 65yds in moving water, 2nd bird @ 90yds on the bank stright across the river, 3rd bird @ 75yds also on the bank but to your left up river. Pick them up in any order but it was to your benefit to pick up bird #1 first as it was moving down stream in the current. The blind was 94 yds angeled across the between birds #1 & #2 on an island of grass.

Boss was my 1st dog to run this test, he turned with me off of bird#3 and picked bird #1 up first. He picked the triple up clean and 3W the blind.Boss tore a toe nail off on his right front foot during this test. Sarge was next dog, he turned with me towards the moving bird, started for it & then turned and picked the middle bird 1st. He had a rough handle on the #1 bird as it was way down stream by now. Sarge 5W the blind.

Black Ace was my 3rd dog, he turned with me but after leaving he U turned and picked #3 bird first, he did catch the floating bird and picked this triple up clean and then 2W the blind. Striker was my next dog, he also turned back to #1 bird with me but he also U turned and picked up #3 bird first. Striker had a handle on the floating bird. He also ran a nice 3W blind. Doc turned me and picked the floating river bird first before it was out of the area, he then picked the other 2 birds clean and 1W the blind. Ricky was my last finish dog, he turned with me, left but he also U turned and picked #3 bird first. By now his bird was 40 yds down stream and still moving. He had to handle on that bird but picked the other 2 up clean and 5W the blind.

The Saturday finish land test was an inverted triple ran from a road into tall grass. Birds were 60-35-80, the blind started off on the road and dogs were then cast into the rough grass for a 90 yd blind, the diversion was on the way back from the blind.

Boss was again my 1st dog to run, he over ran the short bird and had a handle on this test, he 3W the blind. Sarge followed , he picked it up clean and 6W the blind. Black Ace came next, he picked it up clean and 3W the blind. Striker picked this test up clean and 4W the blind. Doc followed, he also over ran the short bird and had a handle, Doc 4W the blind. Ricky rounded it out, he picked it up clean but had a big hunt on the go bird in the tall grass. He 7W the blind.

Saturday season test was a land test first. This test was a double with birds at 65 & 50 pinched towards each other but with still good seperation. The blind was 40yds off to the side away from the marks. Creasey was my first season dog to run, he picked the double up clean and 2W the blind. Pirate was my other season dog. Pirate also picked the double up clean and he 4W the blind.

The season water test was also on the river, first was a walk up while going to the bucket. After some calling you got a double, first bird was at 85yds across the river up on a sand bar, second was a floater in the moving river at 35yds moving with the current away from you. The diversion was on the last bird back of the marks. The blind was run up the river against the current between a point of land and a dead tree to a point of sand, 35yard blind. Creasey picked the double up clean and 1W the blind, stayed right in the middle of the stream all the way up. Pirate also picked the double up clean and he 3W the blind.

I went 8 for 8 on the Saturday test, Mandy also had a good day going 6 for 7.

The Sunday finish test was once again ducks on the river. This was a triple on a narrow part of the river, full of sand bars and islands, fast current. Triple was left to right, all birds on sand bars or islands at 52-75-60. The diversion was thrown on the last bird back. the blind was run down the river, over 1st sand bar, past a 2nd sand bar, to a 3rd sand bar at 90 yds. Bird #1 was in light cover on a sand bar, bird #2 was behind a pile of drift wood on a sandbar, & bird #3 was over 2 driftwood logs into some bushes.The diversion was on the last bird back, you needed to pick the left bird up last or the diversion was in the dogs face.

Boss was once again my 1st dog to run, he picked the triple up clean and 2W the blind. Sarge followed him. Sarge had a handle on the middle bird and he 7W the blind. Black Ace came next, he picked the triple up clean and 6W the blind. Striker was next, he also picked the triple up clean and he 4W the blind. Doc picked the triple up clean and 7W the blind. Ricky was my last finish dog, he also had a handle on the middle mark , he 6W the blind.

The finish land test was a triple with an honor,with a thru the scent of the #2 bird, the grass was real tall here, you could not see the dod pick up #1 or #2 birds. If it came out of the cover with out a bird all you could do was put it back in the cover to find it. Bird #3 was the long bird and it fell in a plowed strip that made it hard to find. birds were 35-6-80. The blind was 88 yards thru some points of grass cover.

Boss picked the triple up clean and 2W the blind. Sarge picked the triple up clean and 3W the blind. Ace pickedf it up clean and 2W the blind. Striker picked it up clean and 4W the blind. Doc picked it up clean and 7W the blind. Ricky picked it up clean and 6W the blind.

The Sunday season test was first the water test with a walk up going towards the bucket. You stopped on the way, shot and ran a 40 yard blind across the river and with a cross current moving the dogs. Then you went on to the bucket where you got a double. This was a flower pot double, an angel in at 45yds on the bank and an angel back into the fast moving water at 70yds. Creasey picked the double up clean and 4W the blind. Pirate picket the double up clean and 6W the blind.

The Sunday land test was more of an AKC senior test than an HRC test. The test was a walk up double, right to left with both birds thrown right to left, birds were thrown at 60 and 45 yds into knee deep cover. The blind was run off the back side of the #1 gun station. Creasey had a handle on the right hand bird and 4W the blind. Pirate picked the double up clean but had a 7W blind with about 4 of them scollops as he wanted to go back to the old fall. They dropped Pirate on this test.

I went 7 for 8 on the Sunday test, losing only Pirate, but still proud of him. This was his and Creasey's first season test, this was also Ricky's first week end to run finish.

Our next test is at Elkhorn Valley HRC in Nebraska. See you at the bucket.

Watopa AKC

We ran the Watopa AKC test on August 2nd thru August 4th, this is an old field trial club that is south east on Minnapolis close to the Wisconsin border of Minnesota. This test was a double Master and single Senior. I started out running 8 dogs, 5 in Master and 3 in Senior. The Friday Master started out with a land triple, an honor, a diversion shot when you picked up the flier, and a double blind. We were in a hay field with grass about 8 inch tall, birds were thrown left @ 86yds, right was the flier @ 145 to 155 yds, center bird @ 135. pick them up in any order but div shot on the flier. Short blind was towards the flier but off to the side @ 62 yds up in a big bush that you had to put the dogs into to get the bird, long blind was under the arc of the center bird @ 182.

Boss was my 1st dog, he had a handle on the left bird, 4W on the short blind & 7W on the long blind. Sarge was my 2nd dog, he picked the triple up clean, 3W the short blind and 2W the long blind. 3rd was Sue who also handled on the left bird, she 1W the short blind & 1W the long blind. My next dog was Black Ace. Ace got hurt on this test, I had to pull him, put him up, gave him some rymidol and judges said I could run him as last dog. Ace was still limping when it was time to run and I had to scratch him. From what we could tell later he sprained his left wrist in the tall grass when he stumbled. Rock was my last dog, he picked the triple up clean, 2W the short blind and 3W the long blind. A foot note: A dog stumbled and broke his neck and died the next day on the grounds that we ran this test on.

Test #2 was the water test, this was a triple on an "E" pond. They had 3 bird boy blinds lined up in a row, all at different distances and throwing different directions. 1st mark was from long blind thrown to the right, this was a single entry water mark. 2nd was from a winger that was on a finger next to #3 mark but it threw back and the bird landed on the point where the #1 winger was thrown but in the opposite direction, this was a double entry mark. The 3rd mark was a wipe out bird of #2 and was thrown into a bunch of tall cattails. Any dog that squared the bank wound up in the area of an old fall & had to handle. Boss was again my 1st dog to run, he had a handle on the middle bird and they dropped him. Sarge who was clean coming into this test had a handle and a big hunt and they dropped him also. Sue picked this triple up clean. Rock had a handle on the center bird.

Test #3 was the combo with a water blind. This test was run off of a mound, once again the top of the mound had been cut but had long grass at the bottom of the mound. Bird #1 was right bird thrown @ 95 yds that landed on top of another mound, bird #2 was @ 115 yds and landed in front and up against a row of tall cover, bird #3 was at 55 yds and landed in the edge of a pond. The blind was under the arc of #3 bird, a cheating blind that cut the cornor of the pond, angel entry, a 95 yd blind. Sue picked it up clean and 4W the blind. Rock picked it up clean and 7W the blind. Both Sue and Rock passed this Master test, giving them their 1st pass on the 2014 circuit.

Saturday Master test started with a walk up triple in heavy cover on the edge of a bowl. birds were thrown left @ 55, middle flier @ 125 to 145 yds on the side of the bowl from the bottom to half way up the other side of the bowl, bird three at 85 yds where a dog had to hold a good line or fall off the hill & miss the bird. This test had a double blind also. Long blind was thru mark#1 @ 145 yds, and blind #2 was under the arc of bird #3 @ 110 yds. Sue was my 1st dog to run, she picked the triple up clean, 2W the long blind & 1W the short blind. Sarge came out next, he picked the triple up clean, 1W the long blind & 2W the short blind. Rock was my 3rd dog to run, he also picked the triple up clean, 4W the long blind & lined the short blind. Boss was next, he got a short flier that landed close to the bird boy blind. I had a rough handle on it, he 7W the long blind and 2W the short blind. They dropped Boss for the rough handle. Black Ace was still limping and I had to scratch him before the test started.

Test #2 was the combo, a hip pocket triple with birds 1 & 2 thrown as a hip pocket on land,#1 @ 80yds , #2 @ 165yds, and then a water mark thrown into cattails at 70yds. The blind was under the arc of #3 bird, down the shore line at 125 yds. Due to rotation Sarge was my 1st dog to run, he broke on this test. Rock was my 2nd dog, Rock left as the judge called dog and they dropped him. Sue picked the triple up clean and 4W the blind.

Test #3 was a water triple moved 40 yds over from where the line was for test#2. This test was a triple, birds were thrown #1 right at 75 yds into heavy cattails, bird #2 was across the pond & up the bank @ 110yds, and bird #3 was a wipe out flier @ 55yds. What made this test so hard was birds 1 & 2 were thrown so both birds were in the air at the same time. dogs did not get a good look at the cattail bird. Sue had a handle on the cattail bird but she was clean coming in and passed this Master test.

Sunday I got to run the Senior dogs. The 1st test was the land test, this was a double, it was run on the edge of a bowl. This test had an honor and a blind. Marks were thrown left bird thrown in the bottom of the bowl at 85 yds in heavy cover, the 2nd mark was the flier @ 135 yds going away on the other side of the bowl. The blind was run on the side of the bowl up against some bushes @ 80 yds. Striker was my 1st dog to run, he had a handle on the short bird in the bottom of the bowl, he 1W the blind. Doc was my 2nd dog to run, he also had a handle on the short bird, he 2W the blind. Ricky was my 3rd dog and he also had to handle on the short bird, he 7W the blind.

The water test was run in what we would call a swamp with floating marsh grass. This test was a walk up double, 1st bird thrown into light cover @ 70 yds, bird #2 was at 45 into heavy cover of grass & cattails. You could not see the dod pick up #2 bird. The blind was an angel entry, thru 2 points of grass, nearly a down the shore blind @ 80 yds. Striker picked this double up clean & 4W the blind. Doc's bird landed on a marsh grass float, every time he tried to get to the bird he fell thru the grass, he had a hard time and was exausted when he finally was able to get to the bird but he never quit or slacked up, he showed a lot of heart digging that bird out. Doc picked it up clean & 3W the blind. Ricky picked it up clean and 6W the blind. All 3 of the Senior dogs passed, this pass gave Striker his Senior Hunter title. Our congrats go out to Rick & Marcia Hardy and to Striker for a job well done.

Our next test will be next week end an HRC test in Colorado, I will see you at the bucket.

Mississippi Headwaters AKC

We ran the Mississippi Headwaters AKC test in Bemidji, Minn on July 20th & 21st. Mandy came over and ran her dogs as well as ran my Junior dogs. This was a single master, single senior but double junior test. We started the master test off with a land test that was a walk up inverted triple, along with an honor and a double blind. birds were thrown middle @ 55, flier on the left @ 155, & go bird on the right thru an old slough at 110. This could have been a stright forward test but when they trimmed the grass on the hill we ran off of they left a wall of grass that the dogs had difficulty looking thru to see the marks. Rock was my 1st dog, he handled on the flier, had a choppy right blind but 4W the left blind. Sue had a 1W handle to the flier, 2W the right blind & 1W the left blind. Sarge was next, he also handled on the flier, 6W the right blind & 4W the left blind. Boss came up next, he also handled on the flier, he had a choppy right blind but 2W the left blind. Black Ace was my last dog, he picked the marks up clean but gave me two choppy blinds. Tator and Anna were both in heat and we had to scratch them from this test. Mandy ran Chocolate Ace, Mylee & Diva. She lost Diva on this test and I did not write down how Mylee & Ace ran this test but I did get to see Ace pick the triple up clean. Not many picked this up clean because of the tall grass the dogs were looking thru.

The 2nd series was the combo, 3 marks, no blind, a breaking bird and the water was hidden from the dog with tall grass. When you signled ready there was nothing in sight, bird boys stood up out of the grass, shot and threw, right, middle, and left. The left bird was the land bird, thru heavy cover, then either of the 2 water marks. The dog was lost from sight until it got into the water. Sarge was my 1st dog and he picked it up clean, Boss followed and he picked it up clean, he was followed by Black Ace and he picked it up clean, followed by Rock who broke on the 2nd bird thrown. Sue followed and she picked it up clean. Mandy ran in between my dogs but both Mylee & Ace picked it up clean.

The 3rd test was the water test, once again in tall grass & cattails. They had cleared a swath so that you could see to get the dog in the water on the blind. 1st bird was the long water mark at 70 yds thrown from behind cattails into heavy cover in the water, 2nd was a land bird thrown from the cattails into tall grass at 60 yds, 3rd was another breaking bird, a shot flier in front of you that fell in the cattails at 30yds. The blind was under the arc of the long water mark, 85yds up against the cat tails. If a dog missed a cast you lost it in the cattails. Black Ace was my 1st dog on this test, he picked it up clean & 2W the blind. Sue came next & she picked it up clean & 2W the blind. Sarge followed her, he also picked it up clean & 6W the blind. Followed by Boss who picked it up clean & 3W the blind.

I went 4 for 5 on this test and Mandy went 2 for 3 on it. I ran 3 dogs in as tough a Senior test as I have run in a long time. To me the marks on the land test were too tight a pinch for a senior dog as they had an over lapping hunt area, especially if the flier went long. This test was a walk up double, you walked to the edge of a hill & the flier was thrown from the valley up towards the next hill, the 2nd bird was thrown from the top of the hill in a tight pinch with the flier. Ricky was my 1st dog, he missed the go bird, circled around & picked up the flier. They dropped him for switching the area. Striker followed him, he picked it up clean and 2W the blind that was off of the back of the flier station. Doc followed him, he also picked it up clean & 4W the blind. The water test was changed several times before a test dog could pick it up. This was a double, thrown into cattails, 1st bird at 12:00 at 70 yds & 2nd bird at 1:00 at 55 yds. To me the line to these birds was too tight for senior dogs. Anyway it is what it is. Doc missed the long bird in the cover, circled back in the cattails & picked up the short bird. They dropped him. Striker had a handle on the short bird and 4W the water blind. I went 1 for 3 on this test. Mandy ran both Creasey & Pirate for me and passed both dogs both days. THANKS for a job well done. This was Striker's 2nd & 3rd Junior pass & Pirate's 1st & 2nd pass. We did not fare as well as we wanted, especially in Senior but all in all a good week end.

Our next test is a double master, single senior down in Southern Minnesota.

Central Minnesota AKC -- DOUBLE MASTER

We ran the Central Minn AKC double master & double senior test with 13 dogs, 8 in master & 5 in senior. This club is an old club, having been at their current location since the 70s. They own their own grounds and have their own club house on the grounds. They do both field trials and AKC hunt test.

They ran some good challenging test, the 1st master test on fri was run off of a mound, this was called a hay bale triple as hay bales were in the field. marks were thrown left to right with the flier the 2nd bird thrown. The grass was tall and there were roads,4-wheeler trails and paths that went to nowhere. Sue was the 1st dog to run and picked up the triple clean and ran a nice blind. ,Black Ace ran 2nd and he picked up the marks clean and ran a good blind, Choc Ace ran next & he picked up the marks clean and ran a good blind. Sarge ran next but could not dig the flier out of the tall cover, I had to pick Sarge up on this test. Chili followed Sarge, she had a rough handle on the flier but picked the others up clean and ran a so-so blind. Rock followed her and he had a big hunt on the flier and a handle on another bird, he did not carry. He was followed by Boss, who had a big hunt on the flier and a handle and did not carry. Millie followed and she picked the triple up clean and ran a good blind. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement, but the mowed paths seemed to bother the dogs.

The 2nd test was the water test: This test started with a cold blind over 2 points approx 90 yds, if the dog did good you were invited to run a triple which was 3 down the shore followed by a 2nd blind where you swan by the point this time. Sue had a handle on 1 mark, ran a choppy 1st blind but 4W the 2nd blind, she carried. Black Ace I lost on the 1st blind, as too many refusals to get off the points., Choc Ace ran next, he had a handle on the marks but ran 2 good blinds. Chili ran and she also had a handle on this test and ran too pretty choppy blinds, she did not carry. Millie followed and she picked the marks up clean , 4W the 1st blind and lined the 2nd blind.

The 3rd test was the combo, by now I am down to 3 dogs, Choc Ace, Sue, and Millie. This test was a walk up triple with a mom & pop, 1st bird being a 2nd flier and the 2nd mark being thrown over the line to the long punch bird. Millie picked this triple up clean, Choc Ace picked this test up clean, while Sue did not handle she had a big hunt on the punch bird and they dropped her. We also ran a senior test on Fri, our 1st test was a land test with a walk up and an out of order flier. The grass here was very tall and after the dogs picked up the marks you ran a blind off of a mound (so you could see the dog) and an honar. I ran 5 dogs here, Tator, Ricky, Doc, Anna, and Striker. None of them had to handle and all ran good blinds. The water test here was challenging as the dog started down a road towards the water & if tried to cheat got lost on the memory bird. The blind was a down the shore blind about 60 yds. I lost Anna on this test. Tator had no handles and ran good blinds for me, she looked impressive. This was the 1st senior pass for Doc, Striker, and Ricky a big jump from junior.


The 2nd Master test was once again run off of a mound as the grass was real tall, this test was the olive bush triple as it was in a field full of olive bushs, much like running in a hay bale field. birds were thrown at 50-76-125, with the 1st bird thrown into the edge of the tree line, and the last bird the flier. Grass was so deep you could not see the dog pick up the flier. If it came out with out it you put it back into the tall grass. This test had a double blind and an honor. 1st blind at the edge of a olive bush & 2nd blind up against an olive bush. Millie was my 1st dog to run, She picked up the marks clean, 2W left & 7W right blind. Choc Ace followed her, he picked the marks up clean and 4W left & 5W right blinds. Rock followed, he picked the marks up clean and 1W left and 3W right blinds. Black Ace followed, he had a big hunt on the flier and a handle, he 3W left & 5W right blind but they did not carry him. Boss followed and he also had a handle on the bird thrown into the trees but picked the others up clean, he 2W left & 4W right blind. Chile came up next, she picked the triple up clean, she 5W left & 1W right blind. Sue ran next, she picked the marks up clean and lined the left blind & 3W the right. Sarge was my last dog and he pickded the triple up clean, 4W the left & 4W the right blind.

The 2nd test was the combo, this was a triple, 1st mark a water mark @ 95yds, cut the cornar of water or get lost on the road, 2nd mark @ 75 was a land bird thrown out of a tree line that did not get waist high. Most dogs did not see this bird, just heard the shot. 3rd bird was a breaking bird that was the only winger bird thrown in 3 days and it landed 30 yds in front of the dog. The blind was by invitation, it started off as a channel blind, then about 25yds on a point and then back into the channel, past a point and up the bank about 10 yds. Approx 135-140 yds. Judges gave you plenty of room to move as you had to be able to see the dog get on & off of the point. Millie showed out, she picked the triple up clean and 3W the blind. She was followed by Choc Ace who also showed out, he picked the triple up clean and 4W the blind. Judges both of these dogs a standing ovation as these were the 2 best blinds ran all day. Rock handled on the land mark but ran me a good blind. Boss had a big hunt on the land mark but picked the others up clean and ran a good blind. Chile handled on the water mark and had trouble finishing the blind, she did not carry. Sarge also handled on the water mark and I lost him on the 2nd point of the water blind. Sue had a handle on the water mark but ran a good blind for me.

They had beat us up so bad on the 2nd series they said they would take it easy on us the 3rd. A double and a diversion. This was the water test, both birds thrown on land with the memory bird having a cornar to cut to find the bird. They were thrown at 75 & 80 yds, as they were returning with the 1st bird they did a shot flier diversion that fell with in 10 ft of the dogs, then you picked up the 2nd mark. Choc Ace had a handle on this test, all the other dogs picked it up clean. They lost 6 dogs in the 3rd series. Most are not use to a diversion much less a shot flier diversion. They passed 14 out of 40, I had 5 of the 14, this was Boss's 1st master pass and a rough one for any dog to get thru.

We had heard while at master that they had scrapped the senior test but lo & behold they did not. This was a walk up double, a mom & pop, shot flier angling in at 45 and a dead bird angeling back at 90. But there was a mound between you and the dog and the 2nd bird. Dog only saw the bird in the air, as it went over the mound towards the bird off to the side were 6 goose decoys that pulled it towards the flier. By the time you saw the dog ( you are behind the mound) it was in the area of the flier, that wasn't a good thing to happen. A blind was run across a road to the drip line of a olive tree. Tator picked it up clean & 4W the blind. Doc handled 1 mark here but went back to the old fall. while he 1W the blind they dropped him. Striker picked it up clean and 3W the blind. Rickey handled 1 mark and #w the blind. Anna picked it up clean and lined the blind. Water was a double at 65 & 78 yds, a blind with aa 20 yd water entry and then between 2 points and up into a channel aabout 12 ft wide for 15 yds. and an honor. Tator picked it up clean and ran a good blind. Striker picked it up clean, ran a good blind and broke on the honor. Rickey handled on the memory bird , ran a pretty good blind but they did not carry him. Anna picked it up clean and ran a good blind.

We had some high's and some lows this week end, Choc Ace & Millie both looked real good, Boss got his 1st master pass, Sue who had only been back in trng 2 weeks got a pass as did Rock. My other young master dogs are struggling but getting there. A learning experience for all. My senior dogs, this was Ricky, Striker, & Doc's first test, I was pleased with them evan if we didn't get pass's both days. Tator will now move on up to master, a big step as master is tough in this part of the country. Anna needs 1 morer pass for her senior title.

Our next test is next week end, we will be at Marsh & Meadows HRC, time to switch back to calling and shooting at the line. Take care and I will see you at the bucket.

Old Hatchie HRC

I ran the Old Hatchie HRC test today with 10 finish dogs, I sure didn't do as well as I had hoped to do. Pretty meaty finish test. Anyway I went 7 for 10 , passing GRHRCH Millie, HRCH Choc Ace, HRCH Black Ace, HR Sarge (2nd pass ), HR Tator (1st pass), HR Anna (1st pass), & HR Striker (1st pass) . I lost HRCH Boss on a land mark, HRCH Chili on the water blind & HR Doc on a land mark . Hope I can get them all thru tomorrow.

2013 HRC International Grand Hunt Test -- Updates from the Grand!

5th Series description:
Grand 5th series... The 5th series was a cold walk up honor & then back into the holding blind, 2nd time out you were now the working dog. This time a hot honor and after that on into the field where the quartering began. They were using hen pheasants out of a silent box. As the dog got close, the box was opened and the bird walked out. The dog then had to engage the bird , sit while handler & gunners fired and hopefully got to make a retrieve. Millie did a great job on all of this and the result is that we now have GRHRCH UH Cajun Dakota's Millie Girl MH. Our CONGRATS go out to Millie & to Bron. & Susan Hayes of Pineville, Louisiana the owners of this beautiful and talented girl

Day Four -- Evening update:
Great news... The bird flushed and Millie planted her rear..... We now have GRHRCH Cajun Dakota's Millie Girl. A special congratulations to Bron Hayes on Millie's title...

Day Three -- Evening update:
I am happy to announce Millie ran a great 4th series. She is going to the 5th. Heading out to train. The 4th series was another water test. A delayed triple and a blind, no honar , no diversion. Load. 2, call, call. Shot 1st 2 birds , load 2 more & call again , now shoot 3rd bird twice. Pick up triple & them run a blind over 3 logs. & between 2 islands. Millie picked up the triple clean & ran a nice tight blind. We are going to the 5th.

Day Three -- Early AM update:
Well I was worried about the 2nd series water test being toouch for the young dogs & it was. I lost both Chili & Boss on the middle mark. I ran the 3rd test with Millie & did well again. She picked up the marks clean & 4 whistled the blind. They may have dinged her on the blind as I got a scollep on her but did not get to call back in time to see her sheets. This test did not let the dogs hunt much at all. If not straight to the bird you were told to put them on the bird.

Day Two -- Late Evening update:
The 2nd day here at the Grand was a real heart breaker as we had a dog pass away . HRCH UH Dee SH a black 2 yr old female that belonged to Monte & Nita Sayer of Natchitoches, La passed away after running & passing the 1st series. We all left the hunt site late, aired, & then fed about 9:00 Mon night. Sometime during the night Dee's stomach turned over. We got her to the vet but they were unable to save her. Our hearts. & prayers go out to Monty & Nita on their loss of this fine young girl.. I only got to run Millie on the 2nd series, a water test that about 80% of the dogs have had to handle on. But Millie picked up clean. & then 3 whistled a challenging water blind. I will run Chili & Boss early Mon morning on their 2nd series. Worried as this is no young dog test.

Day Two -- Early A.M. update:
Well the morning started right. All three girls passed bitch check.. I watch test dog but it will be late before I run as "C" must finish before we start. A tight water triple with birds at 11:00, 12:00, & 1:00 positions at 48-101-80 yds. Blind is 126 over 2 points with the last 30 yds having an inviting shore line

Day One:
The 1st day of the 2013 spring Grand was not kind to Autrey Kennels . I lost both Rock & Choc Ace on the left hand mark. Neither got to run the blind. Then came Millie who picked it up clean & 1 whistled the blind, followed by 2 yr old Dee picked it up clean & 3 whistled the blind, followed by 2 yr old Boss who picked it up clean & 2 whistled the blind & then came another 2 yr old Chili who also picked it up clean & 4 whistled the blind. Thank goodness the young dogs stepped up and joined Millie in having a good 1st series. I thought the test was fair, very thought out. The judges let the dogs hunt and did not beat us up going to the bucket, but still a challenging test.

4-States HRC

We ran the 4 States HRC test on March 30th, 2013. This was a one day test due to Easter Sunday with an 8 dog limit per handler. At this test I ran 8 dogs, 7 in finish and 1 in season, Lance Wollmann ran a started dog for me giving me a total of 9 dogs running.

In finish I went 6 for 7 passing HRCH UH Millie MH who belongs to Bron & Susan Hayes, HRCH UH Rock MH who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, La., HRCH Boss SH who is mine, HRCH UH Dee SH who belongs to Monte & Nita Sayer of Natchitoches, La., HRCH UH Chili SH who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada Co, and HR UH Ace (black) SH who belongs to Greg and Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg New York. This pass gave Ace his HRCH title, our CONGRATS go out to Ace and to Greg & Nancy Mills. I lost Choc Ace on this test. I also ran SHR Striker JH who belongs to Rick Hardy of Alexandria, La in season and passed him, this pass gave Striker his HR title. Our CONGRATS go out to both Striker and to Rick Hardy his owner. Lance Wollmann passed Creasey who belongs to Bobby Nichols of Lufkin, Texas in Started, this gave Creasey his 3rd Started pass.

So not a bad trip, passing 8 for 9 and titling one more. I know a lot of you will be running North Louisiana but I will not, sorry but I am tired. We have run 6 of the last 7 week ends and it is time for me and my dogs to rest and try to get ready for the Grand. This year they raised the limit to 12 dogs per handler at the Grand but I will not be running but 6 and 3 of them are young dogs. My Grand dogs will be Rock, Choc Ace, Millie, Boss, Dee, and Chili. Three big dogs and three that just turned two years old,we will be ready. I will be watching for you there, see you at the bucket.

Amite River HRC

We ran the Amite River HRC test on March 23rd & 24th, this test had an 8 limit entry per handler. I ran 8 dogs, 7 in finish and 1 in season. Lance Wollmann and Mary Ann Sayer both ran Started dogs for me, in that way we ran 11 dogs per day.

On the Saturday test I went 8 for 8, in finish I passed HRCH UH Millie MH who belongs to Bron & Susan Hayes of Pineville, La, I also passed HRCH UH Rock MH who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, La, HRCH UH Ace (choc) MH who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvado, Co, HRCH Boss SH who is mine, HRCH UH Chili SH who also belongs to Mandy Cieslinski, HR UH Dee SH who belongs to Monte & Nita Sayer of Natchitoches, La, this pass gave Dee her HRCH title. I also passed HR Uh Ace (black) SH who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg, N.Y., this was Ace's 2nd finish pass. I also ran SHR Doc in Season and passed him, Doc belongs to Ms. Avis Dominque of Carencro, La. This pass gave Doc his HR title. Our Congrats go to both Dee and Doc for their new titles Dee her HRCH and Doc his Hr title. While I was running the bigger dogs Mary Ann Sayer ran 2 Started dogs for me. She ran and passed both Bitzy who is her dog and also Lady who belongs to Blake Smith of West Monroe, La. Lance Wollmann was running his dogs in both finish and started so he ran Creasey who belongs to Bobby Nicholes of Lufkin, Texas for me and passed him. So to say we had a good day would be putting it mildly as we went 11 for 11 on the Saturday test.

On the Sunday test we did not fare quite as good, only going 9 for 11. I went 6 for 8, passing Rock, Choc Ace, Boss, Dee, and Black Ace in finish and losing both Millie and Chili. On a good note I moved SHR Striker JH who belongs to Rick Hardy of Alexandria, La to season and got his 2nd season pass, Striker ran in place of Doc who had titled on Saturday. Mary Ann once again passed both Bitzy and Lady, this gave both of them their SHR title. Our Congrats go to both the owners and to the dogs for their accomplishment. Lance also got the 2nd started pass on Creasey,

So all in all a real good week end, Amite River once again put on a quality test, they have good grounds and a club that seems to really work together. Our next test will be the 4 States HRC test next week end. See you at the bucket.

Central Louisiana HRC - Upland Hunt

I ran the Central Louisiana quad upland test with 11 dogs on March 9th and 10th. On the Saturday morning test I went 8 for 11, passing HRCH Millie MH who belongs to Bron & Susan Hayes of Pineville, Louisiana, HRCH Ace MH (Choc Ace) who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvado, Colorado, HRCH Mylee MH who also belongs to Mandy, HRCH UH Rock MH who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, Louisiana, HR Ace SH (Black Ace) who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg, New York, HR Dee Sh, who belongs to Monte & Nita Sayer of Natchitoches, Louisiana, and HR Sarge SH who belongs to J.C. Pentecost of Pineville, Louisiana, and HRCH Chili SH who also belongs to Mandy Cieslinski. I lost HRCH Boss SH who is my dog, I also lost HR Tator JH who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski and HR Anna JH who belongs to Geri Autrey.

On the Saturday afternoon hunt I went 9 for 11, passing HRCH Millie MH, HRCH Mylee MH, HRCH Ace MH, and HRCH UH Rock MH, HRCH Boss SH, HR Ace SH, HR Dee SH, and HR Tator JH, and HR Chile SH. I lost HR Sarge SH and again lost HR Anna JH. this pass gave the Upland titles to HRCH MIllie MH , HRCH Ace MH, and HRCH Mylee MH. Our congrats go out to the dogs and to their owners.

On the Sunday morning hunt I once again went 9 for 11. Passing Rock, Mylee, Millie, Choc Ace, Black Ace, Dee, Boss, Chili, and Tator . I lost Sarge and Anna again on this one.

On the Sunday afternoon hunt I again went 9 for 11 but with different dogs. On this hunt I passed Rock, Mylee, Millie, Choc Ace. Boss, Black Ace, Dee, Chili, and finally got a pass with Anna. I lost Sarge and Tator.This pass gave the Upland Hunter title to HRCH Chili SH, HR Ace SH, and HR Dee SH. Our Congrats go out to these dogs and to their owners.

Not a bad week end, I titled 6 to go with Rock having their Upland Hunter title, Boss needs 1 more pass, Tator needs 2 more pass and Sarge and Anna both need 3 more pass.

Our next retriever trial will be at Amite River HRC test on March 23rd and 24th, see you at the bucket.

North Alabama AKC

We ran the North Alabama double Master AKC test on March 1st thru March 3rd with 17 dogs. Once again Cindy Wollmann drove the farm truck over pulling the 6 hole Jones trailer. She ran 5 Junior dogs for me, Mandy Cieslinski from Colorado was in Mississippi delivering Diva puppys so she ran Diva (1st test after puppy's) , Mylee, and Ace which are her 3 Master dogs and I ran 7 Senior dogs and 2 Master dogs. All in all we had a very successful week end , dogs looked good (most of them) and we titled a bunch.

On the Friday Master Mandy went 3 for 3, passing GRHRCH Diva MH, HRCH Mylee MH, and HRCH Ace MH. That is some pretty stout numbers. I passed HRCH Millie MH but lost HRCH Rock MH in the 2nd series on the water blind. This pass qualified Millie for the 2013 Master National, making her the 1st Autrey Kennel dog to qualify this year.

On the Saturday Senior I went 6 for 7, I had already titled HR Ace SH and HRCH Boss SH last week end at Port Arthur but we were too late to move them up to Master and I did not want these two sitting on the truck all week end growing stale on me. So I passed HRCH Boss SH , HR Ace SH, HR Dee JH , HRCH Chili JH, HR Tator JH, HR Sarge JH but lost HR Anna JH on the water test.

On the Saturday Junior test Cindy went 4 for 5 for me, passing SHR Doc, SHR Striker, SHR Ricky, SHR Lady, but losing SHR Bitzy.

On the Saturday Master test Mandy took the lead again going 3 for 3 in Master, Passing GRHRCH Diva MH, HRCH Mylee MH, and HRCH Ace MH, and to top it all off, this pass qualified all three of them for the Master National. How sweet it was for her to run her own dogs, pass all three and qualify all three in the same week end. This now gives Autrey Kennels four that are already qualified for the Master National. I passed HRCH Millie MH on the Saturday Master but once again lost HRCH Rock MH but this time in the 3rd series but once again on the water blind.

On the Sunday Senior test I went 7 for 7, passing HRCH Boss SH, HR Ace SH, HR Sarge JH and this now gave Sarge his SH title. I passed HR Dee JH and this pass also gave her the SH title. HR Tator JH also passed and this pass gave her the SH title. I also passed HRCH Chili to earn her Senior Hunter (SH) titled. HR Anna JH also passed and will now need 2 more pass for her SH title.

On the Sunday Junior test Cindy once again went 4 for 5, passing SHR Striker and this pass gave him his JH title. SHR Ricky also passed and this pass gave Ricky his JH title also. She also passed SHR Lady and SHR Bitzy but lost SHR Doc.

A good week end, we titled 3 in Senior, 2 in Junior and qualified 4 for the Master national. I was really intrigued with the Master test, as these test really challenged the dogs. Just well thought out test, hard but doable, my hat is off to the judges. Our next test will be the Central Louisiana HRC quad Upland test. Four of the 11 I am running can do upland, the other 7 have never ran upland and most have never trained on it. This will be a busy week to get them ready for next week end. See you at the bucket.

Port Arthur AKC

We ran the Port Arthur AKC test on Feb 23rd & 24th with 15 dogs while it was our 2nd test of the 2013 season , it was our 1st AKC test of the season. This was a single master, double senior & double junior test. Once again we took two trucks, me in the big truck and Cindy Wollmann of South Dakota running the junior dogs and driving the farm truck and pulling the 6 hole trailer. Lance and Cindy winter here in Louisiana from January to April.

I ran 3 master dogs, going 2 for 3 in some pretty complicated test. I passed HRCH MIllie MH who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, Louisiana and HRCH Ace MH (choc) who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Colo. I Lost HRCH Rock MH in the 2nd series.

I ran 7 senior dogs both days going 6 for 7 on both days. on the Saturday test I passed HRCH Boss JH who is my dog,HR Ace JH (black) who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg, New York, HR Dee JH who belongs to Monte Sayer of Natachadish, Louisiana, HR Tator JH who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Colo, Hr Anna JH who belongs Ms Geri Autrey of Bentley, Louisiana, and HR Sarge JH who belongs to J.C. Pentecost of Pineville, Louisiana. I lost HRCH Chili JH on this test.

Cindy went 4 for 5 in Junior, passing SHR Doc who belongs to Avia Dominque of Carencro, Louisiana, SHR Striker who belongs to Rick Hardy of Alexandria, Louisiana, Bitzie who belongs to Mary Ann Sayer of Pineville, Louisiana, and SHR Ricky who belongs to Cathleen Carr of Belton ,Missouri. We lost Lady on the shot flier.

On the Sunday senior test I once again went 6 for 7, passing Boss and Black Ace and this pass gave these two their senior title. Our Congrats go to Boss & Ace for an outstanding job. I also passed Dee, Tator and Sarge again , and this time also passed HRCH Chili JH who also belongs to Mandy Cieslinski. But low and behold I lost HR Anna JH on this test.

On the Sunday junior test Cindy once again went 4 for 5 with my dogs, getting a 2nd junior pass on SHR Doc, SHR Striker, SHR Ricky but losing Lady again. Mary Ann who had driven over from their camp ran Bitzie and got the 2nd pass on her.

So once again the dogs bounced back from a poor showing in West Miss to looking as they should look. We had a good week end titling two and getting a lot of pass's and a ton of ribbons. Our next test will be in Demopolis, Alabama at the "Cattle Ranch", hope to see you there. --BILL

West Mississippi HRC

We ran our 1st hunt test of the 2013 calendar year at the West Miss HRC event in Vicksburg, Miss on Feb 16th & 17th. The new rule allowing a handler to run 12 dogs sure helped out here in the numbers, not that it mattered much as the dogs sure did look rusty coming off of hunting season. We ran a total of 15 dogs with Mary Ann Sayer a client, running the started dogs for me along with another client Cathleen Carr who also ran her own started dog. Mary Ann passed Bitzie, who is her dog both days in started, she passed Lady who belongs to Blake Smith of West Monroe, la both days, she then passed Striker on Saturday who belongs to Rick Hardy of Alexandria, LA. This gave Striker his Started title so we bumped him on up to the season level for the Sunday hunt test. Cathleen Carr of Belton, Mo ran her dog Ricky and he also passed both days.

While the ladies had my farm truck pulling the little Jones trailer I was at Season and Finish with the big truck and Jones box. I ran 10 in finish but did not do nearly as good as the ladies. HRCH Millie MH who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, La passed both days, HRCH Rock MH who belongs to Ronnie Prudehomme of Lafayette, La passed both days, the dog we call Chocolate Ace a HRCH & MH also that belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co passed both days.HR Dee JH that belongs to Monte Sayer of Natchitoches, LA also passed both days. HR Chili JH who also belongs to Mandy Cieslinski passed both days and that gave Chili her HRCH title. Our Congrats go out to Mandy & Chili for a job well done.

After those good runs the finish dogs went down hill after that. HRCH Boss JH who is my dog failed on Saturday but passed on Sunday. HR ACE JH (Black Ace) of New York failed both days, as did HR Tator JH of Colo, HR Anna JH of Louisiana and HR Sarge JH also of Louisiana both failed both days. Rusty, Rusty, they looked rough on the marking and handling.

I then ran SHR Doc who belongs to Avis Domingue of Carencro, La in season and got his 1st two season pass's on Saturday and Sunday. I had moved SHR Striker up from his Started pass on Saturday and got his 1st Season pass on Sunday.

So all was not lost, we had some that ran well and others that have not gotten back into the training and testing groove yet. Our next hunt test is down in Port Arthur, Texas where we will be running AKC. Once again we will take both trucks and another lady will run the Junior dogs for me while I run the Senior and Master dogs. Watch for the results.

Summary of the Year 2012 for Autrey Kennels:

2012 was a busy year for Autrey Kennels in that we ran a total of 19 weekends this year and that includes both Grands and the Master National. Talk about tired but both I and the dogs were worn out after running the Grand in Oklahoma and then driving straight thru and then running the Master National in Alabama. With all the running and training we put titles on 19 different dogs and most of them 2 or more titles.

Some real bad news is that we lost GRHRCH UH Redlines Full Of Mischief MH QAA January 13 th, Missy had been retired and was the house dog, going on walks with Ms. Geri and helping keep all the plates clean. She will be missed. The good news is that Lance & Cindy Wollmann gave us a dog that they had retired HRCH Mis Kiddy that will now be Ms. Geri’s house dog.

Dog #1 : Our star this year has to be GRHRCH Baby Blues One Hot Mama Mh better known as “Diva” owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. Diva passed the 2012 spring Grand that gave her the GRHRCH title, she then went on and had a litter of 13 puppys with all 13 surviving . After weaning the puppys Diva came back into training and passed the 2012 Fall Grand for her 3rd Grand pass but with Mandy running her. An awesum feat , 2 Grand pass’s and a litter of 13 puppys all in the same year.

Dog #2 : GRHRCH UH Cody’s Power Stroke MH better known as “Diesel” who is my dog. There were no titles for Diesel this year but he did qualify for the Master National. But on a sad note I retired Diesel from competition this year. After his injury he has shown me that he is just not able to with stand the rigors of the long test , so with 3 Grand pass and over 1,000 HRC points we will end his career. Diesel will hunt and enjoy the good life. We were scared that he could not perform as he once had but we had to give him a chanch.

Dog #3 : HRCH UH Roux’s Chena River Legacy MH better known as “Rock” owned by Ronnie Prudehomme of Lafayette, La. Rock had a very successful year in that he passed the 2012 Spring Grand for his 1st Grand pass. Adding to that Rock also got his Upland Hunter title and his Master Hunter title and also qualified for the Master National. Rock a large dark chocolate male is following in his sire’s “Roux” footsteps.

Dog #4 : HRCH Pirate’s Myle High Booty MH better known as “Mylee” and owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. passed the 2012 Fall Grand and got her 500 points all at the same time. Mylee also qualified for the Master National this year and seems to following in her big sister “Diva’s” footsteps.

Dog #5 : HRCH Nelson’s Leading Lady Abby MH better known as “Abby” owned by Heath Miller of Dubach, La. There were no titles for Abby this year but she is 1 pass away from her Grand title and 1 pass away from her upland title. Abby also qualified for the Master National this year.

Dog #6 : HRCH Cajun Dakota’s Millie Girl MH better known as “Millie” owned by Bron & Susan Hayes of Pineville, La. There were no titles for Millie this year but she also is 1 pass away from her Grand title and 1 pass away from her upland title. Millie qualified for the 2012 Master National this year.

Dog #7 : HRCH UH BCK’s Rough Diamond Sue MH better known as “Sue” is owned by Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn. Sue got her Upland Hunter title this year and qualified for the 2012 Master National.

Dog #8 : HRCH Gator Point Colorado Aces High MH better known as “Ace” owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. Ace got his Master Hunter title this year and also qualified for the 2012 Master National. Ace was bred several times this year and seems to throwing some real nice puppys and we feel he is following in his sire’s footsteps “Gentle Ben”.

Dog #9 : HRCH Roux’s Northern Plains Express MH better known as “Train” owned by Wade Stottler of Madison, MN. got his Master Hunter title this summer. Another big chocolate male that is following in “Roux’s” footsteps.

Dog #10 : HRCH Le’ Grande’ Bos JH better known as “Boss” is my best young dog this year. Boss is my new dog, hopefully a replacement for Diesel in the competition world. Boss achieved 4 titles in his 1 st year of training, first was his Started title, then his Junior Hunter title, third was his Hunting retriever title, and then he went 4 for 4 to get his Hunting Retriever Champion title .Quite impressive for his 1 st year.

Dog#11 : HRCH Gator Pts Ella Deville SH better known as “Ella” owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. Ella earned her Hunting Retriever Champion title and her Senior Hunter title this year in training. Ella has also been retired this year from competition due to a medical problem.

Dog #12 : HRCH BCK’s ON Line Rhuby SH better known as “Ruby” owned by Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg, N.Y. . Ruby earned her Hunting Retriever Champion title this year and her Senior Hunter title. She went home in October where Greg has been goose hunting her.

Dog #13 : HRCH Field OF Dreams Pirate’s Hook JH better known as “Hook” owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. Hook had a very successful year earning his Hunting Retriever Title, then his Junior Hunter title and then going on and getting his Hunting Retriever champion title with Mandy running him.

Dog #14 : HRCH Gator Points Roux Du Jour JH better known as “Chili” owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. Chili also had a very successful year, earning her Hunting Retriever title, then her Junior Hunter title and also going on and getting her Hunting Retriever Champion title with Mandy running her.

Dog #15 : HR Chinquapin River Fleur-De-Lis JH better known as “Dee” owned by Monte Sayer of Natchitoches, La. earned 3 titles this year also. First was her Started Retriever title, then her Junior Hunter title and then she went on and got her Hunting Retriever title.

Dog #16 : HR Gator Points Stuffed Tator JH better known as “Tator” owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. also earned 3 titles in her first year of training. First was her Started title, then her Junior title and then she got her Hunting Retriever title with Mandy running her.

Dog #17 : HR Gator Pt’s Magnum Grizzly Sarge JH better known as “Sarge” owned by J.C. Pentecost of Pineville, La. earned 3 titles in his first year of training also. Sarge got his Started title , then went on and got his Junior title and then he got his Hunting Retriever title before going home to go duck hunting.

Dog #18 : HR Louisiana’s Cajun Jezebel JH better known as “Anna” owned by Ms. Geri Autrey of Bentley La. earned 3 titles in her first year of training also. First was her Started title, then her Junior title and then on to her Hunting Retriever title.

Dog #19 : Hr BCK’s Ace OF Diamonds JH better known as “Black Ace” owned by Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg, N.Y. earned 3 titles in his first year of training. Greg ran him and got his Started title, then he came in for training and we kept on and got his Junior title and then on to get his Season title. Ace is another big male that is following in his sire “Jim” footsteps.

Dog #20 : HRCH Dell Creek’s Sinea SH better known as “Sinea” owned by Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn. Siena is an Spinone Italiano , the first one in this country to get her HRCH (last year) and the first one in this country to get her Senior hunter title this year. Like several of the older dogs she is one pass away from her Upland title also.

Dog #21 : SHR Pirate’s Frankie Darling better known as “Frankie” owned by Ryan Cade of Angelton, Tx came in to training for a short period of time. During this period of time Frankie earned her Started Retriever title and then went home to finish her training, a full litter mate to Boss & Dee we expect to hear good things out of her.

I go north each summer to Minnesota to beat the heat down here to and run the northern circuit. I have met many new friends up there while running in Minn, N. Dak, S. Dak, Wisc, Colo, Neb, and now Wyo as I ran my 1st hunt test in Wyo this year. As I go north we are now starting to see the northern people come south for the winter to beat the cold. This year we were blessed to have Lance & Cindy Wollmann (LanCin Labs) of Hartford South Dakota down to spend the winter with us. They will be coming back in Jan 2013 for another winter trip with us, as you see them at the local hunt test be sure to give them a big southern welcome.

Another northern owner and trainer is Mandy Cieslinski , thru the years you have watched her run my started and Junior dogs for me as well as run her own dogs in all stakes. Mandy took some big steps this year in that she got rid of her topper and now has her own chassie mount and will at times still run my young dogs as well as her own in all stakes from time to time. She ran Diva in the fall Grand and passed her and then ran her in the Master National. She then stayed around and had Diva bred to Gentle Ben and ran her dogs in several of the local hunts. She titled Chile & Hook in finish and Tator in Season and then ran some AKC hunt test and field trial Qualifying with her dogs. Mandy now owns Gator Point Kennels and is working hard to insure you get the finest Chocolates available.

Last but not least I want to thank Purina Mills for their support of Autrey Kennels with Exclusive dog food. You can not accomplish what we did this year if the dogs are not in top shape. Exclusive keeps the dogs performing at their very best.