The Hunt Reports
Prairie Lakes HRC Hunt Test
We ran the Prairie Lakes HRC test on July 10th and 11th, being this was the 1st season test for the 4 young dogs I did not expect to do as well as we had been doing BUT they surprised me and stepped up to the plate like big dogs. I went 9 for 9 on the Saturday test, passing 4 in Season and they were; SHR Gator JH who belongs to Ronnie Mills of Springfield, La. , SHR Man JH who belongs to Alan Kite of DeRidder, La. , SHR Mylee JH who belongs to Mandy Cieslinske of Arvada, Co. , and SHR Lily who belongs to Mark & Otha Hailey of Pineville, La. , all in their 1st Season test.We contenued with the good work by passing the 4 Finish dogs also who were: HRCH Rock JH who belongs to Ronnie Prudehomme of Lafayette, La. , HRCH Millie SH who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, La. , HRCH Diva JH who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. , and passed and titled to her new HRCH was new HRCH Abby SH who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubroc, La., and finally I had a friend run Bella who belongs to Scott Hill of Ruston, La. , in Started and got her 3rd started pass.
I did not do quite as well on the Sunday test as the excitement of the moment got the best of Man and he broke on the water test after running a good land test. But I went on to pass Gator, Mylee and Lily in their 2nd Season test. The Finish dogs went on in the style that I like and we passed Rock, Diva, Abby, and Millie in a tough finish test. Bella again went on to pass and now has the Started Hunting Retriever title in front of her name. Our Congrats go to Scott Hill and Bella on her new title as well as Heath Miller and Abby on her new title.
Well back to AKC, we will run AKC hunt test for the next two week ends, I will have 3 brand new Master dogs running their 1st Master test in Sue, Millie, and Abby, that could prove to be interesting.
Lake Country AKC Hunt Test
I ran the Lake Country AKC test down in Prior Lake Minn on June 26th and 27th and had a nice week end. On Saturday I ran 2 Master dogs and 3 Junior dogs. The Master dogs are GRHRCH Diesel who is mine and HRCH Jack who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville , La. Both dogs ran well, neither handled on a mark in any of the three test and both ran some nice blinds.
The test up here are different from what we see in the south. I will try to explain them to you. 1st test was the combo, this was an interepted triple, marks 1 and 2 were a mom and pop, #1 an angle back at 95 yds, a water mark, #2 was an angle in at 75 yds a land mark, dog picked up #2, when he returned to heel and delivered, #3 was a shot flier that fell about 35 yds in front of the remote honor dog. Working dog swam past honor, picked up #3 and then picked up the #1 bird. no blind on this test. Test 2 was the water test; this was a wipe out triple with double blind. All birds were thrown in waist high grass along the edges with water 1 to 2 foot deep. Bird #1 was on your left at 55yds, bird 2 was on your right at 75 yds, bird #3 was then thrown across the path of #1 at 35 yards. Pick up the marks and run a short 70 yard blind that just cut the edge of the pond behind bird station #1. Blind #2 was across the pond around 125 yds but had to cut the edge of the grass twice where you lost sight of the dog each time. If it stayed on line you were fine, if it sucked back to the old mark by the time you could see it you were out of the area. Test #3 was land, you are in the holding blind, a bubba gunner fires a shot and throws a dead bird in the grass. You then come out of the holding blind and quarter the bird up. With bird and gun in hand you now do a walk up, #1 is a shot flier against a tree line 155 yds to the gunners but you are running in a bowl, by the way the dog ran that bird was 175 to 190 yds, the 2nd bird was a wide swing to the right at 90 yds. As the dog returns to you with the bird, bubba gunner now gives a dry shot from where you had quartered befoe. The gunners have now retired back into the trees and there is nothing for the dog to mark off of. A blind at 95 yds is ran about 1/2 way up the side of the bowl. My congrats go to Richard Baker on the way Jack ran this test, he and Diesel looked real good.
The Junior test was also ran in high grass, this had been cut into strips, 10 yards of grass with a 10 yard mowed strip. The land test was 1st with a flier at 75-80 yards, a dead bird at 90 degrees at about 55 yards. You could not see the dog much less see it pick up a bird. SHR Man who belongs to Alan Kite of Deridder, La. , and Bella who belongs to Scott Hill of Ruston, La both passed this test. I lost SHR Lily who belongs to Mark & Otha Hailey of Pineville, La. She got into the flier scent and could not dig the bird out. The water marks for the Junior dogs were 2 of the Master marks. This was Man's 3rd Junior pass and Bella's 1st Junior pass. Our
congrats go out to them.
On Sunday, I ran 7 Senior dogs and ran the Junior dogs again as this was a double Junior. I got pass's on all 3 of the Junior dogs, This was Lily's 1st Junior pass, Bella's 2nd Junior pass and this gave Man his Junior title.Our
congrats go to Alan on Man's title. The Senior test was a land double with a blind and a honar. I ran HR Abbie who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubach , La., HRCH Rock who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, la. , HRCH Diva who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Denver, Colo, HRCH Millie who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville , la , HRCH Sue who belongs to Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn., Hr Coco who belongs to Keith Mosley of Springfield, Ga. and HRCH Cajun who belongs to Jim Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn. Sorry to say I did not fare well, I lost Cajun on the long land mark, I lost Diva on the land blind and Rock broke on the flier. After a rocky start we went on and did great, I titled Sue, Millie, and Abbie for their Senior titles and Coco got her 1st Senior pass. My congrats go out to the owners and their dogs for their pass's and to Polly, Heath and Bron on the dogs titling. Those three dogs will now be running Master our next time out. The water blind was ran off of a dock, that did not bother my dogs, the water test was a walk up double with 2 down the shore, a good thing we had worked on that the week before. Our next test will be a HRC test at Prairie Lakes, Minn.
Marsh & Meadows HRC Hunt Test
I ran the Marsh & Meadows HRC hunt test on June 19th and 20th with 9 dogs. I ran 8 in finish and had a friend from S. Dakota run a started dog for me. The club has good grounds and had some real nice test. The Saturday finish land test consisted of a walk up and a 91 yard key hole blind between two trees. After the blind you ran an indented triple 97-43-110 with the memory middle bird just off line from the line to the blind that you had just ran. The water test was a triple with two down the shore and a blind run into a cove into the cattails between two of the marks. I went 6 for 8 on this test, passing GRHRCH Diesel who is mine, HRCH Jack who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville, La, HR Rock who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, La, HR Millie who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, La. HR Abby who belongs to Heath Miller of Duibach,La.and HRCH Sinea who belongs to Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook. Mn. I lost both HRCH Diva and HRCH Sue as they both handled on a mark on water and a mark on land. Bella got her 1st started pass, Bella belongs to Scott Hill from Farmersville, La. Our congratulations go to Bron Hayes and Millie as this pass gave her the HRCH title.
The Sunday test was a land triple with marks 1 & 2 being a hip-pocket, distances was 41-85-125, the blind was again a key hole blind between small trees at 95 yards.The water test was a triple with two of the birds landing on the bank and a channel blind at 91 yards run under the arc of one of the marks. I went 7 for 8 on this test passing GRHRCH Diesel, HRCH Jack, HRCH Diva, HRCH Sue, new HRCH Millie, HR Rock, and HR Abbie. I only lost Sionea who handled on a mark on water and 1 on land. This pass gave Rock his HRCH title so our congrats go out to him and Ronnie. Once again Bella passed her started test, this was her 2nd started pass.
Our next test will be next week end down in southern Minnesota where I am running 12 dogs, 2 in Master, 7 in Senior, and 3 in Junior. This test will be a single Master and Senior but a double Junior.
Bayou HRC Hunt Test
We ran the Bayou HRC hunt test the week end of May 15th and 16th, I ran 8 dogs, 7 in finish and 1 in season. This was Bayou's 1st hunt test in several years but they had some good judges and really put on some nice test. The Saturday finish test had a wicked water set up with 3 down the shore and a blind about 30-40 yards up on the shore between two of the marks. I went 7 for 7 on the finish dogs, passing Diva who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Colo, this gave Diva her HRCH title. HR Rock who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, La got his 2nd finish pass, HR Millie who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, La. got her 2nd finish pass, HR Abby who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubach, La. got her 1st finish pass, HRCH Sieana and HRCH Sue who both belong to Polly and Jim Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn. both got a pass as did GRHRCH Diesel who is mine. I was especially pleased with Sieana as water has not been a strong suit with her, to see her do a nice job on a big dog test really made me feel better about her. The only dog I lost was in season and that was SHR Ariz Roux who belongs to Bob and Cathy Walton of Siera Vista, Az who handled on a mark on both land and water and did not pass. Not sure what his problem was as he is normally a real good marking dog.
On Sunday I went 6 for 8, losing Rock on a tight land blind and losing Abby on a tight flooded timber water blind. All my other finish dogs passed, I only had 1 finish dog that handled on a mark all week end and that was on the Saturday land test with Diva. The two Sunday test took a tool on some dogs as handling had to be crisp as these were also some big dog test. I am really proud of my dogs marking ability right now.
Now on into season, Ariz Roux got his 3rd season pass giving him his HR title. My congrats go to Bob and Cathy on him getting his title as well as to Mandy with Diva getting her title.
Jeff and George Barron of Shady Gum Kennels ran 3 started dogs that they have in training for me along with their finish dog.They went 4 for 4 both days, They passed Tank who belongs to Bart Vanderhoeven of Alexandria, La., Aspen who belongs to Sal Miletello of Shreveport, La., and Zyda who belongs to John Williams of Shreveport, La. all in their 1st ever started test. My congrats to them on a job well done.
Not sure when we will go north, still too wet up there, and have not made up my mind where we will run next. Right now just trying to get them to the next level.
Lake Charles AKC Hunt Test
To say that we had a good week end at the Lake Charles AKC test would be putting it mildly, as we went 11 for 12 dogs ran on the Saturday test. I ran 2 dogs in the Master series, passing Jack who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville, La and Diesel who is mine. Neither dog handled on a mark in the 3 series. I ran 5 dogs in Senior, passing 4 of the 5, Diva a chocolate female, who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. passed, as did Abby a black female, who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubach, La. Sue a yellow female who belongs to Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn. passed as did Millie, a black female who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, La. I lost Rock a chocolate male who belongs to Ronnie Prudehomme of Lafayette, La. when he missed a mark and then went back to the old fall on the water test. Mandy Cieslinske had flown in from Colorado and ran the 5 Junior dogs for me, going 5 for 5 with them. She passed her dog Mylee, a chocolate female, she also passed Roux, a chocolate male who belongs to Robert & Cathy Walton of Sierra Vista, Az. Man a black male that belongs to Alan Kite of Deridder, La. got a pass, as did Gator a chocolate male who belongs to Ronnie & ginger Mills of Springfield, La. and also Coco, a chocolate female who belongs to Keith Mosley of Springfield, Ga.
This was a double Senior and double Junior so on Sunday I went 5 for 5 in Senior, giving Sue and Millie their 3rd Senior pass, Abby and Diva their 2nd Senior pass and Rock his 1st Senior pass. Mandy went 5 for 5 again in Junior, giving Mylee, Coco, Roux, and Gator their Junior titles and giving Man his 2nd Junior pass. A real great week end for the kennel, just don't know how I would have been able to do it all with out Mandy's help. The dogs looked great, going 21 for 22 test in a week end is something we can be proud of.
Spring, 2010 Grand
The spring
Grand is now over and in the record books, while we only took 4 dogs we had
sure thought we would do better than we did as all four were ready or so we
thought. Our 1st series was the big land test, I am happy to say that I did
not have a dog that handled on a mark in our four dogs. I looked at all the
sheets after each test; Jim who belongs to Nancy & Greg Mills of Ogden, New
York ran the marks clean and 4 whistled the blind, but they gave him a pair
of ones as he beat me to the bucket by 12 - 18 inches. Jack who belongs to
Richard Baker of Pineville ,La ran a clean test on the marks and 5 whistles
on the blind, he received a pair of two's. Maggie who belongs to Monty Sayer
of Natchitoches, La ran the marks clean but got a pair of ones on her blind
as she had a ping pong at the end of it. Diesel who is mine ran the test
clean on his marks and with 3 whistles on the blind got a pair of two's. So
we went 4 for 4 on the 1st test. Our 2nd test was a water test with a big
mark up on the bank as memory. Once again all 4 of the dogs ran the marks
clean. Jim had to fight a snake for his middle mark (up on the bank) when he
got to the bird he jumped back, went around it several times but would jump
back each time and finally started barking at the bird. People in the
gallery could actually see the snake strike at him but the judges and I
could not see that. Judges had me seat him and Mike Botts walked around with
a stick but could not find anything. Judges had me cast him to the bird
which he picked up and came in. He ran a 5 or 6 whistle blind but received a
score of 2 from one judge and a 1 from the other, that dropped Jim on
points. Jack ran a nice set of marks but ran a sloppy blind, and they
dropped him as we honared on lead. Maggie picked her marks up clean and ran
a 5 whistle blind and got a pair of 2's. Diesel picked his marks up clean
and ran a 3 whistle blind for a pair of 2's. So I lost 2 dogs in the 2nd
series. Our 3rd test was back on land, Maggie picked her marks up clean and
4 or 5 whistled the blind for a pair of 2's. Diesel picked his marks up
clean and 6 whistled the blind for a pair of 2's. Our 4th series was back on
water in a wood duck hole with lots of logs and stumps. Maggie picked her
marks up clean and had 5 whistles on the blind for a pair of 2's. Diesel
picked up his marks clean and 3 whistled the blind for a pair of 2's. Both
Maggie and Diesel did well on the upland 5th series. This was Maggie's title
run, she is now a GRHRCH along with her Upland and Master titles, our
congrats go to her and of course to owners Nita and Monty who are still on
cloud 9. This was Diesel's 3rd Grand pass while 4 years old so I am also
pleased with his preformance. Hope to see you at the Fall Grand as we hope
to have 8 running, got lots of young dogs trying to get to the next level.
South Arkansas HRC Hunt Test
We ran the Shreveport/Bossier AKC club hunt test on March 27th and 28th. This event was a single Master, single Senior and double Junior. I ran 4 dogs in Master, Diesel who is mine, Jim who belongs to Greg Mills of Ogdensburg, NY, Maggie who belongs to Monty Sayer of Natchatichoes, La , and Jack who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville, La. I went 3 for 4 in Master losing Diesel in the 2nd series when he over ran a short mark and picked up a hot blind that was just past the mark. I was really excited about Maggie as she had not been looking good in training but really turned it up a notch at the test. Jim and Jack both really looked good. I ran 4 dogs in Senior, Rock who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, La , Diva who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co , Abby who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubach, La , Millie who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, La .I was suppose to run Sue who belongs to Jim & Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn but Sue came into heat the week before the test. I went 2 for 4 with the Senior dogs losing Rock on the water blind in the 2nd series and Diva in the 1st series for switching areas on a mark. This was Millie and Abby's 1st Senior pass, so a congrats goes out to them and their owners. I was fortunate, in that Mandy Cieslinski came in from Colorado and ran the Junior dogs for me. Mandy went 4 for 4 both days with the Junior dogs. She passed Mylee who is her dog, Coco who belongs to Keith Mosley of Springfield, Ga , Roux who belongs to Robert & Cathy Walton of Sierra Vista, Az , and Gator who belongs to Ronnie & Ginger Mills of Springfield, La. We had hoped to run Man another young dog but did not get his AKC number in by the cut off date to enter the test. Mandy who loves chocolates dogs got quite a kidding from the judges as she was running all chocolates for the week end, as always she did an excellent job for me.This was the 1st Junior test for these dogs so congrats goes out to the dogs and their owners as well as Mandy. Our next test will be the Spring Grand where I will be running 4 dogs, Diesel, Maggie, Jack and Jim. After that we will run another AKC test, the Lake Charles test on May 1st and 2nd, a single Master, but double Senior and double Junior.
South Arkansas HRC Hunt Test
We had a successful week end at the South Arkansas hunt test, not as good as I would like to have had but better than most. They had some challenging test, the water blinds on both Season and Finish were very challenging. The land marks thrown against the tree lines also helped to make the test difficult.
On Saturday I ran Diesel,who is mine, Jim,who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of New York, Maggie,who belongs to Monty Sayer of Natchitoches,La. Jack, who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville, La., Diva ,who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Colorado, and Abby.who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubach, La. We ran land as our 1st test in finish, this was a triple, areas were well defined but marks #1 & #2 were pinched towards each other, a wide swing to #3 with a blind run just off the edge of the #3 mark. All of the finish dogs did well with Maggie having a handle on the middle bird. A diversion was thrown on the way back from the blind, this test also had an honar. The finish water test was a triple with 1st bird hand thrown, short in a pocket, with no visible arc, a skillet shot at the splash, then a swing and 2 down the shore, with #2 bird landing in a pocket & #3 bird behind a log. The blind had a lot of suction to it, coves to pass and trash to go thru. Dogs did well with the exceptions of Maggie who handled again and I lost Abby (her 1st finish test) in the last 10 yds of the blind when she got up on the shore after smelling the bird boy. So I lost both Maggie and Abby on the Saturday Finish test.
I ran two dogs in the Season test, Coco who belongs to Keith Mosley of Springfield, Ga. and Glenco Roux who belongs to Bob & Cathy Walton of Sierra Vista, Az. We ran water as our 1st test. this consisted of a blind that you had to put their nose on the bird, there was no winding it at all. The bird was planted in a clump of tall grass about 10 foot off of the shore, it proved to be difficult for the young dogs. A double set of marks, thrown left to right with a diversion thrown on the way back from the last mark. Land test was a walk up, a blind that was planted in a dead pine top where once again you had to put them right on the bird. A nice double completed the test. Both dogs passed, this was Coco's 2nd season pass and Roux's 1st season pass as he had titled in started the week before.
I ran the same dogs on the Sunday finish test that I had ran on Saturday. We started off on the water this time. The dogs the day before had a rough time on this test, it was no easier for our dogs. We started off with a triple, 1st bird close in some tall grass, just off of the bank, 2nd was a wide swing with the bird landing in a pocket of tall grass, to complete the 2 down the shore again the long bird fell either on a point or just off of the point in some tall grass. The blind was ran past the 2 down the shore past a wall of grass to a pocket up in a bend of the water very challenging. I lost Abby in the last 10-15 yds of the blind, she does well until she gets out about 80 yds and then she kind of breaks down. Nothing that time and experience won't fix. All the other dogs did well except Maggie who had a handle on the bird in the pocket. The land test was a triple with the long bird not breaking the sky line and no winger blind for the dogs to que in on. A blind ran under the arc of the #1 mark, and a diversion on the way back from the blind. A lot of dogs never saw the 3rd mark, mine did well except for Maggie, once again she handled on a mark. Not sure if she is coming into heat (she is due) or what, as she is normally a good marking dog. So once again I went 4 for 6 in finish. The season test we once again ran Coco and Roux, started off with the water test, a max water blind, angel entry off of a platform, thru some trees, past some stumps to a bird on the bank. A very challenging blind was finished off with a double set of marks. Both dogs did well with both the blind and the marks. The land test was a walk up, a 43 yard blind up into a clump of small pine tops, a challenging double with the go bird falling behind some dead pine tops and a diversion thrown on the way back from the last mark. Both dogs passed, this was Coco's title, a congrats goes out to Keith Mosley on Coco, this was Roux's 2nd pass, not bad as he just titled in started.
Looks as if our next test will be an AKC test up in Shreveport, Mandy will come over and run the Junior dogs for me and I will run the Senior and Master dogs.
Cajun HRC Upland Hunt
Our 1st hunt test for the year of 2010 was the one day upland hunt at Cajun. I ran 8 dogs, going 7 for 8 on the morning hunt. I passed GRHRCH Diesel MH, my dog, this was his 3rd pass, HRCH Jack MH , owned by Richard Baker of Pineville, La. this was his 3rd pass, HRCH UH Jim MH , owned by Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdenburg, N.Y, this was his 7th pass. Now we go on to the young ones we had a pass with HRCH Sue JH, owned by Polly & Jim Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn, this was her 1st pass, we had HRCH Siena , also owned by Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn. being a Sponia this was natural for her but this was her 1st pass. Then on to the even younger ones we had HR Rock JH , owned by Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, La. this was his 1st pass, then HR Diva JH, owned by Mandy Cieslinski of Arvada, Co. this was her 1st pass also. I lost HR Millie JH owned by Bron Hayes of Pineville, La. for lack of control. While she had fun she did not meet the standard. The afternoon hunt we again went 7 for 8, this was in a shorter grass field, the birds did not hold as well, often running before the dogs got there, but again we got a pass with Diesel, Jack, Jim, Sue, Siena, Rock and Diva. This gave Jack and Diesel their upland hunter titles, gave Jim his 8th pass , and Sue, Siena, Rock & Diva their 2nd pass. I did not run Millie as there was no way to fix the control problem so I got out dependable HRCH UH Maggie MH, with 6 upland pass's. She broke on the 2nd flush, once again proving the old saying right, " there are dogs who have broken and dogs who will break" Maggie joined the group of dogs who have broken. A good time had by all, as always Cajun puts on a good hunt. See you in West Mississippi.
Fall, 2009 @ Autrey Kennels:
Join us in congratulating our Class of 2009's Accomplishments! 18 amazing retrievers earned a combination of 30 tiltes this past year;
qualified for the Master National and showed them how it's done at the
International Grand! WOW ... way to go, class! Learn more about them - and
what's made 2009 a year to remember around Autrey Kennels.
The Fall Grand ... October 17-21, 2009 in Union City, TN
HRCH Jim MH (1 Grand pass) owned by Greg Mills
(first series)
HRCH Maggie MH (1 Grand pass) owned by Monty Sayer (first series)
HRCH Jack SH owned by Richard Baker
- Grand Pass!!
HRCH Rowdy SH owned by Jim Thompson (fourth series)
HRCH Train SH owned by Bill Childs
(first series)
GRHRCH Cody's Power Stroke MH owned by Bill Autrey
(second series)
Congrats to Richard Baker of Pineville, LA and of the Central Louisiana Retriever Club as HRCH Jumpin Jack Flash MH, better known as Jack, got his
first Grand pass at this Grand. To say it was a battle royal would be an understatement; the dogs that ran the water test (that was our 1st test) and all had trouble running it with a south wind, most could not see how we ran it at all with a 20 mph north wind. Jack had a handle on a mark in that test as his bird caught the wind and fell back to the bank, but he ran clean for the next 4 series.
To make things interesting, there was 3 dogs from the same litter (Chocolate Roux
and Pistol) that passed this Grand. I had 1 (Jack) and Chuck McCall had 2 on his truck that passed
- a stout breeding.
The
Hunt Reports
Big "D" HRC
We ran the Big "D" HRC test on Sept 26th and 27th with 7 finish dogs. This was my 1st time to run Big "D" on these particular grounds, they are sure pretty, large enough to accommodate plenty of flights as well as having a central located headquarters to make things run smoothly.
I went 7 for 7 both days, passing GRHRCH Diesel MH (my dog), HRCH Maggie MH owned by Monty Sayer of Nachitoches, La, HRCH Jim MH owned by Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogden, N.Y. , HRCH Rowdy MH owned by Jim Thompson of Dallas Texas, HRCH Train SH owned by Bill Childs of Saginaw, Texas, HRCH Jack MH owned by Richard Baker of Pineville, Louisiana, and HRCH Jake SH owned by Trey Schoolfield of Lago Vista, Texas.
Some nice test, the Saturday water test was real tight with a blind with good suction. The land test a good triple with a challenging blind. The Sunday test was a big swing land triple with a very challenging 137 yd go bird with about 4-5 cover changes, a blind with lots of terrain use. The water test was a double with a diversion and a kick a-- channel blind with lots of suction. I got to run HR Millie and HR Rock as bye dog and test, while they had a handle they would have passed had they been running. I want to wait on running finish with them until they have had a hunting season under their belt.
Land-O-Lakes HRC
We ran the Land-O-Lakes
HRC hunt test on the way home, going 7 for 8 on the Saturday test and 8 for 9 on the Sunday test. They had some real quality test even though they are pretty dry right now
and some good judges: tough but fair.
On the Saturday test, I ran 7 in finished, passing GRHRCH Diesel MH who belongs to me, HRCH Jim MH who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdenburg, New York, HRCH Jack MH who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville, La , HRCH Rowdy MH who belongs to Jim Thompson of Dallas, Texas, HRCH Train SH who belongs to Bill Childs of Saginaw, Texas,
and HR Sue JH who belongs to Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, MN. I lost HR Siena on a land mark. I also passed SHR Diva JH who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Denver, Colo. Two of the dogs titled,
Diva got her HR title and Sue got her HRCH title. Congrats to both of the dogs and their owners.
On the Sunday test, I again ran 8; 7 in Finished and 1 in
Seasoned but a different season dog. Mandy ran HR Diva JH in Seasoned, giving her a chance to handle and run her own dog before she took it home for hunting season. Once again, some challenging and difficult test but some fair judging. In
Finished, I passed GRHRCH Diesel MH my dog, HRCH Jim MH who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills, HRCH Jack MH who belongs Richard Baker, HRCH Rowdy MH who belongs to Jim Thompson, HRCH Sue JH who belongs to Polly & Jim Smyithe, and HR Siena who also belongs to Polly & Jim Smyithe, I lost HRCH Train SH on a land mark. I passed SHR Abby JH in season who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubach, La., Mandy passed HR Diva JH. This was the title for HR Siena, the 1st Italian Sponia to ever get a HRCH title, I also titled
Abby who got her HR title. My congrats to the owners and dogs on their new titles. I did not get to run HRCH Maggie MH of Natchitoches, La as she was in full blown heat, that did effect the boys during training the previous week.
Our next hunt test will be Big "D" hunt test in Dallas Texas. A lot of the season level dogs will be going home for their 1st hunting season, the big dogs will be getting ready for the Grand and the pups are coming in for winter time forcing.
Elk Horn Valley Retriever Club HRC
We ran the Elk Horn Valley Retriever Club HRC test this past week end, going 8 for 9 on Saturday. I passed 5 for 5 in season, SHR Rock who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of
Lafayette, LA got his HR title; SHR Millie who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, LA got her HR title; SHR Bear who belongs to Mike Collis of Ball, LA got a pass; SHR Diva who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Denver,
CO earned a pass; and, SHR Abby who belongs to Heath Miller of Duback, LA also
earned a passed. Mandy also ran and passed her 4 month old pup Kylee in started. I went 2 for 3 in finished getting a pass on HR Siena, a Sponia who belongs to Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, MN, and a pass on HR Sue who also belongs to Polly Smyithe.
Congrats to Ronnie on Rock and to Bron on Millie for their HR titles.
On Sunday, I did not fare as well. I had hoped to run some of the big dogs in finish as I now had 2 open spots but alas finish was full and I could only run 6 dogs. Mandy did not run her pup on Sunday; it gets to excited at the test and the forcing work has of course not started on it yet. I went 1 for 3 in season, passing only
SHR Bear who belongs to Mike and Diane Collis of Ball, LA - this was Bear's HR title
- a congrats to them and Bear on getting his title. I lost Abby when the bird on water was thrown short and she got close to the bird boy blind.
The bird boy yelled at her and threw a bottle of water at her. Being I was down at the water's edge, I did not see this, only the judge's and the gallery saw it. I just knew I couldn't get her to go back over there to pick up the bird and no a rerun was not offered? I lost Diva on a real tough season water blind. The bright spot was I went 3 for 3 in finish passing both of Polly Smyithe's dogs Siena
and Sue and also HRCH Rose who belongs to Greg and Nancy Mills of Ogdenburgs, NY.
This was my first time to run Elk Horn Valley. They have some nice grounds; the weather was real nice; and, for a small relatively new club, they did a real good job with the event.
Platt Valley HRC
Well, we have quit running AKC for the time being, gone back to HRC with the young dogs to give them their chance. We ran a total of 9 on Saturday: Mandy Cieslinski ran her 5 month old pup in started and got it's 1st started pass. I ran 6 in seasoned and passed 5 of the 6: "Diva" who belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Denver,
Co, got her 1st season pass; "Rock" who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, La got his 1st season pass; "Millie" who belongs to Bron Hayes of Pineville, La got her 1st season pass; "Abbie" who belongs to Heath Miller of Dubach, La got her 1st season pass;
and,"Sue" who belongs to Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn got her season title with a pass. I ran 2 in finished: "Rose" who belongs to Greg Mills of Ogdensburg, New York got a pass as did "Siene" an Italian Spinone who belongs to Polly Smyithe. I know "Siene" was the 1st Spinone to ever get a Hunting Retriever title, and she may well be the 1st Spinone to ever run finish.
On Sunday we went 5 for 8 as Mandy did not run her pup again. "Bear" who belongs to Mike Collis of Ball, Louisiana got his 1st season pass.
The rushing river water had bothered him on the Saturday test. "Rock" got his 2nd season pass and "Millie" got her 2nd season pass. I lost "Diva" and "Abbie" on the water blind. "Rose" got another finish pass
and "Sue" got her 1st finish pass. I lost "Siene" on a land mark that went over a berm.
Our next HRC test will be Elkhorn Valley in Nebraska, hope to title most of the young dogs there.
Mississippi Head Waters AKC
As we got ready for the Mississippi Head Waters AKC test we moved up in the number of dogs that we run in Master. Rose, who belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of New York and Rascul who belongs to Robert Tarver of Louisiana were both running their 1st Master test after getting their Senior title two weeks ago. The young dogs did not fare well, just too much test for them, we did qualify 4 of the 8 that I ran, the test were tough with 12 of 26 dogs passing the Friday Master test. We passed Jim who also belongs to Greg & Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg New York, Maggie who belongs to Monty Sayer of Natchitoches Louisiana, Diesel who is mine, and we titled Jack who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville, Louisiana. Congrats on Jack for getting his Master title, hopefully Richard will get Jack's ribbons put up in the restaurant.
If I thought the Friday test was tough I had not seen anything yet, I should have been wearing a white coat for the land test on the Saturday Master, I knew the marks and blind were long but did not realize how long until I put the range finder on them. I only passed 2 dogs in the Saturday Master test, Diesel who is mine and Train who belongs to Bill Childs of Saginaw, Texas. On this test 8 of 26 passed and I had 2 of the 8.
On the Senior test on Sunday I ran two dogs, Sue who belongs to Polly Smyithe of Clear Brook, Minnesota and Cajun who belongs to Jim Smyithe of Clearbrook, Minnesota, both dogs passed. of the 15 dogs entered 5 passed and 2 of them were mine.
I also ran Rock in Junior who belongs to Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette, Louisiana, this was Rocks title, congrats to Ronnie on Rock getting his Junior Hunter title. Sorry but as I was at Master I did not get the number of dogs that passed this test.
As always the diagrams of the test were sent back to the home Louisiana club members to see and study. There is a difference in the test in the north and the test in the south, just trying to show the club members who don't get to travel how it is done some place else. But time now to get the gun back out and go back to training HRC style, where the shots are at the line instead of in the field. My next test will be Platte Valley HRC in Colorado where I will run 6 young dogs in their 1st season test and 2 finish dogs, one of them in her 1st finish test.
Iron Range AKC
We ran the Iron Range AKC hunt test on June 26 thru 28th. The dogs looked a lot better, seemed to have the road rust off of them and back into the groove of the AKC test. This is a real old club, it has been around since the 30's, with some beautiful grounds and many very nice technical ponds, in fact they just built another pond about 20 acres that was not used for this test.
The Friday Master test went well, I went 4 for 5, losing Jack who belongs to Richard Baker of Pineville, La. on a handle in the 1st series, he missed the 2nd mark and I lost him in the cover and circled back to the old fall. I had to pull Diesel in the 3rd series as he had broken a K-9 tooth in the 2nd and was having trouble holding a bird due to the exposed nerve. I got passes with Rowdy who belongs to Jim Thompson of Dallas,TX, Train,who belongs to Bill Childs of Saginaw, TX, Jim ,who belongs to Greg Mills of Ogdensburg, NY., and Maggie, who belongs to Monty Sayer of Natchitoches, LA. I wore shorts and a short sleeve shirt on Friday as it was warm, in the low 80's. On Saturday morning when I came out of the motel, I quickly turned and went back in and got more clothes on. I aired in long pants, short sleeve shirt, insulated vest and a rain suit. The high on Sat was in the 60's with a north by north-west wind blowing 15-20 mph, and a light drizzle of rain.
I went 5 for 6 on the Saturday test, losing only Rowdy on a shot flier that sailed out of the area and he wanted to hunt the scented area where the other birds had fallen. I ran Diesel and passed him by putting him on Rimadyl and coating the tooth with
Orajel 15 minutes before I ran him. I had him in to the vet on Monday and had the tooth repaired. I got passes also with Jim, Maggie, Train and Jack. I had thought Saturday was cool, well Sunday the temperature was in the 50's, drizzling rain all day with a north wind blowing 15-20, with gust of wind 25-30 mph. I nearly had to put rocks in my pockets to handle. The water was white capping, making it difficult to get the cast you wanted as well as having the dogs hold their line to the water marks. These 6 test were very interesting, I have drawn them out and sent them back to Joe and Robbie. One thing is for sure they covered every thing that can be expected of a Master dog.
The Junior test I was very disappointed in, while the land marks were at maximum distance, that didn't bother me nor the cover, but the way the water marks were thrown in the technical pond, against a tree line, the low throws. I thought were unreasonable for young dogs but then again I wasn't judging, just running.
Our next test will be in Minot, N. Dakota, hopefully to title several of the Master dogs.
Central Minnesota AKC
We ran the Central Minnesota AKC hunt test with 15 dogs, thanks to Mandy Cieslinski's help. Mandy came up from Colorado and ran 5 Junior dogs for me, going 3 for 5 on the 1st day and 4 for 5 on the 2nd day. She titled 3: Millie, a black female, who belongs to Bryon Hayes of Pineville, La.; Abby, a black female, who belongs to Heath Miller of Farmersville, La.; and, her very own Diva, a chocolate female, of course, from Colorado.
I ran 4 Senior dogs going 3 for 4, titling all 3 that passed. I titled Rascul, a black male, who belongs to Robert Tarver of Centerpoint, La.; Roux-ster, a chocolate male, titled and he belongs to Lon Randall
DVM of Youngsville, La.; and, Rose, a yellow female, also titled who belongs to Greg
and Nancy Mills of Ogdensburg, New York.
I went 3 for 6 in Master getting a pass with Rowdy, a black male, who belongs to Jim Thompson of Dallas, Texas; Train, a black male, who belongs to Bill Childs of Saginaw, Texas; and, Maggie, a black female who belongs to Monty
and Nita Sayer of Natchitoches, Louisiana.
I saw something that I thought I would never see and that was Diesel break in the 3rd series on a wipe out shot flier.
Oh well, as Mr. Ed Thibodeaux says, on their best day they are dogs, but it was still a surprise. Some nice tests up here.
Each club owns their own grounds so they all have technical water. They used the water in just about all tests to add a dimension not always found in other areas.
Spring, 2009 @ Autrey Kennels:
The Spring Grand ... May 23 - 27, 2009 in Alexandria, South Dakota
Mr. Autrey and the selected team of the dogs of Autrey Kennels are making final
preparations for attending the pending HRC International Hunt Test. Our students
attending the challenge will be:
HRCH Jim MH (1 Grand pass) owned by Greg Mills (went to First
Series)
HRCH Maggie MH (1 Grand pass) owned by Monty Sayer (went
to Second
Series)
HRCH Jack SH owned by Richard Baker (went to Third Series)
HRCH Rowdy SH owned by Jim Thompson (went to
Fifth Series)
HRCH Train SH owned by Bill Childs (went to Fourth Series)
GRHRCH Cody's Power Stroke MH (went to Second Series)
Spring Grand reports, call backs and additional information can be found via the
HRC's web site area dedicated to the same.
Click to view
The
Hunt Reports
Lake Charles AKC
Autrey Kennels had a real good week end at the Lake Charles AKC hunt test, with the help of two of our clients we ran 15 dogs in 3 categories that week end. Mandy Cieslinski flew in from Denver and ran 3 Junior dogs for me both days including her new chocolate female Diva. We also had Ronnie Prudhomme of Lafayette running 3 Junior dogs both days, one of which was his new Chocolate male pup Rock. The Junior dogs went 5 for 6 on Saturday and 6 for 6 on Sunday. That is pretty impressive to have the owners do that well with their pups as well as the other pups that they ran that didn't know them. I ran the Master and Senior dogs, going 4 for 6 on the week end for Master dogs and 2 for 3 on the Saturday Senior test and 3 for 3 on the Sunday senior test. This gave HRCH Maggie SH owned by Monte Sayer of Natchitoches, La. her Master title, this also gave SHR Sue owned by Polly Smyithe of Bemidji,Mn. her Junior title. Our thanks to Mandy and Ronnie for the help as well as to the Lake Charles club for an out standing hunt.
North Louisiana HRC
We were able to go to the North Louisiana HRC 25th anniversary hunt with 8 dogs, I ran 6 in finish and 2 in season on Saturday. I ran Diesel, Jim, Maggie, Jack, Rowdy, and Rascul in finish, losing Rascul on the water test. I was suppose to run Train instead of Rascul but Train had a cough and had been to the vet so I did not run him. Some nice test , good grounds, and as always made you feel welcome. I ran Sieana and Sue in Season, both passed, this gave Sieana her HR title and Sue her 1st season pass. Todd from UKC was there and he and Ms. Claudine also and they confirmed this was the 1st Italian Sponia to ever reach this title. It was sure good to see Claudine, hadn't seen her seen the Amite Grand. On Sunday I was able to add a finish dog as I did not run Sieana again. I ran Belle (Michael Robin) on her 1st ever finish test. The 1st test we ran was the water test, a double and a blind, lots of suction on that blind, I lost Jim on the water blind. The land test was an inverted triple, middle short bird was the 1st bird shot, wide swing to the left with the bird in a bottom and no winger or winger hide visible, then a 180 deg swing to the right for the go bird landing on the side of a hill. Lots of dogs did not make the swing. The blind was under the arc of the short bird about 50 yards behind the mark. I went 7 for 8 again only losing Jim. Sue got her 2nd season pass and Belle her 1st finish pass. We got to see all the National officers, Bill & Cleo Watson were there, Omar was there, Ms. Claudine was there, as well as Todd from UKC. Lots more of the old timers as well as lots of the new handlers, just too many people to name them all. Like I had said, good test, good judging, lots of good food and fun. Hard to believe that HRC as an organization is 25 years old now, and harder to believe that I have been doing this for 21 years now.
West Mississippi HRC
We ran our 1st test of the 2009 season at West Mississippi HRC club, we were able to run 13 dogs as Mr. Ronnie Prudhomme came over and ran the started dogs for me. It was sure great to see Ronnie back handling dogs and having a good time. I pulled the dog trailer over and Ronnie hooked it up to his truck and went to started and I took 8 dogs to finish. We went 13 for 13 on Saturday with Ronnie passing "Rock", his own young chocolate male pup, "Bear" a young chocolate male that belongs to Mike & Diane Collis of Louisiana, "Diva" a young chocolate female that belongs to Mandy Cieslinski of Colorado, Millie a young black female that belongs to Bron & Susan Hayes of Louisiana, and "Abby" a young black female that belongs to Heath Miller of Louisiana. This was the 1st started test to run for the young dogs. I passed 8 for 8 finish dogs in the cuckel bug patch in finish. "Jim" and "Rose" both belong to Greg & Nancy Mills of New York, this was Rose's 1st finish pass, "Jack" who belongs to Richard Baker of Louisiana, "Maggie" who belongs to Monty Sayer of Louisiana, "Rascul" who belongs to Robert Tarver of Louisiana, "Rowdy" who belongs to Jim Thompson of Texas, Train" who belongs to Bill Childs of Texas, and finally "Diesel" who is mine. Train had been away for over a year, it was good to get him and his new owner back into training.
The 2nd test on Sunday we did not do as good, while Ronnie passed all of his dogs I lost two of mine in the flooded timber test, so we went 11 for 13 on Sunday, but all in all a pile of ribbons.
Central Louisiana HRC
Our 2nd test of the 2009 season was the Central Louisiana HRC test, once again I had lots of help and we were able to run 13 dogs. Mandy Cieslinski flew in from Colorado spent a couple of days working with the young dogs, as well as staying at the house and enjoying her new pup Diva. She hooked the farm truck to the dog trailer and took the started dogs with her to the test site, there she met with Ronnie Prudhomme and together they ran the 5 started dogs. I ran 1 season dog and 7 finish dogs. Mandy ran Diva, Millie, and Abby and titled all three of them in started for me, but the best thing was she got to run and title her dog Diva. Ronnie ran Rock and Bear, both chocolate males out of Chocolate Roux and title them and Rock is Ronnie's personal pup so that added more to that title to him. I didn't pass my season dog and lost one finish dog so we went 11 for 13 both days. Rose, of New York also titled this week end, getting her HRCH, up to now Rose has never failed a test. A good week end and a pile of ribbons.
South Arkansas HRC
Our 3rd test of the 2009 season was the South Arkansas test, well this time it was lonesome as I was in the truck by myself, but lots of friends were there with me. I ran 1 season dog, a different breed for me, an Italian Sponia, named Sieana, that belongs to our daughter Polly Smythe of Minnesota, and 7 finish dogs. The finish dogs were Rose, Train, Maggie, Rowdy, Jack, Jim, and Diesel. I had a good week end going 8 for 8 on Saturday and 7 for 8 on Sunday, I lost a finish dog on the Mike Ortego water blind. He always sets up some tough blinds. Sieana, passed both days, not sure if there has ever been a Sponia to title at the season level. Todd at UKC will have to help me with that one. A good week end, they always have the best food up there.
Shreveport/Bossier AKC trial
Our 4th trial of the spring and 1st AKC trial of the 2009 season was not as big a success as we had hoped. Some real nice but challenging test in both Master and Senior but we still made a good showing and titled three dogs. I ran 6 dogs in Master, Dakota's Diamond Jim ,"Jim" is already a Master Hunter he is running to qualify for the Master National, he received a qualifying score, Cody's Power Stroke "Diesel", obtained his Master Hunter title with his pass this week end, Chinquapin River Magnolia "Maggie" got a pass this week end and needs just one more for her Master title, and Boss Double Trouble "Rowdy" got his 1st Master pass on his 1st attempt at the master level. I ran two other young dogs who did not pass but this was their 1st Master attempt and will get better.
Our 1st test was a land test marks were left to right at approx 80-115-90 yards with the flier the last bird. The blind was between marks one and two, the terrain used on this test was real good, a dog had to really mark to pick up the birds. test two was the combo, this test separated the dogs from the big dogs; bird
#1 was a mark thrown toward the water that landed on land, you then no'ed off that bird and ran a blind past the bird but in the water with the wind from the direction of the bird. After the blind you got the other two marks, all landing on the far bank, now you picked up the
interrupted triple and ran a 2nd blind that kissed the edge of the #1 bird boy blind up against a bush.
Test three was the water test which was a wipe out triple. bird one was an angel back that landed in the edge of the water, you at least got a splash, bird #2 was 90 over on the other shore, bird three crossed the path of bird one and landed on land. Nice test and good judges.
I ran 5 Senior dogs, and titled two dogs, KC Sunshine Dakota "K.C." received his Senior title with his pass, Kayse's Louisiana Bell "Lou", also got her title with this pass. Lou is going home to deliver pups, she is bred to "Diesel", watch the web-site for the litter info. The 3rd pass was a new dog, this was her 1st Senior test to run and she got her 1st pass this dog is Kerrybrook's Southern Belle "Belle", her owner is Michael Robin from Louisiana. The other two Senior dogs did not make the cut, one gave me a sloppy water blind and the other one broke on the 2nd bird on the water test. Once again some nice test and good judges, the water blind with the cross wind was a challenge as was the marks on both land and water.
Stay tuned: there's more to come "from the field" - we'll be sharing the rest of
this season's schedule, more hunt test reports and Mark Atwater of Upclose
Photography has captured the dogs of Autrey Kennels in amazing photos.
We are thrilled to share our
2008 Accomplishments with you! Make sure
to stop in and see what the dogs of Autrey Kennels have celebrated in the recent
year!
We have some really exciting litters about to join the
field this Spring. Make sure to stop in the Litter Announcements if
searching for a new field companion and member of the family.
We've got some exciting new litters to introduce.
Some of the finest dogs afield are standing proudly at stud via Autrey Kennels.
Be sure to visit Our Dogs and learn more about their individual attainments,
pedigrees, and more.
More Happenings @ Autrey Kennels
Autrey Kennels just
returned from it's annual pheasant hunt in Kansas, we left home with 8 dogs from
Autrey Kennels GRHRCH Diesel owned by Bill Autrey, GRHRCH Missy owned by Robert
Tarver of Center Point, La. , GRHRCH Midnight Bandit owned by Bill Autrey, HRCH
Maggie owned by Monty Sayer of Natchitoches, La., HRCH Jack owned by Richard
Baker of Pineville, La. ,HRCH Rascul owned by Robert Tarver of Pineville,La. ,
and SHR Siena owned by Polly Smyithe of Clearbrook, Mn.. We picked up Robbie &
Travis Andries in Boyce La. along with their dogs HRCH Ben owned by Robbie and
HRCH ABBY owned by Travis. We stopped in Dallas and picked up Clay Schoolfield
and HRCH Lou and headed north. Once in Kansas we got with the rest of the group
another 7 men and 4 other dogs. This gave us a total of 11 hunters, a smaller
group than last year but a group that worked well together. During the 3 days of
hunting we killed pretty close to 90 birds,(we lost count) and had some good
hunts except for the 2nd day, where the area we were in seemed to hunted out as
the dogs put up 6-7 hens for every rooster they put up. The other two days it
was pretty evenly matched with the hens & roosters and made for a more action
packed day. The temperature was around 1 deg in the mornings at 6:00 with it
warming up to 8 - 10 degrees during the day. The wind made the chill factor a
lot colder than that. The icy ground made rough working on the dogs, several of
the dog boots were shredded by the ice & rough ground. The trip home was
uneventful, arriving back with tired hunters and worn out dogs. All ready to go
back next year. - Bill
