Tenth Series – Land / Water with 2 Flyers and 3 Retired

Tenth Series – Land / Water Quad with Two Flyer and Three Retired

Today's test will consist of a Land / Water Quad, and three gun stations will retire. The line is facing south and is gently rolling down hill to a mowed hay field with patches high cover. There are two little pothole ponds at the base of the hill from the line. The right pothole has an island. The left hand pothole is open. The second larger water is a more technical pond with points coming out from the east and west sides and islands to the left and right with high cover on the shores and on the points. Just behind the set of ponds are large square hay bales dotting the field with a treeline and mountains at the end of the field. The larger body of water will have irregular shore line with two extended points and dotted with islands.

The first bird down is a rooster pheasant flyer shot to the left. The gunners will retire behind a large stack of double height square bales that present themselves as veritable wall in the middle of the field. The distance to this mark is 340 yards. The dog will navigate the small pond with an island that sits in front of the large pond. The swim across the large pond takes the dog primarily through open water, but a small island and peninsula on the right could be options to grab some land.

Next bird down is a dead duck hen thrown from the end of the peninsula that juts out into the largest pond from the right. The bird is thrown to the right and lands at 178 yards. There is a small pond in front with an island that is in line with the right end of the big pond. The line to this bird is inline with the right end of the big pond. The dog will cross through the small pothole pond and over the island which lies in the middle across to the large pond where it will enter a cove to the peninsula to retrieve the bird.

The third bird down is a dead hen pheasant thrown to the right into the corner of a large patch of cover 196 yards from the line. There is a narrow cove on the left side of the large pond that dogs catch before running through mowed hay to get to the bird.This station also retires after the dog is sent.

The final bird down is a flyer hen duck shot to the left at 320 yards. The dog will encounter a small pothole pond on the way to the large pond that has a prominent point protruding from the left edge. The mark will fall in the field beyond the pond among the hay bales.

This test is taking about 20 minutes per dog.

Tenth Series – Land / Water with 2 Flyers and 3 Retired

Right Retired Flyer – 340 yards

Right Retired – 178 yards

Left Retired – 196 yards

 Left Flyer – 320 yards

9th Series – Land / Water Quad with One Retired – Description

Ninth Series – Land / Water Quad

The mist is hanging on the tree tops on top of the hills and temperatures are cool and promise to stay that way today. Wind is negligible.

Left Flyer: The line faces NW and sits atop a mound. The birds are shot left to right, "round the horn." The first bird of this quad is a rooster pheasant flyer shot to the right at 153 yards. The line cuts the end of a pond and up an incline of mowed cover in a field with large square bales. One of the bales has been broken up and spread around to create the look of "simulated cover."

Left Middle: The second bird is a dead duck thrown to the right to the first island of another pond requiring an angle entry. This mark is at 138 yards.

Right Retired: The third bird, a rooster pheasant is thrown right into a mowed field at 232 yards towards a stand of trees. There is another island on line to the bird. This gun station retires.

Right Flyer: The fourth is a flyer hen pheasant shot right towards a mound. There is an un-mowed strip to cut through to retrieve this bird at 130 yards.

The test is taking approximately 11-12 minutes per dog.

8th Series – Water Quad – Description

Eighth Series – Water Quad with Two Retired, a Boat Bird, a Flyer with a Sluice

The clouds are lifting and skies will clear. Winds are light and out of the north. The line is facing a westerly direction. Today's temperature is scheduled to be much cooler. The field is a terraced and overlooks a large technical pond. All of the bird in the this series are drakes.

The first bird down is the Long Retired thrown angle back to the left at 330 yards along a tree line. The dog runs down the terrace field covering a large portion of the field dotted with water-filled ditches and past mounds to far the edge of the field.

The Left Retired stands at the base of a tree and throws the bird to the left at 282 yards. The line to the duck will be down the terraces and mowed areas also dotted with water-filled ditches and berms that the dog will go through.

The third bird is the Boat Bird with a large throw to the right across a pond and landing on an island at 210 yards. Again, the line is through the mowed area, out through the water and to the island.

The fourth bird is a Flyer shot to the right at 146 yards and sluiced. The line is through the mowed area and patches of higher cover.

Long Left Retired – 330 yards

Left Short Retired – 282 yards

Boat Bird – 210 yards

Flyer with Sluice – 146 yards

There will be more photos to come … they need to be loaded one at a time due to connectivity issues with mountains and low cloud cover. Thank you for your continued patience …

5th Series – Land Triple with an Honor – Description

Today's test is being held at TJ and Debby Lindbloom's property....

We are facing east overlooking an open terraced field. There are random mowed parts and areas of natural uncut grass. This triple starts with the middle retired bird, which is thrown to the left at 220 yards. This gun station is at a base of a lone tree. Next, the left retired at the base of a tree surrounded by bushes, shoots and throws to the right at 160 yards. Finally, on the right side of the field, the flyer station is high up on the road with the guns shooting up on the hillside at 260 yards. This test uses all hen pheasants and both retired stations retired after the dog is sent. There is an honor at the end. This test is taking approximately 7-8 minutes.

The Fifth Series – Land Triple with an Honor

Middle Retired – 220 yards

 Left Retired – 160 yards

Flyer Station – 260 yards

The Fourth Series – From the Line

Fourth Series – Water Blind – Aerial View

Series 4 – Technical Water Blind – Description

The Fourth Series is a Technical 365 yard Water Blind. The dogs will run from a line on the road at the north end of the "Butterfly Pond."

The dogs will enter the pond through a small channel that opens into the main pond. Then the dog will cross over a corner of the peninsula and re-enter into the main body of water. The line to the blind will take them over an island from series three, they come off the island into the water and cross over another tip of a peninsula. The dog goes back into the water and up an incline through tall grass cover. The line continues on an incline through a mowed section to the blind.

The winds promise to remain light out of the north to northwest. We start this test with clear sunny conditions. However, it does seem there is a glare coming off the "Butterfly Pond."

The Blind Planter – Close-up

Series 3 – Land/Water Triple with Two Retired and an Honor

Series 3 – Land / Water Triple with Two Retired and an Honor

Our field for our 3rd Series is the "Butterfly Pond." A terraced field with the main body of water at 15 yards in front of the line. All birds are drakes and thrown left to right around the horn. The order of the birds is Left (retired gun), Middle (retired gun) and Right (flyer). The first bird is thrown to the right, landing in a ditch at 130 yards. The long middle retired is thrown to the right at 270 yards landing in another ditch at the end of a rectangular pond. The flyer is shot to the right at 230 yards landing in a field of "simulated cover." After the dog returns with his birds, there is an honor to the left of the mat.

They are taking the right hand Flyer first. This bird is shot in a recently cut field. To allow for cover a hay bale has been broken up for cover deviation. The line is through the pond at an angle entry catching the edge of a point that gradually comes out to form a little cove with decoys at the end. There is a large training mound on line to the flyer and the dogs are choosing which side to navigate.

For the Left Retired Gun, the dog will enter the pond and take the edge of a little island, down the back side of a dam and through a bit of cover to arrive at a grassy ditch where the bird lies.

The Middle Retired Gun, the dog enters into the water and swims past the decoys, then down the back side of the dam, through the light tall grass and enters a second rectangular pond. Then the dog must swim  the length of that pond, they exit and out and beyond into a field of sparse tall grass to get the duck.

This test is taking 10-11 minutes per dog.

Sketch courtesy Missy Bell – Thank you, Missy!!

The Third Series

Left Retired –130 Yards

Long Middle Retired –270 Yards

Right hand Flyer – 230 yards

Series 1 & 2 - Land Double with One Retired and a Hot Blind

The 2018 National Amateur Retriever Club Championship is starting with a Land Double with One Retired and a Hot Blind. This will be the 1st & 2nd Series.

The field is basically open, freshly hayed with bales dispersed throughout. The far end of the field inclines sharply to a sparse tree line dividing pastures on side of a hill.

The line is facing ESE. The first bird is a dead rooster pheasant thrown to the right approximately 216 yards out. This gun station retires. The handler than pushes about 45 degrees to the left for a rooster pheasant shot to the left at 205 yards. They will then pull slight angled left of the line to a control bird to pick up a rooster pheasant about 275 yards up the hill. The line will move through the field of the hay bales with the initial line right of a large bale and then about 2/3 of the way out. The line will be between two bales and end with a bird at the base of the bale.

Sketch courtesy Missy Bell

Land Double with One Retired and a Hot Blind

Right Retired – 200 yards

Left Flyer – 205 yards