APC NATIONAL FIELD TRIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS October 10-13, 2016 Fort Robinson State Park, Crawford, NE Fort Robinson State Park near Crawford, Nebraska was the site of the 2016 American Pointer Club National Field Trial Championships. This beautiful venue is managed by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission and was once the home of the world's largest cavalry remount station. The park sits on approximately 22,000 acres in the northwest corner of the state of Nebraska and is home to a herd of buffalo and Longhorn cattle. The terrain ranges from high bluffs and wide grassy meadows to river bottom and groves of deciduous trees. The Championship course is run along the Soldier creek and crosses it twice during the hour. At the halfway point, the course passes the Carter P. Johnson Lake, which is stocked with trout. Sharptail grouse and pheasant are native here and were occasionally found on course. The Championship headquarters were in the Mare Barn complex of the park. This equestrian facility is available to large groups and has box stalls so that every field trial horse had his own comfortable place. In the center of the complex is the Mare Barn Annex which is a building converted from a block of stalls to become a meeting and banquet space where participants would gather for meals each day. Judges for the Open Puppy Classic and the National Championship were Bill Monk of West Virginia and Mike Patrick of Colorado. Dr Ray Calkins who came from Oregon and Audra Jaconetti of Rhode Island, were the judges for the Open Derby Classic and the National Amateur Championship. We thank them for giving us their time and many hours in the saddle to select this year s winners. The host committee consisted of many volunteers; Jack Haines drove the dog wagon and together with line marshal Deb Harper made sure everyone was on the line on time, Steve Bailey together with Marc and Mary Devos were the bird stewards and coordinated the bird planting, Lisa Bailey was our chef and she did a fabulous job with the meals, Deb Freidus was the judges marshal for the Championship and also organized the silent auction. Angela Schillereff stepped in as event chairman when Bridget Bailey who lives in North Carolina along the Atlantic coast was unable to come to the Championship because of hurricane Matthew. Tracy Haines was the event secretary. Thank you everyone for your tireless efforts and support! Purina once again sponsored our event and provided dog food to the winners and financial support through their ProPlan program. Sportdog donated training collars to the Championship winners and we are grateful for their support throughout the years. The perpetual bronze trophy "Magic Time" by James Kermott was available for viewing and awarded to the winner of the National Championship. The beautiful National Amateur Championship bronze was also on display along with the Woodbury Pewter bowl trophy which is the prize for the Open Derby Classic winner and was donated by the Pointer Associates of New England. The winner of the Open Puppy Classic was awarded a perpetual Woodbury Pewter bowl similar but smaller to that of the Derby.
OPEN PUPPY CLASSIC The National Field Trial Championships started at eight o clock with the Open Puppy Classic on Monday, October 10. The skies were blue and the sun was shining bright. It was a perfect day to watch our young prospects run and hunt. Although the Open Puppy Classic stake was small, we had an enthusiastic entry of five dogs. The first brace was Turtle Mountain Daisy (Daisy) owned by Spero Manson and handled by Steve Bailey, both of Colorado. Daisy was braced with Double M s Comfortably Numb (Karma) owned by Meredith Mays and handled by Cliff Mesnard of Ohio. Although these two pups were young in age, they hunted and worked the cover well. Karma ranged a bit more and finished nice to the front at the end of the half hour. The second brace was Wiggins Red Ryder (Daisy) who is owned by Amanda and Todd Schaaf of Washington and handled by Todd. The bracemate was Turtle Mountain Mike (Mike) owned by Spero Manson and handled by Steve Bailey. This brace broke away strong and were to the front for the majority of the brace. They hunted the edges and cover in a forward manner. Mike made a strong, forward move at the end and Daisy came from the side to meet up with Mike at the finish line. The third brace was Tian White Speck (Speck) who ran as a bye. Speck is owned and handled by Angela Schillereff of Oregon. He started out quickly and showed great ground speed with his rapid movement to the front. He worked the cover and handled kindly for his owner for the rest of the half hour. Judges: Bill Monk and Mike Patrick OPEN PUPPY CLASSIC Thirty Minute Heats-5 Pointers FIRST PLACE Turtle Mountain Mike Owner: Spero Manson SECOND PLACE Tian White Speck THIRD PLACE Wiggins Red Ryder Owner: Todd & Amanda Schaaf Handler: Steve Bailey Handler: Angela Schillereff Handler: Todd Schaaf FOURTH PLACE Double M s Comfortably Numb Owner: Meredith Mays Handler: Cliff Mesnard
NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP The one hour Championship is run on an out and back course which follows the Solider Creek river bottom. Liberated bobwhite quail were released for our event. The weather was sunny and clear with temperatures reaching the mid 80s on Monday afternoon for the start of the National Championship. Tuesday was a complete change of weather, clouds and a cold front came in and the daytime high was 65 for the conclusion of the Championship stake. Thrillem Dust Devil (DD) owned and handled by Marc Devos of Colorado was braced with Erin s Saint Louis Jimmy (Jimmy) owned by Brian Wayson of Maryland and handled by Dave Pomfret of Virginia were the first brace of the National Championship stake. They started out close and increased their range as the course dropped into the first ravine. DD had a nice find at 30 with good style. Jimmy was found standing at 37 staunch with nice style. At 48 DD was found on point and Jimmy came up with the gallery and the bird flushed as he stopped to back. DD stood through this with style and both dogs finished to the front at the end of the hour. The second brace was Winston s Revival (Winston) owned by Janelle Venable and handled by Greg Dixon of Wisconsin and St Croix s Miss Milly (Milly) owned by Bruce and Sue Mueller of Wisconsin and handled by Bruce. This brace started at the far end of the course and ran the hour back to camp. This brace started out well but unfortunately Winston had a breach of manners and Milly anticipated the flush and was picked up by her handler. Gator Done (Gator) owned by Amanda and Todd Schaaf and handled by Todd ran in the third brace with Turtle Mountain Tempest (Tempe) owned by Spero Manson and handled by Steve Bailey. This brace started off fast with both dogs having a find on opposite side of the river bottom. The handler could not produce a bird for Gator, so he was moved on. Tempe was rewarded with a bird and she stood well for the flush. At 36 both dogs were found standing together and their manners were in order. Gator was found on point with good style at 47 and his handler flushed a single bird. With 10 minutes left in the hour, Gator made a strong move to the left through the open field and two wild pheasant flushed and he went with them. He was picked up by his handler. Tempe finished the hour in front of her handler. The fourth brace was ran as a bye as the last brace of the day. Kempfer s She Ain t Foolin at Keyways (Jill) was in season. Jill is owned by Wayne Yamashita and Kirsten Fulk, both from Oregon and handled by Wayne. Jill cruised to the front and was not seen until 48 as she came from the left side of the course. Jill finished the brace going forward but was lost at time. Tuesday morning began the fifth brace which was Tian Elhew Verbena (Bena) owned and handled by Angela Schillereff and Backwood s Happy Hour (Luke) owned by Judy Goldman and Lee Shoaf of Wisconsin and handled by Greg Dixon. Both dogs took to the front like rockets and Bena was found standing at 6 on the right side of the course. She was relocated to produce the birds on top of the hill and stood with her head and tail high as the birds flushed. Luke made a big move to the front and continued forward with his handler. Bena had another stop at 15 but no birds were produced. Luke was found on point by his scout at 27 with good style. Both dogs were found standing at 40 in separate parts of the course and showed tremendous style and poise on the flush. Bena had another find at 50 on the side of a hill and
was relocated to point a covey of 3 quail which was flushed with good manners. Both dogs finished the hour strong and to the front. The sixth brace was Crandall s Hideaway Hank (Hank) owned and handled by Dave Pomfret and Tian Shooting Star (Star) with owner handler Angela Schillereff. This was the brace running east back to the campground. Both dogs began the brace running well to the front and were found standing at 20 in a grove of trees with a divided find. A single quail was flushed and both dogs continued on the course. At 37 Star was found on point and Hank had a breach of manners and was picked up. Star was credited with a stop to flush at 42. Going forward Star was found on point at 48 with a covey of quail flushed by her handler. At 56 in the last field she had another stop to flush and finished the brace to the front. Gotta Little Project (Edgar) owned by Amanda and Todd Schaaf and handled by Todd was paired with Be Just (Bee) owned by Marc and Mary Devos and handled by Marc were the pair for the seventh brace. Edgar was found in the creek bottom standing with nice style but his handler was unable to produce a bird. Bee was found standing at 30 and birds were flushed. Edgar powered to the front and Bee was found again but no birds were found. Edgar was found on point at 40 with good manners on the flush. At 45 Bee was found standing and her handler was unable to produce any birds and opted to pick her up. Charging to the front, Edgar was found standing at 54 and after the flush he ended the hour strong. Big Terror (Big) owned and handled by Mary Devos and Someday s Showman (Sunny) owned Amy and George Lutz of Washington and handled by George made the eight brace of the National Championship stake. Sunny and Big started out with power to the front and Big was found standing at 14 with high head and tail. The handler produced a bird and Big was moved on. Big disappeared into the creek bed on the right not to be seen again and was declared lost by his handler. Sunny was found standing at 18 with nice style. After the flush he was moved on but was not seen again until his owner asked to pull his tracker. The ninth and final brace was St Croix s Lightning Strike (Haley) owned by Bruce and Susan Mueller and handled by Greg Dixon and Ubetcha (Maizie) owned by Robert Spillman and handled by Dave Pomfret. This brace was the first hour after the lunch break. It started out slow with both dogs working closely for their handlers. As time went on, the dogs speed increased and their range widened. Haley was found on point at 19 and had a stop to flush at 27 with a couple of big hops before she came to stop. Maizie s pace slowed and both dogs were picked up at the halfway mark of the hour.
Judges: Bill Monk and Mike Patrick NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP One Hour Heats-17 Pointers FIRST PLACE---Backwoods Happy Hour Owner: Judy Goldman & Lee Shoaf SECOND PLACE---Gotta Little Project Owner: Amanda & Todd Schaaf THIRD PLACE---Tian Elhew Verbena FOURTH PLACE---Thrillems Dust Devil Owner: Marc Devos Handler: Greg Dixon Handler: Todd Schaaf Handler: Angela Schillereff Handler: Marc Devos OPEN DERBY CLASSIC The Open Derby Classic began immediately after the last brace of the National Championship and both braces were run easterly back to the starting line at camp. The weather was a pleasant 60 degrees with light winds. There were four dogs entered in the stake. The first brace was Tian White Speck (Speck) owned and handled by Angela Schillereff and Turtle Mountain Mike (Mike) who is owned by Spero Manson and was handled by Steve Bailey. Speck and Mike were fast off the breakaway and continued a strong forward race along the edge of the crop fields. Game contact was made by both dogs with Speck having a find at 20. He pointed with nice style and held for the flush. Speck continued on to finished the half hour wanting more. Mike ran the course well but slowed at the end of the brace. Double M s Comfortably Numb (Karma) owned by Meredith Mays and handled by Cliff Mesnard and Turtle Mountain Daisy (Daisy) owned by Spero Manson and handled by Steve Bailey were the second pair to run in the Open Derby Classic. Unfortunately this brace had no birdwork. Both ran a nice moderate race making some moves and digging into cover looking for birds. Judges: Ray Calkins and Audra Jaconetti OPEN DERBY CLASSIC Thirty Minute Heats-4 Pointers FIRST PLACE---Tian White Speck Handler: Angela Schillereff SECOND PLACE---Turtle Mountain Mike Owner: Spero Manson Handler: Steve Bailey Third and Fourth Place were withheld
NATIONAL AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP The first brace of the National Amateur Championship began Wednesday October 13 using the same courses as were laid out for the National Championship. This morning heavy frost was on the ground with cloud cover but the conditions improved and the sun came out by early afternoon and the temperatures warmed to 65 degrees. Leaving from the starting line at camp for the first brace was Gotta Little Project (Edgar) owned by the Schaafs and handled by Todd Schaaf and Be Just (Bee) owned by Marc and Mary Devos and handled by Marc. Edgar had eight very stylish finds with a nice forward race. He hunted the cover well when necessary and worked the edges with excellent application and animation. Bee broke away nicely but then shortened her run so her handler opted to pick her up before the end of the hour. The second brace coming back was Someday s Showman (Sunny) owned by Amy and George Lutz and handled by George and Gator Done (Gator) owned by Amanda and Todd Schaaf and handled by Todd. Sunny was very forward at the breakaway and was seen for a brief time and was ultimately declared lost. Gator made a nice cast off the start and was found standing in deep cover with nice style. His second find came around the mid course and Gator finished the hour going forward. The third brace began with St Croix s Miss Milly (Milly) owned by Sue and Bruce Mueller and handled by Bruce and Thrillem s Dust Devil (DD) owned and handled by Marc Devos. Milly was very snappy on ground with moderate range. She had two nice finds, but unfortunately pushed a covey out when she was relocated on her third find and was picked up. DD had a fast start and was found standing at 10 minutes. Everything in order, DD went on to have another stop but this time the handler was not able to produce any birds. DD had another find at 45, was relocated and the handler flushed a single quail. She finished to the front at the end of the hour. Big Terror (Big) owned by Marc and Mary Devos and handled by Marc was braced with Winston s Revival (Winston) owned by Janelle Venable and handled by Mark Johnson. This was the last pair to run before the lunch break. Big had a beautiful find on top of the first ridge at 5 minutes. He hunted the cover nicely throughout the hour with 2 additional finds but suffered 2 non-productives. Winston made a huge move off the breakaway with gorgeous finds at 10, 15, 18 and 35 minutes and continued strong forward race until he encountered a single quail off the dirt path that he chased and was picked up. The fifth brace was St Croix s Lightning Strike (Haley) owned by Sue and Bruce Mueller and handled by Bruce and Tian Elhew Verbena (Bena) owned by Angela Schillereff and handled by Wayne Yamashita. Bena ran a very animated race with a find on the left side at the 5 minute mark. Her bracemate came in to honor. Birds were produced after she was relocated. Both dogs went on with Bena having another find at 18, unfortunately Haley failed to back this time and was picked up by her handler. Bena continued to have 2 more finds with high head and tail. She finished the hour strong and to the front.
The sixth brace was Tian Shooting Star (Star) owned by Angela Schillereff and handled by Wayne Yamashita and Backwood s Happy Hour (Luke) owned by Judy Goldman and Lee Shoaf and handled by Lee. Star had a stylish and forward race with a stop to flush at 15. She continued on with wide forward moves and was found to the front standing on the hillside at 50. All manners in order she continued to charge forward. She encountered her bracemate on point at 56 and failed to back and was picked up by her handler. Luke made several casts far and wide to the left but was not able to keep to the front. He suffered a non-productive at 30 and recorded a find at 48 a stop to flush at 55. He finished the hour at a moderate range. Turtle Mountain Tempest (Tempe) owned and handled by Spero Manson and Kempfer s She Ain t Foolin at Keyways (Jill) owned by Wayne Yamashita and Kirsten Fulk and handled by Wayne made the last brace of the championship. Tempe made some nice moves at a moderate range. She had two very pretty finds and a stop to flush on pheasants. Jill ran a very wide race and had a find in which the bird went under the judges horse and could not be flushed. She was moved on to the front and was seen running on a distant edge. Jill had an unfortunate incident when the gallery flushed a bird and she went on to chase it. Judges: Audra Jaconetti and Ray Calkins NATIONAL AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP One Hour Heats--14 Pointers FIRST PLACE---Gotta Little Project Owner: Amanda and Todd Schaaf Handler: Todd Schaaf SECOND PLACE---Thrillems Dust Devil Owner: Marc Devos Handler: Marc Devos THIRD PLACE---Gator Done Owner: Amanda and Todd Schaaf FOURTH PLACE---Tian Elhew Verbena Handler:Todd Schaaf Handler: Wayne Yamashita