Spring ’08 Hunt Test Update:
10 dogs qualified for ’08 Master Natl.

Steve wrapped up his Spring Hunt Test schedule early this year by qualifying all 10 dogs for the ’08 Master National by the end of April! Rose, Ruby, Stormy, Sonny, Katie and Sugar were joined by newcomers Charlie, Mick, Ruger and Stella as Team SRK put up impressive performances each week.

As some of you know, the Master National qualification process was changed last year to cut down the number of dogs. Master dogs must now pass 5 of their first 7 Masters for the year. If not, a dog must have a total of 8 Master passes.

All 10 SRK dogs qualified under the 5 x 7 rule, passing at the rate of 82.5%. Youngsters Mick and Ruger, both just 2 years old, managed to get their Senior titles in March and their Master titles only a month later as they “double-staked” through February and March. Mick, only 25 months old when he titled, will quite likely be the youngest dog at the Master National.

Also attaining a Senior title in March was Heat, who passed 5 for 5 in Senior tests. Heat is currently in training for the Master.

Perhaps the season’s only disappointment was Ice, a Flat Coated Retriever male who came to Steve as a 3 year old “project”. Ice was competitive in the Master all Spring, but kept coming up short. Finally, at Ozark, he received his first Master pass. Only a handful of Flat Coats in the U.S. are currently running at Master level.

Among the best stories of the season was Stella’s long journey back from a near fatal car wreck in 2006.

While returning home from a hunting trip with owner Richard Wells, the pair became involved in a multi-car accident on I-20, which resulted in major injuries to both. Richard spent 2 weeks in ICU. Stella had to be cut out of the pickup cab with the Jaws tool. After several surgeries, A&M said she would never run again, but Richard was not convinced. A year-long rehab brought good results and she resumed training with Steve last summer. Now back at 100%, the hard-charging Stella made everyone a believer this Spring, passing 5 of 6 Masters.

Space does not permit a description on all the tests, but we will include one interesting example from the last series at Waterloo in March.

Designed by former Master Natl. judges John Marchica and Roger Fuller, the test was a triple mark setup with a blind retrieve. This was a land/water scenario involving a long channel of water at the end of a lake.

A duck was thrown on the right, landing across a deep ditch in pasture grass. This was followed on the left by a pair of ducks landing “in-line”, one on the far side of the water channel and one on the near side.

Handlers were instructed to pick up one of the left marks first (usually the short one, but some dogs blew past it and ended up recovering the duck on the far side of the channel).

After picking up one mark, the judges instructed handlers to recover the blind next before retrieving the other 2 marks. The blind was planted deep of the right hand mark and “under the arc”. This meant that dogs passed within 5-10 yards of the mark enroute the blind. A south wind was blowing the scent across the line to the blind. Handlers would need tight control to handle off the scent as the “wrong” bird was literally 2 jumps away. Recovering the mark before the blind meant automatic elimination.

After retrieving the blind, the remaining 2 marks were retrieved. Quite a few dogs succumbed to this test, but Steve completed it successfully with all but 2 dogs. It was an interesting and challenging test requiring a real Master dog.

The Master dogs will now head home for a break before returning for Pre-National training in late summer. The ’08 AKC Master National will be held in Northern Minnesota from Sept. 20-28. Stormy and Sonny will be gunning for their third Master National pass, which would put them in the Master Natl. Hall of Fame, joining teammates Sugar, Rose and Ruby. Barely more than 100 have ever attained this honor.

Qualified for 2008 Master National