Fourteenth Annual AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championships
By Bonnie Hidalgo


The Nebraska Field Trial Association is hosting the 2007 renewal of the AKC Gun Dog Championship Field Trial at the Branched Oak Field Trial Grounds near Lincoln, NE. The well organized event is led by Co-Chairmen Larry Voelks and Don Bergmeyer and Field Trial Secretary Tom Maneely. The event began with the Retrieving Championship "ride the course" on Sunday April 1, followed by the start of the Retrieving Championship on Monday April 2.

The Retrieving Championship: First Series

Monday, April 2, 2007
Weather: Sunny and Warm
Gallery Marshall: Travis Schroer
Gunners: Terry Hawkins, Jim Keller, Bill Speck, Doug Ljungren, Jerry Mann, Mel Stewart, Tom Meyer

Brace 1: Prairie Edge Tippy (Vande Hei) - Countdown's Duncan MacFarlane (Rabidou)
These two were forward at nice range from the breakaway. Duncan pointed with lofty style at 6 minutes on the left edge. Tippy came on the scene and both dogs went for the bird.

Brace 2: Royalrun All Bets Are Off (King) - FC/AFC Palm Glades Shameless Sally (Walker)
The former was a no show; Sally ran as a bye. Sally pointed with good style and intensity at 8 minutes. The quail was downed and she retrieved it very nicely. Her second find was also well done. She actually leaned to the left without moving a foot to mark the flight. Her third find came on the hill near the west pine row. This find was of good style, intensity and manners. Sally ran an impressive, kind handling gun dog race.

Brace 3: FC/AFC Rock'N Reggie Shakin theShaq (Hetmanek) - Marg C's Flying Freckle, MH (Keller)
Reggie scored three clean finds. He completed his retrieve on the first bird he pointed. Freckle ran an excellent gun dog race but found no birds.

Brace 4: DDS Tobias Weiss (King) - O'Rowdy Boy (Henry)
The former was a no show; Rowdy ran as a bye. Rowdy scored a clean, stylish find at 20.

Brace 5: Uodibar's Wood Man (Rabidou) - Rawhide's Windy City (Armburst)
Windy ran a strong race and was eventually lost. Woodman scored one find and one nonproductive. He was called back at the end of the brace to show the retrieve and did it admirably.

Brace 6: Stella Artois JH RN (Long) - DC Rimfire Double Jeopardy (Dixon)
Stella hunted well at easy gun dog range. Jeopardy scored a good find at 11 minutes. He had a second nice find at 17 minutes with the bird shot and retrieved.

Brace 7: FC Saddlesore's Chili Pepper (King) - FC/AFC Trace's Silver Twist (Erbe)
Chili was a no show. Hook ran a big race with excellent bird work. He had a good find complete with a retrieve at nine. He went on to have more bird work, all in order and finished forward.

Brace 8: FC Redbud's Rodeo Clown (Dohse) - FC Caden's Case In Point (Brath)
Clown got in trouble with birds early and was picked up. Casey scored a very nice find early. Casey had another find complete with a retrieve just before time.

Brace 9: FC/AFC Dunfur's Hoosier LB (Paddock) - NFC/DC Backwood's Sureshot Marley (Dixon)
LB was scratched. Marley had an excellent find complete with a very nice retrieve at eight. Marley scored another quality find in a thicket on the right at 13. Marley got in to trouble later in the brace and was picked up.

Brace 10: Wildrose's Little Leipchen (Rose) - FC/AFC Caden's Ruger Weltmeister (Brath)
Leipchen suffered two barren stands. Ruger ignored a back until he was beside her. Both were picked up.

Brace 11: FC Palmglade's Minnie (Walker) - Cebourn's High Roll-N-Angel (Zick)
Minnie had trouble on birds. Angel ran a very nice race but had no game contact.

Brace 12: BDK's War Emblem (Nutt) - Kojac's K-Man (Fingerlin)
Emblem ran an extremely attractive race; taking the edges admirably. He had a lengthy absence late but was seen in motion by the Judges as time expired. He was on point when picked up. K-Man was lost.

Brace 13: FC Uodibar's Chocolate Thunder (Rabidou) - Caden's General Brutus Maximus (Brath)
Thunder ran a nice race with one non-productive. Brutus ran well but caught a bird at 15 to end his hopes.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Weather: Partly Cloudy, Cool and Very Windy
Gallery Marshall: Travis Schroer
Gunners: Jim Keller, Terry Hawkins, Bill Speck, Doug Ljungren, Jerry Mann, Mel Stewart, Tom Meyer, Phil Heye, Gary Sadler.

Brace 14: FC/AFC Cebourn's Born To Boogie (Blackbourn) - Wildrose Dixieland's Legacy (Rose)
Legacy pointed in a heavy thicket at 5, his style and manners were very nice; the bird flew but was not shot. Boogie pointed at 6. The cover was dense and a bird could not be produced. Both dogs were absent briefly but were found forward; Boogie was pointing with Legacy backing. The work was very good but a retrieve could not be set up. Legacy scored again at 25. The bird was flushed and shot but at the shot a bird near Legacy jumped causing him to mark it. Rose attempted to get him to retrieve the shot bird but Legacy retrieved the one he had marked which was completely acceptable. A call back to retrieve was set up for Boogie and she completed it in good order.

Brace 15: FC/AFC Semper Fi Colonels Pride (Pomfret) - General Tug Lee (King)
Tug was a no show. Colonel scored a nice find at 9 with an excellent retrieve. A second find came at 11; again the work was first rate. A Third find for Colonel came at 14. He pointed again at 23 and 26, these were well located birds pointed with extreme style and intensity. Colonel hunted every step of the way.

Brace 16: Eshod's Arkansas Lady (Dohse) - DC Up N'Adam's Case In Point (Tazza)
Both dogs were pointing in a thicket but the birds could not be produced. Lady had a close encounter of the wrong kind at 12 and was up. Case In Point had two nice finds but required guidance on pattern and was not called back to retrieve.

Brace 17: FC Lucy De Laredo (Rabidou) - Zoi Von Vogel Sternschnuppe (King/Hassell)
Zoi was a no show. Lucy had a find at 8 where the bird was difficult to get in the air. She pointed again at 20, this was all in order. She had another find just before time; this time the bird was shot and dropped across a fence. Lucy was lifted over the fence and made a nice retrieve. She stayed in contact with her handler throughout the brace.

Brace 18: Caden's Raven Cheyenne (Brath) - CH Onpoint's Grand Finale (La Rue)
Finale had a find at 9, relocation was needed but successful. The bird was shot and the Vizsla retrieved it readily. All was in order. Cheyenne was up early for not suiting her handler. Finale scored a second find at 20, at a brush pile. The dog's style and intensity were of good quality. Finale turned to mark and gained a few forward steps.

Brace 19: DC/AFC Up N' Adam's Piper Cherokee (Tazza) - Rincon Slick Runner (Rose)
Slick pointed early with Cherry backing. All was in order for both dogs. Slick made a nice retrieve. He had a second find a few minutes later where he took a few steps. Slick scored a third find at 24 but was picked up soon afterwards. Cherry scored her first nice find soon after the backing opportunity. On her second find the bird was shot but the dog was not sent for the retrieve because other birds were between the dog and the downed bird. She had a third find at time where the bird was retrieved.

Brace 20: FC/AFC B.Cock Beacon MH (Felins) - Upwinds Moxie (Pomfret)
A good find was scored early by Beacon. He completed the retrieve on his first contact. Moxie was forward at that time. Beacon scored another clean find just before time was called.

Brace 21: FC Aztec's Midnight Shift (Pomfret) - DC/AFC Up N'Adam's Super Sioux (Tazza)
Finds at 20 and 25 for Sioux were completed in excellent fashion, but with no opportunity for a retrieve. A call back was set up for Sioux and it all went down in textbook style. Shift hunted at good speed with an attractive gait.

Brace 22: FC Uodibar's Glitter N' Gold (Rabidou) - FC DW's Sally's Hilited Affair (Walker)
This was a short-lived brace, Glitter encountered birds too zealously and Affair was gone from the breakaway.

Brace 23: Doublerun Cole Bier (King) - NFC/FC Upwind Kismet Rapid Fire (Pomfret)
Cole was a no show. Fire scored a find early with a kill and retrieve to hand. His second find was also done with good manners. Fire's third find came at 17, the bird flew right past his head and he maintained style and composure. Fire ran a strong forward race.

Brace 24: Uodibar's Lady Bird (Rabidou) - Wildfire's Eye Candy (Rose)
This pair of dogs battled the strong winds but did not change things.

Brace 25: Hickory Ridge Magic (Carmichael) - CH St. Croix's Diamond Jim (Dixon)
Magic ran a kind handling race with four finds. Jim backed him on his first and third finds. Magic handled all of his birds admirably. Magic was absent at time; point was called shortly thereafter but his handler flushed and took him on before the Judges could arrive on the scene. Jim was wide ranging and suffered a few brief absences. Dixon picked him up at 24.

Brace 26: FC/AFC Palm Glade's Mighty Mite (Walker) - Up N' Adam's Point Up JH (Tazza)
Mite got his point and retrieve in good order. The retrieve was difficult as it was basically a blind one for the dog. Mite was under a bird and up at 20. Point Up went without bird contact.

Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Weather: Clear, Cold and Windy
Gallery Marshall: Mike Zimbelman
Gunners: Terry Hawkins, Jim Keller, Phil Heye, Gary Sadler, Mel Stewart, Jerry Mann.

Brace 27: Echo's Little Bit of Clown (Dohse) - NMK's Arsenic and Old Lace (Kelly)
Bitty scored her first find at five minutes; the quail was shot and she retrieved it in an acceptable manner. Her second find occurred moments later on top of the hill; again all was in good order. The third find found her buried in the cover at 15 minutes. Again, everything was of high quality. Her fourth find was at 18 minutes. She had her bird well located but the chukar refused to take flight. Her entire performance was extremely impressive and left no doubt as to which dog was leading the pack. The latter was a no show.

Brace 28: Henry's Monster I Am Carl (Henry) - Palm Glades Shameless Lenny (Smelcer)
Both dogs went across the bridge on to the other course. Carl came back but Lenny was lost. Carl had a find at 15, during the retrieve he had a stop to flush on another bird. The retrieve took some time but he eventually brought the bird back nearly to hand. Carl became somewhat lateral in pattern with the head wind; but he finished forward.

Brace 29: NFC/FC Backwoods Longshot (Dixon) - FC/AFC Caden's Jasper (Brath)
Longshot was a bit of a handful. Jasper did a nice job on the ground and on his game. He was called back to retrieve and did so in good fashion.

Brace 30: Wild Rose Abigail Road (Rose) - Berry's Bad Boy (Jordan)
Boy was picked up early for a breach of manners. Abby had a find at 6 with a retrieve. Abby scored a second good find in the copse of trees on the left side of the course.

Brace 31: FC Scattergun Maggie (Dohse) - WVK Jazz (Henry)
A time consuming nonproductive at 16 marred Maggie's performance. She carded a good find at 20. Jazz had a lengthy absence and was brought to the front at 21. Maggie had a second find at 26 minutes with all in order. On her third find her quarry was shot and Maggie made an excellent blind retrieve. Jazz scored a find just before time was called.

Brace 32: Uodibar's King Henry (Rabidou) - Ike's Eshod Delight (Dohse)
Delight had a very nice dug up find at 12; all in order. She scored another excellent find at 20. The birds would not leave the cover so retrieve was not possible. King Henry got into trouble at 21 and was up. Delight had her third find at 26 minutes; she handled a difficult blind retrieve admirably. Her race was good although she experienced some difficulty heading into the wind. She had her fourth find at the top of the Hill. All was in order with very nice style. She finished the brace with a beautiful forward move.

Brace 33: DC Dust Storm On The Rise (Borg) - Matt's Prairie Chukar (Henry)
Chuck scored a stop to flush at 11 minutes. He had a good find at 15 with no chance for retrieve. He looped back in the direction of his find but was prevented from doing so by the Scout. Storm hunted cautiously for his handler. He scored a find on the hill at 18. Storm scored again at 20 with Chuck backing. Chuck then left the back and was picked up. Storm made a good retrieve on his second find.

Brace 34: Rawhide's Direct Deposit (Waresk) - FC/AFC Erbe's Fireginger (Erbe)
Ginger had a stop to flush at eight. At 15 minutes Direct was on point with Ginger backing. All was in order. At 19 Erbe called point for Ginger; the bird flew as the Gallery approached. Erbe fired and took her on. At that time, Direct was seen pointing on the backside of the same thicket. Direct had a bird flushed in front of him which was shot and retrieved. At 23 Ginger was standing; again the birds left her early. Direct failed to back and was picked up. Ginger was called back and performed a successful retrieve.

Brace 35: Uodibar's Little Lena (Rabidou) - FC/AFC Caden's Coupe Deville (Brath)
Coupe was pointing with Lena backing at 7 minutes. They stood with beautiful style on the top of the hill. Both moved at the shot and were picked up.

Brace 36: Uodibar's Johnny Be Good (Rabidou) - O Mega (Jordan)
Johnny ran a very nice race, hunting independently. She tallied a good find at eight minutes. O Mega suffered a lengthy absence, but scored a find to the front at 16. Johnny backed him nicely. Just after release from the back, Johnny scored her second find. The bird was shot and Johnnie made a nice retrieve. Johnnie had a third stylish find at 25. Omega pointed again at 29 with good style and manners. He was not called back to retrieve because of his earlier absence.

Following the completion of the thirty minute First Series on Wednesday evening, April 4, the announcement of the Second Series qualifiers was made. Judges Steve Short and Jack Higgins called back sixteen worthy performers. The qualifying dogs as they were braced are:

Brace 1: DC/AFC Up N' Adams Piper Cherokee owned by Katrin and Thomas Tazza, handled by Katie Tazza with Wildrose Abigail Road owned and handled by Charlie Rose.

Brace 2: NGDC/FC Echo's Little Bit of Clown owned by Ed and Trudy Moody, handled by Ray Dohse with DC Rimfire Double Jeopardy owned by Deborah Lynn and handled by Greg Dixon.

Brace 3: DC/AFC Up N' Adams Super Sioux CD SH owned by Katrin & Thomas Tazza, handled by Katie Tazza with NFC/FC Upwind Kismet Rapid Fire, owned by Lisa DeForest & Pam Buda, handled by Dave Pomfret.

Brace 4: FC/AFC Semper Fi's Colonels Pride owned by Al & Lisa Lucas, handled by Dave Pomfret with Ike's Eshod Delight owned by Ed & Trudy Moody, handled by Ray Dohse.

Brace 5: FC/AFC Palm Glade's Shameless Sally owned by Mark Brent & Dave Walker, handled by Dave Walker with FC Caden's Case In Point owned by Christine Quaid, handled by Dennis Brath.

Brace 6: FC/AFC Trace's Silver Twist owned by Bob Erbe and Doreen Fernandez, handled by Bob Erbe with Wildrose Dixieland's Legacy owned and handled by Charlie Rose.

Brace 7: Hickory Ridge Magic (Brooks Carmichael) with FC/AFC Cebourn's Born To Boogie owned by Charlie and Lynn Blackbourn and handled by Charlie.

Brace 8: FC/AFC Erbe's Fireginger owned by Janet Erbe, handled by Bob Erbe with Uodibar's Johnnie Be Good owned and handled by John Rabidou.

The forty-five minute Second Series of the AKC Gun Dog Retrieving Championship was scheduled to run in its entirety on Thursday, April 5, 2007.

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The Retrieving Championship: Second Series

Stake Manager: Mike Zimbelman
Judges: Steve Short and Jack Higgins
Judges Marshal: Doug Hess
Gallery Marshals: Mike Zimbelman, Art Armburst and Gary Sadler
Gunners: Jerry Mann, Gary Sadler, Jim Keller and Terry Hawkins

Brace 1: DC/AFC Up N' Adams Piper Cherokee owned by Katrin and Thomas Tazza, handled by Katie Tazza with Wildrose Abigail Road owned and handled by Charlie Rose.
Cherry pointed at 6; the bird was dropped beyond some small trees. It was a long retrieve of a wounded bird; it took Cherry quite a while but she located the bird and retrieved it to hand. Cherry pointed again at 18, all in order. Abby had three finds with a good retrieve on the final piece of bird work.

Brace 2: NGDC/FC Echo's Little Bit of Clown owned by Ed and Trudy Moody, handled by Ray Dohse with DC Rimfire Double Jeopardy owned by Deborah Lynn and handled by Greg Dixon.
Bitty scored her first find at 6 with Jeb backing with high style. Bitty was pointing again at 10. Her bird was well located and her manners were good. She was on a bird finding mission and was on point again at 13. She displayed excellent intensity. Jeb had a nice find at 17 minutes; the bird was shot but was not retrievable. Bitty's fourth find came at 19 she was dug into the cover. Once again it was excellent work with Jeb standing on the back edge of the thicket. Both dogs got hung up behind the fence at the turn but Bitty was delayed the longest. Once again on course, Bitty scored a fifth find in the draw below the fence, again she had her bird well located. Her race was focused and intelligent, with plenty of drive for the duration. Jeb showed a good ground pattern and high style around game.

Brace 3: DC/AFC Up N' Adams Super Sioux CD SH owned by Katrin & Thomas Tazza, handled by Katie Tazza with NFC/FC Upwind Kismet Rapid Fire, owned by Lisa DeForest & Pam Buda, handled by Dave Pomfret.
Sioux had a stop to flush on her first contact. A divided a find occurred with both dogs side by side and the bird closely pinned. Sioux scored another find, this one of top quality. Fire backed naturally with high style. Fire pointed stylishly at 30 but flushed the bird during relocation. Sioux scored a third find beyond the parking lot; it was well done. Her race was attractive.

Brace 4: FC/AFC Semper Fi's Colonels Pride owned by Al & Lisa Lucas , handled by Dave Pomfret with Ike's Eshod Delight owned by Ed & Trudy Moody, handled by Ray Dohse.
Dee scored a nice find at 7. Colonel pointed at 22; it was well handled bird work. Colonel pointed again, this time the quail was shot and retrieved; Colonel executed it very nicely. Dee pointed before the fence but went with the bird.

Brace 5: FC/AFC Palm Glade's Shameless Sally owned by Mark Brent & Dave Walker, handled by Dave Walker with FC Caden's Case In Point owned by Christine Quaid, handled by Dennis Brath.
Sally scored a nice find at 11. The bird dropped in a heavy brush pile but she managed the difficult retrieve perfectly. At 22, Casey carded a find, the bird was wounded but she caught it and carefully returned it to her handler. Sally scored another pretty find at 42 with good manners. Casey also had a find just before time, all was in order. Sally's performance was of great quality from start to finish.

Brace 6: FC/AFC Trace's Silver Twist owned by Bob Erbe and Doreen Fernandez, handled by Bob Erbe with Wildrose Dixieland's Legacy owned and handled by Charlie Rose.
At 18 both dogs pointed, Hook ended up with a non productive. Legacy scored a good find with a long relocation on quail. Hook carded a find complete with retrieve at 26. Legacy was picked up about that time for a breach of manners. At 38 Hook scored a second find.

Brace 7: Hickory Ridge Magic owned and handled by Brooks Carmichael with FC/AFC Cebourn's Born To Boogie owned by Charlie and Lynn Blackbourn and handled by Charlie.
Magic pointed at 8 minutes, the bird was shot and dropped at distance. Magic did a fine job of making the retrieve. At 16, Magic pointed feathers. Magic pointed at the Plum thicket but only the handler saw the bird. Each dog had a find at time, Boogie displayed beautiful style. Magic showed good manners. Boogie had a lengthy absence early but showed an attractive pattern after her return.

Brace 8: FC/AFC Erbe's Fireginger owned by Janet Erbe, handled by Bob Erbe with Uodibar's Johnnie Be Good owned and handled by John Rabidou.
Point was called for Ginger at 9, the bird was closely pinned. The retrieve was time consuming but she completed it to hand. Johnnie made some beautiful moves but had a lengthy absence early. Johnnie had a non-productive at 36. Both dogs finished going away.

The Winner of the 14th Annual AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship is NGDC/FC Echo's Little Bit of Clown. Bitty is proudly owned by Ed and Trudy Moody of Flora, MS. She is trained, handled and loved by Ray Dohse. This was a repeat victory for the coming nine year old German Short-haired Pointer. Bitty won this same honor in Virginia at the 2006 renewal of the AKC Gun Dog Retrieving Championship. The announcement of her win came as no surprise to those who watched the entire event. She was nothing short of remarkable.

FC/AFC Palm Glades Shameless Sally was second. She was handled by her owner, Dave Walker; she is co-owned with Mark Brent. The six year old Shorthair put on excellent gun dog performances in both series to capture this placement.

DC/AFC Up N' Adam's Super Sioux took the third placement in this prestigious stake. The five and a half year old Shorthair female displayed high style on her game. She is owned by Thomas and Katrin Tazza and was handled by Katie.

Fourth place went to Erbe's Fireginger owned by Janet Erbe and handled by Bob Erbe.

The Judges awarded three Awards of Merit. These went to Hickory Ridge Magic, owned and handled by Brooks Carmichael. Magic is a five year old German Shorthair male. The second JAM went to Trace's Silver Twist, owned and handled by Bob Erbe. Caden's Case In Point, a Shorthair owned by Christine Quaid and handled by Dennis Brath also received a JAM.

There were three awards given for Best of Breed, the German Shorthaired Pointer award natuarally went to the Champion, Echo's Little Bit of Clown handled by Ray Dohse for Ed and Trudy Moody. The top Vizsla is Semper Fi's Colonels Pride, owned by Al and Lisa Lucas and handled by Dave Pomfret. The top Weimaraner award went to Dust Storm on the Rise, owned and handled by Dave Borg.

The AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship Field Trial concluded its retrieving stake on April 5. Good Friday was a day of rest. The Non-Retrieving Championship will commence on Saturday April 7.

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