National Amateur Retriever Championship Stake
June 13-19, 2004
Saturday: Ninth Series and Tenth Series
Saturday morning brought rain early, by mid morning the rain had passed and skies were clearing. The ninth series was a water/land triple with two boat marks, both retired, and a flying pheasant on land. The test was set at a lake that had flooded, tules and timber located thru out. The first mark was at 240 yards in the center, it was thrown to the right in a stand of flooded timber. This was followed by the right mark at 155 yards, it also was thrown from a boat to the left into fallen timber. Lastly was the flying pheasant well to the lef. This bird was shot to the right into heavy cover. The test was mostly a down wind test. At the mid point their had been one pick up, one handle and a few hunts, but for the most part, work was good.
The ninth series concluded shortly after noon. When the call backs were announced, there remained twelve potential National Amateur contestants. They were 2, 17, 18, 22, 25, 40, 43, 56, 84, 89, 92 and 94.
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After a short move, the tenth series was ready for the final test to crown this years champion. The test consisted of a land quad with one retired dead bird mark and triple flyers, with one retired. The area used was a large field on the back of the management area. It had mowed strips thru scattered and heavy cover. Mark one was a dead pheasant, left center at 255 yards. The bird was thrown right to left and the guns retired to a brushed blind just behind their station. Number two was the short left pheasant flyer at 65 yards. This flyer was thrown straight away from the line. The third mark, a flyer duck, was located right center at 185 yards, it was thrown left to right with the guns retiring behind a large power tower. The last mark, also a flyer duck, was the right outside mark at 100 yards, it was thrown right to left angle back. In order to retrieve all birds, a channel of water with cattails had to be crossed and much heavy cover with scattered mowed strips had to be negotiated. The clouds had cleared with the wind blowing straight down the field. Work was very varied with several good jobs, some large hunts, several handles, one double handle, and sadly one dog was picked up and was not able to be a finalist. At the conclusion, the gallery gossip had speculation that one of three teams would be the winner, after a short time, all were assembled for the announcement. The winner of the 2004 National Amateur championship, #56 FC AFC Chickamauga Choo Choo, owner Mac & Lynn DuBose, with Lynn as handler.
