April 1 st and 2 nd . The location for the trial was once again at the
Frances Crane Wildlife Management Area in Falmouth, MA. on
historic Cape Cod.
The Setter Club is the oldest Field Trial Club in New England and
one of the most storied clubs in America. Their first trial, a
liberated bird trial was reported to have been held near
Assonet, MA. In 1891 and their first wild bird trial was held in
1924 in Rhode Island.
Once again, the club provided coffee and donuts in the
morning, assorted sandwiches, chips and cold beverages for
lunch. The Setter Club is one of a few clubs that still list all their
judges in their ad. As a token of their appreciation all Judges
were given a gift of a leather lead for taking the time to judge
this renewal.
The renewal in 2022 I reported that the early spring time
weather was outstanding, unfortunately the same cannot be
said for this year. I arrived at the grounds at 6:20 a.m. It was
cool, overcast and a bit breezy, but no rain. The conditions
stayed the same for 10 minutes and then the rains came. It
rained ALL day, I departed the grounds at 5:30 p.m. and it was
still raining.
Enough cannot be said for all the judges, club officials, handlers
and guest who toughed out the less than perfect weather. We
were all hopeful that the weather on Sunday would improve,
and thankfully it did.
Our stakes manager Nick Hamel, with a huge assist from his
wife Emily handled all the details of the trial. Under ideal
weather conditions stakes management is a monumental task.
Given the poor weather conditions Nick and Emily did a great
job and are to be commended. This was Nick’s first stakes
managers assignment and I am sure he will be called on again
to perform this duty.
The club is well supported by it’s members and club officials.
Club President, Mitch Nee, Vice President Tony Leone, Treasure
Tom Jay, and Secretary Jim Hathaway were all on hand to help
Nick and Emily with all the details to make the trial a complete
success. We must tip our caps to B.J. Cassio who provide the
dog wagon and set out birds for every brace. Club member
Edward Marquis and his granddaughter did more than their fair
share of dog wagon, bird planter duties. A huge thank you to
all that helped!!
The Running;
As advertised, the first brace of the Open Puppy broke away at
7:00 a.m. under the watchful eyes of judges Kelly Hays and
Jamie Nee. First place was awarded to an English Pointer, Blue
Ribbon River, handled by professional Robert Ecker of PA.
Second place went to a Brittany, Zoey, handled by its owner
John DiPerrio. Attitudes Spec, Ecker, a setter female went away
with the yellow ribbon.
The Open Restricted Shooting Dog stake was up next. Our
stakes manager Nick Hamel stepped in for an absent judge, he
was joined by Vermonter, Bob Arkley. The blue ribbon was
given to an English setter, Suzie owned and handled by Doug
Dix. Second was awarded to Toga, a Brittany male handled by
its owner, Paul Shirley. Third place was given to Mooselook
Texas Star a Pointer male, owned and handled Jack McNulty.
After a quick break to dry off, The Phil Fogg Open Shooting Dog
was off and running. We were pleased that long time club
members Jamie Nee and Bill Bonnetti had agreed to judge our
premier open stake. These men have been involved in Field
Trials for decades, owning and handling their dogs. A field of 17
shooting dogs would come to the line to be judged by Jamie
and Bill.
Ledge Hill Chippewa, Setter male, owned and handled by Jimmy
Levesque was the first place dog. Chip had an outstanding
shooting dog race, fast, always to the front. His range was just
right for the Cape Cod cover and imperfect weather conditions.
Both judges commented that his bird work was by far the best
of the event. Closest to the winner Was Attitude’s True Grit,
Setter male, handled by Robert Ecker. Grit had one find and
very strong race. A slight difference in the ground race was
what separated the first place dog and Grit. The yellow ribbon
went to another Setter male, Lightning Flash Remington,
owned by the Dix family of Vermont and handled by Brian Dix.
Remi was rewarded with two finds and an unproductive. His
race was not as strong as the first and second place dogs. The
judges made it a point to mention a Setter dog handled by new
comer Robert Urban. Peat was bred by the late George
Johnson and Shirley. I believe Peat is out of their setter, Grouse
Ridge Sarge who won the Setter Club’s, New England Open
Grouse Championship held on the Kilkenny Grounds in New
Hampshire and co-hosted by the Northern New Hampshire Bird
Dog Club.
Sunday morning arrived with much improved weather, mostly
sunny and a slight sea breeze.
The amateur puppy was off at 7:00 a.m. with Kelly Hays and
Emily Hamel overseeing the field. The first place dog was a
Setter female, Sadie, handled by long time Setter enthusiast
Dennis Senter. The second place dog was also a Setter female,
Roadie owned and handled by Maine amateur Kellie Short.
Third went to a Red Setter, Ragu, handled by Jimmy Levesque.
With 16 braces of Amateur Shooting Dogs to run, in the Frankie
Mclaughlin Classic, stakes manager Hamel decided to get it
started and hold up the Amateur Derby which had only 4
braces to run.
The Amateur Dery was Judged by Jimmy Levesque and Eric
Rizza. First place went to North Country’s Soda Pop, Setter
female owned and handled by Nick Hamel. Second was Rusty,
Pointer male handled Rich Rogers. Third was Setter female,
Lilly handled by Doug Dix.
The Amateur Gun Dog was over seen by club VP Tony Leone
and Bailey Arkley of Jay Vermont. The blue ribbon was
awarded to Robert Urban’s Setter male, Peat. Robert is new to
the field trial sport and has had some success with what I
believe is his first dog. Close to the winner was Scout, a Brittany
male owned and handled by Kris Norby. Not far behind Scout
was English Setter female Ledge Hill Mia, owned and handled
by Jimmy Levesque. The judges wanted us to give a shout out
to a new field trialer, Lyndon Carver. Lyndon handled his Setter
male, Moxie, I believe this might have been one of their first
field trial experiences. Lyndon and Moxie did a very good job
according to our judges.
.
Our premier amateur stake is the Frankie Mclaughlin Amateur
Shooting Dog. This stake is named for and in memory of long
time member and trialer Frank Mclaughlin. I was lucky enough
to have known Frankie and to say he was a character would be
a great understatement, he was one of a kind!
Our outstanding judging duo was Bob Arkley of Jay, Vermont
and Adam Dubriske of Troy, New Hampshire. Bob has been
involved with bird dogs and field trials for years and Adam is a
professional bird dog trainer. I believe that 32 drawn dogs is
one of the largest entries in many years.
First place was awarded to Lightning Flash Remington, handled
by Brian Dix. Remi had placed the day before in the Open
Shooting Dog Stake and came back for more in the Amateur
event. Not an unheard-of feat, but it tells you a great deal
about this dog’s ability and consistency. The dog’s race was
outstanding, fast, forward and stayed connected with its
handler. His bird work was exceptional, head held high and very
intense. Remi would have been very hard to beat on this day
with this performance.
The second place dog, also a setter, Dot ran in the first brace of
the event and was carried first until the seventh when Remi
ran. Dot was handled by her owner, Dave Theroux. Dot carded
four finds, was light on her feet and ran like the wind, very
stylish both on the ground and on her game. Her range was
not as deep as Remi’s and that was what kept her from the blue
ribbon.
The yellow ribbon was awarded to Ledge Hill Chippewa,
handled by his owner, Jimmy Levesque. Like Remi, Chip had
placed in the Open Shooting dog the day before. Chip always
gives you 100% both on the ground and on his birds. The only
difference in the first and second place dogs and Chip was
range. Remi was a little bit bigger in his range and was very,
very strong on the ground.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of watching all three of
these dogs in different venues, they will be very competitive for
a long time.
Our judges in all stakes are to be commended for their
attentiveness and professionalism. As we all know, the pay for
judging is not great, we are fortunate to have secured the
service of these fine ladies and gentlemen.
The Club thanks Robert Ecker and all of those who entered
dogs in this year’s event. We hope to see all of you next year!
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