Western Montana

The Open is starting with a triple with two retired. The field has lots of tall cover and the dogs disappear in places including the area where the long bird falls. The first bird down is the short retired in the middle thrown left to right. The long bird to the right is thrown second right to left and tightly pinched to the middle bird. The holding blind and fall for the long one are beyond a ditch with water. There are stands of tall tules and grasses enroute to both retired marks. The flyer is on the left shot left to right. The flyer and the middle bird are similar in distance. The entire test is about 45 degrees in separation between the flyer guns and the long gunner. It's a tight test but not particularly long.

The dogs have been having no problem with the flyer other than a little hunting in the heavy cover. The majority of the dogs are backsiding the middle gunner but coming up with the bird. They seem to be thrown left behind the gun by the tall stand of tules enroute. The dogs have taken a variety of routes to the long mark including backsiding the bushes to the back of the gunner and following the ditch to the mark and going wide to the left over the ditch and then ending up with the bird. Some have gotten lost in the fields beyond the ditch and others have not punched across the ditch to the bird. It is hard to tell exactly what is happening once the dog crosses the ditch. They disappear and are not seen again until they reappear with the bird.

I heard the Qual is a double and a blind. They initially were going to retire the memory mark but the cover was so high, they left the gunner up although the dogs can't see where they are going once they get into the cover anyway.

Open callbacks to the 2nd series (38 dogs):

1,3,6,11,13,14,16,17,18,22,25,26,29,31,36,37,38,40 ,42,43,44,45,46,48,51,52,54,55,57,59,60,61,62,64,6 7,68,69,70

The second series will start at 8:00 with dog #13. Come to the same area but don't park in the parking lot. Continue through the gate and follow the road past the line for the first series to a mowed parking area. Good luck.

Qual Results:

1st #21 Red Dog's Ain't Misbehavin' O/Susan Ritch H/Cyndi Gunzer

2nd #3 Indy Go Blue O/Diann & Dennis Miller H/Diann

3rd #23 Sly's Mystical Castle O/H Leigh Larson

4th #11 Silver Creeks Angel In the Sky O/Leslie & Allen Luray H/Eric Fangsrud

RJ #14 I Like Ike O/Sydney Gardave H/Cyndi Gunzer

Jams: 6, 7, 13, 16, 17, 19

Congratulations to all the Qual placements and Jams

Open callbacks to the water blind (26 dogs):

1,3,6,17,22,25,26,31,38,40,42,43,44,45,46,48,51,52 ,54,55,57,59,60,61,69,70

The water blind is a shoreline with a point to cross and a dry pop.

All dogs were called back from the first series of the Derby. I believe someone said 20 dogs since there were scratches.

The Amateur is a triple with two retired. The long bird on the left is thrown first, right to left. Then the short bird on the right is thrown left to right up a hill. The flyer is shot right to left and the gunners are tight to and slightly longer than the short gunner and mark. There is a slough with water and thick tules enroute to both the flyer and the short retired and a small pond and lots of terrain enroute to the long mark. Some of the dogs seem to enter the tall tules and exit on a different line which throws them off line to both the short mark and the flyer. Most of the dogs seem to be doing the test but with varying degrees of hunts and odd lines to the marks. Some dogs seem to be unsure of which of the two right hand birds they have picked up. Others take an odd line through the tules when going for the flyer and don't want to go back in to the same area for the short retired. There have been some pickups and some handles.

Where are the trial grounds that this trial is being held at?

Amateur callbacks to 2nd series (39 dogs):

1,4,5,6,7,9,11,16,18,19,21,22,23,24,25,28,30,31,32 ,33,35,36,38,39,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48,52,53,54,5 5,57,58,59

The next series is a double land blind with water enroute to the long blind. It starts with dog 21.

Dave the trial is in Charlo.