CONGRATULATIONS TO PETE HAYES AND WAYNE CURTIS AND BUSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And The Winner Is:


#61--Buster and Pete Hayes!!!!

Anticipation... Who will it be?


Do you know?

Once again for the last dog--Angel Vollstedt. 

She's off and running. 


She now has three birds. One to go.


And she has the final bird!

Last dog is on line--and gets a no-bird left flyer


He'll come back upon guns-ready. 

Well. Streak was all over the flyer area of the right retired and never could come up with it. Is it a runner? Currently, a search is on for the bird.


No update yet. A bird was found, no official explanation but a bird was found out there somewhere...not necessarily where it should have been. The theory is a runner... or who knows what... it was a rooster pheasant so anything may go.  

Left retired handle for Streak...


...as we speak...and he's got the bird.


Now, he's handling from early on en route to the right retired flyer. Bill is still handling, now at a distance... come on, Streak... let's get that bird...

National Amateur Sponsors Enjoy Nice Viewing...


...under the Sponsor Tent are left to right, Rick Dirmeyer of Eukanuba, Chris Ledford of Tri-Tronics, David Carrington of Avery, Dean Reinke and Bob West from Nestle-Purina.

Stormin' Norman is handling on his left retired bird 


...as we speak. Now, he is handling on the right-hand retired. Norman has all four birds!

Revised, Way to go--Buster! 


(Going now for the third bird is Buster...)


...for Pete Hayes, and he's on his way now for the final bird. Great job!!!!

How Scary is That?


Everyone thought Pacer had the bird and clapped. BUT--he didn't. Now D is handling in earnest to get that bird, and become a Finalist.


NOW--he's got the bird!

Handle for Pacer and D Boice


... on the left retired. He's got one remaining and it's the right retired. Got it--see above post! :)

Arnie and Missy handling on left retired...

...now Missy has the bird and is coming in with it. Missy has 'em all! 

Brooke (#99) is back for her re-run and OH NO--she's out in the water to pick up her flyer--it's swimming away from her!

.... across the water to the island, along the shore, and up the side bank and now she's got that duck. Whew! 


Brooke is handling on the right-hand retired bird. Keep in mind this is a flyer. 

Link to Official Photographer Molly Schlachter's site--

...she now has a slideshow up as well, accessible from the Retriever News site at this time. Enjoy!

 http://mcs-photography.com/photocart/index.php?do=photocart&viewGallery=3463

Pirate and Gary handle on the left flyer...


... and he's currently seeking the left retired bird... he has it.

OH NO... Gary is having a really tough time on the long right retired. Currently, Pirate is nowhere to be seen and Gary and Judge Larry Morgan are walking way sideways looking for him. Here he is right of the equipment out there and Gary is handling again.


Pirate has the last bird--All's well that ends well. 

Tommy--Get that bird!
Chase has had a big handle on the left retired bird... 




...but, fortunately, was able to come up with it. He's got one more to go. The worst thing that can happen at this stage of the game in the National Amateur is to make it to the tenth series and then not enjoy being a Finalist because of an incomplete test. Tommy is now handling on the last bird on the right. Whew---he had to work overtime for it, too, but happily got it!

Our temperature has pushed 83 degrees on this day with 11 percent humidity

Wind is varying from WSW to W to SW up to 4 miles an hour. Shade is at a premium for National Amateur enthusiasts from all walks of life. 

Currently... Nate Schuett has three birds...

coming in with the third, that is...


Now, Jeff is handling Nate on the right-hand flyer retired bird. This is a tough handle as it began way left of the remaining bird.

Our GPS Coordinates are:
Latitude 42.173N
Longitude 121.547W
Altitude 4028 feet

Mercy Me...
... Is handling on the left middle retired bird...
Now this becomes a Double Handle as he's handling on the right retired bird. 

Three Cheeseheads (from Wisconsin) in the tenth 




Left to right, John Stracka, Jeff Schuett and Pete Hayes--way to go, fellas! (And they called themselves Cheeseheads, for those of you that are wondering. 

Handling is #3, Lyn Yelton and Dixie--Now Double Handle


... on the left middle bird, third. She began handling early on the long right retired bird, and Judge Judy Powers graciously brought a stool for her to stand on. 

No-Bird for #111

No-Bird for #99


Now, a dog is required to pick up the right middle bird. 

The First Dog is Running...


... and it's #96, who happens to have also been the last dog in the ninth test. It's a pretty good thing (for his sake) things have taken awhile to get underway over here... let that dog rest a bit! Now, he has three birds out of four... He's got 'em all!

Both Test Dogs Retrieved No-Birds from the Water...


as they completed the test, so Al Wilson is now picking the right long bird up to demonstrate to handlers what they'll be seeing.  

Quotable quote...


From Ted Miller... He's worked on the Steward's Committee and the Bird Thrower's Committee at this National and was preparing to go out to throw for this test.


"You know, you can follow this on the internet and all that, but nothing compares to being here and feeling the charge and excitement in the air." 

Test Dogs 

Preparing Tenth Series

Problems with Right-hand Flyer as Test Dog Starts...

The Arrival of Contestants, Test Dogs, and singing of the National Anthem

The test dogs arrived in style as talented Keira Henderson delivered a moving rendition of our National Anthem. 


Besides becoming emotional myself, I was quite moved to see tears in Keira's eyes as she sang the last words. 


Raised in Klamath Falls, Keira graduated from Henley High and sang in Junior Miss and Miss Klamath County pageants. Her voice and ability to sing are incredible. Thank you, Keira!  

Readiness of Site

CALLBACKS FOR TEST TEN:


3, 9, 37, 46, 49, 58, 61, 71, 81, 89, 96, 99, 111


THIRTEEN DOGS--START WITH #96 

Last Dog is Running...
... and has just done the right-hand bird by going at it straight up, had somewhat of a hunt and is about to be launched for the long flyer.

Now he's headed for his long flyer, and now--has done a wonderful job on this test!

Here, Robert Hayden watches as Bo hurtles out to his flyer...moments later he had it snatched up.

"Hoot" Costa went up the gap...
between the two birds and worked his way over to the flyer, which he now has after a relatively quick hunt...

... Now he is handling with a tough handle on the right-hand bird---and then was helped. 

"No-bird King"...says Robert Hayden as he gets another one just now.


...As it is, this time he can only wait one dog to run because these are the last two dogs on this test.

Light puffs of wind...
occasionally break the stillness of the morning and they're trying to settle in, while the temperature rises quickly out here. 

After splitting the difference...

between the two guns on the way out, Nate Schuett, #37, is hunting deep between the two birds... now has worked down to the right hand bird. Nate has had a long hunt on the flyer but just got it.

Handling on Long Flyer...
... after a big hunt, John Thomas and #23, Chevy, are having a tough handle on this bird. Now, it's reached the point where the judges have requested the right bird be picked up.

Here, "JT" and Chevy honor on lead. 

Mercy Does the Test...
...for John Stracka. She had a hunt on this side of the ditch for the right bird and went up right of the long flyer and hunted in the bright and darker sage on over to the flyer.  

#3, Dixie, is Handling on Long Flyer
She was sent for the flyer second, but when she reached the road this side of the irrigation ditch out there, Dixie hooked a right and came on down the road to the right bird holding blind and then hunted to the right of the blind on this side of the ditch, then crossed the ditch and rounded up the bird. 
When sent for the flyer again she journeyed out into the field well left of the line to the bird and Lyn is now handling her, she's currently up in the field deep of the bird and is having extreme difficulty. There is virtually no wind and this is a hen pheasant--now she has the bird. 

GO MISSY! Does the Test. First Running Dog at 7:36 a.m.
Good luck to all, and Arnie Erwin and Missy are off to the races.

Our Fearless Announcer, Randy Hand, Always Ready and Helpful

Test Dog on the Mat at 7:20 a.m.
During setup of this test and subsequent practice throws, a bird landed in the water; all this needed attention prior to the test dog. 


Attendance on site for the remaining seven dogs is currently sparse... many folks will already be headed to the last test site to get settled in, but again, callbacks will be given here. Afterward, the finalists will go in the first caravan, followed by everyone else. The final site is only about three miles distant.  


The running order this morning will be: 111, 3, 9, 23, 37, 96 (the no-bird), 45. 

We've got a forecast high today of low eighties but the temperature has dipped below the last few mornings to a crisp 44 degrees. It's clear right now and we dodged yesterday's bad weather... it looks like we'll have a nice, although possibly toasty, day today. Good luck again!

Last Day...
... and anticipation and excitement are in the air. Good luck to remaining dogs for the ninth, and to those that make it to the tenth... which will be held in the same area as the tenth series from four years ago. See you out there!