Day 4 - Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Brought To You By Purina & Avery

Good morning all! The sun is shining and the temperatures is currently at 62 degrees with a projected high of 73! Action continues today at Flights A and C, while Flight B is moving to start a new test this morning. More information on where Flight B will be heading along with complete updates to be posted soon.

New Store MNRC Store hours, 12-4 pm, new merhcandise is now available! It's always time to shop!

TONIGHT - The MNRC Workers Party starts at 7:00 pm and will be located at the Sail Winds Conference Center in Cambridge, MD. Can't wait to see all of you there.

Flight A "12 Point Corner" Land Triple with a Diversion Shot – Blind & Walk Up

Judges Dorothy Ruehman & Steve Elliott



The test, a walk up land triple with a diversion shot blind, is set in a high brush area that opens into a cut corn field to the right, flanked by a line of trees to the left. The wind is blowing from the left at around 7 mph, at times gusting to around 10 mph. The area in front of the blind rises slightly into the distance. The Judges put together a challenging test. To the left of the line, a rooster pheasant is thrown to the right at 59 yards, almost away from the line near the trees on the left. The second rooster is thrown from to the right landing at 89 yards in/near standing corn stalks. The rooster flyer is shot to the right at 105 yards. Finally, the blind is planted just inside the standing corn stalks, straight from the line. Typically, the dogs have been sent to retrieve the flyer first, followed by the left bird (upon returning with this bird, a diversion shot is fired to set up the blind), the second dead rooster and, finally, the blind. The test is running just over 5 minutes per dog, with all dogs staying pretty level with their work.

Flight A starts this morning with dog #22.

In the early hours of the morning/test, the wind was almost non-existent. Those first 10-12 dogs that ran in those conditions did very well. As the wind picked up throughout the morning and afternoon, the flyer got longer and it made the go-bird tough to get. Throughout the day there were quite a few of both handles and pick-ups. But, there was some great work done today. 

Waiting for Callbacks in the sunshine!

The test ended at 3:30 pm.

Of a total of 138 dogs, 114 are back, 24 were dropped.

The dogs called back are: 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 27, 28, 29 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 47, 52, 55, 56, 57, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 88, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 101, 105, 107, 109, 110, 112, 116, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 125, 128, 129, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 141, 142, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 153, 154, 157, 158, 160, 163, 165, 166, 172, 177, 178, 179, 181, 182, 183, 186, 187 and193.

The dogs dropped are: 8, 11, 31, 35, 37, 46, 49, 51, 59, 75, 78, 102, 104, 124, 126, 127, 139, 143, 151, 152, 168, 169, 176, 180, and 185.

Flight A ended the day with their callbacks. They will begin running "Wet Willie" at 7:00 am tomorrow morning.

Flight B "Flooded Timber" Land Single Mark and Blind / Pick-up Blind Before Mark

Judges Duwayne Bickel & Jim Wonnel

This test is set in a circular stick pond, 40 foot trees protrude from the water creating a canopy, shading the area of the fall and the blind. The bird is thrown to the left, away from the line at about 45 yards. There is one shot for the mark, then another shot to set up the blind. The blind is planted at 75 yards on the far shoreline of the stick pond laying on top of a log. The line to the blind cuts the corner of the pond requiring a swim and a passing of the mark. The test requires the handler to sit on a bucket until both shots are fired then runs the blind and then picks up the mark. The judges are judging this as a mark, not a poison bird. This test is using drake mallards.

The sun is shining bright, but it is very comfortable with a 7-10 mph swirling breeze which causes many dogs to scent the blind holders station and gun station. The test is expected to finish this afternoon. At 2:42 pm, there were 4 dogs left to complete the test. 

The intruding Black Snake......ssssssssss

At one point in the afternoon, an uninvited guest arrived causing a few of those in the Gallery to give a yelp and jump out of their chairs. The black snake seemed to come out of nowhere, but thankfully a few in the Gallery were able to charm it away from the feet of the spectators and off into the brush.

A perfect time for a snooze!

Of a total of 111 dogs,  100 are back, 11 were dropped.

The dogs called back are: 1, 3, 11, 13, 14, 17, 19, 21, 24, 26, 28, 31, 32, 33, 34, 37, 39, 42, 43, 45, 46, 47, 56, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 68, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 84, 87, 87, 90, 92, 94, 95, 96, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 108, 109, 111, 118, 119, 121, 122, 123, 127, 128, 129, 132, 134, 135, 136, 143, 144, 147, 148, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 158, 159, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 179, 181, 183, 186, and 192.

The dogs dropped are: 36, 38, 57, 93, 133, 139, 140, 180, 182 188, and 191.


Flight C "4 Mil Pond" Water Triple with an Honor, Diversion Pop and a Blind

Judges Martha Kress & Dave Illias

The fourth test of the Master National is a Water Triple with an Honor, Diversion Pop and a Blind. The water in this pond is lungable and swimmable. The birds used in this test are drake mallards. The first bird is thrown from the close shore of the pond to the right, over a small inlet to the opposite side of the pond at 83 yards. The second bird is also thrown from the close shore, but it lands 49 yards away on the left edge of an island. The final bird, a flyer, is shot to the left on the shoreline with the area of the fall varying in distance from the water. Upon return with the far left bird, there is a diversion pop to set up the blind. Finally, the blind is planted 75 yards out on the far shoreline of the pond. The line to the blind clips the right edge of the island. There are goose decoys placed on the middle-right area of the island, while duck decoys are placed between the island and the far shore visible when the dog clears the edge of the island on line to the blind.

The order of pick-up has been (thus far) from right to left; the flyer, followed by the shorter island bird, then the dead bird at 83 yards first dead bird at 83 yards ending with the blind.

Flight C finished the "4 Mil Pond" this morning and will move on to the "Crazy 8's" test.

 Of a total of 167 dogs, 141 are back and 26 were dropped.

The dogs called back are: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58,59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 89, 90, 92, 93, 94, 97 98, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 106, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 116, 118, 120, 122, 123, 124, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 134, 135, 138, 139, 140, 143, 145, 147, 149, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157, 159, 160, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 174, 176, 177, 178, 180, 181, 183, 184, 190, 191, 192 and 193.

The dogs that were dropped are: 28, 38, 64, 75, 81, 91, 95, 96, 99, 117, 119, 121, 125, 126, 133, 136, 137, 141, 142, 148, 150, 161, 173, 185, 186 and 187.

Flight C "Crazy 8's" Land Triple with a Double Blind

Judges Martha Kress & Dave Illias

Nicknamed "Crazy 8's" for the patterns of "8" that were mowed into the tall grass by Frank Durham, the landowner, is a land triple with a double blind. The Judges designed this test on the edge of corn rows, in the "Crazy 8's" field that sloped slightly away from the line and in grass that stood around 15 inches in height.

All birds used in this Flight are rooster pheasants. The first bird is a flyer shot to the right at 99 yards followed by the memory bird thrown from to the left and another dead bird thrown to the left along a tree line. There are two blinds in this test; the first blind is planted directly right of the line at 65 yards, along the rows of corn against the treeline; the second blind is planted 99 yards straight away from the line, between the falls of bird's one and two. The normal order of pick up has been the third bird, followed by the flyer, then the second dead bird at 75 yards, the short blind to the right ending with the straight-away blind.

Flight C began "Crazy 8's" this morning at 11:46 am. The skies are cloudless, the breeze remains gusty topping out at around 12 mph and the forecast it great for the rest of the event!

Four out of the first 5 dogs have handled, some difficulty is showing on the 99 yard blind, and the right to left wind is proving difficult for those dogs who turn right. But, most of the work has looked quite good. NOTE: The blinds are handlers choice, they choose the order of pick-up. Dogs are averaging about 6 and a half minutes per.


Worker's Party



It was back to the Sail Winds Conference Center for the 2011 MNRC Worker's Party. By 7:00 pm the parking lot was filled to the brim with dog trucks. Inside, the lines at the bar and around the hors d'oeuvres table were long as the worker's looked to quench their thirst and extinguish their hunger.

As people milled about in conversation, they snacked on smoked salmon and cucumber and mini steak sandwiches that were passed around by the Sail Winds staff. At the hors d'oeuvres table, there were meatballs, crab and spinach dip, a variety of cheeses with grapes, and assorted veggies with hummus. And, I can say as an repeated attendee to the snack table and the traveling salmon and beef, that it was all delicious!

As the sun set, the large dining area teemed with stories of the days tests, what to expect for tomorrow and, of course, much reminiscing, many jokes and an abundance of laughter. Although this bunch has been working very hard over the last four days, they still know how to enjoy themselves.

The nights DJ kept the ambiance jovial with a background soundtrack of country tunes. It was announced that following dinner, there would be an area cleared for dancing. More on what developed here shortly.

Soon, table by table, the hungry crowd filled their plates at one of two buffet style stations. At each, there was a salad with a sweet dressing and the option to top with tomatoes and feta cheese. Then, you had your choice of sliced ham or turkey - or, you could have both! Veggies included broccoli and cauliflower; there were rolls and of course, crab cakes (Maryland’s state food).  Walking around, I don’t think I saw a plate that didn’t have a crab cake on it. So, oh so good!

Following dinner there were a handful of tables that decided they needed to head back, and lay their heads on a pillow. For those that stuck around, the lights went down and the music got turned up! Before too long, a song by the Isley Brothers got people dancing and “Shout”-ing. The DJ brought out some funk, some southern rock and a string of choreographed dance tunes … it IS electric!

Little by little, the crowd began to dwindle and a John Mellencamp tune closed the night out. And just like that, the party was over. Time for bed.

Thank you to all of the sponsors and the caterer for the wonderful Worker’s Party. It was a great evening, thank you.