Result: Georgia-Florida Invitational Field Trial Club

Location: Tallahassee, Florida

Post Date: Dec 29, 2023

Submitted By: Maria Bassham

Open Shooting Dog (r-l). 1st place winner Trey Mills Mayhaw's Strom Chaser - 2nd place Thomas Rice Jr with Real Thing Cuz, 3rd place winner Ray Pearce Nonami's Johnny Come Lately judges are Ed Epp and Wyatt Epp.

The 61st running of the Georgia-Florida Invitational Handlers' Trial was held at the beautiful Cherokee Plantation in Tallahassee, Florida on November 3 & 4, 2023. The temperature was cool in the mornings and warmed up nicely for the afternoon braces both days. Friday was a little cloudy but Saturday cleared up nicely with bluebird skies. We had 18 pointers and a setter contenders in the open shooting dog stake and 16 young dogs in the derby.

We would like to extend a sincere thank you to the Ingals family for allowing us to run the 2-day trial on their beautiful grounds. We are extremely grateful for their generosity! Thank you to the staff of Cherokee Plantation for marshalling and keeping everything running smoothly. Thank you to Allen Popell for catering two exceptional meals on Friday and Saturday and to Ag Pro for sponsoring both. Tables were set up under the big oak trees for everyone to enjoy the wonderful meals. The Rice and Chastain families enjoyed their lunches picnicking under the big oaks while some of their future youth field trialers played together! A huge thank you to all the sponsors and members of the club for keeping this field trial alive and running for 61 years. We couldn't do it without you all.

We were honored to have the father-son duo of Ed and Wyatt Epp riding in the judicial saddles! They both live locally with Ed in Tallahassee, Florida and his son, Wyatt, just up the road in Thomasville, Georgia. We can't thank them enough for their time and watchful eyes while judging these fine canine athletes. We wouldn't be able to hold trials like this if it weren't for the kindness and expertise of these fine gentlemen.

The Winners
1st place open shooting dog winner was Mayhaw's Storm Chaser, handled by Trey Mills. Jake ran a forward 45-minute brace along with Cash, handled by Ben Stringer in the first brace of the trial Friday morning. Both dogs started out strong with a divided find at 52 seconds in. Trey called point at 20 where both dogs were standing once again. Birds flushed for both divided finds. Jake continued his race with a relocation at 28. The handsome male pointer ended his impressive winning brace with his last classy find at 34 and a sizeable covey up.

2nd place winner was Real Thing Cuz and handler, Tommy Rice, Sr. Cuz ran in the first brace on Saturday morning bringing the Open Shooting Dog stake to a close. Tommy called point at 23 and flushed a nice sized covey. The male pointer continued his race and also backed a find by Margie, handled by Dustin Kirby, to which Margie had a large covey rise. He ended his 45-minute brace with one more additional clean find at 39 and birds got up once again. Cuz was with Tommy when time was called.

3rd place winner was Nonami's Johnny Come Late and Ray Pearce. John, pointer male, was braced with Dixie and Lee Phillips in the 5th brace on Friday for their 45 minutes on the ground. John stopped at 3 min, 50 sec with a nice covey up. At 19 both dogs stopped with Dixie honoring John. Ray relocated John, but dog moved on. One last find was at 27 where John held steady to wing and shot.

Tallahassee, Fla., November 3
Judges: Ed Epp and Wyatt Epp
OPEN SHOOTING DOG [One-Hour Heats] - 18 Pointers
1st-MAYHAW'S STORM CHASER, 1696473, male, by Mayhaw's Perfect Storm-Mayhaw Queen Bee. Mayhaw Plantation, owner; Trey Mills, handler.
2d-REAL THING CUZ, 1694070, male, by Melrose Big Rambler-Melrose Ramblin Heart. Thomas Rice, Jr., owner and handler.
3d-NONAMI'S JOHNNY COME LATELY, 1694190, male, by Ransom-Pinewood's Jenny Bell. R. E. Turner, owner; Ray Pearce, handler.

The Open Derby
The 3 Derby winners were 1st place, Nonami's Smokin Joe with Ray Pearce Handling. 2nd Place Buddy with Danny Tankersly. And 3rd place Man with Tommy Rice, Sr.
Joe had a successful 30-minute winning brace with 3 exciting finds consisting of abundant coveys. Captain Blackbelt Buddy and Real Thing Business Man both had one find each during their braces with birds seen for each of them. All three male pointer derby winners were birdy, handled well, and showed enthusiasm while running with their brace mates.

OPEN DERBY - 18 Pointers
1st-NONAMI'S SMOKIN JOE, 1703258, male, by Touch's Malcolm Story-Beane's Sky Liner. R. E. Turner, owner; Ray Pearce, handler.
2d-CAPTAIN BLACKBELT BUDDY, 1706757, male, by Crouse's Heart of Dixon-Crouse's Skiptomylu. Danny Tankersley, owner and handler.
3d-REAL THING BUSINESS MAN, 1706396, male, by Miller Unfinished Business-Real Thing Reba. Thomas Rice, Jr., owner; Thomas Rice, Sr., handler.