Result: Region 19 Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship

Location: Mora, Minnesota

Post Date: May 28, 2024

Submitted By: Ryan Hough

Region 19 Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship (l-r): Frank LaNasa (judge), Jeff Sullivan with Jewett's Creek Beauty, Greg Johnson with Northwoods Atlas, and Chris Bye (judge).

It had been over 18 months since the Minnesota Grouse Dog Association had been able to host a wild bird trial on their Rum River State Forest grounds, so when conditions looked prime going into April, excitement was building amongst club members. However, due to a late snowstorm, the first weekend trial was canceled due to nearly 8 inches of snow on the ground.
Luckily, temperatures warmed quickly, and just two weeks later, the Club was able to host the Region 19 Walking Amateur Shooting Dog Championship on their home grounds, along with companion Open Derby and Puppy stakes. The level of participation was flat-out impressive, with many new faces and first-time cover dog handlers. The quality of people and dogs in every stake instills a lot of optimism for the future of our local cover dog events. The Chippewa Valley Grouse Dog Association and the Moose River Grouse Dog Club have realized similar increases in interest and participation over the past couple of years.

As with any wild bird trial, great judges are of the utmost importance to ensuring quality stakes. Having experienced dog men like Frank LaNasa and Chris Bye was a privilege for attendees. The judges were focused, friendly, and knowledgeable. Frank has been successful in field trialing for many years and is the owner of Ch. True Confidence. Chris spends as much time in the grouse woods as anyone, and that passion carries over to cover dog trials, where he has earned many placements on his beloved English Setters over the years.
Throughout the running of the championship stake, several dogs threw down strong and purposeful ground games, but just a handful of dogs finished cleanly with birdwork.
Northwoods Atlas, bred by Jerry Kolter and owned and handled by Greg Johnson of Superior, Wisconsin, was named runner-up. "Jet" had a strong reaching race, determined search, and a single find 20 minutes into his brace that again earned him the nods of the judges. This was the second time Jet has been named runner-up champion in the grouse woods, as he earned the same honors at the 2022 Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship in a field of 52 entrants.
Greg and Jet have been on a hot streak over the past few years, and this spring was no exception. This was Jet's second championship placement over the last three years, in addition to many other placements at both wild bird and liberated quail trials. Jet has forged himself a reputation as a very reliable bird finder. It is rare for Jet to go birdless at a wild bird trial, and his stature and style on point is nothing short of breathtaking.

At the time of this writing, it should be noted that Northwoods Atlas has recently been named the Purina Pro Plan MN/WI Open and Amateur Cover Dog of the Year for shooting dogs. This award lends credence to the consistency of his performances.

This year's champion title for Region 19 goes to a new handler and dog. In fact, Jewett's Creek Beauty is still derby-aged! Beauty, bred by amateur John McKellop, is owned and handled by Jeff Sullivan. Jeff credits professional trainer Rod Lein for playing a central role in developing Beauty and Jeff's handling skills in the woods. Beauty is a very athletic, easy-moving Pointer with a pedigree littered with cover dog winners. Beauty ran an electric, forward race that caught the judge's attention. At about 55, as Beauty was coming toward the course to check, the snapped-on point. As the handler and judges approached, a grouse was flushed from in front of her, all in order. Overall, Beauty finished this spring with three shooting dog placements even though she is still a derby-aged dog. This is definitely an animal to be excited for in the coming years.

For the Open Derby, MGDA was lucky to have experienced dog man David Moore, who has several championship wins under his belt, paired with Tim Kauffman, who is no stranger to winning cover dog trials. The judges had a lot of fun and expressed to me that they saw many nice dogs, ranging from strong running puppies to fully broke shooting dogs.
Winning first place was Freyja Kendra, a female Setter sired by Ch. Ponderosa Mac, owned and handled by Ryan Bjerke. Freyja is a well-built and powerful animal who handled nicely and had two fully broke finds during her 30 minutes on the ground.
Second place went to Snyder's Bonnie Parker, owned and handled by Steve Snyder. Bonnie is another female setter sired by Ch. Ponderosa Mac. Bonnie pounded the cover and ran a forward race with the application and determination of a mature grouse dog. Bonnie sealed her placement with a limb grouse find, her manners intact throughout.
Third Place went to Northwoods Cedar Edge ("Enni"), owned and handled by Eric Saetre. Enni ran a very purposeful race, stopping to thoroughly hunt likely grouse cover and always staying in "the pocket." Enni comes from cover dog royalty, sired by Ch. Snyder's Pioneer Scout, out of Northwoods Cedar. Enni has been turning heads for the past year and was recently named the Purina Pro Plan MN/WI Amateur Cover Dog Derby of the Year.

Time allowed the Minnesota Club to host a puppy stake, which is always a bonus. Judging the puppy stake were two familiar faces in the local cover dog community: Greg Johnson and Eric Saetre. Ran on a single course, puppies were expected to work with their handler, target likely habitat, and maintain a forward search pattern.
In first place was Silvershot Snowball Express, a female Pointer owned and handled by Nick Sisterman. "Endee" is a very athletic dog, covering ground effortlessly and maintaining a connection with her handler while independently moving from likely cover to likely cover in her thorough search of game.
Second place went to Mud Lake's Money Maven, a female Setter owned and handled by Hannah Peterson. Maven displayed a keen awareness of where her handler was at all times while hunting with a purpose and strong desire to locate game.
Third place was awarded to High Point's Snowman Fred, a male Setter owned and handled by Ben Brettingen. Fred is fun to watch on the ground, with a great race and purposeful forward pattern.

The Minnesota Grouse Dog Association is very thankful to all the member volunteers who make it possible to host wild bird trials. It takes an organized effort throughout the year to make these events a success, and the Club is very lucky to have an abundance of quality members.

A big thanks to our sponsors; without the support of Purina Pro Plan and OnX Hunt, it would be difficult to cover all of the expenses required throughout the year.
On behalf of the Minnesota Grouse Dog Association, thank you to all who support us!

Mora, Minn., April 14
Judges: Chris Bye and Frank LaNasa
REGION 19 AMATEUR WALKING SHOOTING DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 5 Pointers and 16 Setters
Winner-JEWETT'S CREEK BEAUTY, 1703337, pointer female, by Toth's Tornado Reloaded-Grouse Trails Warrior Cat. Jeff Sullivan, owner and handler.
Runner-Up-NORTHWOODS ATLAS, 1674557, setter male, by Northwoods Grits-Northwoods Nickel. Greg Johnson, owner and handler.

Open Derby (l-r): Lindsey Saetre with Northwoods Cedar Edge, Dave Moore (judge), Steve Snyder with Snyder's Bonnie Parker, and Tim Kaufman (judge).

Judges: Tim Kaufman and David Moore
OPEN DERBY - 6 Pointers and 16 Setters
1st-FREYJA KENDRA, 1701728, setter female, by Ponderosa Mac-Centerfold Sioux. Ryan Bjerke, owner and handler.
2d-SNYDER'S BONNIE PARKER, 1702664, setter female, by Ponderosa Mac-Grouse River Patti Cakes. Steven C. Snyder, owner and handler.
3d-NORTHWOODS CEDAR EDGE, 1703153, setter female, by Snyder's Pioneer Scout-Northwoods Cedar. Eric & Lindsey Saetre, owners; Lindsey Saetre, handler.
Judges: Greg Johnson and Eric Saetre
OPEN PUPPY - 2 Pointers and 10 Setters
1st-SILVERSHOT SNOWBALL EXPRESS, 1704893, pointer female, by Crosswind Jim-Silvershot's Lil Fancy Pants. Nick Sisterman, owner and handler.
2d-MUD LAKE'S MONEY MAVEN, 1704637, setter female, by Jackson's Let Er Rip-Jones' Big Sky Lanius. Kyle Peterson, owner; Hannah Peterson, handler.
3d-HIGH POINT'S SNOWMAN FRED, 1709644, setter male, by Ponderosa Mac-I'm Blue Who. Ben Brettingen, owner and handler.

Open Puppy (l-r): Ben Brettingen with High Point's Snowman Fred, Greg Johnson (judge), Hannah Peterson with Mud Lake's Money Maven, Eric Saetre (judge), and Nick Sisterman with Silvershot Snowball Express.