Result: Northern New England Open Woodcock Championship

Location: Fryeburg, Maine

Post Date: Oct 29, 2024

Submitted By: Jamie Nee

Northern New England Open Woodcock Championship. Jon Cullen and Champion Asper Hill Bandit. Kellie Short with Runner-Up Champion, Paucek's Little Tommy Tucker. Judges Mike Brown and Jamie Nee.

The Maine Bird Dog Club hosted its annual Northern New England Open Woodcock Championship on September 20th, 21st and 22nd. This smoothly run event yielded a healthy entry of 40 top-quality cover dogs.

Mother Nature cooperated, giving us three cool mornings and evenings, although temperatures rose considerably by midday. This premier, cover dog event is run on grounds yielding ample opportunities for dogs to point woodcock and partridge. A champion can be named with either bird along with acceptable bird work, ground race, and finds.

Kellie Short, the club's president, marshaled every brace. Kellie and Roy Hargreaves did an excellent job grooming the courses during the summer. A lot of hard work went into preparing these courses; they were well-marked, clear, and easy to navigate, even if separated from the gallery. We never had to send out any search parties! Haha.

Deb Kennedy, the club secretary, was the trial chair. Deb attended to the many moving parts and details it takes to execute such a field trial of this caliber. Deb's leadership skills, coupled with her warm, welcoming personality made everyone comfortable while putting on a smooth well organized, class championship. Nice job, Deb!

Club members Cal Robinson, Bruce Burnell, and Roy Hargreaves were omnipresent throughout the trial and willing to help at many levels. Bruce provided the lunches, Cal kept everyone hydrated with cases of soda and water and brought shrimp, cheesecakes, and many bags of ice. Roy walked just about every brace to make sure things went smoothly, along with Kellie's support. They both have a set of legs on them!

The Saturday evening Barbecue Banquet was first class. Bob Paucek was head chef. We were treated to barbecued chicken, locally grown corn on the cob, other veggies, potato salad, shrimp cocktail, cheesecake, and many other treats. Everyone enjoyed the dinner and the animated conversation.

Judges for this event were Michael Brown from Michigan and your scribe, Jamie Nee. Mike Brown hails from Linden, Michigan and started hunting grouse with his first cover dog in 1995. Mike has a wealth of cover dog experience. Mike has hunted all over Michigan's lower peninsula and upper peninsula. Mike was first introduced to cover dog trials in 2007 while competing in U. S. Complete and NBHA's trials. Mike has competed in many different venues and regions across the country. He is a much sought-after judge for cover dog events and will be judging the top cover dog competition in November, The Grand National Grouse Championship in Wisconsin. Mike also provided delicious zucchini bread baked by his wife and home-smoked cheese, which was unbelievably good.

Your scribe lives on Cape Cod and started trialing in the late 1980s. I have hunted partridge and woodcock all over Maine and Massachusetts for over 40 years, more so in Northern Maine than in my home state.

This was the first time I met Mike. We were in alignment as to what we wanted to see in a championship cover dog performance. It was a pleasure judging with Mike. After each brace, we discussed things. We both came to the same conclusions very easily. We never had any disconnects. It's great to have a judging partner with the same expectations. It was a joy.
Overall, the courses were dry this year. A wet and rainy spring coupled with huge storms caused the Saco River to breach its banks, pushing the sand from the river bottom onto some parts of the courses--usually covered in rich, moist soil. The sand and many weeks of dry weather also contributed to less-than-ideal course conditions.

Nevertheless, we produced birds on every courses. There were more woodcock than partridge this year. (This was the second time your scribe had judged this event.)
Due to the warm weather and dryness, some dogs went birdless, although the gallery walked up many birds. Our little beaked friends were very skittish this year. The best estimate is around thirty-five birds, pointed, with dog contact, or walked up.
The Winners and Others
The judges named Asper Hill Bandit as this year's champion. Bandit is a female setter owned and handled by Jon Cullen.

Runner-Up Champion was Paucek's Little Tommy Tucker, a male setter owned and handled by Kellie Short.

The newly crowned champion, Bandit, ran in the last brace of the championship. After her bracemate called for the tracker early in the hour, Bandit had the course to herself. She had her first and only find of the hour at the 15-minute mark. It was deep in a cedar swamp where no other dogs had pointed any birds in the previous 19 braces. It was a stylish find with all in order. Bandit continued to run a hard race, digging deep in areas and pockets. It was demonstrably obvious that the handler and dog had a strong rapport. Jon handled his setter surgically when he needed to. She handled very well and was extremely responsive when she needed to be.

Our Runner-Up Champion, Paucek's Little Tommy Tucker, ran in the 17th brace. Tucker scored three classy woodcock finds in the hour. Tucker got separated from his bracemate early in the hour after an extremely long stand around the 10-minute mark. After being found standing and after a long flushing attempt, a woodcock was produced, with Tucker displaying exceptional manners. Tucker went on to score two more classy and stylish finds. He ranged when the course warranted it and closed in when the course required it. It was a solid, classic cover dog hour.

Kellie's father, Maine bird dog legend Bob Paucek, witnessed this hour. Bob walked the entire hour at 97 years young. What a memory for the two of them to experience! It was something everyone present will never forget. It was a great and proud family moment, for sure.

The dogs listed below had exceptional ground races. The outcome may have changed if there had been solid birdwork or bird connections. However, that was not to be the case.

Ralphy's Hillbilly, PM
Mohawk Miss Ellie, PF
Chasehill Poison Ivy, PF
Henry's Susie Q Dot, SF
Chasehill Snoop Dogg, PM
Higby Arcade, PM

Conclusively, in the end, both judges were in alignment without much discussion. They confidently named the top two dogs of the championship.

Fryeburg, Me., September 20
Judges: Mike Brown and Jamie Nee
NORTHERN NEW ENGLAND OPEN WOODCOCK CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 27 Pointers, 12 Setters and 1 Irish Setter
Winner-ASPER HILL BANDIT, F1694498, setter female, by Super Storm-Asper Hill Pippi. Jonathan Cullen, owner and handler.
Runner-Up-PAUCEK'S LITTLE TOMMY TUCKER, F1679370, setter male, by Long Gone Wallace-Paucek's Hickory Roxy. Kellie Short, owner and handler.

Jean C. Sanderson Memorial Open Derby
By Deb Sloan
The dry and warm conditions continued to present a challenge for the derbies. The first-place winner was Paucek's Fowler, a male tricolor setter owned and handled by Kellie Short. Fowler pointed close to the course and exhibited acceptable derby manners on his woodcock. He was forward and biddable and stylish on his bird. The second place dog was Little Hollywood, a snappy female English setter handled by John Stolgitis and owned by Judith Hamilton. Little Hollywood barely needed handling as she was a natural front runner who could be heard in all the right places on her course, but she came up empty. Third place went to Deb's Jane, a stylish, strong running setter owned and handled by Deb Kennedy. Jane also searched deep into the cover for birds, handling kindly for her owner but also coming up birdless. The field of dogs was highly competitive, and the judges had to split hairs when discussing races.
Judges: Jon Cullen and Deb Sloan
JEAN C. SANDERSON MEMORIAL OPEN DERBY - 4 Pointers and 8 Setters
1st-PAUCEK'S FOWLER, F1704853, setter male, by Long Gone Dequan-Paucek's Jordi. Kellie Short, owner and handler.
2d-LITTLE HOLLYWOOD, F1706379, setter female, by Cedar Ridge Insider-Cedar Ridge Timex. Judith Hamilton, owner; john Stolgitis, handler.
3d-DEB'S JANE, F1706487, setter female, by Sterlingworth Jack-Long Gone Hatfield. Deborah Kennedy,owner and handler.

Jean C. Sanderson Memorial Open Derby: Paucek's Fowler with Kellie Short (owner/handler), Little Hollywood with John Stolgitis (handler), and Deb's Jane with Deb Kennedy (owner/handler). Judges Deb Sloan and Jon Cullen.