Result: Minnesota Grouse Dog Championship

Location: Mora, Minnesota

Post Date: Nov 13, 2024

Submitted By: Katie Cook

Minnesota Grouse Dog Championship (l-r): Justin McGrail (judge), Ron Lein with Champion Over The Hill Morgan, Eric Saetre with Runner-up Champion Northwoods Cedar, and Ryan Hough (judge).

The 35th Minnesota Grouse Dog Association Championship commenced Monday, September 30, 2024, and ran through Thursday, October 4. Handlers from as far as Pennsylvania traveled to the Rum River State Forest near Mora, Minnesota, for a trial held a week earlier than usual to accommodate other regional events drawing from the same competition pool. Thirty-nine shooting dogs vied for the trophy. The companion Ruehl Henry Pietz Derby Classic drew 18 youngsters. Despite thick cover due to heavy blowdown two winters ago, temperatures in the 80s early in the week, high humidity, and windy conditions, a near-record number of over 60 grouse were tallied by judges Ryan Hough, a local MGDA club officer, and Justin McGrail, a respected pointing dog trainer from Nunica, Michigan. Due to the extreme heat, the judges opted to run four morning braces, break for a leisurely two-hour lunch, and resume at 4 p.m. to attempt to provide competitors equitable opportunities for bird work. Lunches were hosted in the "clubhouse" on the Duane Peterson property, which he and his wife Kay have generously provided for field trial use over the years. Jeff Sullivan, in addition to running his dogs, also provided pulled pork lunches, and Nik Zewers stopped by on his way home from training in Montana to fire up his grill and cook up a feast of brats. We are beyond grateful to those who feed and shelter us so well! The Club and competitors appreciate the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for their cooperation and our knowledgeable judges for wearing out their boots and paying close attention to each dog as if it were the first brace. Much gratitude also to club volunteers for annual course maintenance, and especially to our sponsors, Purina (Greg Blair) and OnX (Ben Brettingen). This well-run trial was a lot of fun thanks to volunteer participation from many club members, old and new. We enjoyed visits with long-time MGDA stalwarts like Jim Tande and Don Dack. And notably, our gallery included the youngest spectator on these courses to date, August Peterson, newborn son of MGDA members Kyle and Hannah Peterson, who each handled and scouted their own dogs.

The Winners
The 2024 Minnesota Grouse Dog Association Champion is 3-year-old Pointer female Over The Hill Morgan, bred, trained, and campaigned by Chippewa Falls long-time professional Rod Lein and owned by Robert Zielke. Morgan showed what judge Ryan Hough referred to as a "flawless performance" without fault. "Usually, there's something you need to forgive, but not on this one," Hough said. "So many things could have gone wrong, but nothing did." Morgan's first lock-up was less than a minute into the brace, no running off steam for this little locomotive. She was a statue on point in thick cover, head high and stinger 12 o'clock tail, holding staunch and proud as Lein picked his way to her in the center of an impenetrable blowdown, multiple grouse erupting as he approached. She had a second grouse find nearly halfway in and ran a steady race in all the right places.

Runner-up Champion is Northwoods Cedar, a 5-year-old Setter female owned by Lindsey and Eric Saetre of Holyoke, Minnesota, and handled to her first title in a championship stake by Eric. Cedar consistently ranged far and wide in a heart-stopping search for game. She produced one expertly handled grouse on her way back toward the course from a wide cast around a swamp, thrilling the gallery, who rounded a bend to find her standing just off the trail.

The winners ran back-to-back braces on Tuesday afternoon on Courses 5 and 6.
Lein, a long-time MGDA competitor and heavily involved with running the Chippewa Valley Grouse Dog Club trials for many years, commented that although he has earned runner-up titles here before, this is his first time taking home the Minnesota Championship trophy. He also mentioned that this was among the most fun trials he has had the pleasure of competing in, where it was evident that everyone was having a good time.
Cedar enjoyed a successful derby career and was pinned with her first runner-up championship title, an exhilarating accomplishment for her owners. Five years ago, they thought they were adding a hunting puppy to their family but were persuaded to give cover dog trialing a shot when breeder Jerry Kolter of Northwoods Bird Dogs convinced them of her potential. The hook has been set deep! Eric and Lindsey have been a wonderful addition to the MGDA Club, and their joy in this achievement was shared by all their competition.

The Ruel Henry Pietz Derby Classic winners are, in first place, Big Big Energy ("Lotto"), owned and handled by Jordan Pharris of Brainerd, Minnesota, who scored two grouse finds in his half-hour and ran like a shooting dog. In second place was Clover Valley's Mulak ("Mack"), owned by Jerry Furnish of Two Harbors, Minnesota, and handled by Greg Johnson of Superior, Wisconsin, the current president of neighboring Moose River Grouse Dog Club. Mack is a son of Northwoods Atlas, a successful young field trial winner Johnson tragically lost this past summer right in his prime after being named MN/WI Shooting Dog of the Year last fall. Seeing Johnson bring a son of "Jet" to the winners' table was an emotional moment for all who shared in his grief. Third place honors went to first-time field trial competitor Levi Glines of Andover, Minnesota, running his diminutive white and orange speckled female Setter Cook's Run Kit, who hit a lick from the start through tangles that kept others close in and handled honestly from the far reaches of the woods. We are excited to see this pair at the breakaway again soon! Many thanks to derby judges Chris Bye and Lindsey Saetre for a tough job sorting out the top three from a large field of quality performances.

The Running
Monday, September 30, 2024
1 Dauntless Rogue ("Reba")/Jordan Pharris with Meredith Grade Penny ("Penny")/Scott Chaffee. Reba had a stop-to-flush on a grouse at 33, 10 yards off the right side of the trail. At 35, Penny locked up 20 yards right of the course, but the bird was uncooperative. At 52, both dogs stopped in good cover, Penny backed by Reba. Chaffee's flush produced no bird, and he moved Penny on. She stopped when a grouse lifted, and then Chaffee flushed a second grouse for her. The first course of the trial produced seven birds in all, with dog work on three.

2 Springpond Rockin Sidney ("Sidney")/Tammy Chaffee with Kona's Blue Skye ("Kona")/A. J. Kalupa. Two grouse flushed wild at 6 and 26. The wind picked up at 19. At 27, Sidney stopped in great cover with Kona backing, moved herself up, and stopped again; no bird flushed. At 35, she had a point just right of course, but the bird eluded all flushing attempts. Sidney ran big and did not let the heat inhibit her race.

3 Boatright's Maverick ("Ricky")/James Kleve with Jewett's Creek Oakley ("Oakley")/Jeff Sullivan. After fading to the front right of course at 13, Kleve sent his scout in after Ricky, who reported the bell to the front. At 19, Ricky's bell was gone again, and the scout was unable to locate him on the near side of a long swamp paralleling the course. Kleve asked for his tracker just before time and found Ricky pointing a woodcock on the backside of the swamp near the beginning of the course. Oakley ran strong into a grouse find at 36 on a swamp edge 50 yards off course. Sullivan flushed the grouse out of thick cover 15 yards ahead of Oakley's point and finished her race running strong.

4 Grouse Tails Little Bud ("Bud")/John McKellop with Meridith Grade Corky ("Corky")/Tammy Chaffee. The judges decided to run four braces before lunch and wait to run the remaining two at 4 o'clock to try to avoid the worst of the heat and humidity. Nevertheless, the fourth brace on Monday presented challenging conditions. McKellop picked up Bud at 12, concerned about a previous health condition, although Bud looked to be running strong, and Chaffee leashed Corky after 19.

5 Snyder's Centerfold Peach ("Peach")/Tammy Chaffee with Northwoods Sir Gordon ("Gordy")/Ben McKean. The fifth brace turned loose just after 4 p.m. Heat and humidity were still fierce. Chaffee walked out with Peach after 11 minutes. Gordy's bell faded to the front, and after 10 minutes, McKean sent in his scout. Gordy blasted past the gallery to the front at 13 but, at 16, came racing out to the trucks spooked and could not be persuaded to return. The route will henceforth be lightheartedly referred to by those who walked this foreshortened brace as "Sasquatch Course."

6 E J Jonesy ("Jonesy")/Scott Chaffee with Jewett's Creek Beauty ("Beauty")/Jeff Sullivan. The final brace of the first day cut loose at 4:40. Conditions improved remarkably throughout the hour as a front moved in. Beauty's bell stopped at 9. The judge reported hearing two grouse fly, one about 30 seconds after the first. Sullivan found Beauty on point and flushed a third grouse for her at 13:30. Jonesy ran with style but went birdless. Both handlers took the precaution of soaking their dogs down a couple of times early in their hour, and both dogs finished strong to the front.

Tuesday, October 1, 2024
7 Woods R Callin Saddie ("Saddie")/Bill Frahm with Grouse Trails Black Knight ("Knight")/John McKellop. The first brace of a cooler 60-degree second morning was off and running at 8:04 with a light breeze under clear skies. The Setter-Pointer match-up got the gallery's blood flowing early when Saddie and Knight both stopped at 4 on a divided grouse find. McKellop located the bracemates first and shot his blank pistol; both dogs held staunch. At 10, Saddie pointed a pair of woodcock with Knight backing about 10 yards right of the course. At 21, both dogs stopped about 50 yards left of the course, each with separate woodcock finds. Saddie pointed a grouse at 34, 30 yards left of the course, followed by a stop-to-flush on a grouse at 49 and a final grouse find at 55 backed by Knight. Saddie's handler walked the brace impressively silently, only occasionally singing her around course turns.

8 Hog Hill's Pretty Penny ("Penny")/Tammy Chaffee with Bad Habits ("Lucy")/Ben Mergens. Early in this brace of female Pointers, a pair of woodcock and a grouse were flushed by the gallery behind the front-running dogs. At 29, Lucy's handler sent her on from a point after his flush attempts came up empty. At 37, Penny was found on point at the edge of a swamp, but no bird could be persuaded to fly. At 40, Lucy got on the board with a clean woodcock find. She backed her bracemate at 42, although Penny's point yielded no bird.

9 Grouse Trails Warrior Cat ("Kitty")/John McKellop with Big Big Energy ("Lotto")/Jordan Pharris. Kitty, a compact female Pointer, and Lotto, a big derby-aged tri-color male Setter, shot from the start to the edges of their bell ranges in a freshening wind that caused the gallery to strain to keep track of the pair. Kitty's bell made a definite stop at 5, 50 feet right of the course, and her handler heard a bird flush wild as he walked in, but it was not logged. The same fate fell on Lotto a minute later, and a handful of minutes after his stop, the gallery noted a wild flush as they passed. At 32, Lotto made game and relocated - while no birds rewarded his effort, some in the back of the gallery heard a bird fly shortly thereafter. When time was called, Kitty's bell had been silent for a couple of minutes, so the handler, judge, and scout started their search. Kitty was found stylishly pointed deep to the right at a likely swamp edge, and a woodcock was produced with all in order. Both dogs ran respectable forward races, methodically covering the pocket and handling easily in increasingly tough, windy conditions.

10 Snyder's Sadie ("Sadie")/Tammy Chaffee with Kasida ("Z")/Paul Cook. A brace of female Setters, Sadie and Z, ran the last hour of the second morning before the extended afternoon break. Sadie stopped at 2:30, backed by Z, and was sent on with no bird flushed. At 20, both bells went silent one after the other. While Chaffee dug deep into the tangled thicket left of the course looking for Sadie, Cook located both dogs to the front just left of the course, pointed a few feet apart, facing each other. It was determined that Sadie's bell was the first to fall silent; Z was credited with the back. As Chaffee fought her way to the pair, Cook and the gallery watched a grouse flush from her vicinity and fly directly over Sadie's point just a few feet overhead; both dogs held staunch. Chaffee moved Sadie on. Two minutes later, she stopped hard again, and a single grouse was flushed for her point once more.

11 Ruffed Country Sweet Lily ("Lily")/Jordan Pharris with Northwoods Cedar ("Cedar")/Eric Saetre. Cedar ran an exciting race at the farthest reaches of her bell. The handler and judge stopped now and then to cup an ear, straining to pinpoint the ringing. Each time, within a couple of seconds, they had her to the front or coming around. At 21:30, Cedar stopped hard on her way back from a wide cast around the far edge of a swamp. As the course turned a bend Cedar appeared standing tall on the left. She held tight as the hour's only grouse spooked away 20 yards down course. Lily pointed twice in the first half hour but moved herself on or was sent on both times.

12 Ralphy's Chasehill Rip ("Rip")/Scott Chaffee with Over The Hill Morgan ("Morgan")/Rod Lein. The final brace of day two left the line at 5:10. Morgan, a slight and sleek black and white Pointer female, stopped fast in a tangled blowdown at just one minute in. Judge and handler picked their way in and found her looking sharp. Lein flushed three grouse while Morgan stood high and tight. At 24, her bell fell silent again, and she was spotted ten yards off the course looking confident. Lein's flush produced one big male grouse in front of Morgan's second picture-perfect point. She and bracemate Rip, last year's Grand National Grouse Champion, were matched in their classy ground-covering runs.

Wednesday, October 2, 2024
13 I'm Easy Money ("Easy")/Kyle Peterson with Moss Meadow Seeker ("Seeker")/Ken Moss. Easy, a former MN/WI Derby of the Year and multiple-champion Seeker, kicked off day three on the Boyscout Course. At 16, as the handlers topped a ridge, Easy's bell faded into a low, gnarly swamp to the left. Peterson's scout headed in and called point. As Peterson and the judge picked their way to within a few feet of Easy, a grouse flushed close over them. Just before the course crosses a gravel road at 32, Easy stopped again and held steady for his second grouse. At the 44-minute mark, Seeker had a woodcock find. Easy stopped a third time at 53 with Seeker backing, and Peterson flushed a woodcock.

14 Grouse Trails Bathilda ("Tillie")/John McKellop with Fireside Sally Forth ("Sal")/Tammy Chaffee. The wind picked up during brace two of day three, with temps in the mid-50s. McKellop's Tillie pointed a woodcock at 18:30 with all in order. Sal's bell faded in and out throughout the hour, with her scout dispatched several times. Chaffee asked for the tracker at 53 after a few minutes of searching, and shortly thereafter, Sal came back around on her own.

15 Snyder's Big Nose Kate ("Kate")/Tammy Chaffee with Lake Effect Ali ("Ali")/Tim Kaufman. Ali diligently worked, likely coverts with two points at 36 and 41 with no birds produced. At 49, she pinned a woodcock for Kaufman's flush and shot. Chaffee picked Kate up at 28 minutes, not having seen the performance she was capable of.

16 Northern Slopes Bell ("Bell")/James (Ed) Graddy with Over The Hill Try ("Try")/Rod Lein. Bell worked the cover, ranging far to the front. At 28, her bell stopped, but her handler was unable to locate her before flushing a grouse on his way in, after which Bell moved herself on. Try entertained the gallery with her joyful singing as she shot to the front from the start but finished birdless.

17 Birdogn True Confidence ("Sadie")/Jordan Pharris with Northwoods Cedar Edge ("Enni")/Lindsey Saetre. Young Enni pointed at 10, just off the trail, and went with a big grouse as it flushed, ending her bid. At 18 Sadie had the honor of pointing the 50th grouse of the trial, five yards left of the trail. She pinned a second grouse at 27 and a third at 46 in a young cut.

18 Little Hawk ("Little")/Paul Cook with Ponderosa Ace ("Percy")/Scott Chaffee. Little launched from the start and stopped after two minutes with a woodcock find and Percy backing. She handled reliably at the edge of her bell to the front. At 38, her handler called her in for water, and a grouse got up. She stopped twice more with no birds put up. Percy put forth a worthy effort but finished without birds.

Thursday, October 3, 2024
19 North Slopes Allie ("Allie")/James (Ed) Graddy with Grouse Trails Dottie "Dottie"/John McKellop. Allie started her brace running hard and fast to the front but shortened up midway through her hour, and Graddy elected to collar her at 43. Dottie's bell stopped at 15 and two grouse lifted as McKellop and his judge made their way to her. McKellop rewarded her point with a third grouse flush in front of her, and a shot fired. At 27 she stopped again before the road crossing in a covert that produced grouse throughout the trial but moved herself on with no birds in the air.

20 Snyder's Fireside Ed ("Ed")/Tammy Chaffee with Bye. Eddie stopped at 32 on the edge of a thick young cut, and as he was relocating, the judge heard a grouse fly and ordered him up. Three more grouse flushed as Chaffee collared Ed back to the course.

Mora, Minn., September 30
Judges: Ryan Hough and Justin McGrail
MINNESOTA GROUSE DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 13 Pointers and 26 Setters
Winner-OVER THE HILL MORGAN, F1699010, pointer female, by J T H Scion-Over The Hill Patty. Robert Zielke, owner; Rod Lein, handler.
Runner-Up-NORTHWOODS CEDAR, F1691883, setter female, by Erin's Prometheus-Northwoods Carly Simon. Eric & Lindsay Saetre, owners; Eric Saetre, handler.

Judges: Chris Bye and Lindsay Saetre
REUEL HENRY PIETZ OPEN DERBY CLASSIC - 6 Pointers and 12 Setters
1st-BIG BIG ENERGY, F1705733, setter male, by Northwoods Atlas-Clover Valley's Millie. Jordan Pharris, owner and handler.
2d-CLOVER VALLEY'S MULAK, F1705658, setter male, by Northwoods Atlas-Clover Valley's Millie. Jerry Furnish, owner and handler.
3d-COOK'S RUN KIT, F1717276, setter female, by Keystone's Red Rage-Alder Fork Tuff. Levi Glines, owner and handler.

Reuel Henry Pietz Derby Classic (l-r): Lindsey Saetre (judge), Jordan Pharris with Big Big Energy, Greg Johnson with Clover Valley's Mulak, Chris Bye (judge), and Levi Glines with Cook's Run Kit.