Subscribe to the American Field Sportsman's Journal! See the NEWS section for details.

I Accept

United Kennel Club (UKC) is an international dog registry celebrating bonds, rewarding ability, and preserving the value of a pedigree. We use cookies to capture information such as IP addresses and tailor the website to our clients' needs. We also use this information to target and measure promotional material. Please see our Privacy Policy for more information.

Skip to main content
Facebook Instagram YouTube

Result: Wisconsin Cover Dog Championship

Location: Augusta, Wisconsin

Post Date: Dec 4, 2024

Submitted By: Brent Sittlow

Wisconsin Cover Dog ChF24

Championship (l-r): Tim Kaufman with Champion Lake Effect Ali and John McKellop with Runner-up Champion Grouse Trails Black Knight.

A warm and dry August in Wisconsin carried over into September and October with unseasonable weather. It was downright uncomfortable to be in the woods, with temperatures quickly climbing through the 70s each day. There is no question the conditions hampered the trial, especially the afternoon braces. But the show must go on. Despite the tough conditions, a good number of dogs got it done on the ground and put themselves in contention with a slant toward woodcock work. Good work on Ruffed grouse was tough this year.

Another thing these grounds are noted for is groomed trails that the club prunes and cuts each summer in preparation for the fall trials. Eight different, one-hour courses cover about 20 total miles of trails, which need to be pruned and cleaned each year. If courses need to be optimized and changed, as they often do, even more effort is needed to create a fair field trial course for dogs and handlers. Colin Peterson led all contestants by logging the most hours in the woods with pruning equipment. Roger King, Alex Anderson, Tom Goltz, Denny Bauman, Mike Luebke, Rod Lein, Brent Sittlow, Lydia Sittlow, and Ben Mergens all tried to keep up with Colin, as we pitched in as much as our summer schedules would allow. Of course, all of this great woodcock and grouse cover would not be possible or accessible without the fine work that the Eau Claire County Parks and Forestry Department does on these multi-use grounds. Our club has developed a great relationship with the department. Since 1968, we have been grateful for their endorsement and permission to use the county forest to test and compete with our dogs on wild birds.

The Winners
Lake Effect Ali (Kaufman) bested a field of 37 entries competing over three days. Ali was cut loose on the Crash Course on the fifth brace of the trial. She traversed past the first stream crossing, and her bell indicated that she had darted left of course towards the Eau Claire River. She was found standing on point at about the 10-minute mark on a steep embankment that overlooked a low bowl. The bowl was a rare, moist, and shaded spot on the course that contained likely woodcock habitat. Kaufman confidently walked past his fancy Setter and flushed for her. Three or four woodcock took flight, which had clustered in that cover. After Kaufman sounded his blank gun, we glanced up the embankment to see Ali overlooking the bowl with style and intensity--a very nice piece of birdwork. Ali's bracemate was not pleasing his handler and was picked up at about the 25-minute mark. This left the rest of the Crash Course open for her and her alone. She was looked for at 35 when her bell stopped in a very thick cover. She started up again on her own before she was found and continued on. No harm, no foul. By this time, the hot sunny skies were really baking the sandy ground, and her stamina would be tested. Her bell went silent again at about the 40-minute mark in another rare damp spot on the course. She was found on point with perfect style and another woodcock was produced. Taking advantage of the cool, damp spot, Ali was watered and sent on to complete the one-hour brace. She was stopped again when time was called at 60 and searched for. But she started up again on her own before she was found. She was quickly gathered up by Kaufman and led out of the woods. Her purposeful race and application, during the heat of the day, separated her from the other contestants that also had suitable birdwork during this trial.

Grouse Trails Black Knight (McKellop) was on the Horse Creek Course for the seventh brace of the first day. Knight is a young black and white English Pointer raised and trained primarily in Pennsylvania. Knight covered the first half of the Horse Creek Course in fine fashion but lacked bird work. On the second half of the one-hour brace, he kicked it into gear when you need it most. He racked up three separate woodcock finds with steady manners through flush and shot. Again, what separated Knight from other dogs was his independent bird seeking and searching for ground race.

Notables
Listed are the dogs completing the one-hour brace with clean work on grouse and/or woodcock in the order in which they were drawn: Brushville Burton Spencer (Waite), Over The Hill Morgan (Lein), Northern Slopes Bell (Grady), Brushville Trifection Jack (Waite), and Ruffed Country Sweet Lily (Pharris).

Augusta, Wis., October 8
Judges: Brent Peters and Brent Sittlow
WISCONSIN COVER DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 37 Entries
Winner-LAKE EFFECT ALI, F1688438, setter female, by Northern Lights Sirius-Lake Effect Tilly. Tim Kaufman, owner and handler.
Runner-Up-GROUSE TRIAL BLACK KNIGHT, F1701062, pointer male, by Toth's Tornado Reloaded-Grouse Trails Warrior Cat. John McKellop, owner and handler.

Derby Stake
The Open Derby stake entry was robust. Field trial clubs use these juvenile stakes to judge the potential of their up-and-coming cover dogs. The contestants ran on a single course in separate braces to prove their potential to judges Colin Peterson and Ed Graddy. Coming out on top was Clover Valley's Mulak, handled by Greg Johnson of Superior, Wisconsin. Second place was also awarded to Johnson with Northwoods Rip Roy. Third place was given to Clover Valley's Evans, handled by Jordan Pharris and owned by Jerry Furnish of Two Harbors, Minnesota. All three winners separated themselves from the rest of the entries by hitting the likely grouse cover with speed, purpose, and independence.

Ed Grady and Colin Peterson
OPEN DERBY - 17 Entries
1st-CLOVER VALLEY'S MULAK, F1705658, setter male, by Northwoods Atlas-Clover Valley's Millie. Jerry Furnish, owner; Greg Johnson, handler.
2d-NORTHWOODS RIP ROY, F1711135, setter male, by Woodville's Yukon Cornelius-Northwoods Redbreast. Greg Johnson, owner and handler.
3d-CLOVER VALLEY'S EVANS, F1705659, setter female, by Northwoods Atlas-Clover Valley's Millie. Jerry Furnish, owner and handler.

Wisconsin Cover Dog ODF24

Derby (l-r): Roger King posing Clover Valley Mulak (1st Place), Greg Johnson with Northwoods Rip Roy (2nd Place), and Jordan Pharris with Clover Vally Evans (3rd Place).