Result: Kentucky Open Shooting Dog Championship

Location: Berea, Kentucky

Post Date: Dec 26, 2024

Submitted By: Terry W. Boatright

Kentucky Open Shooting Dog Championship: Great River Stallion with Doug Ray and Hirollins Bad Boy with Matt Basilone, joined by participants.

The Kentucky Field Trial Association would like to thank our sponsors and everyone who came out to help and participate in the 2024 Kentucky Open Shooting Dog Championship. This trial would not have been the success it was without all those who came to help and to participate. A special thanks goes out to our judicial staff, Mike Crouse of Dixon, Kentucky, and Rich Meadows of Somerset, Kentucky. Donna Boatright took special care of all of us by providing breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for everyone, along with many other tasks necessary to make this trial succeed. November 2 saw what could be the rebirth of the prestigious Kentucky Open Shooting Dog Championship. For the past several years, this championship has either had very low entries or been canceled altogether due to low numbers. I would personally like to thank the Kentucky Field Trial Association for giving me the chance to host and rejuvenate this trial. After listening to the complaints and concerns about why participants were not attending, I took those concerns into consideration and set out to see if I could generate a renewed interest in this event. I believe the biggest change was moving from multiple courses to a single course with no road crossings; this, together with minor adjustments, proved to be what everyone had been waiting for to revive interest in this distinguished trial. The trial drew 50 shooting dogs for the championship, the largest entry this Championship has seen in many years.

The running started on Saturday, November 2, with a light frost. The temperatures for this trial varied from cool temperatures in the mornings to the high 80s for the afternoon braces,

The newly crowned champion is Great River Stallion, a Pointer male owned by Great River Kennels and handled by Doug Ray.
Great River Stallion had four very well-placed finds during his hour, coupled with a strong forward race. He exhibited an outstanding shooting dog performance, coupled with a high head and tail running to all the right locations, and never cut his cast off early, running the edges to their fullness. This dog displayed exemplary style, both running and pointing. Never once did his style let down before, during, or after flush and shot, maintaining his high head and tail until collared by his handler. Both dog and handler showed a great eagerness to work together as a team. This was truly an amazing brace to watch and one to be proud of by both owners and the handler.

Hirollins Bad Boy, a Pointer male handled by Matt Basilone and owned by Ed and Megan McCay of New Jersey, was named runner-up. Bad Boy also had four very well-spaced finds, with an outstanding run during his hour. On any given day, Bad Boy's performance would have been more than enough to be named champion; his ground performance and style on point was outstanding in its own right, just slightly short of the new champion.

There were several other dogs that came to try to win this championship as well, putting down championship-quality ground races and finds. Three honorable mentioned dogs were carried by the judges at one time. In no particular order: Little More Shine, an Irish Setter owned and handled by Tim Hammons; Aim High Elhew Hadley, a Pointer handled by Scott Hadley; and rounding out the honorable mentions was George Tracy and Raag's Rich and Rare, a Pointer.
All these dogs did outstanding jobs but fell just short of the champions. Owners and handlers should also be very proud of the dogs' performances.

Berea, Ky., November 2 - One Course
Judges: Mike Crouse and Rich Meadows
KENTUCKY OPEN SHOOTING DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 33 Pointers, 14 Setters, and 3 Irish Setters
Winner-GREAT RIVER STALLION, F1702396, pointer male, by B K Bonafide Stallion-B K Hirollins Wild. Great River Kennel, owner; Doug Ray, handler.
Runner-Up-HIROLLINS BAD BOY, F1689634, pointer male, by Stoney Run's Buddy-Hirollins Fancy Lady. Ed & Megan McCay, owners; Matt Basilone, handler.

OPEN DERBY
The Open Derby concluded on Wednesday in a light rain. Setter Ridge Power Play, a Setter male, had a far-reaching derby race handling nicely for his handler James Kleve to be awarded first place.

Second place went to Boatright's Renegade, a Setter male handled by James Kleve. "Lou" had a good forward race but fell short of the first-place derby.
In third place was High Magnitude, a Pointer handled by Scott Hadley. He had a nice forward and strong run to finish out the three derby placements.

Judges: Kris Hammons and Rich Meadows
OPEN DERBY - 2 Pointers and 4 Setters
1st-SETTER RIDGE POWER PLAY, F1704698, setter male, by Cold Creek Hank-Cold Creek Belle. Brad Peterson, owner; James Kleve, handler.
2d-BOATRIGHT'S RENEGADE, F1710486, setter male, by Boatright's Maverick-Stardust Outcast Coco. Terry Boatright, owner; James Kleve, handler.
3d-HIGH MAGNITUDE, F1714086, pointer male, by Miller's Blindsider-Hadley's Honky Tonk Song. Tierra Hadley, owner; Scott Hadley, handler.

Open Derby (front): Setter Ridge Power Play with James Kleve, Boatright's Renegade with Terry Boatright (owner), and High Magnitude with Scott Hadley. (Behind): Rich Meadows (judge) and Dr. Kris Hammons (judge).