Result: Georgia Derby and Georgia All-Age Championships

Location: Waynesboro, Georgia

Post Date: Feb 13, 2025

Submitted By: Nell Mobley, assisted by Mike Jackson

Georgia Derby Championship (front, l-r): Erin's War Eagle with Judd Carlton and Knight's Hill Lynn with Mark McLean, joined by Mike Jackson, Nell Mobley, Claudia McNamee, Mary Kimbrell, Harold Johnson, Ike Todd, Jeff Crouch, Chris Cagle, and other trainers and guests.

Georgia Derby Championship
The Georgia Derby Championship kicked off on Thursday, January 2, at Di-Lane Plantation. Erin's War Eagle, handled by Luke Eisenhart, was named champion, and Knight's Hill Lynn was named runner-up, trained by Ike Todd.

Georgia All-Age Championship
Georgia All-Age Championship began on Saturday, January 4. Touch's Midnight Rider was named champion, and Woodville's Long Hard Ride was named runner-up. Mark McLean handled both dogs.

Drawings for the subject championships got underway at 7 p.m. on December 30, 2024, at the home of Nell Mobley. Sitting at the drawing table were Gary Futch, Craig Elliott, and Chuck Miller. Entries were down again as they were in 2024. A total of 31 derbies were drawn, with 25 in the companion All-Age Championship.

The grounds were hard hit on September 27 with Hurricane Helene. A tremendous number of trees were down on the three courses at the historic Di-Lane Wildlife Management Area. Ryan Meckel, Wildlife Technician at Di-Lane, along with his staff, had put in many hours removing the downed trees on the courses' paths.
Competition began on schedule in freezing temperatures and continued through the five days of running.

It is with a sad heart that I report a serious rider accident on day two. Becky Futch, wife of President Gary Futch, was riding on a newly acquired mare and took a fall on her back. She was rushed by ambulance to Wellstar Hospital (formally Medical College of Georgia) in Augusta, Georgia. Becky suffered internal bleeding along with her pelvis being broken in two places. The bleeding was stopped, but surgery was required to place pins in the pelvis. She was at Wellstar Augusta for 12 days, then transferred to Encompass Health in Savannah for therapy. Gary states that she is making good progress but will have an extensive recovery. Please remember her in your prayers. Incidentally, Gary was not able to be at the trials.

Georgia Derby Championship
Riding in the saddles to name a Derby champion and runner-up were Harold Johnson, Shorter, Alabama, and Tim Moore, Blakely, Georgia. Both sportsmen rode and watched each dog attentively. When winners were announced from all indications, their decisions were well accepted.

Erin's War Eagle, handled by Luke Eisenhart for owners Bill Bruchey and Claudia McNamee, was named champion. Eagle ran in the 14th hour on Course 2. He was credited with good, clean finds at 11, 13, 20, and 48. No birds were lifted at point at 18. He covered the course in an excellent manner for a young derby. The race concluded with a good, forward finish.

Ike Todd took runner-up honors with Knight's Hill Lynn owned by Scott Griffin. Lynn was loosed on Course 1, the first brace following lunch on Friday afternoon. Lynn started a little slow, but this did not continue. The first find was noted at 20, followed by clean finds at 36 and 41. The course was well covered with good swings. She finished to the front.

The Others
Brace 1: Nickajack Pale Rider (McLean) and Erin's Legacy (Carlton). Pale Rider had two good finds, honored bracemate on a point with a good relocation. Legacy took to the course with a good race. He was credited with three clean finds with one requiring a relocation. His race was good for a young derby.

Brace 2: Erin's Redemption (Mathy's) and Snaptime Bill (Todd). Redemption was credited with three spaced, clean finds and a back of bracemate. Bill took to the course running in fashion with two finds.

Brace 3: Batman (Todd) and Erin's Bold Ruler (Eisenhart). Both were picked up early in the hour.

Brace 4: Sunset Sam Houston (Todd) and Erin's Three Amigos (Carlton). Houston had finds at 20 and 38. Amigos backed Houston at 20 and had a find at 37. Both contestants were picked up at 40 and 38. Performances were not pleasing handlers.

Brace 5: Shadow Oak New Addition (Eisenhart) and Seranoa's Ramblin' Man (McLean). Addition had no show of birds at 9 with a request of tracker at 29. Man had hunting on his mind with finds at 29, 31, 50, and 58 all with good style. The race was forward, and Man was out front when time was called.

Brace 6: Beeler's Masterpiece (Todd) and Rester's Cash'n In (Eisenhart). Masterpiece had a favorable find at 8 but was harnessed at 26 when he moved on birds. Cash'n In honored bracemate with back at 8 and 26 and followed suit as bracemate and picked up at 26.

Brace 7: Mayfield Storm Front (Siebels) and Edges Bow (Todd). Front had finds at 14 and 25 followed with a back of bracemate at 10. At 10 followed with a finds at 14 and 21. Bad luck at 30 and picked up. Bow was credited with clean finds at 10 and 21. No birds were seen, with a point at 14. A point at 30 required pick up.

Brace 8: Notorious Sweet Ginger (Mathys) and DS Bocephus (Todd). Ginger did a very good job as a young derby. She had clean finds at 11 and 24. No birds were lifted at 36. Ginger had a nice forward race to the front for the hour. Bocephus had one find but needed a better race.

Brace 9: Lady Elhew Godiva (Sheperd) and Erin's Copper Colt (Carlton). Godiva was harnessed at 15. Colt had birds in flight at 5 and 15; a Retrieval device was requested at 26, not pleasing handler.

Brace 10: Knight's Hill Lynn (Todd) and Notorious Propane Jane (Mathys). Lynn was reported earlier as runner-up. Jane finished the hour and had one find at 41.

Brace 11: Mayfield Storm Messenger (Siebels) and DI John's Buck (Todd). Messenger honored Buck at 4. He continued on the course with a find at 13. Buck shared a find with Messenger at 13. No birds were seen at 4 and 50.

Brace 12: Black Rocks Iceman (McLean) and Rester's Knight Move (Carlton). Iceman had an unproductive at 16. Iceman and Move were not pleasing handlers and harnessed at 35.

Brace 13: Dominator's High Maintenance (Hutwagner) was not pleasing handler at 24 with a request of retriever. Haney's Double Down (Todd) had two finds and ran a strong forward race.

Brace 14: Haney's True North (Cagle) and Erin's War Eagle (Eisenhart). North pointed at 13, all in order, followed by a fruitless attempt at 18. Covering the course, birds were seen at 26 and 33. Bad luck at 34 resulted in a request for a retrievable device. Eagle is reported earlier as champion.

Brace 15: T's Cash-Slinger (Bollman) and Haneys Top Shelf (McLean). Slinger finished the hour but had no birdwork. Shelf had a find at 31 but was not pleasing the handler and picked up at 40.

Brace 16: DS Raising Kane (Todd) was harnessed following at find at 15. He ran as a bye in the last brace of the stake.

Waynesboro, Ga., January 1
Judges: Harold Johnson and Tim Moore
GEORGIA DERBY CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 27 Pointers and 4 Setters
Winner-ERINS WAR EAGLE, F1710822, pointer male, by Erin's Redrum-Erin's Pearl. Claudia McNamee & William Bruchey, owners; Luke Eisenhart, handler.
Runner-Up-KNIGHT'S HILL LYNN, unreg., pointer female, breeding not given. Scott Griffin, owner; Ike Todd, handler.

Georgia All-Age Championship
Immediately following the announcement of the winners of the Derby Championship, the All-Age stake got underway. Tricia Rentz of Montrose, Georgia, and Larry Cox of Randleman, North Carolina, began their times in the saddles to name the top two dogs from an entry of 25.
Tricia and Larry have ridden for many years, watching their dogs compete in amateur and open trials. They knew what they were looking for and named a champion and runner-up. Their decisions were well received.

Touch's Midnight Rider was named champion for owner John D. Milton and handled by Mark McLean. Rider ran in the sixth brace with hunting on his mind. Well-spaced finds were the order of the day at 5, 16, 26, 46, and 57. The find at 26 was on a wild covey, with Rider standing tall when the gun was fired. He honored bracemate with his point at 8. When time was called, Rider was to the front with an excellent forward race.

Runner-up was a 3-year-old Setter male handled by Mark McLean. Owner Carl Owens was riding in the gallery to watch the performance of Woodville's Long Hard Ride. Running in Brace 5, he could always be seen out front. Good clean finds were noted at 12 and 15, with backs at 38 and 50. The hour concluded with Hard Ride out front.

The Others
Brace 1: Sandy Hill Ike (Raynor) and Haney's Storm Warning (Cagle). Ike was not pleasing handler at 21 and picked up. Warning looked great on his find at 16. The hour finished with a good overall race.

Brace 2: Miller's Heat Advisory (Carlton) and Haney's All In (McLean). Advisory had a commendable find at 46 with a nice forward race. All In had a find at 15. He was taken up following a second no show of birds.

Brace 3: Rampage (Eisenhart) and Bandit's Hill Avenger (McLean). No birds were seen on point at 23. For Rampage, a tracker was requested at 51. Avenger has a nice find at 41 and completed the hour.

Brace 4: Haney's Silver Dollar (Cagle) and Erin's Perfect Storm (Eisenhart). Trackers were requested at 35 and 32, respectively.

Brace 5: Woodville's Long Hard Ride (McLean) and Erin's Happy Hour (Carlton). Hard Ride's performance is reported earlier as runner-up. Happy Hour had commendable finds at 29, 38, 50, and 57, backing bracemate at 12 and 15. The hour was finished with a strong forward race.

Brace 6: Touch's Midnight Rider (McLean) and Comanche (Eisenhart). Rider is reported earlier as champion. Comanche pointed at 8 but went birdless. Not pleasing handler with request of tracker at 36.

Brace 7: Touch's Shadow Rider (McLean) and Dominator's Wild Bill (Carlton). Rider honored bracemate with a back at 11, but no birds were seen for Wild Bill. Retrieval devices were requested at 36 and 38.

Brace 8: Erin's Wild Atlantic Way (Eisenhart) and Haney's Easy Money (McLean). Way had a find at 22, with no birds seen at 14. His hour was short and up at 16. McLean requested a tracker at 36 for Money.

Brace 9: Erin's High Note (Carlton) and Touch's Breakaway Fred (McLean). High Note had a find at 4 with birds in flight. No birds were seen at 16. Note had a nice forward race, finishing the hour. The tracker was requested at 48 for Fred.

Brace 10: Woodville's Yukon Cornelius (McLean) and Erin's Code of Honor (Eisenhart). Cornelius backed Honor at 10. No birds were lifted at 26 and 36, resulting in a request for the tracker. Honor had good finds at 10 and 31 and finished the hour.

Brace 11: Touch's Malcolm Story (McClean) and Rester's Cajun Spirit (Carlton). Short brace for Story with a request of the tracker at 17. Spirit had a good find at 11. However, a retrieval device was requested at 25.

Brace12: Rester's Johnny Ringo (Eisenhart) and Night Hawk Rebel (Swearingen) ran in the last brace of the stake. Ringo was running well with a forward race. Birds were seen with points at 11, 18, and 50. Rebel was harnessed at 12 for a breach of manners.

Georgia Open Quail Championship (front): Touch's Midnight Rider with Jerry Raynor, Mark McLean (handler), and Woodville's Long Hard Ride with Carl Owens. (Behind): Jack Schwarz, Mary Kimbrell, Nell Mobley, John Ray Kimbrell, Larry Cox (judge), Tricia Rentz (judge), and Mike Jackson.

Judges: Larry Cox and Tricia Rentz
GEORGIA QUAIL CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 22 Pointers and 3 Setters
Winner-TOUCH'S MIDNIGHT RIDER, F1697542, pointer male, by Touch's Smooth Rider-Touch's Gold Dance. John D. Milton, Jr., owner; Mark McLean, handler.
Runner-Up-WOODVILLE'S LONG HARD RIDE, F1705218, setter male, by Woodville's Saddle Tramp-Yukon Gold Rush. Carl Owens, owner; Mark McLean, handler.

Some Sidelights
We are fortunate to have sponsors of our trials year after year.
Greg Blair, field consultant with Purina, makes certain that gifts for the judges, samples of Pro Plan to be handed out to the trainers, and feed certificates are delivered prior to the trials.
Purina sponsors the owners'/handlers' dinner annually. There were 45 in attendance to enjoy a dinner of grilled pork chops. We are pleased to have Scott Johnson, from Kansas, representing Purina with us to ride on January 4-5. He was a pleasure to be around. Scott also made certain we received a metal sign with the new Pro Plan logo to display on the stables.

The Burke County Chamber of Commerce funds the advertising in the UKC Field Newsletter. Ashley Roberts, executive director, presented the handlers with gifts. She is on hand every day to help serve lunch.

The Ramada Inn gives us discounted rooms for the judges and guests.

We could not do without the help of John Ray Kimbrell from Fort Mill, South Carolina, to serve as stake manager and driver of the dog wagon year after year. Mike Jackson comes from Battleground, Indiana, to marshal and fill in as reporter. Chuck Miller, who is employed with Green Point Ag, managed by Art Lively, vice president of the association, is on hand to do any odd jobs that need to be taken care of. Art allows Chuck to be off from his job to help us as needed. He releases the birds every morning at 6. Birds are supplied and banded by Pat Johnson. At the close of the trials, Chuck is in charge of stable cleanup.

The fish fry is always a big hit. It was hosted by Mike Sweet, owner of the 2024 Derby champion, and Alex Rickert, owner of the All-Age champion. The meal with all the trimmings is prepared by members of the Waynesboro Exchange Club.

A local farmer, Henry Hopkins, donated oats for the duration of the All-Age and Shooting Dog stakes.

Amie Elliott posts the reports for UKC on the computer.
Craig Elliott was on hand almost every day to learn the specifics of putting on the trials. He will assume your writer's position when she is no longer able.