Result: West Tennessee Open Stakes

Location: Dancyville, Tennessee

Post Date: Mar 12, 2025

Submitted By: Jim Atchison

Open All-Age Winners (front, l-r): Jerry Raynor with Haney's All In and owners Steve and Stacey Croy and Mark McLean; Ike Todd with Valor's Lace and Grace and Mark Haynes (judge); and Patrick Siebels with World Class High Def and Jim Lawless (judge), joined by many other happy West Tennessee participants looking on!

The West Tennessee Field Trial Club hosted its Open All-Age and Open Derby stakes February 14-17, 2025, with 30 all-age and 25 derby entries. The warm, family-like atmosphere and hospitality, for which the club is renowned, prevailed throughout, and two nights of wicked rain and wind did not hamper the running staying on schedule.

Haney's All In, owned by Steve and Stacey Croy and handled by Mark McLean, won first place in the Open All-Age stake. The twin brother owners were present to enjoy their Pointer's win. Second place was won by Valor's Lace and Grace, an English Setter owned by Ray Carter and handled by Korry Rinehart. World Class High Def, owned by John Kumpeter and handled by Patrick Siebels, was the third-place Open All-Age winner.

Beeler's Master Design, owned by Gordy Jones from Utah and handled by Ike Todd, was the first-place winner in the Derby stake. Jones was present throughout the running, accompanied by his daughter, Elsie, and her friend, Sophie Robbins. The second-place derby was Miller's Triple Crown, owned by Al Bryson and handled by Korry Rinehart. Third place was won by Seranoa's Ramblin' Man, owned by Alex and Bryana Rickert and handled by Mark McLean.

Jim Lawless from Sparta, Illinois, and Mark Haynes from Brownsville, Tennessee, judged both stakes. Lawless was accompanied by his wife, Kay Morrison, who celebrated her birthday while in Tennessee. Haynes' wife, Gail, renowned for her culinary skills and wonderful restaurant, joined the evening festivities.

Purina was again the primary sponsor of this long-running event, and their generosity was acknowledged and much appreciated.

The West Tennessee clubhouse is on land owned by Bill Currie and Allen Currie. The brothers are the fifth generation of their family to own the land, which has passed through the Edwards lineage of the paternal grandmother. In addition to the Currie land, several other owners of the adjoining land permit the three one-hour courses used by the club to traverse across their farms. Those owners include Skip Taylor, Mrs. Jan McCloud, Dr. Gene Spiotta Jr., Ed and Alice McClanahan, Gordy Jones, Larry and Janeal Humber, Ike and Marty Todd, and Alex and Bryana Rickert.

Stalwart members of the club were on hand continuously to take care of all the work of hosting the trial and taking care of their guests. They hauled dogs and horses, cooked meals, marshaled on the courses, kept the clubhouse comfortable, and stoked the fire, among many other things. Those members included Bill Currie, Allen Currie, J P Hathcock, Chris Mullin, Crutcher Stoots, Ike and Marty Todd, and Gary Brown. The efforts of the club members were complemented by a low country boil provided by the Croy brothers, shrimp stew prepared by Gene Spiotta III, and breakfast prepared by Marty Todd.

ALL-AGE WINNERS
Haney's All In won the All-Age stake with his strong 13th brace performance. After being gone a short while on the first hour course, Mark McLean had him in sight and running a true all-age race. He scored his first find at 20, backed his bracemate at 25, and achieved a second find at 43. He ran the course independently with strength and style and ended the hour with a strong finish. Steve and Stacey Croy enjoyed watching and were very pleased with their winner's performance.

Valor's Lace and Grace placed second. She backed her bracemate at 11. Then, at 25, she handled the situation well, which initially appeared to be an unproductive. Yet after Rinehart remounted, she immediately pointed again, and birds were flushed. She then had a find at 33 in pines near Gordy Jones place. Then she finished the hour on the Todds' land, where she ran the large wheat and corn fields fast and well.

Third place was won by High Def. He had a find at 21 and looked good on both the point and flush. He ran well and ended the hour with a strong finish to cinch his placement.

ALL-AGE RUNNING
Haney's Silver Dollar, owned and handled by Chris Cagle, was paired with Touch's Midnight Rider, handled by Mark McLean and owned by John Milton and Grant McCall. Silver Dollar had birds at 26 near the back of the loop on the first hour course but later slowed and was picked up at 45. Midnight Rider went off course, and McLean asked for his tracker at 37.

Matt Brown was in the gallery during the second brace where Mark McLean handled his Sunset Sam Houston. The second dog in the brace was World Class Migraine, owned by John Kumpeter and handled by Patrick Siebels. Sam Houston had a find at 11 while on the McClanahan land. Both dogs then shared divided finds, at 11 and 18, first directly behind Dr. Spiotta's Fayette County home and again in the area of numerous pines and Johnny houses. At 40, Sam Houston pointed, and McLean flushed, yet a straggler bird had not initially flushed and was knocked, causing Sam Houston to end the effort that had begun extremely well. World Class Migraine continued until 46, where he pointed at the north end of the Todds' cornfield but moved during the flushing effort and was put into a road harness.

Como Rain, owned by Ric Peterson and handled by Brody Byrd, was paired with Haney's Storm Warning, owned by father/son Chris Cagle and Chris Cagle Jr., and handled by the father. Both dogs stood at 18, and birds were flushed, with Como Rain in the superior position. Byrd asked for his tracker at 38 when returning to Blalock Road. Storm Warning continued moving southward, crossed Blalock, and had a nice find south and west of the clubhouse at 46, thus being the only dog to finish the first three braces.

Rock Acre Yellow Hawk, owned by Ric Peterson and handled by Brody Byrd, was loosed with the third-place winner in the fourth brace. He was lost early, and Byrd asked for his tracker.

Mayfield Storm Messenger, owned by Scott Mason and Jake Davis, was handled by Patrick Siebels and competed in the fifth brace. He was paired with the second-place winner. Jake Davis attended the competition. Storm Messenger found birds at 11 in dense vines and again at 23. But when crossing Fayette Corner Road, he failed to turn into the Humber tract, and Siebels hurried to bring him back safely but did not return to the course.

Superstition's Jake, handled by Brody Byrd for Ric Peterson, and Bonner's Hot Rize, owned by Jannie Chapman and handled by Patrick Siebels, were together in the sixth brace. At the west end of Rickert's first field, Hot Rize pointed, and Jake backed. The stand was initially unproductive. During the relocation effort, a bird flew, and both dogs were ordered up.

Touch's Shadow Rider, handled by Mark McLean for owners Dr. Rueben Richardson and Bruce and Karen Norton, ran in brace seven with Miller's Heat Advisory, owned by John Mathys and handled by Judd Carlton. Shadow Rider pointed on the edge of Tripp Road, and Heat Advisory backed at 8. Birds were easily flushed. Shadow Rider was lost, and McLean asked for his tracker at 46. Heat Advisory finished the hour but found no more birds.

Bandit's Hill Avenger, owned by Ann Forrester and handled by Mark McLean, and Lester's Front Porch, owned by John Kumpeter and handled by Patrick Siebels, left the double bridges for brace No. 7. Front Porch pointed on the Humber land, with Avenger backing, but no birds were moved. Both continued to hunt, and Avenger had a nice find at 57 on the wheat near Coffee Gap Road, and then both dogs returned to finish in the Todds' bottom.

Sandy Hill Ike, owned by Bob Lanier and handled by Jerry Raynor, went next, braced with Woodville's Saddle Tramp, owned and handled by Carl Owens. Ike had an unproductive at 14 and was picked up early. Then Saddle Tramp had a UP at 37 and was picked up early by Owens when they returned to the double bridges about a quarter of a mile east of the clubhouse.

Touch's Breakaway Fred, handled by Mark McLean and owned by Bruce and Karen Norton and Gary and Becky Futch, broke away Sunday morning, paired with Cochise B, owned and handled by Dr. Marion Brown. Breakaway Fred found birds at 6 with Cochise B backing. Fred pointed again at 26, and McLean called flight of birds, which Cochise failed to back and was picked up. Fred then finished the hour but found no more birds.

Costas, owned and handled by Gordy Jones, and Haney's Easy Money, handled by Mark McLean for Steve and Stacey Croy, went next. Costas found birds at 30 and 48, but Jones picked him up shortly before the end of the hour. Easy Money was lost early, and McLean got his tracker.

Southern Thunder, owned by Chris Campbell, was handled by Judd Carlton, who filled in for Tom Shenker, and Touch's Malcolm Story, owned by Alex and Bryana Rickert and handled by Mark McLean, competed in brace 12. The pair shared a divided find at 5, but both handlers elected to pick up their dogs at 20.

Erin's High Note, owned by Mike Sweet and handled by Judd Carlton, competed in the 13th brace, paired with the first-place winner, Haney's All In. High Note backed his bracemate at 20 and had an independent find at 25. He then hunted for the remainder of the hour but found no more birds.

Woodville's Long Hard Ride, owned by Carl and Ashley Owen, ran alone in the 14th brace, handled by Mark McLean. He had finds at 26 and 41 but was picked up when he reached Coffee Gap Road.

Woodville's Yukon Cornelius and Miller's King Poast ran in the final brace of the stake. Cornelius, owned by Carl and Ashley Owens and handled by Mark McLean, had two finds, the first at 5 and the second at 45. King Poast, owned by Al Bryson and handled by Gary Lester, backed Cornelius at 45. The pair then finished the hour, and the all-age competition was concluded near the end of Sunday afternoon.

Dancyville, Tenn., February 14
Judges: Mark Haynes and Jim Lawless
OPEN ALL-AGE [One-Hour Heats] - 27 Pointers and 3 Setters
1st-HANEY'S ALL IN, F1698756, pointer male, by Ransom-Haney's North Star. Steve & Stacey Croy, owners; Mark McLean, handler.
2d-VALOR'S LACE AND GRACE, F1703474, setter female, by T's Nickleback-T's Hidden Grace. Ray Carter, owner; Korry Rinehart, handler.
3d-WORLD CLASS HIGH DEF, F1705991, pointer male, by Lester's Shockwave-World Class Money Line. John Kumpeter, owner; Patrick Siebels, handler.

OPEN DERBY WINNERS
Beeler's Master Design ran an extraordinarily strong 30 minutes, with one find to win the Open Derby stake. The strong derby competed in the fourth brace, which used the second half of the second-hour course. The large wheat acreage and adjoining long stretch of bottomland provided an excellent opportunity to impress the judges with his strength and speed. He then had an excellent find at 16, far in front of Todd at the north end of the bottom. At 24, he had an unproductive and then finished on the part of the course that runs southward along Coffee Gap Road.

Miller's Triple Crown won second place. Competing in the fifth brace, he ran well, had a divided find with his bracemate at 4, and demonstrated excellent manners as he backed his bracemate at 17.

Seranoa's Ramblin' Man won third. Ramblin' Man ran a very good race and stayed on his edges well. He pointed at 17, and birds were flushed as he hunted the second half of the third-hour course. The three winners and many of the derby entries demonstrated excellent all-age potential.

OPEN DERBY - 21 Pointers and 4 Setters
1st-BEELER'S MASTER DESIGN, F1717898, pointer male, by Haney's Silver Dollar-Bandit's Hill Lady. Gordon Jones, owner; Ike Todd, handler.
2d-MILLER'S TRIPLE CROWN, F1718206, pointer male, by Lester's Front Porch-Bryson's Dialing Jo. Al Bryson, owner; Korry Rinehart, handler.
3d-SERANOA'S RAMBLIN' MAN, F1705774, pointer male, by Touch's Malcolm Story-Seranoa's On Guard Annie. Alex Rickert, owner; Mark McLean, handler.

Open Derby Winners (front, l-r): Elsie Jones and Sophie Robbins with Beeler's Master Design, Ike Todd with Miller's Triple Crown, and Jerry Raynor with Seranoa's Ramblin' Man. (Back, l-r): Marty Todd, Carl Owens, Gordy Jones, Jim Lawless (judge), J P Hathcock, Allen Currie, Mark McLean, Chris Mullin, Michelle Mullin, Crutcher Stoots, Julia Currie, Mark Haynes (judge), Ollie Rippoli, Ivy Sehulster, Alex Rickert, Stacey Croy, and Bill Currie.