Event: Char-Lee Trial
Result: Associated Field Trial Clubs of Florida

Location: Punta Gorda, Florida

Post Date: Mar 17, 2025

Submitted By: Petie Brown

Open All-Age (l-r): Justin, Kayleigh, and Kenny Muzynski with Holopaw's Cracker, Paul Daniel with Checkmates Catch Me If You Can, and Beth Brown with Funseeker's Texas Preacher. (Second row): Dave Vernasco, Carol Muzynski, Petie Brown, and Laura Dykstra.

The Char-Lee Field Trial of the AFTCF was held at the Cecil B. Webb field trial grounds in Punta Gorda, Florida, on November 30 and December 1, 2024. The night of the drawing, post-Thanksgiving, was a festive occasion thanks to the Arkansas catfish dinner provided by Robert Franks. Robert enjoys our temperate climate after his has dipped into the 30s. Thankfully, some cooler weather came south with Robert. The drawing yielded 32 dogs for three stakes. However, we missed Jeff Arnold's entries due to a vehicle issue on the way down. We adjusted after Jeff's scratches and managed to not be an hour's ride back to camp, as our stakes run on continuous courses. We can accommodate 24 dogs a day in 30-minute stakes, limited by daylight and weather conditions.

With cool temperatures feeling even cooler with the wind, Saturday was an easy day with the All-Age running in the morning and the Derby in the afternoon. Birds were found, some nice, big, healthy-looking coveys, but those were the ones that were close to the gallery with the All-Age dogs casting further out. Sunday's running of the Shooting Dog went well with similar conditions and more productive birdwork. The coveys didn't move far from where they had been located the previous day.

We are deeply grateful for the management and support provided by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission at the Babcock Webb. The 6,000 acres of piney woods, with native quail habitat, the stables, kennels, picnic area, showers, and air-conditioned clubhouse make this a wonderful field trial venue. Our Saturday night cookout, with an awards presentation for the completed stakes, was its usual success. A comfortably warm evening contributed.
An interesting feature of this, and all our trials, is the presentation of rotating trophies. In this trial, they are the Harry Spratley trophy for the Amateur All-Age winner and the Super Cells trophy for the Shooting Dog winner. Purina generously provides hats and dog food for the winners. Thank you, Purina, for your continued support. Our judges had their work cut out for them. High temperatures and a scarcity of birds meant a lot of deliberation. Their decisions were well received.

The Winners
The judges had some work to do on their second and third-place winners of the All-Age, but there was no doubt about who placed first. Buddy had an exciting limb find in the fifth brace, with his bracemate, Preacher, taking third. Preacher had a big wind-challenged run coming into the now cleared-out Dairy, not far from camp. Second place went to Jackie, who had an explosive run, including birds, right before pick-up was called. Jackie was braced with her sire, Jack, who was AWOL at 800 to the front, burning up the course. The wind and wiley birds were definitely a factor as Tawna, in the fourth brace, took an unproductive only to have the birds get up when the judge moved. Myakka Lucy Diamond pointed, and the handler unproductively flushed. Upon relocation, Lucy pinned the birds a good distance away, making for an out-of-breath run to the dog for a rewarding flush of a large covey.

The Derby stake was fun to watch as all three placements were out of the litter Debbie and Katie McEwen raised, which is strong on Miller's Southern Pride, Guard Rail, and Elhew. Jackie, in the fourth brace, after running in the morning's All-Age, made some beautiful casts, placing third. Annie, in the first brace, ran a screaming All-Age, checking in well, earning second place, while her littermate Cash took first. Cash, in the third brace, came back to Paul Daniel through the gallery after a huge cast, and the remainder of the time, he was up there, out there, looking powerful and hunting hard. All three exhibited a lot of style, and we look forward to what their future holds as they develop.

The Shooting Dog stake saw more birdwork, as expected. Third place went to Myakka Rebel in the fourth brace. Her casts were more on the left to avoid running into the wind, however the birds she found were to the front. Second place, in the second brace, went to the Jorgensen's Blu, who looked nearly identical to his bracemate as they have the same sire, Funseeker's Rebel Tex, owned by the late Don Wood. Whereas Trump, owned and handled by Dave Vernasco, was running very big and lost to the front, Blu ran a more conventional shooting dog range hunting hard. Dave Vernasco then took first place in the third brace with Cruise (also out of Tex), who shortly after breakaway pointed to the left. Unfortunately, for Judith Hamilton, her Bonnie failed to honor and was subsequently back in the box. Cruise looked like a statue and all was in order. Cruise went on to earn an unproductive as we neared the Shooting Dog cutoff, but most of us know that slough is an area that holds a lot of birds, birds that will slip away if they can. Again, Cruise looked like a statue of his sire, making us wonder "if we had only been there a tad sooner."

Punta Gorda, Fla., November 30
Judges: Scott Ford and Greg Poole
OPEN ALL-AGE - 10 Pointers
1st-HOLOPAW'S CRACKER, F1690236, pointer male, by Holopaw's Axel-Hot Digity Dot. Ken & Justin Muzynski, owners; Justin Muzynski, handler.
2d-CHECKMATES CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, F1706156, pointer female, by Myakka Time Shifter-Nacho's Drama Ma Ma. Vince Feltner, owner; Paul Daniel, handler.
3d-FUNSEEKER'S TEXAS PREACHER, F1667330, pointer male, by Funseeker's Rebel Tex-Nacho Myakka Miley. Don Wood, owner; Beth Brown, handler.

Judges: Beth Brown and Paul Daniel
OPEN SHOOTING DOG - 13 Pointers and 1 Setter
1st-DOUBLE DOWN CRUISE, F1670311, pointer male, by Funseeker's Rebel Tex-Nacho Myakka Miley. Dave Vernasco, owner and handler.
2d-FUNSEEKER'S REBEL BLU BYU, F1663735, pointer male, by Funseeker's Rebel Tex-Lindley's Dixie Chick. Dave & Kary Jorgensen, owners; Dave Jorgensen, handler.
3d-MYAKKA REBEL, F1669365, pointer female, by Elhew G Force-Myakka Hey Jude. Petie Brown, owner and handler.

Judges: Scott Ford and Justin Muzynski
OPEN DERBY - 6 Pointers and 2 Setters
1st-CHECKMATES PRIME TIME ONE, F1706156, pointer male, by Myakka Time Shifter-Nacho's Drama Ma Ma. Vince Feltner, owner; Paul Daniel, handler.
2d-MYAKKA ANNIE GET YOUR GUN, F1708519, pointer female, by Myakka Time Shifter-Nacho's Drama Ma Ma. Beth Brown, owner and handler.
3d-CHECKMATES CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, F1706156, pointer female, by Myakka Time Shifter-Nacho's Drama Ma Ma. Vince Feltner, owner; Paul Daniel, handler.

Open Shooting Dog (l-r): Diane and Dave Vernasco with Double Down Cruise, Dave Jorgensen with Funseeker's Rebel Blu BYU, and Petie Brown with Myakka Rebel. (Second row): Kary Jorgensen, Paul Daniel, and Laura Dykstra.

Robert Franks frying up his Arkansas catfish.