Result: West Tennessee Field Trial Association

Location: Dancyville, Tennessee

Post Date: Mar 5, 2026

Submitted By: Jim Atchison

Open All-Age (l-r): Bentley Stoots, Nate Stoots, Allen Currie, Patrick Siebels, Cindy Currie, Ike Todd, Marty Todd, Steve Croy, Chris Mullen, Jay McKenzie and Mark McLean with Haney's All In, Crutcher Stoots, Ronnie Rogers (judge), Hassel Smith, Gary Raynor with Touch's Shadow Rider, Matt Pendergest (judge), Isaiah Todd with Southern Thunder, Brad LaVerne, Gene Spiotta III, Bill Currie, and Matt Brown.

Excellent dogs competed, quail flew abundantly, while food and fellowship were outstanding as the West Tennessee Field Trial Club hosted their annual Open All-Age and Derby stakes near Dancyville, Tennessee, February 12-15. Thirty-two All-Age and 25 Derby entries competed.
Haney's All In, owned by Steve and Stacey Croy from Richmond Hill, Georgia, won first place for the second consecutive year in the all-age competition. Mark McLean from Doerun, Georgia, was the handler. McLean also handled Touch's Shadow Rider, owned by Bruce and Karen Norton and Dr. Reuben Richardson, to earn second place. The third-place winner was Southern Thunder, owned by Chris Campbell and handled by Tom Shenker.

Millers Inspiration, owned by Al Bryson and handled by Gary Lester, won first place in the Derby stake. Second was won by Phantom's Zip, owned by Erick and Holly Parsons and handled by her trainer, Ike Todd. DS Superfly was under the whistle of Mark McLean, winning third place for owner Alex Rickert.

Ronnie Rogers, from New Market, Tennessee, and Matt Pendergest, from Cynthiana, Kentucky, judged both the All-Age and Derby stakes. They appeared to work well together, with a shared philosophy that these stakes would be run on the All-Age Standard, and their excellent decisions were consistent with that philosophy. In addition to being great judges, they were also great company. Matt's wife, Megan, accompanied him.

Purina was again the greatly appreciated primary sponsor. Their many years of generous sponsorship were acknowledged and shared with all who attended. SportDOG was a new sponsor and generously provided two Sport Hunter 1825 X training collars and two No-Bark SBC-R bark collars as prizes. The training collars were given to the first-place handlers in each stake, and the no-bark collars were given to each second-place winner's handler.
The weather was both beautiful and pretty bad during the four days of running. The first three days were sunny and beautiful, enabling all All-Age and four Derby braces to be completed by late Saturday afternoon. But then the rain started and fell continuously from late Saturday through about 10 a.m. Sunday. The rain caused the Sunday start to be delayed, but the remaining Derby braces were finished by late afternoon.

Good food was abundant throughout the trial. Marty Todd and Mark McLean provided dinner one night; club members Gene Spiotta, Chris Mullen, Crutcher Stoots, and Marty Todd helped with most of the other meals, and the club had the meal catered on the night of the landowners' dinner. The landowners, who generously support field trialing in the Dancyville community, include Bill and Allen Currie, the Honorable Skip Taylor and Mrs. Jan McCloud, Mr. and Mrs. Ed McClanahan, Dr. and Mrs. Gene Spiotta Jr., Gordy Jones, Mr. and Mrs. Larry Humber, Ike and Marty Todd, and Alex and Bryana Rickert. Dr. and Mrs. Spiotta were greatly missed as he was hospitalized in Memphis, with the club earnestly wishing him a full and speedy recovery.

Also, the late Jimmy and Jake Waddell, Mac Conyers, and Gary Brown were fondly remembered during the landowners' dinner as plaques were presented for permanent display in the clubhouse, in appreciation of and honoring the dedicated past services of each. Members of the three families of those honored were present for the presentations.
Club members Bill Currie, Allen Currie, Crutcher Stoots, and Chris Mullen were continuously busy before, during, and after the trial. Brad LaVerne was present throughout the stakes and always willing to help anyone who needed help.

Open All-Age Winners
Haney's All In had three finds during his winning hour. Steve Croy, who co-owns the repeat winner with his twin brother, Stacey, was in the gallery to watch his dog, handler Mark McLean, and scout Gary Raynor win. Haney's All In ran an extreme all-age race and scored three finds, which came at 10, 39, and 45, during his second brace performance. Each of his finds was an extreme limb find, which could have easily been missed by a less savvy scout. Running a consistently forward race, the 5-year-old male pointer took advantage of the course and the big fields to demonstrate his strength, speed, and style, which impressed the judges and earned the win.

Mark McLean continued his roll as he also won second place with Touch's Shadow Rider, owned by Bruce and Karen Norton and Dr. Reuben Richardson. Shadow Rider ran a sweeping race, with a first find at 16, far to the north side of the first hour course. He had two other finds, at 28 and 33, in his 15th brace draw. The white, orange, and ticked, 6-year-old ran an excellent race, had no extended absences, covered the course, showed well, and demonstrated a strong finish in the rolling green fields south of Blalock Road to earn his placement.

Southern Thunder placed third, for owner Chris Campbell, while handled by Tom Shenker. The fine pointer was very in tune with his handler as he shared a divided find with his bracemate at 19, backed an unproductive of his brace mate at 30, continued to run a strong all-age race, and scored a final find at 44. He made great swings while going through the horseshoe area of Taylor land and continuing to finish the hour in the clubhouse field.

The Other Contenders
Beeler's Final Solution was the top dog in the first brace, paired with the third-place winner, and handled by Scott Beeler for owner Rick Stallings. Final Solution had a divided find at 19, an unproductive at 30, and two additional finds at 40 and 57.

Superstition's Jake, handled by Mark Haynes for Ric Peterson, ran in the second brace, paired with the first-place winner. Jake had a find at 47 near Coffee Gap Road and another at 59, just as the hour ended.

Black Rocks Snow Goose and DS Superfly were loosed together for the third brace. Snow Goose, owned by Nick Cummings and handled by Korry Rinehart, found no birds and was picked up at 38. DS Superfly, owned by Alex and Bryana Rickert and handled by Mark McLean, was the bottom dog in the brace. He had an unproductive at 4 and was later picked up at the Blalock Road bridges at 38. However, he ran again in the Derby stake and won third.

Como Rain, owned by Ric Peterson and handled by Mark Haynes, was paired with Touch's Midnight Rider, owned by John Milton and handled by Mark McLean, went next. McLean got his tracker at 16, and Como Rain was eliminated at 38 when he experienced a flight of birds.

Brace 4 had Mayfield Storm Front, owned by Jake Davis and handled by Patrick Siebels, with Nickajack Pale Rider, owned by Andy Freiburger, under the whistle of Mark McLean. Both dogs were gone, and the handlers asked for their trackers at 27 before crossing Fayette Corners Road.

Brace 6 started across Fayette Corners on the Humber land. Mark McLean had Woodville's Long Hard Ride. Gary Raynor had Sandy Hill Ike, owned by Bob Lanier. The setter had two finds for McLean, with one being at 19 on Todd land and the other on Rickert land at 45, before finishing the hour at the south end of Coffee Gap Road. Sandy Hill Ike erred at 36 and was picked up.

Rock Acre Yellow Hawk and Pleasant Run Ruby were loosed at 8 a.m. on Friday for Brace 7. Mark Haynes had Hawk for Ric Peterson, and Larry Huffman had Ruby for Paul Rosevear. Both dogs finished the hour with Haynes flushing birds at 19 and Huffman at 38.

World Class High Def, owned and handled by Patrick Siebels, went next with Sunset Jack, owned by Matt Brown and handled by Matt. Matt asked for his tracker at 25 to find his dog before leaving him near Fayette Corners Road. High Def had one find and one relocation at 46 and finished the hour.

Brace 9 had Patrick Siebels with Lester's Front Porch, owned by John Kampeter, paired with Larry Huffman and Whippoorwill Vette, owned by Dale Bush. Both dogs finished. Front Porch had no birds, while Vette had one find along the edge of the long field of the Rickerts that runs in a westerly direction toward the Russell Grove Church.

After lunch, Mark McLean had Seranoa's Ramblin' Man, with owner Alex Rickert in the gallery, and Chris Cagle had Shagtime Jay. McLean asked for his tracker at 19, and Cagle's setter finished the hour, but had no birds.

Brace 11 ended early as the only dog running was Haney's Top Shelf, handled by Mark McLean for Andy Freiburger, and the handler asked for his tracker upon reaching the Fayette Corners Road crossing.
Brace 11 ending early resulted in Brace 12 breaking away on the Humber tract. McLean had Touch's Malcolm Story, owned by Alex Rickert, and Matt Bown had Sunset Sam Houston, which he and Stacy own. Sam Houston pointed at 20, and Malcolm Story backed. However, McLean got his tracker before the end of the hour, while Sam Houston continued and had two additional finds. The first of those two was at 52 along the field leading toward Russell Grove Church, and the other was at 58, near Fayette Corners Road.

The first brace on Saturday had Mayfield Storm Messenger, owned by Jake Davis and handled by Siebels, with Miller's Last Call, handled by Korry Rinehart for Scott Griffin. Storm Messenger did not finish the last quarter hour, while Last Call ran a nice forward race for the entire hour, but found no birds.

Next, Rinehart loosed Bandit's Hill Avenger, with owner Ann Forrester in the gallery, and Siebels loosed World Class Migraine, owned by John Kampeter. Both dogs were lost before the half-hour, and the handlers got their trackers at 30, so as not to cross the busy Fayette Corners Road without their dogs.

Lester's War Bird, handled by Gary Lester for Tommy and Bonnie Hamilton, ran in the last brace, paired with the second-place winner. War Bird finished the hour but located no birds.

Dancyville, Tenn., February 12
Judges: Matt Pendergest and Ronnie Rogers
OPEN ALL-AGE [One-Hour Heats] - 29 Pointers and 3 Setters
1st-HANEY'S ALL IN, F1698756, pointer male, by Ransom-Haney's North Star. Steve Croy, owner; Mark McLean, handler.
2d-TOUCH'S SHADOW RIDER, F1697543, pointer male, by Touch's Smooth Rider-Touch's Gold Dance. Bruce & Karen Norton & Dr. Reuben Richardson, owners; Mark McLean, handler.
3d-SOUTHERN THUNDER, F1695471, pointer male, by Lester's Storm Surge-Bryson's Dialing On Line. Chris Campbell, owner; Tom Shenker, handler.

Open Derby
Millers Inspiration won first place in the Derby stake. He is owned by Al Bryson and was handled by Gary Lester. The stake started on Humber and found birds at 15 and 25. The winner ran a great all-age race and intelligently used every field so as to always be at the front, showing in the right places.

Phantom's Zip won second place, with Ike Todd handling for owners Erick and Holly Parsons. She had three finds that were at 5, 10, and 25. Starting from the back of the horseshoe on the Taylor/McCloud land, Zip made great casts and ran an impressive forward race.

DS Superfly won third with Mark McLean handling for owner Alex Rickert. Superfly had one find at 15 and also ran a great forward race with outstanding casts. These three winners were joined in the contest by several other outstanding young dogs that are already exhibiting unquestionable all-age skills.

OPEN DERBY - 22 Pointers and 3 Setters
1st-MILLERS INSPIRATION, F1724253, pointer male, by Miller's King Poast-Bryson's Dialing On Line. Al Bryson, owner; Korry Rinehart, handler.
2d-PHANTOM'S ZIP, F1709028, pointer female, by Miller's King Poast-Phantom's Rebel Heart. Erick & Holly Parsons, owners; Ike Todd, handler.
3d-DS SUPERFLY, F1708355, pointer male, by Touch's Malcolm Story-Treeline's Sunflower. Alex Rickert, owner; Mark McLean, handler.

Open Derby (l-r): Cindy Currrie, Bill Currie, Michelle Mullen, Allen Currie, Julia Currie, George Floyd, Ike Todd, Marty Todd, McKenzie Hicks, Isaiah Todd, Korry Rinehart with Millers Inspiration, Gary Lester, Gailen Cooper, Scott Beeler with Phantom's Zip, Ray Carter, Gary Raynor with DS Superfly, Carl Owens, Mark McLean, Steve Croy, Brad LaVerne, Matt Pendergest (judge), and Ronnie Rogers (judge).