Result: Region 1 Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship

Location: Exeter, Rhode Island

Post Date: Jul 14, 2022

Submitted By: Richard Giuliano

Following a morning of "one bird too many" for most of the dogs, Little Miss Bella, a pointer female owned and handled by Tim Cavanaugh, was perfect on five out of six of her birds, earning her the blue rosette at the Region 1 Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship. The event was held April 9, 2022, at Arcadia Management Area. Runner-up, with seven finds, was Super Storm Liz, a setter owned and handled by Thor Kain. Liz's only detriment was a slightly shorter ground race than the first-place dog.

THE WINNERS
The winner came from the sixth brace on a beautiful spring afternoon. It was champion versus champion as Little Miss Bella and Bo of Pineywood (Kazic) went head-to-head. Bella had five well-spaced finds -- the final find with birds walking all around her - and one unproductive. She was the only dog to finish the course, up to this point. Bo's owner, Rich Warters, was riding in the gallery, watching his dog. Unfortunately Bo got the hook early for chasing a bird.

The runner-up came from the seventh brace. Super Storm Liz was paired with Jim Hathaway's Wizard's Cas Dubh. Liz logged her first find 10 minutes in, standing beautifully staunch on a quail. Dubh didn't fare so well. He didn't back and was picked up. With Liz now left to her own devices, she rolled on to score six more finds, several coming within yards of each other, the birds being so plentiful.

Judges were Brian Sanchez and Dave O'Brian, both of whom gave each participant their undivided attention. Chairpersons for the event were Richard Giuliano, Lanny Dellinger, Jamie Nee and Janice Gregory, who kept the championship running smoothly.

THE RUNNING

Starting the championship off early on Saturday morning, Rock Solid Tucker (Dix) had the grounds to himself as bracemate, Sterlingworth Jack (Kazic) was a late scratch.. Tucker had eight finds, four early on, four more later in the hour, marred by a lengthy gap in the middle.

In the second brace, Super Storm (Kain) and Grousehill Pepper (Cappocci) went head to head. It was a quick brace as both dogs came unglued early and chased a bird.

Brace 3. Island's Fantasy (Kazic) and Long Gone Hatfield (Kennedy). Fantasy had one find early on but would eventually be picked up for a backing infraction. Hatfield gave a master class in what happens when there are just too many birds and too much scent on a course. The setter had five finds, some close up, some far away, some in the woods, some on the edges. There were solid finds, and relocations. The setter rolling from one bird to another as he scoured the woods and criscrossed the fields. Unfortunately, in his mission to find all the birds he could, he also logged three unproductives, and on the final one, handler elected to pick him up.

The fourth brace featured Little Miss Margaret (Cavanaugh) and Lightning Flash Remington (Dix). Margaret had two finds early on but didn't back at 20 and was picked up by her handler. Remington went on to have a mixture of finds and unproductives. He ran a strong race, making intelligent casts, but when the third unproductive was recorded, handler elected to pick up.

Brace five saw Super Storm Cliff (Kain) and Memphis Belle (Bonnetti). Belle stopped directly off the breakaway, causing the handler to doubt her veracity. She was urged on, chased the bird and was picked up. Cliff made some nice swings through the woods and down the edges, logging five finds. As with most of the other dogs, the excitement of finding so many quail eventually got to him and on his final find, at 50, he took the bird out.

Brace 6. Previously described.

Brace 7. Previously described.

In the eighth brace, No Limit (Kain) was braced with Buck (Olfson). Buck was lost early. Limit had five finds and then an unproductive before the first half was up, at which time handler elected to pick up.

In the final brace of the day, Hog Hill Katie (Cavanaugh) and Daisy (LaBella) broke away at 4:45 p.m. A good, solid dog, Katie had some nice, dug up finds that had eluded many of the previous dogs. Daisy also produced some nice birdwork, but unfortunately was out of pocket for a considerable amount of time. Katie eventually found herself under a bird and was picked up. When Daisy finally showed up, it was deemed she had been absent for too long, and she, too, was leashed. The judges had their winners in Little Miss Bella and Super Storm Liz.

Little Miss Bella Winner of the Region 1 Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship

Exeter, R. I., April 9
Judges: Dave O'Brien and Brian Sanchez
REGION 1 AMATEUR WALKING SHOOTING DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 7 Pointers and 10 Setters
Winner-LITTLE MISS BELLA, 1664328, pointer female, by Chasehill Little Bud-Shaula. Tim Cavanaugh, owner and handler.
Runner-Up-SUPER STORM LIZ, 1685356, setter female, by Blast Zone-Bridgewater Mt. Pemi. Thor Kain, owner and handler.