Result: Carroll County Amateur Field Trial Club

Location: Huntingdon, Tennessee

Post Date: Jan 2, 2023

Submitted By: Jim Atchison

Amateur Shooting Dog. 2nd & 3rd Place: David Williams, Judges Greg Tapp and Steve Towery, Joe Hughes with J Maple Lucy, Buster Tucker, Tim Hammons with Casey Creek Crystal Ice, and Scott Little.

The inaugural running for the 2022-23 season of field trials on the Carroll County Field Trial Grounds, owned by David Williams near Huntingdon, Tenn., was held November 16-20 as the Carroll County Club hosted their annual amateur trial. Fifty-eight entries were drawn: 18 in the Amateur Shooting Dog Stake, 18 in the Amateur All-Age Stake, and 20 in the Amateur Derby Stake.

Cocklebur Breaking Bad, owned by the Bubba Spence family and handled by Bubba, won first in the Shooting Dog Stake which was run November 16-17. J Maple Lucy, owned by Joe and Tessa Hughes and handled by Joe, won second while Casey Creek Crystal Ice, owned by Bubba and Pam Tucker and handled by Bubba, won third.

The All-Age Stake followed on November 18 and 19. Misty Morn Masked Man, owned and handled by Joey McAlexander, won first. Second place was awarded to Dialed In, owned and handled by Jim Pendergest. Coldwater Paradise, owned and handled by Gary McKibben, won third.
Haney's Hurricane Seeker, owned and handled by David Russell, won the Amateur Derby Stake, which started at noon on Saturday and was concluded at noon on Sunday, the 20th. Dominator's Big Mike, owned and handled by Joe Hughes, won second place and Rebel Gold Plan, owned and handled by David Williams, won third.

Weather was near perfect during each of the five days of running. Temperatures were in the low to mid 20s each morning and reached into the low 40s each afternoon, with sunny skies prevailing and moderate amounts of wind on most days.
Steve Towery of Murray, Ky., judged all three stakes. Greg Tapp from Somerville, Tenn., was the second judge for the Shooting Dog and All-Age stakes and Scott Little from Woodlawn, Tenn., stepped in to serve as the second judge for the Derbies, when Greg Tapp left at noon on Saturday to return home and enjoy a family wedding.

SHOOTING DOG WINNERS
Cocklebur Breaking Bad handily won the stake with his outstanding four-find performance during the first brace of the competition. He had finds at 28, 40, 48, and 50. He hunted the right places and performed well throughout the hour for his owner/handler. His finish seemed to be timed perfectly as he approached the Sandy River bottom as time was about out and showed himself impressively while hunting the lengthy edges of that large field. Breaking Bad set the bar high at the beginning of the stake and none of the other contenders produced a better performance.

J Maple Lucy won second place with three finds and with the way she handled a situation that would have been the undoing of many dogs that possessed less self-discipline. That test began during the second minute of the fifth brace when both dogs stood, assuming a divided find. Yet, as the handlers walked forward, Lucy's bracemate bolted forward and continued to hunt the birdy area. Lucy held and birds were soon flushed. Then after being gone for a while, the six-year-old Pointer had additional finds at 25 and 50, thus earning the judges' approval and placement.

Casey Creek Crystal Ice won third for her performance in the ninth and final brace of the stake. She ran an excellent shooting dog race and worked very responsively for her handler the first 45 minutes of the hour but had no finds. Then she had a find at 46 while hunting along the edge of the long bottom leaving the Vickers Farm and soon had birds again, at 52, toward a grain bin. All the parts of her 60-minute challenge were pleasing and earned her placement.
Huntingdon, Tenn., November 16
Judges: Greg Tapp and Steve Towery
AMATEUR SHOOTING DOG [One-Hour Heats] - 12 Pointers, 5 Setters and 1 Irish Setter
1st-COCKLEBUR BREAKING BAD, 1689927, pointer male, by Cocklebur King Tut-Cocklebur Regent Runaway. Bubba, Amy & Colt Spencer, owners; Bubba Spencer, handler.
2d-J MAPLE LUCY, 1681755, pointer female, by J Maple Jake-J M Storm Cat. Joe & Tessa Hughes, owners; Joe Hughes, handler.
3d-CASEY CREEK CRYSTAL ICE, 1676908, pointer female, by Casey Creek Icy Hot-Charlie's Dream Girl. Buster & Pam Tucker, owners; Buster Tucker, handler.

ALL-AGE STAKE WINNERS
Misty Morn Masked Man won the Shooting Dog Stake with ease as he ran an excellent All-Age race and scored three finds while hunting the third hour course on Friday morning. He had his first find at 11 while in the rolling hills which are part of the Quiet Place Loop and at the most northern edge of the three Carroll County courses. His next find was near the middle of the hour along the east edge of the long cotton field on the Vickers Farm. He then had a third find at pickup shortly before reaching the end of the course at the Smyrna Road. Misty Morn Masked Man, now seven years old, and Joey McAlexander have enjoyed numerous wins and probably made the judges' decision easy as they added this win to their list.

The second and third place winners, Dialed In and Coldwater Paradise, both ran in the fifth brace. Dialed In earned second with two finds during her strong race. Her first find was at 14 just as she was entering the terraced field on the second hour course. Her second find was at 53 along the west edge of the hilly field near the double galvanized gates where time would be called, marking the end of the brace. Dialed In was bold, stylish, and productive as she and Jim Pendergest achieved another of many wins which they have enjoyed together.

Coldwater Paradise had an unproductive at 31 and continued to hunt the second hour course until reaching the field immediately north of the club house and east of Smyrna Road. There she had birds at 38 and again at 45. She handled both coveys perfectly and the coupling of her production of game and her excellent All-Age eracearned her well-deserved placement.

AMATEUR ALL-AGE [One-Hour Heats] - 18 Pointers
1st-MISTY MORN MORN MASKED MAN, 1667341, male, by Miller's Dialing In-Mac's Inspiration. Joey McAlexander, owner and handler.
2d-DIALED IN, 1655274, female, by Miller's Dialing In-Rester's Zumba Girl. Jim Pendergest, owner and handler.
3d-COLDWATER PARADISE, 1684062, female, by Coldwater S pectre-Coldwater Belle. Gary McKibben, owner and handler.

Amateur All-Age. David Williams, Judge Steve Towery, Joe Hughes with Misty Morn Masked Man, Jim Pendergest, Matt Pendergest with Dialed In, Gary McKibben with Coldwater Paradise, and Judge Greg Tapp.

DERBY WINNERS
Many field trial reports say something like, "None of the Derby winners had any bird work and placements were determined by ground work." That was not the case this year at Carroll County, as all the winners and some of the Derbies that did not win, had bird work.
Haney's Justice For Joy, recently acquired by David Russell from Chris Cagle, won first place in the stake. While competing in the fourth brace the winner had a find a 21 while running along the east edge of the long cotton field on the Vickers Farm. He was backed by his brace mate and birds were easily flushed. Both his bird work and ground performance were excellent.
Dominator's Big Mike placed second. He scored a find at 28 at the lower edge of Sickle Pod Hill while competing in the eighth brace. He worked well for Joe Hughes and demonstrated strong All-Age potential.

The third-place winner, Rebel Gold, also competed in the eighth brace, paired with the second-place winner. He pointed at a different location on Sickle Pod Hill immediately following the flush from the second place winner's find and his owner, David Williams, flushed a single.
Judges: Scott Little and Steve Towery
AMATEUR DERBY - 16 Pointers and 4 Setters
1st-HANEY'S JUSTICE FOR JOY, 1698759, pointer male, by Ransom-Haney's North Star. David Russell, owner and handler.
2d-DOMINATOR'S BIG MIKE, 1702018, pointer male, by Dominator's Rebel Heir-Gal Gadot. Joe Hughes, owner and handler.
3d-REBEL GOLD, 1701829, pointer male, by Dominator's Rebel Heir-Rebel Maiden. David E. Williams, owner and handler.
Amateur Derby. Chris Cagle, Jr. with Haney's Justice For Joy, Scott Little, Tessa Hughes, Joe Hughes with Dominator's Big Mike, Judge Steve Towery, and David Williams with Rebel Gold Plan.

Amateur Derby. Chris Cagle, Jr. with Haney's Justice For Joy, Scott Little, Tessa Hughes, Joe Hughes with Dominator's Big Mike, Judge Steve Towery, and David Williams with Rebel Gold Plan.

THE CARROLL COUNTY EFFORT
Many people work harmoniously together each time the Carroll County Club hosts a trial. David Williams is the CEO of the club and owns most of the land upon which the three one- hour courses are located. He works year-round to ensure the courses and habitat are at their best. Gary McKibben keeps all the records and the finances in good order for the club. Many others come in to help during each trial. Those who come have one or more jobs for which they are responsible, and without guidance from anyone, all the work is always done and is done well. Those who helped with the many tasks for this 2022 renewal of the club's Amateur Stakes included Jamie Daniels, Angie Williams, Danny (Lebob) Stanfill, Phillip Barnett, Michelle Clark, Dan Warrick, Charlotte Atchison, and Jim Atchison.

Amateur Shooting Dog. 1st Place: The Bubba Spencer Family with Cocklebur Breaking Bad.