Result: Region 2 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship

Location: Bloomingdale, Ohio

Post Date: Jan 10, 2023

Submitted By: Joe Lordi

The Region 2 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship started at the conclusion of the National Open Pheasant Shooting Dog Championship at the Mingo Sporstman Club in Bloomingdale, Ohio. The championship was hosted by the New York State Bird Dog Association. Fifty dogs were drawn for an outstanding entry. We drew handlers from Canada, Georgia, Tennessee, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, New York, and New Jersey. This was a very impressive entry to say the least.

The Mingo Sportsman Club was a gracious host for this event. The grounds are groomed to perfection and rolling hills allow for a dog to shown. These are truly excellent grounds for a pheasant trial. The facilities are also excellent. The New York State Bird Dog Club would like to thank the Mingo Sportsman Club for allowing us to run on these fine grounds.

The club would like to thank Purina for their support. As with numerous field trials we very appreciative of all their support for our sport. The club would like to thank Chris Catanzarite for all his help. This trial would not run without all his hard work and dedication. Chris deals with everything before, during, and after the trial. If it needs to be done, Chris does it. He handles getting the birds, overseeing the planting of the birds, working with the club on the grounds, dates, and dinners. It truly is amazing how much work he puts into this trial.
We would like to thank George and Mary Tracy for their hard work. Mary took care of the entries and snacks at the morning breaks. George drove the dog wagon and was always exactly we needed him and the dogs to be. Special thanks to Dave Hughes for allowing us to use his truck for the dog wagon. This was a big help.

We would like to thank our judges. Doug Ray of Waynesboro, Georgia and Justin Allen of Norwich, Ohio. We appreciate their time in the saddle judging the dogs. Due to some inclement weather on Saturday, we were forced to make up time. They rode extra braces on Friday, Sunday, and Monday to complete the trial on time. We all hated that mother nature did not work with us, but other areas had it much worse than us and we are thinking about all the people in direct path of Hurricane Ian that had their lives uprooted. Both judges worked with us to make sure everyone has an equal opportunity to run.
The Winners
Besting the field of fifty dogs was Miller's Heat Wave an orange and white pointer female handled by Fran Miller and Scouted by Madison McDonald. She has several placements in hour stakes. She had a far-reaching race with a divided find and three more well-mannered finds with perfect style to earn the Championship.

The judges named Calico's Guns and Roses as runner up champion. This black and white pointer female owned by Calico Kennels and Alex and Tiffani Smith is no stranger to the winner's circle. Last year's winner of the Region 2 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship at Greenwood, N. J., was named runner-up champion. Guns and Roses ran the final brace on Saturday finishing before the heavy rain started falling. She ran a strong forward race with five stylish finds and one unproductive for handler Alex Smith.
Bloomingdale, Ohio, September 30 - One Course
Judges: Justin Allen and Doug Ray
REGION 2 AMATEUR SHOOTING DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 48 Pointers and 2 Setters
Winner-MILLER'S HEAT WAVE, 1675842, pointer female, by Just Irresistible-Miller's Bring The Heat. Fran & Jack Miller, owners; Fran Miller, handler.
Runner-Up-CALICO'S GUNS N ROSES, 1682136, pointer female, by Dominator's Rebel Heir-Calico's Touch of Class. Calico Kennels, owner; Alex Smith, handler.

Region 2 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship Winners (from left): Miller's Heat Wave with Allen Linder and Calico's Guns N Roses with Alex Smith. (Back, from left): Dennis Hood, Jack Miller, George Tracy, Fran Miller, Ernie Saniga, Judge Justin Allen, Tiffani Smith, Judge Doug Ray, Mike Tracy, Chris Catanzarite, Jeff Haggis, Greg Strausbaugh, and Carl Bishop.