2011 NARC Report: Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Brought to you by Avery

Fourth Series -- Water Triple with Two Retired

The Fourth Series continues this morning with dog #102. The test is located in a pasture that contains two ponds with long channels. Standing on the mat, the handler will be facing North. This water test is a triple that is using all hen ducks. The order will be middle retired, right retired and then left flyer. The middle bird is 171 yds from the mat thrown left to right on the other side of the pond. The dogs have to travel through two pieces of water. The right, long bird is 235 yards from the mat and may be only 60 or 70 yards to the right of the middle retired gun. This bird is thrown left to right. The dog must cross at least one small pond and three channels of water on the way to the bird. On the left side of the test and 212 yards from the mat is the flyer station. They are shooting right to left. The dog crosses a channel from a larger lake located on the left side of the field.

Don Driggers and John Thomas

Linda Harger, Chief Marshal

At 6:45 am it's 54 degrees and clear with a light North-Northeast wind. Test dog handler Nancy White and Lily went to the line and did a nice job. At 7:00 am the first running dog #102, Mark Medford with Tater, came to the line and did an excellent job. The balance of the contestants are lining up and Day 4 is underway.

Suzanne & Mark Medford

Judy Rasmuson and Gay Freuling

Ted Miller and Bill Valladon

Directions To The Workers Party at The Barn at Finley Point:

Take Hwy 93 to Polson, turn onto Hwy 35 (Southshore Rd.--The road where the Safeway grocery store is.) towards Big Fork. Travel 6 miles to Finley Point Rd. take a left. There is a sign for Finley State Park.

The owners of The Barn at Finely Point encourage you to call and tour their grounds and Barn...call them for info or help with directions at 406-887-2444

Brad Clow and Hal Gierman

John Pampy's house ... What a fantastic backdrop!

It's almost 10:00 am and we have 3 more dogs to go. The hostess wagon and the food wagon have already relocated to their new positions on the Pampy property. Molly Schlachter, the official photographer, has set up her display. Please stop by and visit to see her photographs of this event. We will be relocated on this same piece of property for the next series, which is rumored to be a water blind.

Traffic is never a lonely job!

Rick Dirmeyer from Eukanuba and Brad Clow

Bill Valladon rides out for the gun change in style.

The late running handlers view the test in the late afternoon sun.

Callbacks for Test Five: 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 37, 38, 40, 41, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 52, 53, 56, 58, 59, 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 70, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 81, 82, 83, 85, 86, 88, 89, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 102, 103, 104, 106, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115

Dogs dropped: 1, 3, 5, 14, 35, 39, 44, 50, 61, 64, 72, 84, 95, 101, 107

79 dogs back

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M A G N I F I C E N T ! -- Kerr Dam

Before the start of the trial, the Mayor of Polson encouraged everyone to visit the Kerr Dam. Yesterday, some of the Retriever News team took a short trip to check it out. We took over 300 hundred steps down towards the river before we reached the optimal viewing point of the dam. On our way down, we saw signs warning us that bears could be nearby.

The dam is an amazing site to take in. Completed during the 1930s Depression, this concrete arch dam is 575 feet in length and 204 feet high; that is 54 feet higher than Niagara Falls. It is part of the Kerr Hydroelectric Project. It has three powerhouse turbines and a 194 megawatt generating capacity. The dam generates enough power for 125,000 households.

Due to the large amount of rain this year, the water being emitted through the dam is tremendous. The ocean blue Flathead River flows through five openings and thunders down below the dam, emitting whitewater rapids and rainbows from the water droplets shining in the sun. The river has run a deep rut between the rolling hills, creating a high wall of intricately carved rock. In the surrounding hills, we saw some mule deer prancing up the steep slopes. With the snowcapped mountains as a back drop, the Kerr Dam is a magnificent site to see. Please enjoy some of the pictures we took.

Written by Caitlin Furin

We didn't see any grizzly bears, but I bet they saw us!

The view downstream.

Somewhere............

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Fifth Series -- Water Blind

The fifth series is a 305 yard water blind located on the reverse side of the property used on test four. The setting is picturesque with a lush mountain meadow that ends in beautiful mountains. The mat is at the top of the hill facing west. The dog will travel down a slope heavy with clover. The ground becomes level, the grass mixture changes to high grass, random mowed paths and duck weed. The dog runs down the hill close to a holding blind on the left side. This blind has a fat bowl of dead birds in it. Off to the right, the flyer station from the fourth series will have two gunners and crates of live birds. The dog proceeds past the holding blind across a grassy flat into a small body of water that runs left to right. There is a spit of land that runs all the way across the far side of the first piece of water. this spit will be scented every ten dogs. The dog then gets into a larger piece of water and both lunges and swims to a shore that angles to the left. When the dog exits the water it is approximately 20-30 yards to the blind. The first test dog was Barbara Furlano with Wilson. the test proved extremely difficult with multiple cast refusals and whistles. Hearing the whistle proved difficult. the next test dog, Nancy White with Lily, was able to complete the test to applause from the gallery. Handlers are currently being asked to fill the holding blinds at this moment. The first running dog is dog #37.

We have run twenty dogs so far with two pick-ups. Many have done an excellent job....others have had too many whistles to count. The challenge is to run the middle. Too far left, you're safe, but off line...too far right and the dog is in so much running water or heavy cover that they cannot hear the whistle. Some dogs have been able to wind the bird at the end.

CALLBACKS TO QUAD:

2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24, 25, 27, 28, 32, 33, 34, 38, 41, 43, 45, 47, 48, 49, 53, 56, 58, 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 69, 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 80, 82, 83, 85, 86, 88, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 102, 106, 108, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115

Dogs Dropped: 4, 23, 29, 37, 40, 46, 52, 59, 70, 81, 89, 103, 104, 109

66 Dogs returning to the Sixth Series

DOG #76 STARTS

Worker's Party

The Barn at Finely Point sits in the foothills of the Mission Mountains with a view of Flathead Lake. Owned by Denny and Lucy McCrumb, the 50 acre property has been home to the couple for 39 years. The land includes the barn, various out buildings, a main house and two smaller homes.

The McCrumbs originally used the eight stall barn to house Percherons, a breed of draft horses. When the last horse foundered in April 2011, the McCrumbs explored the idea of renting out the barn for memorable occasions. Denny and Lucy hosted their first wedding in May and had 16 since then. Renters are allowed use of the barn, including the fully furnished loft, and use of the grounds for their special event.

For the Worker’s Party, we took advantage of the indoor and outdoor seating available at the barn. One of the horse stalls was utilized as a bar for serving refreshments. The front lawn was used for the bird and bumper toss contests. With the walls decorated in farm paraphernalia and country music courtesy of O2 Productions playing in the background, the barn gave the party a classic country feel. Cold drinks, great food from Longhorn Barbeque Catering and gorgeous weather complimented the fun atmosphere. We greatly appreciate Denny and Lucy for letting us use their beautiful property.

Here are some photos of the evening's festivities...