The Missouri Headwaters Gun Dog Club
Retriever group is pleased to announce our new affiliation
with the Hunting Retriever Club (HRC,
www.hrc-ukc.com ).
The HRC is a family oriented organization that was
formed with the primary philosophy of
“…conceived by Hunters for Hunters”.
The HRC program takes pride in its efforts to
make their Hunt Tests reflect an actual day’s hunt.
Aside from safety, hunting realism is the number one
goal the judges should be focusing on.
As a participant in an HRC event, the
Handler is asked to wear typical hunting attire.
This means camouflage attire is required if it is a
simulated duck hunt, or white if it is a simulated snow
goose hunt (etc.).
With the exception of the started level, the handler
is also required to shoot from the line.
This involves the proper handling of a shotgun where
the handler will “shoot” each bird as it reaches the top of
its arc, and the dog is to mark the fall by watching the
direction of the gun swing.
We use empty primer hulls to ensure safety and
protect the hearing of the participants and their dogs.
The HRC is affiliated with the United
Kennel Club, and offers (5) different titles; the Started
Hunting Retriever (SHR), the Hunting Retriever (HR), the
Hunting Retriever Champion (HRCH), the Upland Hunter (UH),
and the Grand Hunting Retriever Champion (GRHRCH).
We will be holding our First HRC hunt
test this summer (July 25-26) and will offer three levels of
testing (Started, Seasoned, Finished).
These are all non competitive events where dogs are
judged pass/fail against a “Hunting Standard”.
These are fun events in which everyone can root for
every dog.
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The members of our Retriever group also
participate in both AKC hunt tests and AKC field trials as
well. The AKC
hunt tests are similar to the HRC, and offer (3) levels of
testing, and three corresponding titles; Junior Hunter (JH),
Senior Hunter (SH), and Master Hunter (MH).
The AKC field trials are competitive events where
dogs are placed 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
4th, and Jams (Judges awards of Merits).
There are (4) testing levels within the AKC field
trial program; the Open, Amateur, Qualifying, and Derby.
A dog can earn an AKC Field Champion Title (FC), as
well as an Amateur Field Champion titles (AFC).
The qualifying event is am intermediate level for
dogs before they run the Open and Amateur events.
The derby is an event limited to dogs before the age
of two (2).
While many of our members choose to run
many of the venues mentioned, the also tend to be hunters
first and foremost.
So weather your goals for your retriever include one
of the various testing programs mentioned above, or just
developing a devoted and reliable hunting companion, the
Retriever group can help you get their.
Retriever Report
The club
would like to thank the following people for their generous
donations that helped make our Annual Meeting a success;
Mike Heard, Eric Hammer, Kyle Barner, Art Van’t Hul, Jack
and Jennifer Weiss, Rob McCormick, Chris Phadt, Jim
Hoschouer, Larry and Ann Michnevich, Jeff Squire, Randy and
Tracy Setzer, Chris and Heather Maxcy, Will and Sally Avril,
Peter and Diane Bakun, Gary and Martha Baur, Tom Curtis, Pat
Dillon, Mark Donovan, Margo Ellis, Scott Benowitz, David
French, Al Gadoury, Dave Jarrett, Greg and Cheryl Johnson,
George Kelly, Dave and Julie Kirkland, Dan and Alice Marsh,
Anne Olson, John and Kerri Payne, Dale Spartas and if there
is anyone I missed… thank you.
Retriever members
receiving awards at the Annual Meeting were Mike Heard and
Dusty, Joe Braverman and Jake for outstanding achievement,
Margo Ellis and Meg for AKC Master Hunter, Kerri Payne and
Dennis for HRC Hunting Retriever. Certificates were awarded
for first time placements to Michael Tenney and Win, Anne
Olson and Fly, Randy Setzer with Shadow and Shooter, Al
Gadoury and Bella, Lindsey Bos and Dewey and Ron Liljedahl.
The HRC hunt test this year will be July 3 & 4 at
Bill Totten’s property near Twin Bridges Montana. You can
find detail’s of the event on the Hunting Retriever Club web
site www.huntingretrieverclub.org and on this
retriever page. We will also try and hold an HRC Upland Hunt
Test on August 7 & 8 this year at the Horse Pasture. We will
have more details on the UH in the next newsletter. We are
looking to purchase 1 Remington 870 express pump shot gun
for our HRC events. If anyone has one to sale the club
please contact David French or Mike Heard or Al Gadoury.
The retrievers have been training Saturday and Sundays.
Contact Kerri Payne if you would like to receive a weekly
e-mail notice or our activities,
jpayne1@aol.com.
Al Gadoury
If you’d like more information about the HRC or AKC
retriever programs, or would just like to know about any
training opportunities, please feel free to contact one of
the board members listed below. |
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