Just "DO IT"!

Thursday morning May 19 I hit the road with my buddy "True" for his very first AKC Dog show.  He was very excited but well behaved even when I was out of sight, something I had wondered about. True is very vocal like his father at times!  Penny (Petiquette) was there to give me a hand and took him in the ring where he showed himself quite well. True won his very set of ribbons for First Place and Reserve Winners.  The next day Julie arrived with Bullet and I was very proud to have not only one of our boys in the ring, but two of them.  Bullet is looking very mature these days!  Penny once again showed True for me and he even looked better than the day before.  First place in his class and also won Reserve Winners, defeating two nice class dogs there.  It was bittersweet as one of the boys was Bullet but as Julie said, Bullet was there at the show for 'her'. The next day in the field trial would be for him.  The judge spoke quite positively about True and it's possible that if his neck had been groomed properly we may have done better but one never knows.  All in all - True's first show experience was extremely positive and rewarding!  Julie and I enjoyed a quite lunch together and I enjoyed giving her some early birthday presents. Later on Friday afternoon I headed to join the ATB crew in Brownfield, Maine at the Maine Bird Dog Club Field Trial Grounds where the Central Maine Brittany Club was having it's first spring field trial in many years!

We really do have a great club with a rich heritage spanning 30 years and putting on a field trial is quite a task for all concerned.  John of course can always be found hard at work doing all he can to make an event successful - this is because of the way he is and makes me proud of all he does.  It takes a team effort under a great leadership to cooperative work together on any given event.  As I'm getting ready to put together a fresh newsletter and update the club's website with the placements and other particulars I'll wait to embellish any further. I have some AWESOME field trial photos though to share there!  Suffice to say it is meaningful to work alongside members who are responsible for this rich heritage and who are there for new folks like us to provide mentoring, training, and share their life long experiences. These people don't just 'talk the talk', something that is very easy for newbies to pick up. These people have 'walked the walk' and have valuable knowledge to impart to those with ears to listen.  This past weekend also included time with Steve and Stephanie, owners of Starr and Nashdog who came to simply hang out together, pitch in and help, be with other Brittany people, and have fun.  I'm so glad they did!  (Speaking of friends, the club and showing - Pam and Sam's pretty "Paris" won several more points at the above mentioned dog show and is on her way to becoming a show champion!)

All of our crew was very well behaved all weekend at the trial with exception of an occassional period of barking, just to let everyone know they were there.  We utilized the traditional methods of staking out and/or crating our dogs and they quickly settled in. John handled Jack on both days in the Amateur and Open Gun Dog stakes.  He did well in Amateur - had a real nice, productive find. On Sunday the birds were moving around so even though Jack did very well, he moved when the bird moved and our kindly judge said 'see you later, guy!"   Sunday morning however we were very pleased with Piper's first run in the puppy stake. She was braced with a pup with a lot more field experience handled by a pro.  And she won first place in Open Puppy!  Woo hoo! We were quite proud of the girl and have sent pictures and bragging rights off to her breeders in New Jersey.  True and Bullet were braced together for their run in Open Derby.  Sam handled True and Julie handled Bullet.  We had divided Piper and True deliberately and he actually handled the way a puppy should handle, and not the way one would expect a derby to. Sam was very pleased with True and so were we.  Bullet on the other hand established a real nice solid point, Julie shot over him, and flushed the bird.  We were very happy at the end of a long show and field trial weekend.  Our dogs truly did enjoy the ring one day and the field the next.  True's show and field debut was exciting in itself!  Then seeing Piper win 1st Place Open Puppy handled by John, and then Bullet win 1st Place Open Derby, earning points towards his field championship - it makes me very happy and proud to know indeed, we are slowly but surely achieving the goals we have set before us here at All Things Brittany.  But one thing is true - we couldn't do many of the the things we love to do with our dogs if we didn't have the support and encouragement of those of you who have walked beside us through the years, new friends and old friends, and those yet to become friends.  Oh! How could I forget to mention... Miss Bailey - she participated in her first hunt test this past weekend, and pending AKC approval, is likely to have won her first leg towards qualifying as a Junior Hunter. We are literally enjoying the 'pride and joy' that comes each time a Brittany we lovingly bred rises above to meet or exceed the standard whether it be in the field, the ring, Agility, Flyball etc. !  We know they are bred to hunt well and make outstanding companions - so the rest is frosting on the cake.  Putting the competitive edge aside - it is all about the love of the dog both given and received and it always will be...   but I'm seriously liking the way I am running out of wall space to proudly display the ribbons in my office!  Take care and God Bless you always, John, Ann and All Things Brittany   PS Heard from John Jr. he landed safely in Moscow.