Aye Mates,
So we ran TRAD'S first go toward and AKC Master Hunter Title today and it grieves me to tell ye that TEAM TRAD was disqualified in the land series o' the test. T'was 08:OO Hours whence we ran the test dog and the judges had the customary meeting with the handlers and I could feel the heat and humidity indexes climbing by the minute. All that aside, the test was a triple mark with a "walk up" and a "live flyer" in the center o' two marks thrown from wingers. So Team TRAD gets called into action and we are doing the "walk up" - all is fine with the first mark launched and TRAD was rock steady by me side and is steady to wing, shot, and fall of the first mark. Next the "live flyer" is launched and shot but just "winged" and manages to containue it's flight landing all of twenty yards or less away from TRAD as he sits by me side and is nearly shaking out of his skin with desire to take care o' business with the cripple bird as it is running about and flapping as if to tease the poor lad along. The judges declared a "NO BIRD" and asked me to take TRAD off of the field an to re-run him again three birds back from our already lengthy wait as we were # 25 in the running order. Both TRAD and meself took all in stride in the name o' good sportsmanship and Murphy's Law.
So, we finally make it back and called to the line and start the process all o'er again and we did quite well with the "walk up", the right and left marks. Curse the live flyer which this time made it way out o' the area o' fall where t'was designed to fall, meself mis-marking visually where it had landed and that required that I handle the lad to where I thought the bird may have landed. We did recover all three marks but TRAD did make the error o' ignoring two o' me whistle stops and being in full agreement o' the judges, t'was clear he should not have been called back for the water series and in fact was not. The judges said "ye have a really nice dog, ye just had a bad set of circumstances befall ye run, we are very sorry". Ah, the luck o' the Irish. I thanked them respectfully for their work and what I considered a really nice and well designed test, told them this was TRAD'S first run in the Master Stakes, and that we would keep at it.
I think a number o' the other handlers may have been a wee bit surprised at how calmly I handled the DQ. I just chalked it up to an expensive day o' training and a reason to work with me retriever. TRAD on the other hand slipped into a we bit o' despair and decided to drown his sorrows in "THE DARKER SIDE".
"TRAD, TRAD, TRAD, get a grip o' yeself Mate, t'was just a bloody hunt test". There will be other days lad. We'll give it another go.
TEAM TRAD would like to thank ye all collectively that sent well wishes for our success as that certainly is appreciated. No worries, we'll plod onward and get there whilst having good fun along the journey.
Slainte' to ye all,
Mikey and TRAD