Hi from Canada !
I would like to say a very big thank you to Linda and Mike for the tremendous job they did at the US Amateur National .
It was fun each day to go on the web and look to see how the girls , Yakity and Loopy , were doing .
The breed needs dog and owners like this who are willing to put themselves out there to show that the breed is still out there and read to play.
Thanks Again from the great white north .
Martin Pinder

This was a great Nat Am. Both the girls who ran, ran with much style.

And also a BIG congratulations to those 8 dogs competing in this years' Nat. Am. trained in that little town of Wellington, CO. north of Ft. Collins by Cherylon Loveland (4) and Kenny Trott (4). Three of these dogs were finalists. Both Cherylon and Kenny are excellent field trial trainers and Wellington has always been a favorite place of mine to train.

Pretty impressive and John N., I am sure you take notes every time you train at Kenny's!

Keith

quote:

Pretty impressive and John N., I am sure you take notes every time you train at Kenny's!
Keith

From what I understand it came down between the winner and Barb Howard with Prime. So, when I'm at Kenny's training with Barb/Prime, I need to pay close attention and hopefully "Gunner" pay's attention too.

Hey John,

I hope you will share your "notes" with me cause I need to learn a few things.

Very exciting about "Prime" and I sure liked him from the first time I saw him run as Derby dog.

Enjoy your time in Wellington! I'm jealous1

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by B Smith:
This was a great Nat Am. Both the girls who ran, ran with much style.

Billy,

I also understand there was no harder worker at the the Nat'l Am than you.

And what about that Peake guy doing the "play by play"?

Hi Keith! Yeah, I had the best seat in the house (other than the judges), even though I had to pay for it by blabbing into a microphone all day, every day. From where I sat I could figure my own callbacks and then compare them with those of the judges. I tended to be a bit more hardnosed than they were, but by-and-large we agreed. In the end, there were only 3 dogs that finished without handling: Ken Neil's, Barb Young's, and Ted Shih's. I had Ken ahead (as did the judges), because his dog had tighter hunts on a couple of the series--but all three looked great on some really tough tests. The judges didn't back off a bit to protect their leader; the 10th series was tough and various dogs had to be handled to complete it (a couple of them interminably).

Tom,

Sounds like you enjoyed yourself and look forward to seeing you this summer. Wish I could have spent some time at the Nat. Am. but as you well know, I have way too many projects let alone trainng a few too many Peakes.

Keith

Hi Keith! Don't know when we can get together, but will figure something out. I'm off the next two weekends to trials in the Uintah Mtns., then I have 2 judging assignments (& maybe 3 if I can't find someone to stand in for me at Wood River). In the midst of all that I will be in Portland, Maine, for Mary's Scottish clan gathering in early August. Agghh!! Somehow I've been getting in some training, and Nate and Billy are looking really good. Hope they do so in the mountains. The derbies are small, so the young kid may have a shot--he went out on the last bird of the last series in the 31 dog derby at Butte.

Tom,

Lots of luck with "Nate" ("Billy" too) at the Utah trials and sounds like he is really making great progress! I decided to stay close to home for awhile yet with all the excessive high temps the past month.

Three structures burned here in Mesa about a mile from home in the beginning of July and it is still really dry and way too hot in the West as you well know.

Catch up with you at a few Idaho trials when things cool off and have fun at the "clan" gathering in Maine. Please have Mary send me a picture of you dressed in the kilt.

Have fun!

Keith

PS. Give "Stormy" a treat from me.