Welcome to Day One of the 2022 National Amateur Retriever Championship. 98 dog/handler teams have traveled from all over the US to compete in Roseburg, Oregon in the lush, upper Umpqua River Valley. After the meetings, we received the news that there were four scratches and there were not any more as a result of the bitch check.
The 1st & 2nd Series of the 2022 NARC is located in a beautiful valley on TJ & Debby Lindbloom's ranch. The test is a converging Land Double and Land Blind all with hen pheasants.
The area is steep but great care and effort has gone into the grounds. Gravel steps were designed to help navigate the steep, slick slope. Heavy straw around the line keeps mud holes at bay while a well-mowed area helps the handlers as they move through the holding blinds.
The mat faces north at the top end of a valley that stretches down the hill to a wood line by the river. The Short Bird #1 (we will refer to as RG for retired gun) will be a hen pheasant thrown to the Right from a very well brushed holding blind. This blind is Right and slightly up hill from the base of the valley. The gunners throw Right up the hill towards the flyer guns, landing approximately 165 years from the line. The gunners then retire as the dog is sent for bird #2.
Bird #2 is a Flyer (we will refer to as F) located approximately 243 yards from the mat. The gun station is to the handler's Right at the crest of a hill. As the hen pheasant is thrown, then shot, she lands to the gunner's Left towards bird #1. This is a converging double. There are multiple piles of brush both natural and man made along the dogs path to both birds, which forces them to need to KNOW which direction the bird went.
At the completion of Test 1, the handler will now run the Blind (we will refer to as B). The line is down the Left side of the valley. The bird will be 120 yards from the mat in front of a large pile of limbs. The dog must hit a key hole between 2 bushes, hold the side of the hill and navigate down to the blind.
These two tests are taking each dog approximately 6-7 minutes to complete.
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| The 1st & 2nd Series – What a spectacular view! |
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| 1st & 2nd Series – A Land Double and a Land Blind |
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| Short Retired Gun – 165 yards |
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| Hen Pheasant Flyer – 243 yards |
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| Land Blind – 120 yards |
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| Land Blind – 120 yards |
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| Sketch of the 1st & 2nd by David Morrison |
