The 2007 Irish Setter Club of America Quail Classic Louis Daniel Tenaglia

Thursday, September 19th and Friday, September 20th saw many of the best Irish Setters in the field gather together for the annual running of the Irish Setter Club of America’s Quail Classic at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Management area just outside of Harpster, Ohio. I was honored to once again be asked to act as a judge’s marshal for the event as well as the scribe. Due to an illness by one of the judges, I was asked to step in and become one of the judges for the Classic’s Open Gun Dog stake, as well as the Classic’s Derby stake. The Quail Classic is an hour long stake as opposed to most stakes which are regularly 30 minutes. Killdeer Plains is a world class, world renowned field trial grounds which has been in continuous usage since at least 1933. 13,000 years ago the area was covered by part of the Wisconsin Glacier which was more than a mile thick. As the glacier melted and receded, and before the Niagra escarpment opened up (Niagra Falls), the area was part of Lake Erie, ( really more of what was known as Glacial Lake Tonowanda). The result is a fairly flat area that is primarily composed of lake bed clays that do not drain well. After the Niagra escarpment opened up and Lake Erie drained back to its more current levels, what was left was a swampy land that few wanted. The terrain featured stands, or groves of beech, maple, hickory, and oak trees, as well as grasslands that were considered part of the “prairie peninsula” as well as marshy, swampy land. It is an area that Native Americans were forced to retreat into in their conflicts with European encroachment for security. However, the tribes were eventually forced out. The Dutch who came into the area in the 1850’s drained the swamps by building dikes and levies as well as drainage ditches. Today, it is the most heavily tiled section of the State. They turned it into farmland. The 1930’s saw the dust bowl conditions throughout much of the country. Louis Bromfield, a nearby famous writer for Hollywood movies, did much to develop modern farming practices with such things as crop rotation, and usage of some plants and shrubs to combat soil erosion. One of the plants he used, and it has been a curse to field trialers in Ohio ever since, is multi-flora rose. Killdeer Plains has significant amounts of this invasive, viney brush. An interesting factoid came to light during this field trial. Most folks believe that Killdeer Plains was named after the bird that inhabits the area. But, it in fact was named after the fact that the Native Americans killed many deer here In the spring, the grounds and Mother Nature try their hardest to return to being a swamp. In the fall, the grounds can be baked as hard as adobe bricks in many places. This year, there was a very wet early spring, followed by a most of the summer severe drought. About a month before the trial, the area was hit by some very severe storms that caused much flood damage to nearby surrounding towns. A month worth of high 80 and low 90 degree days did much to dry out the grounds. Foliage on trees and bushes was thick and lush and grass was high and very green in places where it had not been mowed into checkerboard patches. Chlorophyl acts as a natural deodorizer making scenting conditions more difficult. Killdeer Plains is also famous as a bird watching area, being home to many waterfowl and raptors. I can’t tell you how many times I saw a Red-Tailed Hawk, or Cooper’s Hawk flying away with one of our freshly planted quail. While I must admit that it would have been nicer if the hawks had left the birds for the dogs to point, I do enjoy seeing them soaring and working the thermals. So, just what are judges looking for when judging bird dogs? It is easy to assume that it is all about the pointing of birds. There is much more to it than that. Things I look for in a bird dog are A. Overall application B. Castoff (peeing on every bush just doesn't cut it with me!!!) C. Style of run (should be attractive rather than plodding. Ease of gait covering ground. Some dogs work furiously and go no-where, others appear to be effortless and cover lots of ground. I'll take the later!!! Dog should appear to enjoy being out there!!!). D. Style of point ( I don't subscribe to high head, high tail!!! I want the dog's head to be in the scent cone actually pointing. If the bird moves so that the scent cone moves, I expect the dog to let down and the dog's tail to tell me that the bird has moved. None of this BS about the dog maintaining style all the way through the flush until the handler gets their hands on the dog. I'll take a dog with intensity over a dog with high head, high style but isn't actually pointing the bird, just doing a stop to scent!!!) E. Accuracy F. Intensity on point (Dog must be pointing, not doing a stop to scent, normally operates in conjunction with accuracy and desire). Once dogs have a lot of experience, often if one is able to read their body language, the dog will tell you what species of game it has found, whether it is alive or dead, and may even tell you what sex the bird is. Many experienced dogs learn to only point rooster pheasants as hens can't be taken. G. Intelligence in seeking objectives, using the wind, appropriate cover likely to hold birds H, Independence and range appropriate for the terrain and weather conditions. In JH level, far too many people are afraid that the dog will run off and proceed to hack the dog around the course. Let the dog do its job!!! Its job is to cover the ground and likely objectives so the handler doesn't have to. I. Biddability (Dog should handle without a lot of hacking---should work for the gun) J. Bird finding ability (one bird may be enough if that's what conditions warrant--quality of find over quantity) K. Manners, such as backing, honoring, relocation (opportunity doesn't always present itself, so isn't a negative if it doesn't happen. Kind of bonus points if it does) Note, a poorly handled relocation can be a big negative as it is demonstrating the dogs lack of accuracy, usually handler caused L. Staunchness, or steadiness to wing and shot. In Derby stakes or in JH level, the dog must establish point and hold the point until the handler is within reasonable gunshot range. More advanced levels call for more.(dog can mark flight of bird, but not chase and be commanded to stop) M Non aggressiveness N. Desire (I want a dog that hunts the entire time, not mess around for 10 minutes, work for 10 minutes, and then mess around for 10 minutes) Dog must go in the pursuit of game!!! O. Endurance. Dog must have stamina. Start strong, finish strong!!! Rule book says to have an image of the perfect performance in your head, and then select the dog that best matches that image with the caveat that they meet the minimum requirements for the stake involved. A High-Class Bird-Dog will beat a Class Bird-Dog, who will beat a Bird-Dog. A dog that gets around because of luck should not be awarded points. Thursday began with just a tiny amount of fog on the grass, which quickly evaporated. By the end of the first brace, there no longer was any moisture on the grass, no wind, and heat was already becoming a factor. Temperatures would soon seem like they were in the 90’s and the humidity was atrocious. Castoff for the 1st brace was about ½ hour late due to the fog. Brace 1 had Austen handled by Tim Hidalgo and Teama handled by Lee Shoaf. Teama found a bird at the three minute mark with Austen successfully backing. Teama would go on to have 3 more points, 2 of which produced birds. Austen had 3 points of his own, but no birds were able to be flushed for him and his handler elected to pick him up. Brace 2 had Rogan handled by Tim Hidalgo with Hank handled by Lee Shoaf. Rogan established a point with hank successfully backing at the 10 minute 40 second mark of the brace. However, as the handler approached to flush the bird, Rogan decided to help out and dove onto the bird. He was picked up. Hank continued on but was unable to find a bird of his own. Brace 3.had sedona handled by Brian Wagner and Erin handled by Phil Ruff. Erin had a find at 15 minutes. A breach of manners occurred so Phil decided to pick up the dog. Sedona had a find at 30 minutes, and another at 47. Sedona completed the course eve though the temperature was getting abysmally hot and stifling. Brace 4 had Richie handled by Tim Hidalgo with Brigid handled by Jesse Chapman. Richie had a find at 27 minutes on the back side of what is known as bird alley, and another find at 36 minutes out in the open on a bird that had come out to feed. Brigid had a nice run and a stop to flush on a bird that popped in front of her. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to find a bird to point on her own. Brace 5 was Taylor handled by Godwin with Mariah handled by Ruff. Taylor was scratched so Mariah ran by herself. Perhaps not having a brace-mate hurt Mariah as she lacked inspiration in her run and was picked up. Brace 6 had Vince handled by Godwin and Lea handled by Ruff. Vince had 2 finds but there was little in the way of other aspects of being a bird dog considering just how hot and muggy it was getting. By now, handlers were basically going from pond to pond in order to keep dogs cooled off, and with frequent stops for watering. Lea went birdless. Brace 7 had Ritha handled by Shoaf and Broozer handled by Hidalgo. Ritha’s first find successfully produced a bird, but the bird wasn’t really from where she was pointing. She went on to have another successful find but later took a non productive on a 3rd point. Broozer had 2 successful finds before a breach of manners on the 3rd point where he was picked up. Brace 8 was the last brace for the day. Conditions were absolutely horrendous for man and beast. Tess was handled by Hidalgo while Kate was handled by Shoaf. Tess was picked up due to the heat. Kate had 1 find at about the 10 minute mark. She had another point at 28 but took a non-productive as no bird could be produced for her. However, what set Kate apart form the others of this day was her application in covering the ground, her desire to go in the pursuit of game no matter the conditions, her style and intensity on point, her easy handle, as well as her style of run. She had the complete package of tools, which may be why she was the defending Champion of the Quail Classic from last year. During the evening, dinner for the judges and others who were participating was held at the Steer Barn Restaurant. Good comradeship was enjoyed by all. Friday morning saw a much thicker layer of fog to start off the day. The start of brace 9 was delayed for about 45 minutes. Ranger was handled by Chapman while Zooka was handled by Shoaf. The temperature was just a slight bit lower than the start on Thursday. The thicker layer of fog left a lot more dew on the grass, and there was just a slight hint of a breeze. When riding at certain angles to the sun, one could see many spider webs soaked in dew with sunlight filtering through them, a gorgeous sight. Ranger went birdless while Zooka perhaps had too many birds. Zooka successfully handled 5 points and flushes of birds. Brace 10, the last brace of the Quail Classic featured Lindy handled by Chapman and Bo handled by Shoaf. Lindy uncharacteristically had a bump and chase and was picked up. Bo had a find, later followed up by another point in which after a relocation, no bird was able to be produced. The results: Quail Classic Open Gun Dog 1 hour stake Judges Dan Tenaglia and Bill Burger

1st Brophy’s Queen Buckaroo - Kate - Lee Shoaf 2nd Brophy’s Bazooka Buckaroo – Zooka – Lee Shoaf 3rd Aeries Strike it Rich – Richie – Jody Eging - handler Tim Hidalgo 4th Brophy’s Teama Buckaroo – Teama- Lee Shoaf

Many thanks to Steve Salt, Jeannie Wagner and the ISCA for inviting me to judge and scribe. You put on a wonderful event!