Merry Christmas!

U.S. Complete Amateur Invitational

YANKEES SWEEP

AT U.S. COMPLETE 

AMATEUR

 INVITATIONAL 

CHAMPIONSHIP

Connecticut's Hog Hill Katie named winner,

 Rhode Island's One Bad Winter takes runner-up in 12-dog field  on Dec. 5-6, 2014 at Dick Cross Wildlife Management Area in Va.

Photo/DEBBIE NORTHUP

Connecticut's Tim Cavanaugh with Champion Hog Hill Katie, and Rhode Island's Karen Unsworth with Runner-up Champion One Bad Winter. 

Photo courtesy of U.S. Complete

From left, Tim Cavanaugh of Connecticut with Ch. Hog Hill Katie, scout Linda Casey, judge Bobbie Sigmund, Karen Unsworth of Rhode Island with RU Ch. One Bad Winter, and judge Hans Borgman. 

Photo courtesy of U.S. Complete

The contenders. Front from left, Karen Unsworth with One Bad Winter;  Hog Hill Katie with Tim Cavanaugh, Johnny Lews with Quinton Oak Budlight; Junior with Pinekone Street Sense; Ashby Morgan with Pinekone Black Rose, and Mike Witt with Foghat.
Rear from left, judge Bobbie Sigmund, Cindy Harrell with Bob's Elhew Jill, Sharon Townley with Blue's Tomoka Belle, Bill Whigham with Fox Cobble Zeva, John Capocci with Grouse Hill Belle; Bobby Phillips with Bob's Elhew Julie; and Jimmy Crandall with Lancaster Rolling Rex.

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

The winner's trophy.

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

The grounds at Dick Cross Wildlife Management Area in Virginia. 

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

Karen Unsworth with One Bad Winter. 

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

Waiting for the results. 

Photo/ DEBBIE NORTHUP

 Karen Unsworth, left, enjoys the homey comfort offered by
 Jay Doyle, right, her husband, George, and their pugs, at  their South Hill, Va. bed & breakfast.

For a full report and more pictures, click HERE to go to the U.S. Complete website.

New Britain FTC

 NEW BRITAIN 

FIELD TRIAL CLUB

ANNUAL FALL TRIAL

Nov. 15-16, 2014

Flaherty Field Trial Area

East Windsor, CT

 Photos by JIM HATHAWAY

Stacey Goodie and Elias Richardson III.

Handler John Malone. 

Scout Aidan Malone.

Handler Elias Richardson III.

Handler Dave O'Brien and scout Stacey Goodie.

Handler Gene Casale Jr.

Running Order -- US Complete

16 DOGS DRAWN

FOR U.S. COMPLETE'S

NORTHEAST REGIONAL

CHAMPIONSHIP

EAST WINDSOR, Conn. -- Sixteen pointers and setters have been drawn for the U.S. Complete's Northeast Regional Championship to be held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23, 2014 at Flaherty Field Trial Area. 

The event will begin Saturday at 8 a.m. Judges are Dave O'Brien and Gene Casale Jr., both of Marlborough, Conn. Chairman is Bill Bonnetti of Plymouth, Mass.

A cocktail party will follow the running Saturday night, hosted by Garry Malzone, in honor of 2013 champion Megan's Blackjack.

Running order:
1-1 Indian Creek Wingman ESM Malzone
1-2 Bud of Piney Woods PM Ecker
2-1 Islander ESM Ecker
2-2 Harwich Indian Creek Buck PM Malzone
3-1 A Carolina Shadow PM Malzone
3-2 Hi Rollin' Real Deal PM Ecker
4-1 Fox Cobble Jack PM Whigham
4-2 Indian Creek Spanish Fly PF Malzone
5-1 Texas Honey Bee ESF Malzone
5-2 Fricke'n Coco ESF Ecker
6-1 Blackstone Stoney PM Bonnetti
6-2 Megan's Blackjack ESM Malzone
7-1 Southbound Strech PM Malzone
7-2 Maxwell Bella Mia PM LaBella
8-1 Upper Ammonoosuc Sadie ESF Ecker
8-2 HiFive's Passin Time PF Malzone

Region 1 Horseback Championship Report

Front, from left, judges Keith Cagle and Harold Ray, with trainer George Tracy. Rear, from left, Gene Casale Jr., Richard Giuliano, John Stolgitis, Aidan Malone, winning handler Elias Richardson, Earl Drew, Erin Stolgitis with Champion Chasehill Little Bud,  Stacey Goodie, John Malone, Alan Linder, runnerup handler Alex Smith with Calico's Touch of Class, Mary Tracy, Brian Sanchez, Pete Labella, Margaret Drew, John Fino, Maureen Joyce, Janice Gregory, Aimee Atkins and Kevin Joyce.

CHASEHILL LITTLE BUD

WINS REGION 1/AFTCA

AMATEUR HORSEBACK

SHOOTING DOG CHAMPIONSHIP

Runnerup is Calico's Touch of Class

EAST WINDSOR, Conn. -- When Field Trial Hall of Famer Harold Ray, who’s raised, handled and judged more field trial dogs than most folks can shake a stick at, is judging a championship and says your dog was “exciting” to watch, you know you done good.

Ray was talking about Chasehill Little Bud, a pointer male, whom he and judge Keith Cagle, had just named champion at the 2014 Region 1/AFTCA Amateur Horseback Championship held Oct. 18-19 at Flaherty Field Trial Area.

Bud, both a multiple champion and runner-up champion, and no doubt a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame himself, is owned and trained by John Stolgitis of Ashaway, R.I. Stolgitis runs Bud on the Open circuit on foot, in the grouse woods, and on horseback. On the Amateur circuit, Bud has his own personal team. He is handled by Elias Richardson III of Uxbridge, Mass., and scouted by John Malone, of Bolton, Conn. And it is that team, with Richardson on the whistle and Malone deftly scouting, that guided Bud to this, his latest win, and his 19^th championship.

With this championship, Bud completes a field trial hat-trick. In years past, he has also won the Region 1/AFTCA Amateur Walking Championship and the Region 1/AFTCA Amateur All-Age Championship. To top it off, Bud is only a few months away from his 10^th birthday. And, as his owner says, “To watch him compete against this field of great dogs at that age shows the heart that Bud has.”

Calico's Touch of Class

Runner-up champion was Calico’s Touch of Class (“Jet”), a pointer female, owned by Pete DelCollo, Dale Hernden and Calico Kennels, of Jetersville, Va., and handled by Alex Smith of Hamburg, N.J.

Jet, a beautiful 4-year-old, is having a heck of a fall season herself, earning this runner-up championship only days after competing in and winning the Northeastern Open Shooting Dog Championship on the same grounds. Alex Smith is not only celebrating Jet’s Region 1 runner-up win, but his own -- it’s his first-ever championship placement.

THE WINNERS

The judges were looking for dogs that would run to the front and hunt the cover. From a field of 30 competitors, the largest entry for this Region 1 championship in several years, they found their winner in Chasehill Little Bud.

The gallery heads out toward the powerlines.
 (Photo by Jim Hathaway)

Bud had nine finds in dug-up places where no other dogs had had birdwork. He exhibited class, drive and skill, said Ray, and gave as an example one of Bud’s casts on a route that no other dog had taken. Bud grabbed the right-hand edge along the powerlines and took it all the way back to the pines at the end of the Dearborn Property where he had a quail find. Shot were fired, all was in order and he was taken on. To nicely wrap up this package, Bud powered back down the opposite side of the big field until he stopped to point a pheasant. Along with quail, 20 pheasants had been released for this trial and they proved to be the undoing for many a dog, but not Bud. He was nonplussed by this bird, handling it with perfect manners, being steady to both wing and shot.

In another epic find, scout Malone would dig up Bud past the water hole, deep in the woods to the left. “The bird [handler Richardson] was looking for was a pheasant,” said Ray, “but he stepped in there and birds were on a roost. About 30 [quail] blew out. I mean it was exciting!”

Ray remarked as to how Bud was always hunting, not bee-lining from feeder to feeder but looking beyond the coverline and the woodline. That’s where he would go and he’d inevitably wind up pointing a bird in those places.

Touch of Class had seven finds for herself and was always to the front. Said Ray, “She would grab the roads from Point A to B to go into a lot of places -- about three times very distinctly.” But everything about her birdwork was immaculate. “She had a lot of style on point and she’d be out there for a long distance,” he said.

THE OTHERS

Thirty dogs were entered in the two-day stake, yet only five, including the winners, would make it through their whole hour. Pheasants often proved their undoing. Some dogs got lost. Others were picked up either by handler or judge for a variety of infractions. The majority of dogs were not on the ground for very long.

Alex Smith gets ready to run. (Photo by Jim Hathaway)

In the first brace, Dry Creek Nitrogen, a pointer male, bred, owned, trained and handled by George Doyle of Union Level, Va., managed to get around for 60 minutes and had one find but a very short race. It was a good effort for a young dog still learning the ropes.

Stacey Goodie and Alex Smith get their dogs to the line.
(Photo by Jim Hathaway)

Another that went the whole hour was Great River Class, a pointer male owned and handled by Brian Sanchez of Central Islip, N.Y. Class ran in the fourth brace and had nine good finds, but a penchant for running the roads did her in.

Aidan Malone gets ready to let loose Southbound Strech
 for handler John Fino. (Photo by Jim Hathaway)

In the sixth brace, Jetsettin’ Jenny, a pointer female owned and handled by Joe Lordi, gave it a shot. She had six finds and one unproductive but didn’t really get going until the end. Handler didn’t have her at pickup time and her late-hour absence hurt her chances.

Tim Cavanaugh, Hog Hill Katie, and judge Harold Ray.

The heartbreaker of the weekend was Hog Hill Katie, a pointer female owned, trained and handled by Tim Cavanaugh of East Hampton, Conn. Running in the seventh brace, Katie was catching the judges eyes, cruising along, running to the front, hunting the woods, having find after find. There comes a point, through, when you know you’ve had enough finds and are just praying to finish the hour. Unfortunately, with a few scant minutes left in her hour, Katie came upon one bird too many and it proved too much for her. She took a jump and was ordered up. A good effort, though, by another young dog.

Judge Harold Ray watches a flushing attempt. (Photo by Jim Hathaway)

 SIDELIGHTS

A cocktail party in honor of last year’s Region 1 winner, Sugar Knoll War Paint, owned by Pete and Chris DelCollo and Allen Linder, was hosted by John Stolgitis. As usual, a plethora of food was available. Platter after platter of raw clams and clams casino were passed around, along with homemade fish chowder, homemade soppressata, pickled beets and a variety of crackers and cheese. John is right at home in the kitchen and with his wife, Jill, helping, the cocktail party hit just the right spot after a day of running dogs. 

Stacey Goodie and Alex Smith head out with another brace. (Photo by Jim Hathaway)

     Region 1 is fortunate to have many members who step up to the plate and help with these events. Dave O’Brien was instrumental in getting the championship up and running each day. He’d take occasional breaks to plant birds, run his own dogs and scout. Stacey Goodie spent the entire two days on horseback, either running her own dogs, or scouting, or planting birds. Region 1 president Richard Giuliano was anywhere and everywhere -- taking entries, shepherding handlers to the line, planting birds. John and Aidan Malone were on hand to help with scouting duties, and Sue Malone helped out greatly with the cooking Saturday night. Other Region 1 members were also on hand, often stepping in to help without needing to be asked, and their help is appreciated.

     Region 1 couldn’t have run this championship, or any of the others this fall, without help from the professionals. Smooth, reliable horses for judges were provided by George Tracy and Pat Casey. John Stolgitis did the lion’s share of the cooking, and the three were always on hand to offer support and words of encouragement to the amateurs. A big, big thank-you to this trio!

     Many thanks, also, to Purina for their continued sponsorship of this event.   

      In an effort to change things up, maximize entries and make some New England championship events more available to amateurs by holding them on weekends, Region 1 and ANEFTC president Richard Giuliano shook up the order of fall events. This year, the Northeastern championship and Futurity were bookended by the New England Open at Pomfret, Conn., on Columbus Day weekend, and the Region 1 Horseback Championship at Flaherty the following weekend of Oct. 18-19. It worked. The number of entries for both the New England Open and Region 1 Championship were up, more amateurs attended, and hopes are that next year there’ll be even more folks joining in to enjoy these spectacular fall events.

79th New England Futurity Winners

From left, Erin Stolgitis, Muriel and Bill Primm, George Tracy with Fast and Furious; John Stolgitis, Mike Tracy, Claudia McNamee with Chase Hill Hailey, Mary Tracy, Dillon Shaffer with High Drive Snapshot, Kevin Joyce, judge Bill Bonnetti, Bob Reed, Jeanette Tracy with Steel City Arapaho, Aimee Atkins and judge Harold Ray.

FAST AND FURIOUS 
WINS 79th ANNUAL
NEW ENGLAND 
SHOOTING DOG
FUTURITY

EAST WINDSOR, Conn. -- Fast and Furious, a pointer male owned by Bill and Muriel Primm, bred by Frank Henderson, and handled by George Tracy, was named top dog at the 79th annual New England Shooting Dog Futurity held Oct. 16-17, 2014, at Flaherty Field Trial Area.

Judges were Harold Ray of Waynesboro, Ga., and Bill Bonnetti of Plymouth, Mass. Forty dogs were drawn for the two-day event. Reporter was Margaret Drew of Hoffman, N.C.

Other winners were: 2nd, Chasehill Hailey, PF, Claudia McNamee, owner; John Stolgitis, breeder, Mike Tracy, handler; 3rd, High Drive Snapshot, PM, Alan Linder, owner/breeder, George Tracy, handler; 4th, Steel City Arapaho, PM, Bob Reed and Harry Blaine, owners; Bud Moore, breeder, Jeanette Tracy, handler.

Running Order -- Region 1 Horseback Championship

30 DOGS 

DRAWN FOR

 REGION 1 / AFTCA

 HORSEBACK

SHOOTING DOG 

CHAMPIONSHIP

EAST WINDSOR, Conn. -- Thirty dogs have been drawn for the Region 1 / AFTCA Horseback Shooting Dog Championship which starts at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014, at Flaherty Field Trial Area.

 Judges are Harold Ray, of Waynesboro, Ga., and Keith Cagle, of Connecticut, who is filling in for advertised judge Jim Bush. Championship chairman is Richard Giuliano of Greene, RI.

RUNNING ORDER:
1-1 Dry Creek Nitrogen PM Doyle
1-2 High Drive Ranger PM Linder
2-1 Calico's Cowboy Casanova PM A. Smith
2-2 Moondance PF J. Smith
3-1 Wizard's Ploughman Poet ESM Hathaway
3-2 I'm Pistol Pete PM Drew
4-1 Great River Class PF Sanchez
4-2 Railway Danny PM Casale
5-1 Erin's Stone Cutter PM Stuart
5-2 Gamestopper PF Lordi
6-1 Sally PF Malone
6-2 Jetsettin' Jenny PF Lordi
7-1 Hog Hill Katie PF Cavanaugh
7-2 Great River Magnum PF Sanchez
8-1 Sugar Knoll War Paint PM Sanchez
8-2 Hightailing Miss Kate PF Joyce
9-1 Railway Jill PF Casale
9-2 Calico's Dyno Mite PM Linder
10-1 Silver Hill Big Brutus PM Marin
10-2 Chasehill Little Bud PM Richardson
11-1 Peeps PF Goodie
11-2 Erin's War Creek PM Sanchez
12-1 Dixie PF O'Brien
12-2 Calico's Touch of Class PF A. Smith
13-1 Southbound Strech PM Fino
13-2 The Crowd Pleaser PM Moses
14-1 Uno PF Goodie
14-2 High Drive Rocky PM Linder
15-1 Tess GSPF Joyce
15-2 I'm Earl PM Drew