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| 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 19th
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 10th 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.”
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| Calico's Touch of Class |
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
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Tim Cavanaugh, Hog Hill Katie, and judge Harold Ray. |
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| 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.
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| 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.
