And The Lucky Dog Is.....

Starting number for the 2014 National Amateur Retriever Championship is......



# 33 FC AFC Bayou Teche Eye On The Ball "Slider"

General Meeting

Meeting started at 3:15 pm

Andy Kahn welcomed everyone to the event. Andy made special mention special thanks to his spouse Shirley Kahn, the property owners, workers and Gary Zellner's for the use of his equipment to pump training ponds full of water for the event.

Introduce Officers

President - Arnie Erwin

1st Vice President - Tom Vaughn

2nd Vice President - Randy Whittaker

3rd Vice President - John Stracka

Chairman - 4th Vice President - Al Wilson

Secretary/Treasurer - Fred Kampo

2. Roll Call - Fred Kampo

3. Request motion from the floor to accept Treasurer's and Secretaries report

4. Presented Next Year's Slate of Officers - Arnie Erwin

     President - Tom Vaughn

     1st Vice President - Randy Whittker

     2nd Vice President - John Stracka

     3rd Vice President - Al Wilson

     Chairman - 4th Vice President - Linda Harger

     Secretary/Treasurer - Mark Medford

5. Ask for motion to cast one ballot to accept next year's slate of officers

6. Moment of silence for deceased members of our field trial community we have lost in the past year.

7. Hall-of- Fame - Charlie Hays
    Charlie Hays suggested the retriever community should learn the steps to nominate dogs and persons into the Retriever Hall of Fame.

8. Introduce AKC Representative: Arnie Erwin

     Doug Ljungren - Director of Performance Events

     Jerry Mann - Director of Field Representatives (Absent)

9. Thank You to Sponsors - Arnie & Gwen Jones, Corporate Sponsor Liaison

     Nestle Purina - Dean Reinke

     Avery Sporting Dog - David Carrington

     Kent Cartridge - (Dennis Bath) Accepting Award

     Garmin/Tri-Tronics - Warner Smith or Rep on hand

     Dogtra - Alex So or Rep on Hand

     Special Thanks to our Vendor - Lucky Lab Pins - Brenda Neil

10. Report on 2015 National Amateur - Linda Harger

     The test site will be Ronan, Montana; Mission Valley

     The Judges for the 2015 NARC will be:

     Wes Lee - Eastern Time Zone
     Bill Kolstad - Western Time Zone
     Yvonne Hays - Central Time Zone

11. Other Introductions - Al Wilson

     Photographer - Molly Schlachter

     Retriever News - John Straka, Tina Styan, Sara Sommerfeld

     Veterinarians - Official - Bailey Veterinary Clinic

           On the Grounds - Sports Vet - Dr. Jennell Appell & Dr. Jennifer Brown

12. Introductions of this Year's Judges & Present Gift to Judges & President - Al Wilson

     Dennis Bath - Midwest Time Zone

     Stevie O'Connell - Eastern Time Zone

     John Pampy - Mountain Time Zone

13. Announce Test Dog Handlers and their dogs: Al Wilson

     Marilyn Dahliem with "Mozart" (M) & Joe Beitler with "Tiny" (Female)

14. Thank Land Owners - Al Wilson

     *** Special Instructions From The Judges ***

Handler Instructions from Chief Marshal Linda Erwin:

1.     Handler on the mat

2.     Leash off in last holding blind

3.     Reasonable time before Judges call for the birds

4.     The Callbacks and the next day’s test description will be posted in the lobby and on the blog

5.     There will be four gun changes; every 26 dogs

6.     When there is a gun change, the next 30 dog handlers may view from the line

7.      Refer to page 10 of the catalog for the rules on Rotation – see link on the blog

8.     The First and Second series is a combo:  A double and a blind.

9.     The Starting Dog is #33; the Third Series starts with 59; the Fourth Series with #85 and the Fifth Series with #19

*** Immediate Instructions To The Handlers ***

- First Ten Running Dogs To Leave The Assigned Location (Bowling Alley on Hwy 138, half way to the trial grounds) At 5:30 am on June 15,2014

- The Test Dogs run at 6:30 am, followed by the First Running Dog at 7:00 am.

15. Trial Procedures - Linda Erwin
   
      Advice was given to check our dog's feet, body, and eyes as they complete each series. Grass awns are present on the grounds. The safety of our dogs is very important.

16. Award Last Year's Winner's Painting was presented to- Andy Kahn with NAFC-FC Dottie Ray's Ivy League -
     Thank Chris Chantland (Painting) & Molly Schlachter (Photographer)

17. Special Thank you - Arnie

     Al Wilson & Julie Cole

     Butch Green - Acquisitions

     Robin Gulvin - Hostess

     Linda Erwin - Head Marshal - Training book

18. Announcements - Arnie

     Cocktail Party - Fairgrounds at 6:30 pm.
   
     Committee Meetings - Following General Meeting - Marshals, Stewards, Grounds, Gunners,  Throwers, Traffic, Hostess

Bitch check & Labrador Retriever Club - All Breed Conformation Certification

Location: Outside of the fairgrounds

19. The County Commissioner welcomed everyone to Douglas County, explaining that this was a very friendly area. Then he did the draw for Starting Dog.

20. Adjoun Meeting

2014 RAC Announcement

For Downloadable PDF version Click Here:
http://www.theretrievernews.com/RNews/Documents/RAC-2014.pdf

Retriever Advisory Committee Meeting

The meeting came to order at 2:06 pm.

The RAC Board Members in attendance were:
Doug Ljundgren
John Goetl
Julie Cole
John Russell

Eric Gawthorpe was our first speaker. He spoke on limiting the number of entries in an Amateur Stake.

Eric proposed Owner/Handler Amateur "Best Three."

Each Handler has the option to enter 3 dogs in an Amateur Stake. It is believed that this option may return competitiveness to the Amateur stake. This is an optional event. A discussion filled with pros and cons against the proposal ensued.

Last year's proposal was made that every club that holds two trial per year would have the option of holding an Amateur, Derby and Qualifying stakes without an Open stake every other year. This proposal passed with 81 clubs voting: 50 in favor and 31 against. The resolution passed.

Clarify Rule: could have two trials in second year could have AM w/o Open plus Derby and Qualifying. So every other year a club can substitute one of their regular trials with one stated above.

Advice from the Advisory Board:

John Goetl discussed the subject of honoring for dogs in competitive stakes. It has been observed that recently judges are waving the honor with no just cause. The committee advises that every stake (Q, A, O) should have an honor if possible.

Next, the Advisory Board discussed the use of frozen birds in a trial. A club should not use birds that are frozen. Each club should make certain the birds are completely thawed before they are thrown.

The comment was made by John that this is the first Advisory Committee Meeting where advice to the retriever community has been given.

New Business

Discussion ensued about the spirit of the language for an Owner/Handler Amateur stake. It has been discussed that Co-Ownership is a way to escape the Owner/Handler rule. The Advisory Board felt the language should be made more clear. Much discussion followed. The point was made that this only affects the Owner/Handler Amateur stake. A club may elect they just want to hold an Amateur without that restriction.

Fan Fair.....

How it begins is all too common,

For some: " I began by running my retrievers in hunt tests. Then, I attended my first field trial where I fell in love with the dog work. I realized I was "hooked" and at that point there was no turning back."

The Hunter: " I wanted a duck dog so I bought a Labrador Retriever puppy. I did not have the time to train it because I was busy with my job. So, I found a Professional Retriever Trainer to train my dog. The trainer told me that this dog was capable of so much more and I took the plunge."

The Started Lab: " I had a lab that would not hunt for me. I called some people looking to buy a labrador to retrieve my ducks. I ended up finding a Labrador who was talented enough to expose me to the world of competing retrievers"

We hear these similar stories many times over as we meet & greet those here volunteering or participating in the National Amateur Retriever Championship. The retriever sport is captivating and a highly addictive for owners, their friends, and family.  Here the owners, handlers, and retrievers themselves develop their fan club.

Long-time friends, competitors, and fans of one another Chuck & Mary Jane Schwiekert, Dave & Glenda Seivert share the passion in retriever field trials. They travel together, train together, and support one another in competition all the while competing head to head on the weekends. Sportsmanship and friendship at its finest! Pictured below is Chuck & Mary Jane next to a beautiful quilt Glenda had sewn for the couple. Glenda & Dave Seivert are not attending this National Amateur Retriever Championship. However, the Seivert's wanted to show their "Fan Fair" for their beloved friends who have achieve a life-long dream by qualifying all three of their retrievers for the 2014 National Amateur Retriever Championship. Due the age of the dogs this will be a difficult accomplishment to duplicate. A feat of luck, measured by much sacrifice and hard work.  Congratulations Chuck & Mary Jane!

We Wish All The Competitors The Best Of Luck For The 2014 National Amateur Retriever Championship!