Finally, a spring field trial!

Minnesota Grouse Dog Association Open Puppy winners (from left): Northwoods Troy McClure posed by Ben McKean, Lake Effect Tilly and owner Tim Kaufmann, Northwoods Rolls Royce posed by Jerry.

For the first time since 2012, the Minnesota Grouse Dog Association (MGDA) held a spring field trial last weekend. Due to still unbelievably wet courses and iffy conditions, the trial was shortened from three days to two.

And the weather still wouldn’t cooperate. Saturday and Sunday weren’t the best of days to be in the woods running bird dogs—temperatures hung in the 30s and 40s and the wind howled—but plucky field trial competitors entered dogs, slogged through muddy courses and had a good time.

Jerry uncovered two amazing statistics. More than half the dogs that competed (19 of 35 dogs—54%) trace back to our Blue Silk either through her sons, Blue Shaquille and Northwoods Blue Ox (Oscar), or daughters CH I’m Blue Gert, CH Satin From Silk (Peggy) and Northwoods Blue Babe (Mikki).

Multiple grouse champion Houston’s Belle, owned by Paul Hauge, also left an incredible mark on setters in our region. Through her daughters, Houston’s Belle’s Choice (Jill) and Snyder’s Liz, 37% of dogs entered are out of Belle.

Open Shooting Dog
1st     Lucy, owned and handled by Rod Lein
2nd     Northwoods Parmigiano (Sean), owned by Paul Hauge, handled by Jerry
3rd     Lola, owned and handled by Scott Anderson

Open Derby
1st     Luna, owned and handled by Brett Edstrom
2nd     Northwoods Rob Roy, owned by Chris Bye & Roberta Scherf, handled by Chris
3rd     Axel, owned by Ryan Flair, handled by Jerry

Open Puppy
1st     Northwoods Rolls Royce, handled by Jerry
2nd     Lake Effect Tilly, owned and handled by Tim Kaufmann
3rd     Northwoods Troy McClure, owned by Dale Robinson, handled by Jerry

Our sincere thanks to MGDA officials Gregg Gress, Dave Moore, Rochel Moore, Scott Anderson and Brett Edstrom for putting on the trial. It takes hours of planning, coordination and lots of plain hard work and we’re grateful for their efforts.

Congratulations to the winners!