THE ST. LOUIS REGIONAL SPORTING SPANIEL CLUB

 

MOCK HUNT TEST REPORT

On February 16, 2013—a perfect, brisk sunshiny day in late winter—the SLRSSC conducted its first Mock Hunt Test at the Otter Creek Hunting Club grounds near Otterville, Illinois.  The final running order for this event was as follows:

 

                                    Junior Non-shooting— 

                        Bryan Custer                           Presly

                        Mike Anderson                       Junior

                        Bryan Custer                           Mingo

 

                                    Junior Shooting

                        John Forbes                             Abby

 

                                    Senior

                        John Forbes                             Brodie

                        Bryan Custer                           Elvis

                        Glen Martin                             Roy

                        Danelle Oliver                         Calvin

 

                                    Master

                        Danelle Oliver                         Acey

                        John Forbes                             Petey

 

Handlers at each level of proficiency had the following choices for birds and entry fees:

 

                        2 Pigeons per dog                   $15.00

                        2 Chukars per dog                  $30.00 

 

                        1 Additional Chukar               $12.50

                        2 Pheasants per dog                $35.00

 

All handlers of Junior dogs chose pigeons.  Among Seniors, John Forbes chose pigeons, Bryan Custer and Glen Martin chose pheasants and Danelle Oliver chose chukars.

 

Perhaps the most unique activity of the day was the Junior Non-Shooting event, where each young pup quartered and flushed his or her two birds; then retrieved a live bird clip thrown out for it.  If some of the pups were puzzled about retrieving to begin with, after several tosses of the clip, they were all retrieving their birds to hand with confidence.

 

The SLRSSC supplied the pigeons for the Junior Shooting, Senior and Master events, and the clips for the Junior Non-Shooting activity. The Otter Creek Hunting Club furnished pigeons for the Junior Non-shooting event, as well as Chukars and pheasants for Senior and Master events. 

 

Official AKC Hunting Test Judges Forms were used to score all dogs entered in the Mock Hunt Test. These forms score Hunting Ability, Bird Finding Ability, Flushing Ability, Trained Abilities and Retrieving Abilities.  Each ability has a highest score of 10 points. Average scores for each handler’s dogs indicated that a great deal of hard training had been completed in preparation for the Mock Hunt Test, and for other Hunt Tests and Field Trial in the past.  The three Junior Non-hunting pups scored an average of 45 points out of 50, with Mingo leading the group with 48 points.  John Forbes’ three dogs averaged 47 points, with Brodie scoring highest at 49 points.  Bryan Custer’s dog, Elvis; Glen Martin’s dog, Roy; and, Danelle Oliver’s dog, Acey, each scored a perfect 50 points.   The average score for both of Danelle Oliver’s dogs was 49.

 

Danelle Oliver, President of the SLRSSC has written a comprehensive and colorful account of our first Mock Hunt Test in a report to the club membership.  Danelle’s remarks about the day’s activities are as follows:

 

“We had a successful event today.  Our pups got needed exposure to new turf and birds, and they responded with great enthusiasm.  Older dogs did well, too.  It was a positive experience for all participants.  There were 5 handlers and 10 dogs--small, but nice size for learning the ins and outs of putting on a Hunt Test at this location. 

John Forbes was very generous and brought his 4-wheeler to use for bird planting.  Thank you John!

Glen did an excellent job being our bird planter--only 1 fly away and no traps!

Our guns, Bryan, Dan and Mike, started out a bit slow but finished big!

No dumpster dinning for Glen and his kids, they will eat well on pheasant tonight J

Thanks to Mike’s wife, who braved the radio and learned the ropes of being a field marshal.

Trying to manage our rowdy gallery was a challenge to her assertiveness.

She seems to lack a mean streak, but Mike was certain he could bring it out of her if necessary.

The owner of the gun club was very fair to us with price, and very accommodating to our needs.  If you are looking for a nice hunt, I would highly recommend this place, Otter Creek Hunt Club. 

 

John will be bringing us a full report later.  I hope I didn’t steal too much of his thunder.

 

Thanks again to all those involved and those that volunteered to help.  We look forward to seeing you all at the next event, our Fun Trial.”

 

MEMBERS OF THE SLRSSC WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE MOCK HUNT TEST ENJOYED VERY MUCH PERFORMING THE MANY TASKS INVOLVED IN A CLUB PROJECT OF THIS KIND.  WHAT’S MORE, WE SHOWED THAT WE CAN BECOME VERY PROFICIENT AT IT!