The same day Gambler was running the open at the American Field Trial National Specialty this past September he was entered in the qualifying stake as well. Both were running on Tuesday and after Gambler ran the first series of the open we had to go over to where the qual was being run and have Gambler try his paw at that stake. If you missed the post on how he did in the open you can read it here.
Qualifying Stake (US)
In the U.S., this stake is for dogs that have not yet placed first or second in a Qualifying stake nor completed an Open or Amateur stake. ~Wikipedia
My chicken scratching.
The qual was being run on a big open field with big hay bales on the field. It was a test that had 3 marks to remember and retrieve. The first mark was a dead bird with a retired gun which meant the gunner stood out for the throwing of the bird and then after the bird was on the ground he hid behind the hay bale so the dog couldn’t see him. The second bird down was another dead bird thrown out and the gunners wearing white were still visible. The third bird was a live flyer and the gunners were still visible after the bird went down. There was also a land blind that needed to be run after the marks were all picked up which was run to the left of the line past many hay bales.
Waiting for Gambler’s turn.
Signaling the judge to start the test.
Going out for the retrieves.
Bringing the bird back.
Gambler did fine with getting the live flyer which was the first bird he got, he then went for bird number two which he did ok on and then what got him was the retired gun which got a lot of dogs. He ran out on a nice line then got off kilter and ended up over by mark number two and had to be handled to the first mark. He was able to run the blind which wasn’t the straightest so he wasn’t called back for the next series which was a short run for him.
We thought hey he just aced the first series of a really hard open test with hills and valleys this wide open field will be no problem but it proved a problem with Gambler. Things aren’t as they appear and the dog will always make you think.
The next stake that Gambler ran was the amateur stop back tomorrow to see how he did at that stake.
You just never know what we dogs will do which is part of what makes competitions with dogs so challenging and fun. The more challenging the dog, the greater the reward when she succeeds.
exactly!
maybe it was too easy for a pro like the G-man? He is a super talented hunter and a beautiful guy… it’s a pleasure to watch him… always the #1 in my book :O)
You have to wonder what our dogs are thinking when they are being tested. I know they realize when they’ve done great but do they know when they mess up?
I’m impressed he’s as good as he is considering how hard this all looks. Give him a blue ribbon from me and Sam.
He had quite a day, so we want to cut him some slack. 🙂
I think retired guns are hard if you don’t train them all of the time.