Flushing Whip Flash Edition(Come Back Johnson x Come Back Diddle)
Allen Fazenbaker, owner
Hi all,
Just a few notes on recent red setter activity out there...
Received my Field tonight for the May 3 issue (my Field usually arrives every Saturday on time, but for some reason this one is a week late, and it looks like something ran over it with a dump truck a few times before it was thrown in the mailbox... figures, it was the issue with our red setter National write-up, which fortunately was still readable!)
Anyway, a big THANKS to Bonnie Hidalgo for a great write up for the trial... I really enjoyed RE-LIVING THE STORM FROM HELL as I read the report! Brought back such fond memories! Deb and I had stayed in our trailer out at the trial grounds, and we were very cozy and warm in the trailer the night that it dropped to 14 degrees after having a 1/2 inch of ice coat everything. I got up that morning and looked out the window and saw nothing but white. "Wow" I thought... this looks like Ohio, not Kentucky. So I got up and tried to open the door, which was a bit of an effort with a thick coating of ice on it. Ditto for the man-door to the kennel boxes... that one took a screwdriver, hammer, and a bit of pounding with a couple pieces of wood. Got the dogs out (you haven't lived until you've chipped out a 30 foot chain gang out of a half-inch of ice and topped with 6 inches of snow!), then joined the fellow red setter folks at the "freeze-proof" hydrant (NOT!) which of course was frozen solid, since we had left the hose attached the night before! Not to dispair... we hauled the frozen hoses into the clubhouse for a good thawing (along with all of us, who were equally frozen and ready for breakfast)... and so the day went... I must admit, this was one of the more brutal trials I've been to, with consideration of the weather... although there is that Mid-Atlantic Red Setter Trial that I judged at for Doc Boser where it rained for 10 hours straight with a temp of 35 degrees... when I finished that trial I went down to Doc's house to take a shower and poured about a quart of water out of my "waterproof" boots. Anyone who doesn't understand the joys of field trialing would probably have most of us committed, but that's a whole story in itself... Anyway, thanks to Bonnie, it really was a great story, and not one that any of us will forget for a long time!!
Our Ohio red setter Field Trial Club had a nice turnout, in spite of having several walking championships on the same weekend... thanks to Doc Boser, Dave Hawk, Ed Bartlett, and Chris Catanzerite for all the help with judging duties... the trial results were reported earlier on this blogsite... we have (so far!) been living a charmed life with weather conditions for this trial... since we restarted the Ohio Red Setter FTC we've had hardly a drop of rain or snow... a rare situation in northeast Ohio! In looking at some old Flushing Whips, we found entries for the Ohio Red Setter FTC back in the early 1970s... it was run at both Grand River WMA and Berlin WMA... later, the Berlin FTC ran a spring and fall trial for many years at the Berlin grounds... I suspect that we will continue to run our current trial at Grand River... its closer to our place, and with $4 gas and rising, it just makes more sense to keep things local. I personally like the Grand River grounds a bit more... they seem a bit more maneauverable, a little wider, and just seem to "flow" a bit better than Berlin. Of course, they aren't a multiple championship grounds, but they're a great place for a weekend trial. The local ODNR managers are great guys, work well with us, and are eager to have us use the grounds... and that's always a good thing!
Deb received a wonderful letter today from Linda Rollinson, thanking us for her Honorary Lifetime Membership in the NRSFTC... the letter was especially touching, as she talked about the dear friends she has made through her and Harry's association with the club... and how pround she has been to be "a part of the Pureset Challenge with such noble dogs." We'll pass the complete text on with the next issue of the Whip... BTW, Linda and Harry's daughter Renee is getting married in a couple of weeks, and we all wish the new couple the best of luck. Thanks again to Linda and Harry for being a part of our lives.
Jim Ashby sent a note not to forget to send in your puppy and derby placements for the year... remember, the puppy and derby of the year awards run from June to June, so you need to get those placements to Jim prior to June 30... those awards are "awarded" at the fall Shooting Dog Championships in Grovespring, MO.
One more note... if you field trial, hunt, or have anything to do with bird dogs... be SURE to email Tony Celebrezze, the deputy Director of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, who has been instrumental in keeping Killdeer Plains and Indian Creek Wildlife Management Areas open this fall for trials. As you may be aware, there is a strong effort in our state of Ohio to close these public areas to field trials... if they win, the other public areas will be next, followed by bans on hunting, fishing, etc. Look around... our culture continues to be one of more and more regulations, restrictions on gun and animal ownership, and erosion of our constitutional rights. Tony Celebrezze is one of the few folks in government who is speaking up on our behalf. Your email of support is IMPORTANT... it shows that Tony's efforts are important an worthwhile... PLEASE SEND HIM A SHORT, POSITIVE EMAIL INDICATING HOW APPRECIATIVE YOU ARE OF HIS EFFORT ON BEHALF OF HUNTERS AN FIELD TRIALERS IN THE STATE OF OHIO. If you are out of state... send an email anyway... most of the revenue generated in the local communities of these trial grounds are DIRECTLY IMPACTED BY OUT OF STATE FIELD TRIALERS SPENDING MONEY IN OHIO... tell Tony that you love to spend your money in Ohio, but you cant' do that if Killdeer Plains and Indian Creek are no longer open for business!
Tony's email is: tony.celebrezze@dnr.state.oh.us
His snail mail is:
Tony Celebrezze
Deputy Director Ohio Department Natural Resources
2045 Morse Rd, Bldg, D-3Columbus OH 43229-6693
That's all for now...
redpups
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