MEMBERSHIP

Club Member Interview

Bob Jones

500 Point Club GRHRCH UH Lake Moultrie Chic MH and
1000 Point Club HRCH UH Lake Moultrie Doc MH

Chic started her training for the Grand on February 1, 2005. I had just picked her up from the Waffle House parking lot at exit one on Interstate 20 the day before. David Mclendon had a litter of pups with his female HRCH UH Rebekah and AFC/FC Boss. The litter looked great on paper and I had known David since 2002 when I started running and judging HRC hunt tests. When I talked with David he assured me that the female pup he had for me was the one he would have kept for himself. I was eager to start the training of my new pup with the knowledge I had gained training 1000 Point Club HRCH UH Doc MH. Doc was my first competition dog, and we learned a lot from each other over the years. Chic was quick to learn and easy to teach. She earned her 1st Started pass at 5 months and went 4 for 4. She started seasoned in the fall and went 3 for 3 in seasoned. We ran a couple of finished tests without success that fall. So we worked on marking as we picked up her Senior Hunter title before going back to get her Finished title at 21 months. At 23 months she ran in her 1st Grand at Metter, Ga. in October 2006. She did a great job on the first two series and went out on the third series on Don White and Jim Neely's down the shore water blind. A second series ribbon from her first Grand Hunt Test and I knew she was destined to get it done. The next Grand she ran was Madison, Ga. in April 2008. She passed her first Grand Hunt at just over 3 years of age. We immediately began planning for the Iowa Grand in the fall and probably got the biggest disappointment of our lives. She was running great and her training had been effortless. Saturday morning at bitch check in Iowa we got the red flag. She had come in season 2 months early. Her next chance would be in Tennessee in October 2009. She had a good run and passed her second Grand Hunt Test. She learns quickly and is steady as a rock on the line. She runs hard on blinds and marks and is a pleasure to have in the house. I know she will provide me with my next Grand Hunting Retriever Champion when I breed her in the spring.

I owe many people for the success that Chic and Doc have enjoyed. First is my wife Judy for the countless hours of throwing dummies in the back yard, fixing supper after a hard day of training, and helping me figure out what had gone wrong on a setup. She is my best training partner. I have other great partners as well. Initially, Chris Darby and I worked daily with Teal, Doc, and later Chic to get ready for a test. Dwayne Padgett stepped up to become my next great training partner. We worked several times each week to get Skylar, Doc, and Chic ready for the Grand. One of my best memories is of the Madison, GA Grand when Skylar, Doc, and Chic all passed the second series for a ribbon at the Grand. Thanks to every judge that helped me and all the club members at CRC that wished me well. Bob