DAY EIGHT – Test Five – Flight D – Windsock – Bill Largent and Laurice Williams

Windsock is a triple shot right to left using all rooster pheasants. There is a walk-up where the right hand bird is shot to the left. The middle flyer is shot to the right. The left hand bird is shot to the right. As the dog returns with its last bird, the poison diversion bird is thrown to the right. The handler is then instructed to run the left hand blind, pick up the poison diversion bird and then run the right hand blind.

The test is taking between 7 and 9 minutes per dog in the early going.

We arrived at Flight D to find that their work was good despite the rain and wind. The walk-up entrance had been moved to more solid ground. Visibility was not excellent, but despite that, the dogs seemed to be able to see the marks. Scent in the tall grass was diminished by the rain. There have been a few long faces coming off the line, but overall the work had been good.

Lyle Steinman runs to get his next dog …

Puppies don't mind the rain! 

#139 Carolyn Goll and Caerleons Y I Ought A, MH (Y)

DAY EIGHT - Test Five – Flight C – Pearly Gates – David Christianson and John Marchica

"Pearly Gates" is a water triple with a blind using all ducks. It is shot around the horn left to right. Decoys are situated to the right of the line at the end of the levee bank. Handlers walk up the levee to the line. Each station has been instructed to blow three calls of their duck calls and then shoot and throw. The left bird is thrown to the right onto land. The middle bird has a flat throw to the left with a splash. The right hand bird is thrown left angle back. The blind is across the pond over a long point, reentering the water through some brush and into a back pond. The bird is up on the bank and there is no diversion shot.

It was muddy, cold and wet when we arrived at the "Pearly Gates." Flint Oak had set up their Lunch Wagon giving free, hot coffee to the contestants – THANK YOU! As the front came through earlier this morning, the temperature dropped 20 degrees. A huge, dark cloud was visible to all. As they watched, a funnel appeared to drop out of this cloud and then get sucked back in. Despite that, most everyone coming off the line had a smile on their face, the satisfaction of having just completed the 2013 Master National. 

Making the best of a bad situation…

THANK  YOU  FLINT  OAK!

DAY EIGHT – Test Five – Flight B – Duck Blind – Ed Arnett and Laura Judd

"Duck Blind" is a land/water triple using all ducks. The order for this test is the left bird is thrown to the right on land. Then the middle bird thrown to the right, landing on the edge of the water. Finally, a flyer to the right of the line is shot to the left with a sluice. The blind is just to the left of the middle gun station.

We arrived at "Duck Blind" to find Flight B in full rain gear. It is 57 degrees with a steady rain and slight breeze. Today, the middle bird on this test is not being given away by the wind. Dogs are either swimming to the bird, catching just a piece of water and running the bank or splitting the difference by swimming halfway and beaching early. Every dog that we saw got this bird, but some had very large area hunts. The flyer and the left hand bird bird caused no problems while we were watching. Flight B was doing a very nice job on the blind. 

#74 Ed Sullivan and Vinwood's Ebonstar Moon, MH (Moon)
"Moon-Pie" is one of the oldest dogs competing at this event.

#114 Mike Berube and Castile Creek's Majorcan Hotspot at LPK (The KU)
And yes, there's a story behind the name … ask Mike!

Hot coffee care of Flint Oak!

Try walking this hill!

#112 Weller's Dream Keeper, MH (Trudy)

Tough conditions in the gallery today.

DAY EIGHT – Test Five – Flight A – Mitchell's Pond – Bob May and Duwayne Bickle (Dewey)

"Mitchell's Pond" is a water triple with a blind using all ducks. The order is right, diversion shot, middle, left and then the dog runs the blind. The right bird is across the pond thrown to the left, landing at the water's edge with a splash. The middle bird is located at the end of the pond. This bird is thrown in and to the right. The bird lands on what looks like an island in the pond. Most of this island is made up of tall weeds and lunging water. The last bird down is the left hand bird which is located on the same side of the pond as the line. This duck is thrown to the right, landing in the water. As the dog returns from the go-bird, there is a diversion shot. After all three birds are picked up, they run a blind to the end of the pond between the left and middle mark. 

Flight A came to "Mitchell's Pond" for Test Five. They were greeted by wind, rain and slick driving conditions. The parking area for this test is small with everyone packed in to stay on a grassy surface versus the mud. The right hand bird is falling short today up on the bank in heavy cover or in with the tree roots. The ducks are being carefully dried after each use, but the combination of the wind, rain and water have made for a shorter flight out of the winger. This is the bird that has caused the most problems early on. The blind is a crosswind blind. Handlers are being very cautious to do this last bird correctly.

Don't let your name be  " M U D ! ! "

Battening down the hatches …

#117 Jack Morris and Stellars Hi-Waters Madam, MH (Chloe)

#121 Bruce Halverson and Candlewoods Head Over Heels, MH (Flip)

… handling on the blind

Something to Brighten the Day!

Rain, Rain, Go Away – Kansas Paint Job

We awoke Saturday morning to s gloomy, rainy day. There was some lightning, but that has since passed. The start time for the Flights this morning was supposed to be 7:30 am, but it was still pretty dark at that time. We have been cautioned by the Master National club that contestants should only go to their site and keep their travels to a minimum as the roads have a potential for deteriorating quickly. The photos below are what we witnessed the first day here at Flint Oak and we expect to see many more trucks like this today.

 Three days of rain here results in this...