48. FC-AFC SUNDOG'S MAXIMUM PURSUIT, "Max" LM, John Henninger

FC-AFC SUNDOG'S MAXIMUM PURSUIT, "Max" 
Labrador male, 4/13/11
Owners: Paula & Corrie Elmes
Breeders: Melisa Bell & Steve Kompf
Life Time Open Points: 66.5
Life Time Open 1st Placements: 9

To the line at 1:57 pm.

Flyer - Straight to his bird.

Middle Retired - Crossed the field and into the pond pulling wide right down the far shore, swimming to the end. He is out and into the woods where he got out of sight for a bit. He came out of the trees on the left side along of the tree line and worked until he got his bird.

Long Retired - Crossed the road and the grass to get into the pond. He swam across and got out to go across the field and into the corn field. He took a large turn back to the right which brought him back to the tree line and holding blind. He hunted the area before he moved back out into the corn field to get his bird.

Test Dog Two - Labrador Male - Ranger with owner hander Jason Fleming

Came to the line at 1:40 pm

Flyer - He has his bird.

Right Retired - Squares out of the water and moves towards the tall grass. Ranger comes out of the timbers edge with the bird.

Left Retired - He goes wide left to the scented area and is handled through the corn field to the bird.

Test Dog One - Labrador Female - Phillie with owner handler Erin O'Brien

Came to the line at 1:15 pm.

Flyer - Very good mark.

Left Retired - Through the water and Phillie bent left around the edge of the corn field. Then getting into the corn field for her hen pheasant.

Right Retired - Through the water on a direct line to the right guns, she pushed on through to get her pheasant...and off to the honor box.

Series 9 - Water Triple

The mat for the 9th Series Water Triple sits on the south side of a dirt (mud) road facing northeast. Across the road stretching left to right is a pond with an irregular shore line. On the far right side of the pond is a tree line that extends from the road and angles on the far side of the pond to the left.

Bird one is a long retired hen pheasant thrown to the left at 280 yards from the mat. The retired station comes out from the tip of the tree line and throws the bird out angling it back into a corn field.

Bird two is a hen pheasant thrown to the left down the tree line. This retired station is located half way down the tree line with the bird landing in the grass against the trees. This hen pheasants lands 220 yards from the mat.

Bird three is a duck shot left and sluiced. This gun station is located to the handlers right, down and across the road at 100 yards. Their chairs sit on the shore at the base of a point shooting left into the pond with a sluice. After the dog has completed his marks, there is an honor mat to the left of the running mat. This test is taking 10 minutes per dog.

Ninth Series Water Triple with Two Retired and an Honor

Long Retired – 280 yards

Short Retired – 220 yards

Duck Flyer with sluice – 100 yards

Ninth Series sketch by Official Artist Jean Wu

Ninth Series aerial diagram by David Colwell

Field Trial Coffee Fairy – Another Sighting!

While you wait for the Ninth to begin, please enjoy some coffee and yummy treats courtesy of the FT Coffee Fairy!

Coffee POWER!

A Look At The Handlers Starting the 9th Series

Amateur Handlers

Andy Kahn - 81

Mark Medford - 72

Pro Handlers

Al Arthur - 92                           (came to NRC 6 dogs entered)

Alan Pleasant - 32 - 74 - 93      (came to NRC with 5 dogs entered)

Dave Rorem - 29                      (came to NRC with 5 dogs entered)

Jim Gonia - 45                          (came to NRC with 2 dogs entered)

John Henninger - 19 - 48          (came to NRC with 3 dogs entered)

Mark Smith - 84                       (came to NRC with 2 dogs entered)

Paul Sletten - 23                       (came to NRC with 5 dogs entered)

Ray Voigt - 3 - 55                     (came to NRC with 4 dogs entered)

Tim Milligan - 104                   (came to NRC with 4 dogs entered)

Wayne Curtis - 106                   (came to NRC with 5 dogs entered)

Handlers with Previous NRC Championship Wins 


Al Arthur - 2015 - FC-AFC Keeno's Gizmo
Alan Pleasant - 2014 - FC-AFC Robbers' Stray Bullet
Dave Rorem - 2008 - FC Two River Lucky Willie
Jim Gonia - 2011 - FC Watermark's Running Back
                     2005 - FC-AFC Clubmead's Road Warrior
Mark Medford - 2017 - FC-AFC Fresh Squeezed Juice
Paul Sletten -  2010 - FC-AFC Hunters Run BooBoo
Wayne Curtis - 1998 - FC-AFC Abe's Ebony And Ivory

Series 9 - Water Triple

We are getting set up at "Teal Pond" for our 9th Series - Water Triple.

Our first running dog will be #48.

Here is look of our test site, "Teal Pond" from the 2018 National Retriever Club Championship Training Grounds Book.

And our temps are raising...it is now 51 degrees!!! Bring on the Sun!!!

Callbacks To The Ninth Series

16 dogs have been called back to the Ninth Series: 3, 19, 23, 29, 32, 45, 48, 55, 72, 74, 81, 84, 92, 93, 104, and 106.

8 dogs have been dropped: 8, 24, 25, 30, 49, 78, 79 and 82.

The Ninth Series will be held at the Teal Pond where we were earlier in the week.

2018 National Open CAPS FOR SALE

If any of you folks out there are interested in purchasing National Open caps, please email info@theretrievernews.com and let us know what color and how many. They are $15 each or 3 for $40 (plus $10 S&H).

Please provide your "COMPLETE" contact information, including email and phone number and after we return to Wisconsin, we will do our best to complete your hat purchase in the order in which it was received. Remember, all colors may not be available after the event ends.

In The Books - 8th Series - Review

The 8th Series - Land Quad is officially in the books at 11:40 am.

At 7:30 this morning dog #8 started this series off with dog # 3 being the last dog to run.


This test took just a bit over 4 hours get all 24 dogs to complete this series. It took about 10 minutes per dog.

This test finished up in good fashion with the last no bird coming with dog #81. 


Here is an over view of what all happened in this test....

No Bird / Rerun: 19 - 25 - 30 - 45 - 49(2x) - 55 - 72 - 81
Handle: 49 - 78 - 82
Pick Up: 8 - 30

The callbacks will be announced at the Series 8 test site. We will be posting them as soon as we get them!

The good news is the sun is finally shining in Kentucky today!! 

3. FC-AFC DOTTIE MCFIZZ, "Dot" LF, Ray Voigt

"Dot" and Ray came to the line at 11:31 am.

Right Flyer - Good Bird.

Short Retired - Lined out to the area between the retired guns. Took a hard left passed and through the timbers by the short retired then into the bird.

Left Flyer - To the area, a quick pass and to pick up her bird.

Long Retired - Out to the area back with the bird.

106. NAFC-FC MULLIGAN OFF THE RAINY “T”, “Mully” LM, Wayne Curtis

"Mully" and Wayne came to the line at 11:26 am.

Right Flyer - Nice!

Short Retired - Nice line to the bird.

Left Flyer - Mully went down the field and through the cover to go straight to his bird.

Long Retired - Excellent!

104. FC GLADE CREEK’S LONESTAR DREAMCATCHER, “Cheyenne” LF, Tim Milligan

"Cheyenne" and Tim came to the line for their 8th series.

Right Flyer - Got the bird.

Left Flyer - Straight to this flyer!

Sort Retired - Angled into the bird - right on it!

Long Retired - All the way to the area of the fall, Cheyenne broke left at the trees but corrected to get her bird.

93. FC-AFC I'M UR SEARCH ENGINE, "Google" LM, Alan Pleasant

"Google" and Alan came to the line at 11:12 am.

Right Flyer - Very Nice Mark.

Short Retired - Google went down the field and took a hard left to get his bird.

Left Flyer - Excellent line across the field to the fall area and to his bird.

Long Retired - Straight down the field to the fall area and his bird.

92. FC-AFC CROPPER'S FIRE IN THE HOLE, "Deep" LM, Al Arthur

"Deep" and Al came to the line at 11:02 am.

Right Flyer - Had to hunt this bird but stayed in the area.

Short Retired - Wend down the field and took a hard left into the cover to get his bird.

Left Flyer - Drilled This bird!

Long Retired - Deep went down across the field to the area where the guns stood. He angled right towards the bird and got it.

Rerun - 81. FC-AFC DOTTIE RAY'S LEAGUE OF HER OWN, "Dottie" LF, Andy Kahn

Dottie and Andy came to the line at 10:55 am.

Right Flyer - Dottie drove in the cover for the bird and back out with it.

Left Flyer - Nice line past the gunners. Hunting a little short and right of the fall. Quickly moved left to get the bird.

Short Retired - Excellent line to the area of the fall. she worked quickly to get her bird.

Long Retired - Came in right of the bird. Quick turn left put her on the bird.

84. FC LANE'S KREWE CHIEF, "Chief" LM, Mark Smith

"Chief" and Mark came to the line at 10:48 am.

Right Flyer - Nice

Left Flyer - Nice line past gunners and hunting a little short and right of the fall. He quickly moved left and got the bird.

Short Retired - Excellent line to the area of the fall. He worked quickly to the bird.

Long Retired - Came in the right of the bird. A quick turn left put him on it.

Handled - Rerun - 49. FC-AFC LEICA SABERTOOTH, "Tiger" LM, Dave Rorem

Tiger and Dave came to the line for their 2nd rerun at 10:36 am.

Right Flyer - Quick work to bring the bird back in.

Left Flyer - Tiger entered the field under the arc of the flyer. He set up a hunt pattern right of the bird. Expanding his hunt until he was handled to his bird.

Short Retired - Into the cover and back with the bird.

Left Retired - Nice recovery of this bird.

Test 8 - Update

The 8th series has been plagued with no birds. The dogs who have come to the line more than once seem to show better marks. All of the dogs have picked up the duck flyer. Earlier the short retired proved to be troublesome, but an increase in the wind has helped on this bird. The left flyer was problematic due to the wide areas of the fall in heavy cover. There have been handles here. The long retired has also forced handles as the dogs get deep into the cover or the woods. These are very well placed birds.

79. FC-AFC SILVER STAR'S WATCH'EM LIKE A HAWK, "Hawk" LM, Ray Voigt

"Hawk" and Ray came to the line at 10:28 am. Due to no bird, reruns and Ray having multiple dogs, Hawk and Ray ran out of order.

Right Flyer - Straight to the fall area and Hawk has his bird.

Short Retired - Out behind the left flyer guns to the end of the trees, Hawk turned right and worked his way back to the short retired bird.

Long Retired - He went down the middle of the field and came across where the guns stood and went into the cover and trees. He worked his way right to his bird.

Left Flyer - Out in front of the guns, Hawk went through the cover and the bales, made one turn left then back to the right to his bird.

Handled - 82. FC-AFC MUDSLINGER'S AMAZING VISION, "T Bone" LM, Clint Avant

"T Bone" and Clint came to the line at 10:19 am.

Right Flyer - Quick recovery on his flyer.

Left Flyer - Nice line angling down the hill and through the bales. T Bone found his bird and came back in.

Short Retired - Out and right back in with his bird.

Long Retired - Running to the long retired, T Bone faded left behind the gunners. He starts a hunt pattern that takes him further left before his was handled to the bird.

Rerun - 72. FC-AFC ROUGH CREEK'S LIBERTY BELL, "Bella" LF, Mark Medford

Bella and Mark had their rerun at 10:10 am.

Right Flyer - Bella went out to the fall area then to her bird.

Left Flyer - She went down the area between the flyer guns and the short tree line. She turned into the cover just past the guns and worked her way to the fall area and to her bird.

Long Retired - She found where the guns stood. Bella made a loop right but missed the bird. She reentered the cover and got it the second time.

Short Retired - She went wide right going down the field but quickly turned left into the fall area and on her bird.

Hall of Fame Inductees

Hall of Fame President Mark Medford announces the inductees to the Hall of Fame for 2018 …

No Bird - 81. FC-AFC DOTTIE RAY'S LEAGUE OF HER OWN, "Dottie" LF, Andy Kahn

"Dottie" and Andy came to the line and received a no bird. They will be placed back 5 spots and have a rerun in the 6th place back.

Rerun - 55. FC-AFC LOCK FIVE'S GOT HER BLUE GENES ON, "Baby" LF, Ray Voigt

Baby and Ray came to the line at 9:59 am for their rerun.

Right Flyer - Nice Job

Left Flyer - Excellent move across the field in front of the guns. Quickly out to the fall area and on her bird.

Short Retired - Straight to the fall area and she hunted up her bird.

Long Retired - Very nice line to this bird.

No Bird - Rerun - 49. FC-AFC LEICA SABERTOOTH, "Tiger" LM, Dave Rorem

Tiger and Dave came to the line for their rerun and received a 2nd no bird. The again will be placed back 5 spots and have a rerun in the 6th spot back. If they receive a 3rd rerun they will be placed at the end.

Handle - 78. FC-AFC COOL FUEL MH, "Nitro" LM, Rich Pingatore

"Nitro" and Rich came to the line at 9:46 am.

Right Flyer - Nice Job

Left Flyer - Down the field and angled across in front of the guns and Nitro went straight to his bird.

Short Retired - Down the field and a turn left into the cover and then to his bird.

Long Retired - Excellent line. He turned slightly left and missed his bird. He went down the left side and had to be handled to the bird. Problems handling but finally got his bird.

74. FC SEASIDE'S GORGEOUS GEORGE, "Clooney" LM, Alan Pleasant

"Clooney" and Alan came to the line at 9:38 am.

Right Flyer - Long Bird - Straight to his bird.

Short Retired - Excellent line to the bird.

Left Flyer - Clooney came into the cove on a great line. He hunted the fall area but missed his bird. He got wide right but then came straight back for his bird.

Long Retired - Straight line to the area with the guns. He hunted in the cover and the trees to work it out and get his bird.

Nobird - 72. FC-AFC ROUGH CREEK'S LIBERTY BELL, "Bella" LF, Mark Medford

"Bella" and Mark came to the line and received a rerun. This team will be placed back 5 spots to run their test in the 6th spot back.

Rerun - 45. FC-CFC SWEETIE'S EASY RIDER, "Ford" LM, Jim Gonia

"Ford" and Jim came to the line at 9:27 am for their rerun at 9:27 am.

Right Flyer - Hunted the fall area and got his bird.

Short Retired - Went down the field and turned left into cover and got his bird.

Left Flyer - Ford went down the field and came into the cover in front of the guns. Got into the fall area to quickly find his bird.

Long Retired - A little wide right going out but an adjustment on his line and Ford got his bird.

No Bird - 55. FC-AFC LOCK FIVE'S GOT HER BLUE GENES ON, "Baby" LF, Ray Voigt

"Baby" and Ray came to the line and received a no bird. This team will be placed back 5 spots and have their rerun in the 6th spot back.

Gun Change - 8th Series - Review

Our gun change for the 8th series came after dog #49 received a no bird.

This morning started with the first test dog coming to the line at 6:45 am and the first running dog #8 to the line at 7:30 am.

This Land Quad is a big test. We had 11 dogs come to the line and here is review of what has been happening in this 8th Series....

No Birds: 19 - 25 - 30 - 45 - 49
Reruns: 19 - 25 - 30
Pick Up: 8 - 30

This test is taking approximately 10.5 minutes per dog.

Our weather right now is a sunny 41 degrees with a WSW wind at 6 mph. The high is looking to be 50 degrees and this is predicted to hit about 12:00 pm.

No Bird - 49. FC-AFC LEICA SABERTOOTH, "Tiger" LM, Dave Rorem

"Tiger" and Dave came to the line and received a no bird. They will be placed back 5 spots and have a rerun in the 6th spot back.

Pick Up - Rerun - 30. FC-AFC NINA MCFIZZ, "Nina" LF, Judy Rasmuson

Nina and Judy came to the  line at 9:03 am for their rerun.

Right Flyer - Nina hunted the area thoroughly and got her bird.

Left Flyer - Great line straight to this bird.

Short Retired - Nina went down the left side of the trees deep and hunted between the left flyer guns and her mark. She got handled away from the flyer field and to her mark.

Long Retired - Excellent line towards the guns but got left and went deep. She had to be picked up on this bird.

48. FC-AFC SUNDOG'S MAXIMUM PURSUIT, "Max" LM, John Henninger

"Max" and John came to the line at 8:55 am.

Right Flyer - Quick recovery of this bird.

Short Retired - Coming into the area wide right, Max corrects and drives into the tree line for the bird.

Left Flyer - Into the area of the fall, under the arc of the flyer, Max has a tight hunt and back with the bird.

Long Retired - Nice line to the area of the fall but Max turned left at the tree line. A quick pass and he's back to the fall area and to the bird.

The Handlers Starting The 8th Series

Is your favorite team still in? Take a look and see who will being competing in the 8th Series - Land Quad...

Amateur Handlers

Andy Kahn - 81

Bill Fruehling - 8

Judy Rasmuson - 30

Mark Medford - 72

Rich Pingatore - 78

Pro Handlers

Al Arthur - 92

Alan Pleasant - 32 - 74 - 93

Clint Avant - 82

Dave Rorem - 29 - 49

Jim Gonia - 45

John Henninger - 19 - 48

Mark Smith - 84

Mike Taylor - 24

Misty Melo - 25

Paul Sletten - 23

Ray Voigt - 3 - 55 - 79

Tim Milligan - 104

Wayne Curtis - 106

Rerun - 25. FC PEPPERJACK'S MARSH SURFER, "Dude" LM, Misty Melo

"Dude" and Misty came to the line for the rerun at 8:48 am.

Right Flyer - Short Bird - Worked the area hard before Dude found his bird.

Short Retired - Direct line from the mat to his bird.

Left Flyer - He went down the field and out in front of the guns into the heavy cover. He worked the area of the fall and got his bird.

Long Retired - Another direct line to the fall area. Dude went into the woods to the guns then straight to the bird.

Starting Dogs In The 8th - Closer Look

Here is an updated look at the dogs who are starting the 8th series 2018 National Retriever Club Championship.

Oldest Dog Starting The 8th

#24 FC-AFC Valtor's Hayseed Kid, “Kid” 12/16/2006

Youngest Dog Starting The 8th**New Dog**

#32 FC-AFC Flawless Execution - FLEX QAA 5/6/2014

National Titled Dogs Starting The 8th

#106 – 2017 - NAFC-FC Mulligan Off The Rainy "T", “Mully”

International Titled Dogs Starting The 8th

#45 FC-CFC Sweetie's Easy Rider, “Ford”

How the rest are titled 

5 Dogs with only a FC title

18 Dogs with both FC & AFC title

All Labradors of Different Color and Sex

All 24 entered dogs are Labrador Retrievers

8 of them are Females - 8 Black

16 of them are Males - 15 Black; 1 Yellow

Retriever News/Purina Top Dogs Starting The 8th

2016 Retriever News Top Derby Dog & Purina Outstanding Derby Field Trial Retriever 

#32 FC-AFC Flawless Execution - FLEX QAA, “Flex”

2015 Retriever News Top Derby Dog & Purina Outstanding Derby Field Trial Retriever 

#74 FC Seaside's Gorgeous George, “Clooney”

Litter Mates Starting The 8th

NFC-AFC Fresh Squeezed Juice ex FC-AFC Hardscrabble Carbunnation  

Breeder: Judy Rasmuson      Whelping Date: 2/11/12

#3 FC-AFC Dottie McFizz

#30 FC-AFC Nina McFizz               

No Bird - 45. FC-CFC SWEETIE'S EASY RIDER, "Ford" LM, Jim Gonia

"Ford" and Jim came to the line and received a no bird. They will be placed back 5 spots and have their rerun in the 6th spot back.

32. FC-AFC FLAWLESS EXECUTION - FLEX QAA, "Flex" LM, Alan Pleasant

"Flex" and Alan came to the line at 8:40 am.

Right Flyer - Quick retrieve of this bird.

Short Retired - Into the tree line where the bird is, Flex took a quick peak out the backside of the tree line, but went back into the timber to pull out his bird.

Left Flyer - Great Job!

Long Retired - He bee-lined to the area of the fall and back with his bird.

Aerial Diagram of the Eighth Series

 Aerial diagram by David Colwell

Rerun - 19. FC-AFC CHOPPER'S FINAL APPROACH, "Billie" LF, John Henninger

"Bille and John came to the line at 8:32 am for their rerun.

Right Flyer - Quick Retrieve!

Short Retired - Straight into the cover and out with her bird.

Left Flyer - Nice line in front of the guns and then Billie went out to the fall for her bird - Nice job.

Long Retired - Excellent line out to the fall area and back to the guns then straight to her bird.

No Bird - 30. FC-AFC NINA MCFIZZ, "Nina" LF, Judy Rasmuson

"Nina" and Judy came to the line at and received a no bird. They will be placed back 5 spots and have their rerun in the 6th spot back.

29. FC-AFC 3R'S MR T SMOKEN JOE, "Smokie" LM, Dave Rorem

"Smokie" and Dave came to the line at 8:10 am.

Right - Smokie got into the cover and back with his bird.

Left Flyer - Good angle down the hill and through the bales. Smokie's initiates a hunt close and deep of the gunners. The hunt expands towards the trees before before he comes back to the area of the fall to hunt up his bird.

Left Retired - Coming into the fall area between the short and long retired, he moves on to hunt up the long retired.

Short Retired - Smokie headed into the field and right to the fall for his bird.

No Bird - 25. FC PEPPERJACK'S MARSH SURFER, "Dude" LM, Misty Melo

"Dude" and Misty came and received a no bird. They will go back 5 spots and have their rerun in the 6th spot back.

24. FC-AFC VALTOR'S HAYSEED KID, "Kid" LM, Mike Taylor

"Kid" and Mike came to the line at 7:55 am.

Right Flyer - A tight hunt and Kid came back with the bird.

Short Retired - Entering the field behind the gunners and left of the timber, Kid punches his way through the timber to grab his short retired.

Left Flyer - Angling down the hill and through the hay bales right to the area of the fall, Kid puts up a tight hunt quartering around the area a number of times before coming up with his bird.

Left Retired - Nice line to the area. A quick hunt and back with his bird.

23. FC MITIMAT'S RESPECT THE GIRL, "Reatha" LF, Paul Sletten

"Reatha" and Paul came to the line at 7:46 am

Right Flyer - Reatha went right to the bird.

Left Flyer - She went down the field behind the flyer guns and got deep. Going left into the cover, she got back deep again. She hunted the area around the guns and back out into the cover deep of the fall. She worked it out and back to her bird.

Short Retired - Reatha went down the field and cut left into the short tree line with the short retired bird. Coming back wide right and deep, she worked her way back into the trees and cover and got it.

Long Retired - Great line down the field, with a tight hunt pattern and she got the bird.

No Bird - 19. FC-AFC CHOPPER'S FINAL APPROACH, "Billie" LF, John Henninger

"Billie" and John came to the line and received a no bird. They will go back 5 spots and have their rerun in the 6th spot back

Picked Up - 8. FC-AFC WOOD RIVER'S MR BIG, "George" LM, Bill Fruehling

"George" and Bill came to the line at 7:30 am

Right Flyer - Quick work of this bird.

Short Retired - Out past the guns and into the cover. George missed the bird and worked his way back to get the short retired.

Middle Retired - He went wide right into the heavy cover. He got very wide right then came back across and hunted the area hard left of the guns. He worked it out and got his bird.

Left Flyer - His initial hunt was between the gunners and the trees. He worked across the timber to the short retired. George had to be handled to the bird and then picked up.

Test Dog 2 - 8th Series - Phillie with handler Erin O'Brien

The second test dog came to the line at 7:04 am and received a no bird. This team came back at 7:13 am.

Right Flyer - Nice Flyer

Left Flyer - Phillie came across the field to the guns and got into the heavy cover and got the bird.

Left Retired - Going down the middle of the field between the left retired and the middle retired going out long. The bird boys at the left retired were out to help calling her in from the field just deep of the left flyer.

Middle  - She went under the arc, turned right and went to the bird.

Test Dog 1 - Series 8 - Ranger with handler Jason Fleming

 The first Test Dog came to the line at 6:45 am.

Right Flyer - Ranger got out to the frozen heavy cover and had a tight hunt and got his bird.

Left Flyer - Handled - He went to the short retired set of the trees. Go the the end which is behind the left flyer station. He hunted the area hard at the end of the trees. He had to be handled as he started towards the flyer and back to the short retired. He ended up with the left flyer with help from the gunners.

Short Retired - Ranger got to the field just right of the trees with the short retired. He could not find it and the gunners came out. The bird landed up in the trees.

Long Retired - He went out to the end of the tree line and went left instead of right. Ranger had to be handled back to the bird.

Series 8 - Land Quad

Series 8 - Land Quad

We are in a field framed by trees and dotted with hay bales that for the moment are snow covered. The field has mowed strips and large squares of cover.

The mat faces northeast for this Land Quad. It sits on a raised edge of the field. The shadows on the right side of the field will diminish as the sun clears the tree line on the right.

Long Retired: The first bird is a dead rooster thrown to the right at 295 yards. The gunners stand at the base of trees and they retire behind bales of hay. The line will carry the dogs through a mowed area to the area of cover where the bird lands.

Left Flyer: The second bird is a hen flyer with the gunners standing at the right edge of a large square of cover, but left of an island of trees separating the second and third gun stations. The bird is 215 yards from the mat.

Short Retired: The third bird is a hen pheasant at 165 yards. This bird is thrown angled back to the right. The gunners will retire inside the trees.

Right Flyer: The fourth and final bird is a flyer drake. It is 100 yards from the mat and shot into heavy cover.

Eighth Series – Land Quad with Two Flyers and Two Retired

Bird One: Long Retired – 295 yards

Bird 2: Left Flyer – 215 yards

Bird 3: Short Retired – 165 yards

Bird 4: Right Flyer – 100 yards

Sketch of Series Eight by Official Artist Jean Wu

 Aerial diagram by David Colwell