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2013 - Puppy Stakes
The Future Stars -
by Julie Reardon
“Your pup will have some big paws to fill; look at the all age dogs
that are listed on this,” Linda Harger said to Ed Bahr as she handed
him the impressive trophy for winning the senior puppy stakes at the
ACC 2013 Field Trial Specialty in Cheraw, SC on October 31. Bahr’s
pup, “Fatz” (Rudy’s Chasing Minnesota Fatz), is off to a good
start:the 9-month-old brown puppy earned a JAM in the derby in
addition to his puppy win. Roux (Rudy Fatty Tryst Sassy Roux), owned
by Jim and Cathy Scroggins and run by Cathy, was second. Sandy
Dollar’s Cur-San’s Night Magic placed third, and Yves Paquette’s
Pond Hollow Rock on Graceland JH was 4th.
Puppy judges Mary and Sidney Williams set up straightforward land
and water singles for the puppies down the hill from where the Open
all age stake had been held, utilizing a bit of terrain and cover to
test the young dogs. The Scroggins, who’d driven from TX to SC just
to run the puppy stakes with their two young dogs, collected a
trophy and win with their younger pup, run by Cathy, in the junior
division to go with their senior 2nd. Deke, (Platte
River’s Decoy Dancer), put in a very polished performance, unfazed
by his other owner Jim, who’d stepped up to help throw for the
puppies bird boys which happened to be Cathy’s husband Jim. He’d
volunteered to help, explaining, “It’s OK, I throw marks all the
time when she runs them. ”Second was Pottsy, (Hope Springs Little
Ponzi) who also marked well but did a few victory laps before
returning to heel.
There was more than a little confusion, opinions and ideas for the
puppies, as junior and senior puppy stakes are all but extinct at
field trials today and no one was able to locate any guidelines for
them. They fall under the AKC category of “non-regular classes” but
while there were plenty of opinions, no one could definitively offer
up any official instructions or rules. However, Mary and Sidney
handled all the questions and differing opinions with grace and
professionalism. The premium stated the puppy stakes was for 4 to 5
month old pups, but the online entry service program rejected baby
puppy entries with a bland computer-generated message stating no
dogs under 6 months were eligible for AKC field trials, so people
weren’t able to enter in advance. And some were confused at how the
age cut off works. Like puppy classes at AKC conformation shows, a
pup that has turned 9 months before the trial starts, even by one
day, is ineligible for the 6 to 9 month class, and belongs in the 9
to 12 month class.
Baby puppies created even more confusion. It had been announced at
the dinners and during the trial that anyone could enter any puppy
under 6 months for $10. But Harger explained that the newly donated
Hoagland-Lundy Challenge Trophy was for pups from 3 to 6 months, not
4 to 6 months as was stated in the premium and on the website. When
the dust settled, everyone with a puppy got a chance to run it on
some age-appropriate marks, even if they weren’t in contention.
There was no debate about who won, though: Laurea Griggs’ “Fen”,
Coolwaters Roane Point, a precocious 4 month old brown female, edged
John Ackerman’s deadgrass Decks pup, Rufus, who got the
second-placed award. |
