Passing six Master Hunt, (MH) tests to qualify for the Master National, (MN) is not an easy endeavor.
Handler/dog teams must spend countless hours of advanced retriever training to keep their skills sharp. Dogs with big hearts, drive and trainability inspire you to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to qualify for the MN. Angel is just that type of dog.
Luckily, we got into the Sooner Retriever Club, (RC) in Oklahoma in mid-September. The demand for Master stakes are high with 180 spots filled within a few minutes online, so you’ve got to be on your toes just to get entered. We earned our first master pass of the season but, it came at a price, costing a grand for an emergency vet clinic visit and truck repairs!
At the beginning of October, I volunteered to be a worker at the Four States double masters. I arrived in Arkansas sick with a cold, but did the best I could to load wingers and help with the equipment setups. The first series started off with a delayed quadruple set of marks! Angel pulled it off and we got a couple of well-earned passes that weekend. Normally, I’d share our success with anyone willing to listen on the way home. This time I could barely talk and thought to myself, “this wasn’t going to be a normal sore throat I could just man-up and ignore.”
A few weeks later, with a heavy heart, I had to scratch us from the Master National due to my ongoing illness. The simple effort of standing upright and blowing a dog whistle was out of the question. Fall duck season and holidays passed by slowly. Angel stayed glued to my side as I rested.
When I could muster up the strength, retriever training served as my ongoing self-prescribed physical therapy. I’d often stagger out into the field with Angel for a brief training session and return home to sleep for hours. The goal of returning to the MN served as a motivator to keep me going. She always rewarded my effort by giving her all on the field.
Family and friends helped us to prepare in earnest for the spring hunt tests. Naturally, I figured I could will myself well enough to drive to the tests, but it was out of the question. Thankfully, Carla, my wife was able to drive me to every hunt test. Otherwise, our goal of qualifying for the 2016 MN would have been impossible. Angel passed some challenging tests at the Rose Country RC and Bryan-College Station RC masters with flying colors. With five passes for the season we just needed one more.
Getting the sixth pass to qualify turned out to be a struggle. We failed Brazosport and Waterloo club tests due in part to my dizziness and slow reaction time as a handler. Angel was also hyper at the line having missed training while recovering from a cut pad injury. She glanced back at me as I healed her to the line with eyes saying, “Don’t worry boss, I’ve got ya covered. Just stand there and hang on to the gun.”
We ate a little humble pie after a string of consecutive passes. My frustration with pain, fatigue and poor balance after six months lead to an MRI and a change in medication. I was still struggling to make it through a normal day after six months!
Mrs. E drove me to the doctors’ appointments and has supported my recovery every step of the way. So, it came as no big surprise when she offered to drive us to the double masters in Kansas. Shortly after signing up for the test Angel cut another pad, different pond this time. She was on the mend for two weeks. Maybe it was for the better? I needed the rest. We headed up north with only four days of tune up training.
Beautiful Kansas terrain, sunshine and cool 20mph winds greeted us for the Friday master test. The judges set up three solid series with an ample number of factors to challenge the dogs and handlers. (See below for Youtube video links of the test.) The third and final series turned out to be Angel’s moment to shine.
Her last mark, a long memory bird up the middle, required multiple in and out water entries. On her way out she took a jolt to the chest in an unexpected shallow pocket of water. The gallery gasped as she ricocheted to the side, never breaking stride on her way to pinning the mark. Jayhawk RC – Long memory mark
She ended the test by taking a solid line on a down the shore water blind. We only needed a couple of crisp, short casts to finish. The judges complimented and the gallery applauded us as we left the line. Angel had qualified for her third consecutive MN at 3.5 years old! Jayhawk RC- Water blind
In conclusion, the road to the Master National is a tough haul under the best of circumstances. Qualifying for the annual event is an accomplishment to be proud of. We beat back all the misfortunes in our path. Time for us to take a deep breath, continue toward a full recovery and just be very thankful for being able to travel this road.
See y’all in St. Louis!
Jayhawk RC – FRI-MH 1st Series -Go Bird
Jayhawk RC FRI-MH 1st Series – Right mark pickup
Jayhawk RC FRI-MH 1st Series – Middle pick up
Jayhawk RC FRI Ser 1 Right Hand blind
Jayhawk RC FRI Ser 1 Left Hand blind
Jayhawk RC FRI-MH 2nd Series- Walk up triple – Go Bird
Jayhawk RC – FRI-MH 2nd Series Right hand pick up
Jayhawk RC FRI-MH 2nd Series Middle pick up
Jayhawk RC FRI-MH 3rd Series – Triple – Go Bird
Jayhawk RC FRI-MH 3rd Series – left pick up
Jayhawk FRI-MH 3rd Series – Long memory pick up
Jayhawk RC FRI-MH 3rd Series – Water blind