5th Series

We arrived bright and early at Edwards Training Kennel owned by Mark Edwards. We drove the ranch road over a large dam to a big hillside overlooking two ponds. The two ponds are about a half acre each and they are nestled in the bottom of a bowl shaped piece of terrain. The sun is rising over our shoulders and the steam is dissipating from the ponds for a picturesque view a top of this big hill.

The mat faces due north overlooking the south side of the Edwards Training property located on TX-56 just east of downtown Bonham, Texas. This test for Series 5 is a Water Triple with an Honor. It will be the first honor included in this 2016 National Retriever Championship. The first bird to be thrown in this triple is due north of the mat measuring a distance of 340 yards. The gunners are positioned high on the far hillside across the first pond to the east. This gun station throws a dead Rooster to the right landing in a depression of heavy cover. The fall of the bird lands deep and tight to the back side of the Flyer station, some refer to this concept as a reverse "Hip Pocket" or affectionately referred to as the "Sanger Special," a phrase coined by none than old-time field trial pro, Jim Swan who happens to reside in Sanger, Texas to this day. A good line to this bird seems to be a bit of a swim cutting a sizable corner of the first pond. The first mark will be referred to as the middle retired or MR since these gunners retired behind a bulky tight group of trees.

The next mark to be thrown in this triple is about 20 degrees to the west located on a point protruding from the north western shoreline of the second pond. The second mark to be thrown is a dead Hen Pheasant landing at the on the opposite shore from the base where the gun station sit. This Hen is landing on the shore in medium to heavy cover. This station retires into an clump of dark brown grasses. The second mark will be referred to as the left retired or LR and it is measuring a distance of 204 yards.

The "go-bird" or last bird down as some say is a big swing across the test to the northeast. It is a Drake Mallard Flyer thrown to the right landing in a and around a enormous gully with heavy cover. We will refer to this mark as a Flyer and it measures a distance of 228 yards from the mat. All birds require a swim of vary distance en route to the fall area. We are average between 15 and 17 minutes per dog to complete. Once the dog has delivered the last bird the handler moves to another mat east of the first. Here the handler dog team will honor the shots and throws of the next competing dog before they are excused and considered to have completed the test. This is a big test with some meat to it! Good Luck To All!

Middle Retired – Rooster Pheasant

Left Retired – Hen Pheasant 

Right Flyer – Hen Duck