The Tenth Series is being held on Breck and Cindy Howard's Bear Ranch. Bear Ranch is one of very the earliest retriever properties developed in the Mission Valley. It was acquired 30 years ago, back when the Mission Valley retriever community, now totaling over 20 training properties, consisted of professional trainer Don Remien and just a few other pioneering retriever enthusiasts. Bear Ranch was acquired as three parcels, with the middle connecting section acquired 5 years ago, after which the Bear Ranch stretched for a full mile, running from section road to section road.
The original ponds built 30 years ago by the Howards were created under the sponsorship of a federal waterfowl restoration program and were put in at the suggestion of the federal program officials who spotted the habitat and bird production potential of the area. This is a nice example of habitat protection and retriever training supporting each other's goals. Since then the Howards have added several more ponds and there are now numerous ponds on the Ranch. The aerial photographs taken for this event by Elite Retrievers show only a portion of them!
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