Pat’s Perspective
6th Series
Last Saturday, 128 qualified dogs started the National.
As of Wednesday morning, 66 dogs qualified for the final half of the
2019 National Amateur. One of the
handlers just came into my tent and said that the National has just begun. The 2nd set of landmarks is often the most
difficult land marks in the trial. This
is where the cream starts to rise to the top.
On this day, I am looking at a
land quad with 2 retired guns and 2 flyers.
When I first viewed the line I thought, OMG. However, the dogs seem to be making sense of
the test. It’s a testament to the
quality of today’s dogs. There have been
hunts on all 3 memory birds. But for the
most part, little handling at this point.
The mechanics and time management have been phenomenal. These judges have been spot on. It appears that they will have 6 series
completed by the end of the day. That
would give them 3 days to complete 4 series, which should be very doable. Three of those series are likely to be
marks. And if the first 3 sets of marks
are any indication, I can’t wait to see what’s coming next. Winning this trial will come down to
marks. Just like it’s supposed to
be. So stay tuned in and we will keep you
updated…
