Me Home

[Bev]

I'm finally back after attending the 2-day trial in Virginia, and I had a lot of fun. There were 60 dogs and their accumulated score for two days determined the winners. They ran 4 hours each day, and the whole class (both sexes) ran together. The height limit was 15" because the Canadian boys don't run anything taller, and they want to keep the trial even for both countries. I judged in the woods all day on Saturday, half day on Sunday, then went back to the clubhouse to start tallying the scores accumulated by the judging partners. There were 9 pairs of judges in the woods. They would bring the rest of the scores in after all dogs are caught up.

Here are a few pics; I won't post them all because the owners haven't seen them yet, and frankly, most of you won't give a hoot about this sort of trial anyway, LOL. Nevertheless, I got some good pics. Cameras inside the fox pen are not a good thing with the pressure being put on these boys nowadays by the tree-huggers, so those are at a minimum.

This kennel house at Poole's Fox Pen can house 1500 dogs and each kennel has water and electricity run to it.




Here are my hounds that competed (before they were painted):

BigGun and Apache



Mohawk and BigGun



All three perked up when the Walkers came in from their deer hunt.



Patch (Apache) was the only dog of mine to finish in the top ten males. He's was 6th:



Here is Darrell Summerall from Georgia, flanked by Southern Fat Boys, Andy Hodge and Rusty Avins of South Carolina:



A typical day's tally sheet (this was the females'):



Here's the weather in Southern Virginia the second day of the trial before I left to come home. This is one of the judges running up to score a line:



After we left Virginia and headed north back to Canada, the weather changed a bit. Here's what it looked like in PBGA Land, just about 4 hours north:



Finally, here's what was on the go in UpState New York and Canada 6 hours later:





After dropping the dogs off in Ontario, Dan drove me back to the airport in Syracuse, whereby a connecting flight thru Detroit, I arrived home in Indianapolis last night. Overall, I put over 3,200 miles behind me to attend the trial. I had a blast, but it's good to be home. That will be my last trial for a good long time. The complete results for anyone interested will be posted later on the CBFTA website: http://www.cdnbeagleonfox.com

Now that I have this one out of the way, I gotta finish that stud book. Eagle, I should have something for you tonight. Steve M, after Trails' win at Oshawa, that changes the whole complexion of things. You may want to make some changes to your ad. You're 11 points away from owning an IFC! Well-deserved, I might add.

Thanks Stony and Pike Ridge, for minding the store whilst I loafed.

[Schag]

Nice pictures Bev. Nice looking hounds too!

[NorWester]

Nice work placing in the top 10

Couldn't have been too bad going up north, I see there is still plenty of open water there.

[oakhill]

Welcome home, Bev!!! Loved the pictures!!! But, where are the ones you sent me of you dancing on the table top at the club house????


ROFLMAO

[Pike Ridge Beagles]

Welcome back. Nice pics and looked like a lot of fun. Congrats!!!

[chuck r]

Hey Bev,
Chuck R.Do they score hunting,trailing, speed n driv ,endurance? Looks just like when I used to fox trial.I surely would be int,in that.Awsem when they turn that many hounds loose at one time.

[Bev]

Thanks y'all. It was a good time. There's nothing like a good fox chase. We ran mostly coyotes this time. Those coyotes will lope along in front of the dogs all day. They are smaller and much different than the ones we deal with in the wild. All in all, I still like running in Canada a little better because it's all red fox in the pens. Virginia has some pens that are fox only, I just haven't had the opportunity to run in them. They say a grey fox makes the dogs work more on trailing as they will try to slip the dogs much like a cottontail does. The red fox runs more like a big hare.

Chuck, they score the first five dogs across the line (speed and drive), but there are some to the side of the line that are close to the front and don't get scored. They also don't get scored if they are not claiming. They are scored for checks, although on a big stinky animal like fox or coyote, there aren't many checks. They will also give check points to a dog that turns with the line when the front dogs overrun. Speed is a big thing, but line is not overlooked -- it's very important. They will scratch a hound for loafing (quitting)...that is 5 minutes loitering around -- accumulative or consecutive; the dog must hunt and hark. So the answer to your question is no, they don't score hunt because it's a given they had better hunt. They will be in the truck or holding pen if they don't. There are some "road runners" but they tend to eliminate themselves by not being in the pack and on the line.

[chapkosbeagles]

them are some nice hounds bev and some great pics too

[Pike Ridge Beagles]

Have you rested up yet? Now get them two in the backyard started!

[Bev]

Got any winning lottery tickets you don't need? (lol) If I keep the two that are still in the back yard, that will have to be contracted out.

[Bev]

Got any winning lottery tickets you don't need? (lol) If I keep the two that are still in the back yard, that will have to be contracted out.