On March 15th Dogs Unlimited made the trip to Danville, Virginia to attend and compete in the 2009 AKC Gun Dog Championships.  This was our first trip to Fred Leggett's Cloverdale Farms and we were treated to a tremendous venue and fantastic hospitality.  Cloverdale Farms is manicured to field trial perfection with quality quail habitat -- a mixture of farm fields, hedgerows and timber stands.  And the weather couldn't be any better for running bird dogs and visiting with the other competitors.

Our stay in Danville was an excellent experience and we truly enjoyed meeting people we had not met before and renewing old friendships. Tim Carwile and Bonnie Hidalgo, co-chairs of the Championships, and their volunteers did an excellent job making this event a first class Championship.  And kudos need to be extended to the AKC staff for all of their hard work and endless hours making sure this was the finest AKC Gun Dog Championships yet.

After Tuesday's running Dogs Unlimited hosted a social hour for the participants, AKC staff and trial hosts.  It was an absolute pleasure conversing with everyone about the day's running and the good dogs we saw. The evening ended with an excellent prime rib dinner.

Earlier on Tuesday our own Good Dog FC AO Wildfire's Solo Express, a long legged 7 year old male German Shorthaired Pointer, competed in the Retrieving portion of the Championships and was drawn to run in the 9th brace.  Our brace ran mid-afternoon, the weather was nice but the breeze was slight, making scenting conditions a bit challenging.  Solo's breakaway was strong and to the front along with his bracemate.  About 6 minutes into the running, Solo's bracemate was found standing so we headed to the front to find our own birds. Covering the ground with grace and speed Solo made all the right moves and hit all of the likely places; some where birds had been pointed in previous braces and places where other dogs had yet to go.  Unfortunately Solo's only bird contact came at approximately 24 minutes into the 30 minute brace with a stop to flush which he handled nicely.  He finished strong and to the front but failed to meet the requirements to be called back to the second series.

For us this was the first trial of the spring season and we look forward to what the season has to bring. 

Good luck to you and your Good Dogs for the upcoming season.