Hunt & Field National Championship Issue 2023

February/ March 2023

The National Championship for Bird Dogs Issue

2023 National Champion: Miller’s Blindsider Owned by Nick Berrong Handled by Jamie Daniels Scouted by Judd Carlton

2021 NATIONAL FIELD TRIAL CHAMPION

COLDWATER THUNDER HANDLER, STEVE HURDLE

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Contents 10

National Championship Section

14

Contending Bird Dog Profiles

12 28

2023 National Champion Miller’s Blindsider National Bird Dog Museum Hall of Fame Inductees

30

The Decline of Bobwhite Quail

33

The Field Trial Horse

36 41 44 4 Hunt & Field

Ames Plantation’s Brick Stables The Mysterious Wasting Syndrome Forestry & Conservation

On the Cover:

Miller’s Blindsider photographed

by Lauren Abbott at the National Championship Awards Ceremony.

Publisher’s Note

Vision.

I am overwhelmed with excitement to share our first issue of Hunt & Field in its new format. Since 1986 the Field Trial Review has published countless stories of infamous bird dogs, their handlers, owners and trusted steeds. When I acquired the publication in June of 2022 I took a hard look at the classic newsprint version. I had a vision of how this publication could transition into a sophisticated and timeless magazine that celebrates the Field Trial, Bird Dog and all gun dog and equine hunting sports that fill our hearts.

I was born into a horse family. My mother grew up in Knoxville, Tenn. She rode gaited horses and showed American Saddlebreds. She always said there was nothing greater than a fine gaited horse cantering in an open field. She learned how to ride her gaited pony bareback before ever owning a saddle or taking a riding lesson.

When she moved to Memphis, Tenn. as a young 21-year-old the first horse friend she made was Mary Jo Land. Mary Jo, known to us as Mama Jo, was a pint sized, feisty and spirited horse woman. She was fearless, headstrong, and hilarious. She too rode gaited horses and she loved Field Trialing. Mary Jo would call my mom and tell her when and where they were riding. My mom would show up at Mary Jo’s farm in Olive Branch, Miss. They would load the horses and make their way towards Ames Plantation. It is a past time my mom speaks fondly about when remembering her old friend.

My mother shared her passion for horses with her five children. In the Greater Memphis area Hunter/ Jumpers ruled the equine community, so we rode hunters. I had the great fortune of learning to ride and own Thoroughbreds. They made me tough. The Thoroughbred is definitely not a Field Trial horse but I knew, if I were to step into this community, to tell your stories, I needed to have my own Field Trial experiences.

When I made the decision to acquire the Mid-South Horse Review and the Field Trial Review one of the first people I told was Amy Weatherly, who lives on Ames Plantation with her husband Chris. Chris works for Ames and serves as a Marshall during the Nationals.

Amy is my equine vet and friend. I knew she would help me learn the world of Field Trials and Bird Dogs and who I needed to meet.

Amy and Chris were kind enough to reserve one of the Ames’ horses for me to ride in my first Field Trial. Chris said, “You’ll be riding ‘Bone Crusher’ today!” As we laughed a fellow field trialer said, “Don’t worry, I’m riding ‘Widow Maker!’”

Yes! These are my kind of horse people: welcoming, laid back, and hilarious, just like Mama Jo. I was fortunate to mount at the front of Ames Manor and ride a full three hour brace. To be honest, I am just getting back to riding since having my daughter last March. I am proud to say, I could dismount, still walk, and I was not as sore or immobile the next day as I thought I would be.

I experienced a wonderful ride under cloudy skies and upper 60 degree temperatures. I laughed with other members of the gallery, didn’t get as muddy as I thought I would, and I got to witness, first hand, the athleticism and beauty of the amazing bird dogs, their handlers and their scouts. I saw a couple of covey and a dog that ran for three hours straight. I’d say my first experience was a successful one!

I am truly thankful to all who welcomed me at Ames and the National Championship. Dr. Rick Carlisle gave me a condensed history of the sport, Ames, and its legacy. Dr. Allan Houston filled me in on the Ames ecological community- quail, deer, livestock, forestry, etc. And Jamie Evans, and his wife Dee, were gracious to share photography from every brace with my team. Amy and Chris Weatherly introduced me to wonderful people- the judges, handlers, owners, staff, and long time friends of the National Championship and Ames.

So what’s the vision of Hunt & Field? Ultimately, when researching bird and gun dog sports I knew if I was going to publish anything, I wanted to publish content that was not rushed and hastily pulled together. I wanted to be thoughtful with the stories, photography and design. I wanted to share the beauty that goes with this sport. I wanted to share the love for these dogs and horses. I wanted to present this sport with a modern and thriving heartbeat that could be felt through the pages.

Some say this is a sport of an older generation, and it has been for some time. My vision for Hunt & Field is to help spread this sport year round with interested enthusiasts to help bring excitement to younger generations. If I can ask you a couple of favors, one is to support this magazine, and the other is to teach me all about your sport. I am a horse loving, outdoor girl who doesn’t know the ins and outs of the bird dog world just yet, but I promise, I am invested and in for the long haul.

I am gracious for all the new friends I have made throughout this process and during the National Championship. We will be publishing Hunt & Field quarterly so please plan to subscribe and follow our journey into your world.

Lauren Pigford Abbott Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Lester’s Shocwave | Photo by Jamie Evans

February- March 2023 Volume 1, Issue 1 Publisher & Editor-In-Chief Lauren Pigford Abbott info@huntandfieldmag.com 901- 279- 4634

Office & Accounts Manager Andrea Winfrey andrea@mshorsereview.com 901-867-1755

Advertising & Marketing

info@huntandfieldmag.com

Contributing Writers & Photographers Dr. Allan Houston Alicia Johnson Jamie Evans Jill Easton Vera Courtney

Creative & Design Team

Arkansas State University Graphic Design Co-Lab Professor Kim Vickrey Students: Coty Western, Courtney Garner, Emily Hastings, Harley Yates, Serena Hankins, Trinity Simmons

Hunt & Field is published four times a year by Ford Abbott Media, LLC. Subscriptions are $45 US for one year, $80 for two years. To subscribe visit www.huntandfieldmag.com or email info@huntandfieldmag.com Mailing address: P.O. Box 594 | Arlington, TN 38002 Office Phone: 901-867-1755 To submit articles, artwork and press releases please email: info@huntandfieldmag.com We cannot guarantee publication or return of manuscripts or artwork. reproduction of editorial content, photographs or advertising is strictly prohibited without written permission of the publisher, Ford Abbott Media, LLC. ©Ford Abbott Media, LLC www.huntandfieldmag.com 6 Hunt & Field

Hunt & Field 7

Field Trial Review Adieu

Dear Field Trailers: We officially retired from the Field Trial Review and the Mid-South Horse Review in midJune 2022. We are leaving you in the capable hands of Lauren Pigford Abbott, who was the first graphics arts person we hired in 2009. She is a horse and dog person, with a degree in Journalism from the University of Mississippi. She has extensive experience in publishing. After leaving us in 2010 she went on to work for the Memphis Business Journal and worked alongside every department: editorial, advertising, circulation and design for over a decade. She returned and acquired both publications from us in June 2022. She has planned the Field Trial Review rebrand thoughtfully to Hunt & Field, transitioning it to a quarterly magazine covering a variety of horse and dog hunting sports in addition to the National Championship.

When we first took over Don Dowdle’s “Review” legacy in 2009, we didn’t know much about bird dog field trials or the National Championship. But you welcomed us into your world and taught us all about the sport. We are grateful to all the people who helped us along the way and contributed to the making of the Field Trial Review each year. The Ames folks, Beth Hannah, Rick Carlisle, Allan Houston, and Jamie Evans were essential. Brad Harter contributed multiple articles and photos to the FTR each year and mailed out the publication with every National Championship video purchased. Folks know how hard he works filming the National Championship all day and then editing film and photos at night. Chris Mathan and Mazie Davis got us started on the “successful women in field trialing” series and Chris contributed stunning photos of dogs and great stories about youth field trials. Ken Blackman became a valuable friend, introducing us to the people involved and their history with the dogs. Steeple Bell (and Amy Spencer) provided detailed information about the dogs running in each year’s National Championship. Gary Lockee kept us focused on Grand Junction - the Bird Dog Capital of the world - and shared his wisdom accumulated over the ages as he guided tours of the Bird Dog Museum. Tonya Brotherton, and her predecessor David Smith, kept us informed about all events at the Bird Dog Museum, and Regina Brotherton and the Hickory Valley folks provided wonderful hospitality over the years. Thanks to William Smith for his in-depth articles about the sport and to Berny Matthys for his contributions from American Field. Many thanks to Vera Courtney for generously sharing her photos and for her guidance around the field trial course and introduction to many great people. We have gotten to know so many fine folks in the field trial world, and we greatly appreciate all you have done for us and the Field Trial Review.

We gained a tremendous respect for the Tennessee Walking Horses, and other gaited horses, who safely carry folks across the terrain at Ames Plantation for the three-hour braces; who obediently ground tie; and who carry tired bird dogs back to the kennels after their runs.

We enjoyed the heartwarming stories of these outstanding champion dogs who were family pets in their “off” time. There were stories about dogs resting on the couch with their favorite person. We wrote about 2010 National Champion In the Shadow, owned by Carl Bowman, who rode in the car to the bank to get treats from the bank teller as he looked out the sunroof. The magnificent Setter Shadow Oak Bo, handled by the late Robin Gates and owned by the late Butch Houston, put in two outstanding performances to be the first Setter in 43 years to win the National Championship - twice in a row, in 2013 and 2014.

We have gotten to know and respect the best dog trainers, breeders, and handlers in the sport, as well as the devoted, enthusiastic dog owners. We enjoyed publishing stories about past bird dog champions (Brad Harter), the history at Ames (Jamie Evans), and the funny misadventures of Allan Houston. Every photo we took of Rick Carlisle shows him smiling - whether at the beginning of a brace or at the end. Piper Huffman is always photogenic and one of the best looking field trailers in the gallery. We finally got a photo of the most popular Scout, Nick Thompson, on the cover of the FTR one year. Our most popular cover photo was of Rachel Blackwell Russell and Coldwater Thunder (aka Lulu, 2021 National Champion). Another popular photo was of Gary Lester kissing his wife on the steps of the Ames Manor House in 2022. And we got to know and enjoy the cuisine of the best chef ever - the late Catherine Bowling-Dean of Me and My Tea Room.

We have certainly enjoyed our 13 years with the Field Trial Review, although not the late Saturday nights completing the last pages to send to press. The latter years of broadcasting the drawing on Facebook, with Jamie and Dee Evans posting the order of go on the Ames website, greatly facilitated that task. There is not room herein to name all the people who helped us at the Field Trial Review, but rest assured, we are grateful to all of you who helped us learn the ropes and get the job done.

Sincerely, Tommy and Nancy Brannon 8 Hunt & Field

Hunt & Field 9

2023 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

BIRD DOG PROFILES WRITTEN BY STEEPLE BELL PHOTOGRAPHY BY JAMIE EVANS

2022 National Champion Lester’s Shockwave

Making his run in the 2023 Championships

Owner: Nick Berrong

Handler: Jamie Daniels (photo by Vera Courtney)

Miller’s Blindsider is the 2023 National Champion. He made his third run here having re-qualified by winning the Masters Open Quail Championship last spring. He has also taken two runner-up titles this season, at the Georgia Quail and Southeastern Championships, and a first at the American Quail Classic. Sam is a six year old, white, orange, and ticked pointer dog bred by Fran and Jack Miller.

He is by Just Irresistible, who is out of Miller’s Bring The Heat. Jamie Daniels handled Sam for Nick Berrong and Judd Carlton scouted.

Just Irresistible (call name Stud Muffin) was inducted into the National Bird Dog Museum’s Hall of Fame this year. He was by Riverton’s Funseekin Scooter out of Just Wait Bess, and was a contestant here four times starting back in 2014. Miller’s Blindsider’s dam Miller’s Bring The Heat has been a notable producer of champions herself, as was her sister Miller’s White Wall (dam of two time national champion Lester’s Sunny Hill Jo). They were by national champion Lester’s Snowatch out of L G White Lily (and she was a sister of Phillips Silver Star another national champion’s dam, Miller’s Dialing In). Miller’s Blindsider’s son, Rester’s Cajun Spirit is another competitor this year.

Owner, Nick Berrong says what sets Sam apart from other dogs is his endurance. “This dog does not get tired.

Even at the end of his three hour run he had his tail up.”

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Owner: Nick Berrong , Handler: Jamie Daniels, and Scout: Judd Carlton.

124th NATIONAL CHAMPION MILLER’S BLINDSIDER

Scout:Judd JuddCarlton Carltonwith & Miller’s Blindside before therelease. morning release Scout: Miller’s Blindsider before

Sam made his run early in the week. He was in Brace three that set out in the morning under cloudy skies and 54 degrees. Ames Plantation’s daily synopsis shared, “Miller’s Blindsider had a find at :04 in the Out Front Field, a find at :15 at the south end of the Morgan Field, a find at :25 at the Turner House Crossing, a find at :33 at the end of Turner Neck, a find at 1:29 at the north end of New Basin and a find at 1:47 at Edward Clark South. Blindsider finished the three hours.” He had six total finds, leading early and maintaining his impressive run for the remainder of the Championship.

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Hunt & Field 13

2023 National Contenders

Bonner Bulletproof

Chinquapin Legacy

Bonner’s Bullet Proof was the first dog to qualify with a single win under the new “win and in” rule, having won the Missouri Open Championship last spring. In this past season he also garnered a runnerup at the Oklahoma Championship and two second places, Kentucky Quail Classic and Pelican State Open All-Age. Bo is a white, orange, and ticked pointer dog who will be just days shy of five years old for his rookie run here this year. He was sired by Miller’s Speed Dial and is out of Miller’s Martha White, and was bred by Derek Bonner. Randy Anderson will handle Bo for his owner Dr. Chris Cornman.

Bo’s sire, Miller’s Speed Dial was the 2020 National Champion and also a contestant this year. There will be more information about him in his profile. Bo’s dam, Miller’s Martha White is a sister to the previous contestant Miller’s Creative Cause who ran here in 2016 and 2017. She is by Miller’s Happy Jack and out of Muddy Water Kate. Since Miller’s Happy Jack is also the grandsire of Miller’s Speed Dial, Bo exemplifies the “Miller”, “White Dog” line breeding. Derek Bonner has been breeding a number of good dogs lately, including three of this year’s contestants.

Chinquapin Legacy was co-owned and bred by the late E L “Ted” Baker and returned for his second run with John Baker as his sole owner now. Paul has re-qualified with a first place at the Sunshine (Fla) FTC Classic. He last ran here back in 2020, the year that he won the Florida Championship. Paul is a white, black, and ticked eight year old pointer dog. He is by Chinquapin Reward out of Hilltopper Solid Anne.

Slade Sikes will be handling Chinquapin Legacy.

Though Chinquapin Legacy was named years before Ted Baker’s passing, in hindsight he does appear to have been appropriately named. Ted Baker was the perennial host of the Florida Championship and will be duly missed. Paul’s pedigree shows the mating of two offspring of Solid Reward: Chinquapin Reward is by Solid Reward out of Chinquapin Well Liz, and Hilltopper Solid Anne is by Solid Reward out of Alibi’s Penny. This line goes back to T Jack Robinson’s Evolution and still further back to Manitoba Rap.

Owner: Dr. Chris Cornman

Owners: John & E.L. “Ted”

Handler: Randy Anderson

Handler: Slade Sikes

Scout: Bubba Spencer Pictured L to R: Dr. Chris Cornman and his wife Terry, Randy Anderson (handler) and Bubba Spencer (scout).

14 Hunt & Field

Baker

Scout: Jamie Daniels

Pictured: Handler, Slade Sikes with Chinquapin Legacy

2023 National Contenders

Confident Nation

Dream Chaser

Confident Nation was sired by Frank LaNasa’s True Confidence, a former contestant here, and is out of Southern Songbird. Smoke, a four year old pointer dog, qualified with wins of the recent Georgia Quail Championship and last spring’s Southeastern Quail Championship. In all, Smoke holds seven championship titles including his shooting dog and amateur wins. Luke Eisenhart will handle this white, orange, and ticked rookie contestant for his owner Scott Jordan.

Smoke’s sire, True Confidence is a grandson of the 2007 National Champion Funseeker’s Rebel. Smoke’s dam, Southern Songbird is tightly bred to Sean Derrig’s “Erin” dogs, she is by Erin’s Redrum (by Erin’s Whiskey River out of Erin’s Wild Rose) and out of Erin’s Rose Bud (by Erin’s Stoney River out of Erin’s Wild Rose). Remember here that Erin’s Whiskey River and Erin’s Stoney River are both sons of Erin’s Bad River. Erin’s Wild Rose was the dam of three national championship contestants: Erin’s Redrum, Erin’s Longmire, and Erin’s Braveheart.

Confident Nation was scratched at the drawing and did not run in the 2023 National.

Dream Chaser has requalified for this year’s competition with a second place at the North Dakota Classic.

This was his second run, though it is his third year to qualify, as he was scratched his first year. Chaser is a six year old; white, liver, and ticked pointer dog who was bred by David Hendricks. He is by Pleasant Run Bob out of House’s Wild Bess Again. Chaser will be handled by Andy Daugherty for his owner Brad Calkins.

Hendrix’s Touch Up and Dream Chaser are littermate siblings.

Their sire, Pleasant Run Bob is a son of Touch’s Knight Rider, who appears in the pedigree of many of this year’s contestants.

Pleasant Run Bob’s dam was Pleasant Run Judy who is by House’s White Hawk out of Quinton’s Blackeyed Sue (who was the dam of the former contestant Mercer Mill Grand). House’s White Hawk has the same breeding (by House’s Line Up out of Blackhawk’s Sunflower) as House’s Wild Bess Again, the dam of Hendrix’s Touch Up and Dream Chaser. Blackhawk’s Sunflower is a sister of Sparkles, the bitch who recently set new records of production.

Owner: Scott Jordan

Owner: Brad Calkins

Handler: Luke Eisenhart Pictured: Handler, Luke Eisenhart Photo by Vera Courtney

Handler: Andy Daugherty Scout: Allen Vincent

Pictured: Scout, Allen Vincent with Dream Chaser before release.

Hunt & Field 15

2023 National Contenders

Erin’s Code of Honor

Game Heir

Erin’s Code of Honor has qualified for his first year with a first at the North Dakota Classic and a win at the Tarheel Open Championship this fall. Earlier last spring he was the winner of the National Amateur Derby Championship with his breeder, Sean Derrig handling. Tip is slightly less than three years old. Luke Eisenhart will be handling Tip for his owner Allen Linder. This white, orange, and ticked pointer dog is by Erin’s Redrum out of Erin’s Miss Maggie.

A bit of background for Erin’s Redrum was given in the profile for Confident Nation. Erin’s Miss Maggie’s background (by Sinbad’s Bear out of Erin’s Miss Faye) shows a lot of Elhew Sinbad’s blood. Sinbad’s Bear was a son of Elhew Sinbad out of Shotgun Kitty Hawk. Erin’s Miss Faye is by Whippoorwill Wild Agin out of Butler’s Jill, a daughter of Elhew Sinbad.

Game Heir was bred by, is owned by, and will be handled by Dr. Fred Corder. This was the second year for Jake to run, having requalified with a first at the recent Hobart Ames Memorial OAA. He was lost around the two hour mark in his first year run. Jake also brought home a runner-up at the International Pheasant Championship this fall.

Jake is a three year old, white, orange, and ticked pointer dog sired by Dominator’s Rebel Heir out of Game Snow.

Dominator’s Rebel Heir was a former contestant here from 2017 to 2020. He was by Riverton’s Funseekin Scooter (another former contestant and the son of the national champion Funseeker’s Rebel) out of Pearl Again. Game Snow is a daughter of national champion Lester’s Snowatch out of Tallgrass Pretty.

Tallgrass Pretty was a sister of Game Maker, Dr. Corder’s former con\testant here who ran seven times from 2006 to 2012.

Owner: Allen Linder

Owner: Dr. Fred Corder

Handler: Luke Eisenhart Scout: Judd Carlton

Pictured: Scout, Judd Carlton with Erin’s Code of Honor before release.

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Handler: Dr. Fred Corder Scout: Kyle Graves

Pictured: Dr. Fred Corder with wife Rita, and scout, Kyle Graves with Game Heir before release.

2023 National Contenders

Game Wardon

Game Wardon returns for his fifth year. Bred, owned, and handled by Dr. Fred Corder, this white, liver, and ticked pointer dog is just shy of seven years old. Bill is

by Caladen’s Rail Hawk out of Game Creek. Bill re-qualified this winter with a second place at the Pelican State OAA. In his four previous runs here, he has been remarkably consistent with bird finds every year, but not enough to be in contention and was picked up early each time.

Game Wardon’s sire, Caladen’s Rail Hawk was a contestant for Dr. Corder for four years here, 2016 to 2019. Game Creek was by Decision Maker (by Game Maker out of Run N Gun Katiehawk) and was out of String And Lace (by Touch’s Hard Tack out of Tangier Pepper Grass).

Owner: Dr. Fred Corder

Handler: Dr. Fred Corder Scout: Kyle Graves

Picture L to R Hunter Hastings, Dr. Fred Corder, wife Rita, and scout, Kyle Graves with Game Wardon.

Haney’s Storm Warning

Haney’s Storm Warning qualified as a derby sensation having won three championships last spring: the Georgia, AllAmerica, and American Derby Invitational.

He has since won the Quail Championship Invitational and was most recently runnerup at the Alabama Championship. Bred, owned, and handled

by Chris Cagel, Speck is by Valiant out of Haney’s North Star. This white, liver, and ticked pointer dog will be a month shy of three years old at this competition.

Speck’s sire, Valiant was inducted into the Hall of Fame and his grandsire Miller’s Happy Jack is one of this year’s inductees.

Both sire and grandsire were of course previous contestants here.

Haney’s North Star, Speck’s dam, was by Pete’s Greystone Joe (a son of Ransom) and out of Pete’s Greystone High Rider. Pleasant Run Bob, the sire of the contestants Dream Chaser and Hendrix’s Touch Up, and Pete’s Greystone High Rider are brother and sister (both by Touch’s Knight Rider out of Pleasant Run Judy).

Owners: Chris Cagle, Sr. and Chris Cagle, Jr.

Handler: Chris Cagle, Sr. Scout: Chris Cagle, Jr.

Pictured: Co-owners, handler and scout Chris Cagle, Sr. and Chris Cagle, Jr. with Haney’s Storm Warning.

Hunt & Field 17

2023 National Contenders

Hendrix’s Touch Up

Lester’s Shockwave

Hendrix’s Touch Up is a six year old pointer dog who returned for his second run. On his first attempt he had a two and a half hour run with two finds only to take a step on point on his third find. Hank has re-qualified for this year winning the Southern Field Trial Championship, where he has twice before taken runner-up. Hank is by Pleasant Run Bob out of House’s Wild Bess Again and was bred by David Hendricks. Burke and Guy Hendrix are the owners of this orange and white contestant, and Burke will be handling him.

The relationships of Hendrix’s Touch Up are discussed under the profile of Dream Chaser, his littermate brother, and a little more was found above under the profile for Haney’s Storm Warning.

Lester’s Shockwave returned for his third run as last year’s National Championship winner. Bud is a white, orange, and ticked five year old pointer dog with a September birthday. He is sired by Ransom out of Beane’s Line Dancer and was bred by Derek Bonner.

This season he won the National Pheasant Championship, first in the Kentucky Lake OAA, and second at the American Quail Classic. Gary Lester will be handling Bud for Tommy and Bonnie Hamilton.

Lester’s Shockwave and Lester’s Storm Surge are still another pair of littermate brothers in this year’s competition. Their sire Ransom was from the remarkable and record setting knick of national champion Whippoorwill Wild Agin and Sparkles, which produced national champion Whippoorwill Justified and six other past contestants here. Beane’s Line Dancer was by House’s Line Up out of Burrow’s Sinbad Lady. In addition to these two brothers, an earlier mating of Ransom and Beane’s Line Dancer also produced Lester’s Georgia Time, another past contestant.

Burrow’s Sinbad Lady (who appears in still other contestants profile) was by Elhew Sinbad out of Waubeek Rose.

Owners: Guy & Burke Hendrix Handler: Burke Hendrix Scout: Jonathan Burch

Pictured: L to R Burke and Guy Hendrix with Hendrix’s Touch Up.

Owners: Tommy & Bonnie Hamilton

Handler: Gary Lester Scout: Korry Rinehart

Pictured: Shockwave with scout Korry Rinehart

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2023 National Contenders

Lester’s Storm Surge

Lester’s Storm Surge is this year’s Continental Champion. Chip had re-qualified earlier with many other placements, including firsts at the Sunflower and Hoyle Eaton Memorial trials.

He is a white, orange, and ticked, five year old pointer dog. He was bred by Derek Bonner and is by Ransom out of Beane’s Line Dancer.

This was his third year to compete, last year he finished the three hours. Gary Lester will be handling Chip for his owners, Tommy and Bonnie Hamilton.

Chip’s pedigree details was discussed above in the profile of his national champion brother, Lester’s Shockwave. Although Lester’s Shockwave has won the national championship title, it is Lester’s Storm Surge who actually holds more championship titles: five championships and two runner-ups for Lester’s Storm Surge compared to three championships and three runner-ups for Lester’s Shockwave.

Lowrider Frank

Lowrider Frank won this past fall’s Oklahoma Championship.

This was Frank’s fourth year to run for the tit le. He has completed the three hour test once before.

Frank is this year’s oldest contestant at ten years old. This white and liver pointer dog was bred by Tom Woods.

He is by Miller’s Happy Jack out of Fairchase Jiggs. Frank’s owners, Dr. Jim Mills and Steve Lightle will have Allen Vincent handling.

When Frank won this year’s Oklahoma Championship it was a career accomplishment. Frank had taken a runner-up there way back in 2015, one of his first placements in the qualifying trials, and I believe that he has competed there every year since then.

Frank’s sire was Miller’s Happy Jack who was by Lester’s Bandit out of Bryson’s Powder Twist and who was a contestant here a notable nine years from 2010 to 2018. Frank’s dam was Fairchase Jiggs (by Sooner Tim out of Sooner Sissy) and her pedigree shows most of her ancestors going back to Fiddler.

Owners: Tommy & Bonnie

Hamilton

Handler: Gary Lester Scout: Korry Rinehart

Pictured: Gary Lester & wife Joy, Tommy & Bonnie Hamilton

Owners: Dr. James Mills and Steve Lightle

Handler: Allen Vincent Scout: Larry Huffman

Pictured: Handler, Allen Vincent with Lowrider Frank.

Hunt & Field 19

2023 National Contenders

Mauck’s Wyeast Owyhee Jack

Miller’s Speed Dial

Mauck’s Wyeast Owyhee Jack is a white, orange, and ticked setter dog. This was Jack’s first year to run, having qualified with two chukar championship titles; the 2020 Northwest Chukar Championship and this year’s National Chukar Championship.

The six year old Jack was bred by Eric Mauck and was sired by Tekoa Mountain Patriot and is out of San Jac’s Gypsy. Alex Mauck will be handling Jack for his new owner Steve Croy.

Jack is the product of frozen semen breedings. His sire, Tekoa Mountain Patriot was a contestant here two times, back in 2004 and again in 2008. Tekoa Mountain Patriot’ sire was Crescent City Dexter (a son of Tekoa Mountain Sunrise) and his dam was Junior’s Pinecone Katie (a product of half siblings sired by Pinecone Max). Jack’s dam, San Jac’s Gypsy was by Brannigan’s Last Straw (a frozen semen son of Brannigan) and was out of Hytest Horizon (a daughter of Hytest Skyhawk)

Miller’s Speed Dial, the 2020 National Champion returned for his fourth run here and is now. handled

by Randy Anderson for his owner Mick Marietta. This white and orange pointer dog has finished a three hour run in every past competition. He has re-qualified with three placements, recently a first at the Prairie Open All-Age. Joe was bred by Wallace Sessions and was sired by Miller’s Dialing In and is out of Old Road Lou. Joe is now seven years old.

Joe was owned and handled by Gary Lester when he won his national championship title in 2020, and Gary Lester was also the handler of Joe’s sire, Miller’s Dialing In when he won this title in 2015. Joe’s dam, Old Road Lou is by Old Road Cody (a son of Easy Button) out of Joe Shadow’s Dixie (a daughter of Joe Shadow). Miller’s Speed Dial will be competing against one of his sons this year, Bonner’s Bullet Proof. Rester’s Cajun Spirit is another competitor this year.

Owner: Steve Croy

Owner: Mick Marietta

Handler: Alex Mauck Scout: Nick Thompson

Pictured: Handler Alex Mauck and Owner Steve Croy

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Handler: Randy Anderson Scout: Korry Rinehart

Pictured: Miller’s Speed Dial with handler Randy Anderson and Bill Cignetti

2023 National Contenders

Miss Stylin’ Sue

Painted Owyhee Toad

Miss Stylin Sue returned for her second year having completed a three hour run last year.

This white and liver pointer bitch is seven years old. Sue was bred

by Doug Arthur and was sired by Ransom and is out of Coldwater Snow.

Sue re-qualified for this year with a second place in last spring’s Missouri Open All-Age and further garnered a third place at the Preston Trimble Memorial. Sue’s owners, Dr. Jim Mills and Steve Lightle will have Allen Vincent for her handler.

Miss Stylin Sue’s sire, Ransom should be familiar by now.

Sue’s dam, Coldwater Snow has a pedigree remarkably similar to national champion Coldwater Thunder. They were both sired

by Coldwater Warrior (a son of Whippoorwill War Dance). Their dams were sisters: Thunder Snowy for Coldwater Snow, and Thunder Bess for Coldwater Thunder. These sisters, along with a national championship contestant brother - Lester’s Storm, were

by Lester’s Snowatch out of Miller’s Go Rail (the “Miller’s” moniker here does not refer to Ferrell Miller and his line of dogs).

Painted Owyhee Toad who is from the Pacific Northwest has come the greatest distance of any of this year’s competitors.

Toad qualified for his rookie year with wins at the National Chukar Championship in 2021 and this year’s Cascade Open Championship.

He is just shy of eight years old and is a white, liver, and ticked all over pointer dog. Toad has a father-daughter ownership, Jim and Bridget Ledington, with the father as the breeder and the daughter as the handler. Toad was sired by Painted Nickel Mac and is out of Painted Molly.

Painted Nickel Mac has amateur all-age placements; he is by Riverton’s Funseekin Scooter out of Daisy A Nickel. Painted Molly has both amateur and open placements; she is by Shadow’s Rockin Jake (by Double Shadow out of Cookies N Cream) and out of Erin’s Addition Girl (a frozen semen daughter of Addition’s Go Boy with Erin’s Molina as the dam).

Owners: Dr. Jim Mills and

Owners: Jim and Bridget

Handler: Allen Vincent

Handler: Bridget Ledington

Steve Lightle

Scout: Larry Huffman

Pictured: Scout, Larry Huffman with Miss Stylin’ Sue before release.

Ledington

Scout: Korry Rinehart

Pictured: Father and daughter owners, Jim and Bridget Ledington with Painted Owyhee Toad.

Hunt & Field 21

2023 National Contenders

Pendy’s Good Grace Pendy’s Good Grace has re-qualified this year as the winner of the Kentucky Open Championship. Grace first qualified way back in 2018 when she was the Purina Derby Award winner, and since then she has been mostly running in amateur competition racking up a total of 47 placements. Now eight years old, this white, orange, and ticked pointer bitch will be handled by her owner, Matt Pendergest. Jim Pendergest was her breeder and she is by Reloaded out of Dialed In. Grace is one of three national championship contestants from this breeding, with Ascension (in 2021) and Marques Armed Robber (2020 to 2022, and qualified for this year but not running).

Their sire, Reloaded was by House’s Line Up out of Drama Queen; and their dam, Dialed In was by national champion Miller’s Dialing In out of Rester’s Zumba Girl (who was a sister of the 2018 contestant Shadow’s White Warrior). Still another from the Reloaded - Dialed In breeding is Intentional, who is the dam of another contestant this year, Touch’s Amazing Greyce.

Owner: Matt Penderges

Handler: Matt Penderges Scout:

Jim Pendergest

Pictured: Pendy’s Good Grace with scout Jim Pendergest, Megan Henry and owner/handler Matt Pendergest

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Quickmarksman’s Dan Quickmarksman’s Dan re-qualified recently with a third place at the Prairie Open All-Age. This was Dan’s second year to run; he was picked up last year just shy of the three hour mark. Dan is an eight year old, white, liver, and ticked pointer dog. He was bred by one of his owners, Larry Earls and is by Q u i c k m a r k s m a n ’s Tony and is out of Witt’s Snow Angel. Larry co-owns Dan with Sam Starnes and Mike Hester will be handling their charge.

Quickmarksman’s Tony was another of Larry Earl’s breeding, he was a son of White’s Solid Reward who was a contestant here five times, and out of Creechwood Girl, a daughter of Super Shadow. Witt’s Snow Angel was by Platinum Hard Copy out of Liz Claiborne; both of these parents are by Belfield Silver.

Owners: Sam Starnes and Larry Earls

Handler: Mike Hester Scout: Korry Rinehart

Pictured: Mike Hester, handler of Quickmarksman’s Dan

2023 National Contenders

Rester’s Cajun Spirit

Shadow’s Lord Magic

Rester’s Cajun Spirit is this year’s youngest contestant.

Still derby aged, two years old, he has qualified with a single win at the Georgia Derby Championship under the new rules. This white, orange, and ticked pointer dog is by Miller’s Blindsider and out of Rester’s Amazing Grace. Mike was bred by Cecil Rester. Judd Carlton will be handling Mike for his owner Allen Linder.

Mike’s sire, Miller’s Blindsider has a profile of his own as a the National Champion this year. Mike’s dam, Rester’s Amazing Grace is by Touch’s Smooth Rider out of Touch’s Lemon Drop. Touch’s Smooth Rider is another product of Burrow’s Sinbad Lady with Touch’s Knight Rider as the sire this go round (the sire of her mating in the “Lester’s” brother’s pedigree was House’s Line Up).

Touch’s Lemon Drop is a sister of Touch’s Sandy (who was the dam of the past contestants Touch’s Gallatin Fire and Touch’s Spaceman). These girls are by national champion Touch’s Whiteout out of Touch’s Whippoorwill Road (a daughter of national champion Whippoorwill Wild Agin).

A short explanation of the new rule: For this year the winner of four predetermined trials (the Missouri Championship, the Quail Championship Invitational, the Continental Championship, and the Georgia Derby Championship) was automatically qualified by that single win. Bonner’s Bullet Proof was automatically qualified with his win in the Missouri Championship and Rester’s Cajun Spirit was automatically qualified with his win in the Georgia Derby Championship. The winners of the other two trials were already qualified at the time, so the rule did not apply for them.

Shadow’s Lord Magic is a seven year old rookie contestant who qualified with a win of the Tarheel Open Championship in 2021 and a first at the Bill Andrews Open All-Age this past fall. Carl Bowman is Mac’s breeder and owner. Mac was sired

by Carl’s previous national champion In The Shadow and is out of Hello Kitty. Luke Eisenhart will be handling this white, liver, and ticked pointer dog.

In The Shadow was the 2010 national champion, and to remind everyone, he was by Miller’s White Powder out of Doerr’s Claire’s Shadow (this breeding confirmed by DNA testing). Hello Kitty was a product of the Whippoorwill Wild Agin - Sparkles knick.

Mr Bowman has applied his studious knowledge of pedigrees and breeding science again.

Owner: Allen R. Linder

Scout: Judd Carlton

Handler: Judd Carlton Pictured: Owner, Allen R. Linder

Owner: Carl Bowman

Handler: Luke Eisenhart Pictured: Luke Eisenhart with Carl Bowman.

At the drawing, the owner of Rester’s Cajun Spirit elected to defer his nomination until next year under the rule “Any dog qualified for the 2023 National Championship as a result of placements only in Derby competition may, at the discretion of the owner(s) and with proper notification to the Secretary, NFTCA, can compete in either the 2023 or 2024 National Championships.” Mike is now qualified to run in 2024.

Hunt & Field 23

2023 National Contenders

Touch’s Amazing Greyce

Touch’s Breakaway Fred

Touch’s Amazing Greyce is a white, liver, and ticked pointer bitch just shy of three years old. She has qualified for her first run with wins at the Pacific Coast Derby Championship and the Northwest Chukar Championship.

She also won the National Amateur Shooting Dog Championship while still a derby. Greyce is by Touch’s Grey Street out Intentional and was bred by Jim Pendergest. Keith Wright will be handling for her owner Austin Turley.

Greyce’s dam, Intentional was a sister of the contestant Pendy’s Good Grace, in whose profile you may find more information.

The similarity of their names is coincidental. Greyce’s sire, Touch’s Grey Street was a contestant here in 2020, he was by Touch’s Knight Rider out of Touch’s White Assault (and she was

by Whippoorwill Wild Assault out of Whippoorwill Radiance).

Touch’s Breakaway Fred first won a qualifying placement at the Georgia Derby Championship in 2020.

His second qualifying win came this season at the Robin Gates Classic.

Fred was also runner-up at the Masters Open Quail Championship this past spring. Fred was bred by Keith Wright and is by Touch’s Mega Mike out of Touch’s American Baby. Mark McLean will be handling this five year old, white, orange, and ticked pointer dog for his owners, Bruce and Karen Norton and Gary and Becky Futch.

Both sire and dam of Touch’s Breakaway Fred were sired by House’s Ring Of Fire, so a reminder here: House’s Ring Of Fire was by Lance’s Last Knight (a son of Erin’s Bad River) and out of Grace’s Snow. Remember too, that Touch’s Knight Rider was a half brother of House’s Ring Of Fire sharing Lance’s Last Knight as their sire. All five of the “Touch’s” named dogs along with a few other of this year’s contestants share in this relationship somewhere in their pedigrees. Touch’s Mega Mike (by House’s Ring Of Fire out of Touch’s Blaylock Bess) ran here three times, but was more notable as the winner of the Purina All-Age Award for the 2017-2018 season.

Touch’s American Baby is a sister to Touch’s Fire Away, whose profile follows:

Owner: Austin Turley

Handler: Keith Wright

Scout: John Vanada

Pictured: Touch’s Amazing Greyce with handler, Keith Wright (l) and owner Austin Turley

Owners: Bruce Norton, Karen

Norton, Becky Futch and Gary Futch

Handler: Mark McLean Scout: Judd Carlton

Pictured: Touch’s Breakaway Fred with owners (l to r) Bruce Norton, Karen Norton, Becky Futch and Gary Futch

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2023 National Contenders

Touch’s Fire Away

Touch’s Malcolm Story

Touch’s Fire Away is the recent winner of the Alabama Championship, his second year to do so.

He has qualified for his second year run here with five additional placements, three firsts, one second, and a runner-up at the Missouri Open Championship. Mike is a white, orange, and ticked pointer dog who is just shy of six years old. He was bred by Keith Wright and is

by House’s Ring Of Fire and is out of Touch’s Maswood Anne.

Randy Anderson will handle Mike for his owners, Greg and Carmen Adams.

House’s Ring Of Fire was discussed in the above profile for Touch’s Breakaway Fred. Touch’s American Baby and Touch’s Fire Away’s dam, Touch’s Maswood is by Maswood John out of Will’s Windy. Maswood John was one of Mike Matney’s dogs, he was by Maswood Hawk out of Urgent Delivery. Will’s Windy is perhaps well remembered as the dam of Mac’s Memphis May, House’s River Fever, Three Ten To Yuma, and Lester’s Bandit (the sire of Miller’s Happy Jack)) when she was bred to House’s Line Up.

Touch’s Malcolm Story returned for his fourth year having won two championships this season, the United States Open and the North Carolina Quail Championships, in addition to three other placements. Big has finished a three hour run here twice before. This seven year old, white, orange, and ticked pointer dog was bred by Keith Wright. Big was sired by Touch’s Knight Rider and is out of Blackhawk’s Sunflower. Big’s owners, Alex and Brianna Rickert, will have Mark McLean handling.

Touch’s Knight Rider and Blackhawk’s Sunflower should by now be familiar from the other profiles. To give the extent of the influence here; either of the brothers Touch’s Knight Rider and House’s Ring Of Fire, and either of the sisters Sparkles and Blackhawk’s Sunflower appear in the pedigrees of one third of this year’s contestants.

Owners: Dr. Greg & Carmen

Handler: Mark McLean

Adams

Handler: Randy Anderson Scout: Korry Rinehart

Owner: Alex Rickert Scout: Ike Todd

Pictured: (L to R) Touchs Malcolm Story’s handler Mark McLean, owner Alex Rickert, scout Ike Todd

Pictured: Touchs Fire Away with (l to r) scout Korry Rinehart handler Randy Anderson and owners Dr. Greg & Carmen Adams.

Hunt & Field 25

2023 National Contenders

Touch’s Shadow Rider

Westfall’s River Ice

Touch’s Shadow Rider qualified for his first year with back to back wins this past fall at the Lee County (Georgia) Open All-Age and the National Free For All Championship. Jay is a two year old white, orange, and ticked pointer dog handled by Mark McLean for his owners Dr. Reuben Richardson and Bruce and Karen Norton. Jay was sired by Touch’s Smooth Rider, out of Touch’s Gold Dance, and bred by Keith Wright.

Some background about these “Rider” names: the grandpa, Touch’s Knight Rider was named for the David Hasselhoff talking car television show; the sons names, Touch’s Smooth Rider and Touch’s Midnight Rider were taken from song titles by the Dave Matthews Band for Smooth Rider and the Allman Brothers Band for Midnight Rider, and now the grandson’s name Shadow Rider is in reference to a nickname for John Vanada who often scouts for Keith Wright.

Touch’s Gold Dance, the dam of Touch’s Shadow Rider, was by Whippoorwill War Dance out of Whippoorwill Gold (by Whippoorwill Wild Assault out of Whippoorwill Radiance). You might notice that Whippoorwill Gold is a sister of Touch’s White Assault, the dam of Touch’s Grey Street in the pedigree of Touch’s Amazing Greyce.

Westfall’s River Ice is one of the two most veteran dogs who returned for their sixth year, both are handled by Andy Daugherty.

Westfall’s River Ice has re-qualified with a first at the Win Ingersoll Memorial OAA and a third at the Missouri OAA. Bud is a white, black, and ticked pointer dog just shy of nine years old. Bred by William P Westfall, he is

by Westfall’s Black Ice out of Westfall’s Quick Gold. Bud is owned by Brad Calkins.

Westfall’s Black Ice was a shooting dog champion from the famous knick of Rockacre Blackhawk and Elhew Katie Lee, and is arguably the best producing sire from that lot. Westfall’s Quick Gold is by Mount Nebo’s Lefty (by Rock N Roller out of Absolute Charm) and out of I B Fancy (by Highview Buddy out of I B Lonestar).

Owners:

Dr. Reuben Richardson and Bruce and Karen Norton.

Handler: Mark McLean

Scout: Ike Todd

Pictured: Karen (center) Bruce Norton co-owners of Touchs Shadow Rider along with friend Kim Harrell.

26 Hunt & Field

Owner: Brad Calkins

Handler: Andy Daugherty

Scout: Nick Thompson

Pictured: (L to R) Nick Thompson and Andy Daugherty, scout and handler of Westfalls River, Ice along with Pat Daugherty

Woodville’s Yukon Cornelius

Woodville’s Yukon Cornelius finished a three hour run last year and returned for his second run here. Rudy won two runner-up titles this season, The United States Open and the Quail Championship Invitational, along with two additional second placements, the Dixie OAA and the Sunshine FTC Classic. Rudy is a six year old, white, black, tan, and ticked setter dog who was bred by Ross Callaway. He is

2023 National Contenders

Westfall’s True Grit

Westfall’s True Grit is the other most veteran dog who returned for his sixth year, also handled

by Andy Daugherty. Jack has re-qualified for this year with a first at the D E Hawthorne Border Classic and a second at the Heartland Open AllAge. Bred and owned

by Ryan Westfall, Jack was sired by Erin’s Braveheart and is out of Westfall’s Irish Bell.

Jack is a white, liver, and

Westfall’s Wheels Up

ticked seven year old pointer dog.

Erin’s Braveheart was by Erin’s Bad River out of Erin’s Wild Rose, perhaps the two most noteworthy producers from the Erin’s kennels.

Westfall’s Irish Bell was by Wiggins C C (a son of Wiggins River Crossing) out of River Ranch Belle (a daughter of Caladen’s Rail Hawk).

Westfall’s Wheels Up has qualified for his first year here with wins of the Cecil Proctor OAA last spring and he added the Kansas Prairie OAA this fall. His first qualifying placement was earned in 2021 at the Win Ingersoll Memorial OAA. Beau is a white, black, and ticked five year old pointer dog. He was bred by Ryan Westfall and is by Westfall’s Black Ace out of Westfall’s Quick Trick. Beau will be handled by Andy Daugherty for his owner, Bill Westfall.

Westfall’s Wheels Up’s sire, Westfall’s Black Ace was a competitor here in 2019. He is by Westfall’s Black Ice out of Black Bama. Westfall’s Wheels Up’s dam, Westfall’s Quick Trick is a sister of Westfall’s True Grit.

Owner:

Owner:

Andy Daugherty

Scout: Nick Thompson

Ryan Westfall

Handler: Scout: Allen Vincent

Pictured: Handler, Andy Daugh-

erty with Westfall’s True Grit.

Bill Westfall

Handler: Andy Daugherty Pictured: Westfalls Wheels Up with scout Nick Thompson before release.

Owner:

Carl and Ashley Owens

by Caladen’s DaVinci out of A Tarheel Miss Bo. Rudy’s owners, Carl and Ashley Owens will have Mark McLean handling.

Rudy’s sire, Caladen’s DaVinci was previously named Merrit’s Leo and competed in field trials under that name. He is by Merrit’s Blaze out of Merrit’s Pearl (herself a notable field trial competitor). Rudy’s dam, A Tarheel Miss Bo was by the two-time national champion Shadow Oak Bo out of Smokey Rise Kattie. Woodville’s Yukon Cornelius is the first of Shadow Oak Bo’s descendants to have competed here.

Occasionally you hear a name which sounds familiar and yet you can’t place where it comes from. Woodville’s Yukon Cornelius was named by Carl and Ashley’s darling daughter Ellington. You see, Yukon Cornelius was the lumberjack hero who helped Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in the old (1964) Christmas classic. Now that you know, how could you ever have forgotten... Best of luck to all of the contestants.

Until next year, Steeple Bell.

Handler: Mark McLean Scout: Ike Todd

Pictured: Owner, Carl Owens with Woodville’s Yukon Cornelius.

Hunt & Field 27

National Bird Dog Museum Field Trial Hall of Fame Pointer & Setter Inductees On February 11th, The National Bird Dog Museum celebrated their Hall of Fame Inductees. The Pointer/ Setter Inductees for 2023 are (People): David Johnson and Fred Rayl. (Dogs): Just Irresistible (Owned by Mary Devos) and Miller’s Happy Jack (Owned by Scott Griffin) Photos by Vera Courtney.

Fred Rayl and family

28 Hunt & Field

Fred Rayl and David Johnson (centered)

David Johnson and family

L to R: Randy Anderson, Scott and Susan Griffin

Gary and Sally Locke

Jamie Daniels, Fred Rayl, and Judd Carlton

The Just Irresistible Family

Randy Anderson and David Johnson

Jamie Daniels, Judd Carlton and Mary Devos

Hunt & Field 29

The Decline of Bobwhite Quail

By Dr. Allan Houston and Jill Easton

N

Originally published in GameKeepers: Farming for Wildlife Magazine. ot so long ago the call of “bob...white” was as ubiquitous on the southern landscape as were the mist-laden scents of honeysuckle in the spring and a riot of red and gold leaves in the fall. But that is no longer true.

Quail are no longer there, at least not as many, and in some places, they’re simply gone. Even the honeysuckle and fall’s royal colors have dwindled in many areas. What happened? What went wrong?

What if in 1950 there was a group completely bent on the removal of quail from the landscape? It seems odd looking back, but we might imagine them to have been upset over any number of things. Since soccer moms had not been invented yet, the football moms might have been considerably disturbed because the boys were bringing guns to school. They would not have been concerned about the kids shooting one another; rather they would have been concerned because the boys were coming in late and sneaking off early to quail hunt. Some were bringing their dogs to school. In fact, with considerable indignation, they would have told the school board that the coach had been seen sneaking out with them and that this was much to the detriment of the boys doing well in school. Some of the dads may have been peeved because the kids were finding their favorite hunting spots.

With so many quail fluttering around back in those days, it might have been of little concern to suggest getting rid of a few of the pesky, noisy little fellows. Considering that we have done

30 Hunt & Field

just that very thing since 1950, I wondered how I would have approached the problem.

Quail were simply collateral damage in a world bent on progress at the time. To get rid of quail we would need to get rid of that landscape. It worked to get rid of bison, and other game and non-game species.

To approach the problem, we must understand quail biology and habitat. To make it simple, quail need food, nesting cover, brood feeding habitat, loafing cover and escape cover. Limit any of the these and manipulate a few other factors such as predator numbers, then marginal habitat becomes no habitat, good habitat becomes marginal and even the best habitat becomes limited.

So, here is how a management strategy for ridding the south of quail would have played out. The quail lived in a well-defined “biological house,” each covey needing a home with specific habitats. But they lived alongside humans. Quail needed people to keep house for them. To get rid of quail we would first need to change human behaviors. It was a management plan of changing demographics, sensibilities, economies, and priorities. There are no villains here. There are only realities.

This would have to be a multi-pronged attack. Bobwhite quail are reasonably resilient. A quail covey typically loses 90 percent of its fall population before the next breeding season. If the habitat is good, they bounce back year after year.

Probably most important, was the move from a largely rural

American society to a more urban and suburban and even ex-suburban society. To begin the kind of change needed, we would invent a huge automobile industry, a service industry...something... anything to entice people off of the small, nearly subsistence farming lifestyle that had captured most of the southern landscape since the Civil War. It would lay the land open to other endeavors, other uses, and with a little tweaking, we could make this work against the quail.

As Americans slowly evaporated from the farm, they would find themselves two, three and four generations removed...insulated from the realities of grow this, kill this and eat this. While they would approve of killing as part of the demand for meat, they would know less of where it came from. Hunting would be viewed with mild suspicion and slowly be replaced with games of mayhem and exploding supervillains. Color TV was a great start. Children learned to shoot and kill in the confines of a virtual world inside a television set instead of the wide open spaces carrying honest shotguns and wearing muddy boots. Yes, we would need huge leaps in technology to hook the youth, real hunting is a very fun, addicting activity. Getting those kids away from hunting and into the very controlled environments of various sports and games needing indoor electrical sockets, depriving them of a love for field and forest, would have been essential in ridding the countryside of the whistle of the quail.

It would be necessary to manipulate human perspectives. Huge grocery store chains would help to do away with the need for yard chickens and farm-raised eggs. Chickens were very important.

They were a “litmus paper” on the rural landscape. If you were looking at Sunday’s dinner pecking bugs on Friday afternoon, anything that stole that chicken on Saturday morning was mighty high on the list with a bounty on its head.

Hawks were hated. Killing a raptor was a moral imperative in a time when food was not only in the yard but also in the woods.

Protein was where you found it. The graveyards were way too full of malnourished youngsters to allow predators to take food out of living mouths.

Environmental sentimentality and science must be developed.

Then a spark, a catalyst to prime the explosion into the public’s consciousness would be needed. A gifted writer and DDT and the hawk’s peril would be just the thing. We must make the hawk a poster child for what man can inadvertently do wrong and then make right. We must protect hawks. We would promote a segment of our society with a highly developed sense of empathy toward all animals and would greatly discourage the wearing of fur of any kind. Fur would no longer be chichi. Killing mammals for fur would become analogous to a crime.

If we do these things it would increase quail predators, and not just with the simple goal of getting quail into the digestive system of a predator. Small mammals also eat eggs and destroy nests.

The added burden of burgeoning predators adds to stress and increases the need for even better habitat. What was once good is now barely good enough.

A very important part of the strategy would be to make agriculture business big. All of those smaller farms, fields, and pastures would need to coalesce into ever bigger farms, fields and pastures. Thousands of miles of prime fence row habitat that separated ownerships would be destroyed. They had provided quail, an avian species that will fly only as a last resort, with travel con-

duits from place to place.

Farming must become business and yield machinery large enough to do away with the small, inefficient crop fields that speckled the landscape with a wonderful variety of habitats. All of the little fields must be combined and extended to the furthest possible edge of whatever prevented them from going any farther, whether water, woods or Wal-Marts. With economies being tough, anyone who wanted to remain on the farm needed things to be very efficient, the fields must be cropped to the absolute edge, creating a thin, hard line with no nesting, no food, and no brood habitat. Big fields and efficient agriculture keep people on the farm, but also rob the old landscape of its diversities, a death sentence for a homebody bird.

We must get rid of the native grasses. These were the old prairie grasses left over from a time when the Indians burned the southern landscape extensively to promote growth. It was a grassland community that carpeted the South and one that the early farmers free-grazed. To replace those systems, fescue, an exotic, would fit the bill nicely as pastures for cattle. Fescue provides suitable food for livestock. It is practically fail-safe. Plant it and it will grow.

It is “green concrete” so far as wildlife is concerned. The prairie grasses, broomsedge, bluestems, the Indian grasses ... and the forbs like partridge pea that mix with these communities, provide food and nesting cover. They must be done away with.

The base of each clump of native grass can provide a little nesting house in the making along with essential escape cover for Hunt & Field 31

these little birds that favor to run rather than fly. The interstitial spaces among the clumps are excellent background run-around lanes for quail; a labyrinth of safe asylum and overhead cover.

The weedy mixture provides a grocery store of variety and nutrition. Truly all bad things if quail control is the goal.

To drive a final nail into the native grass coffin we will invent a bear called “Smokey” and make him one of the most effective advertising campaigns the world has ever known. While Smokey will have much good to say, he will turn an increasingly urban population against burning of any kind. Native grasslands must be refreshed, cleansed and maintained with controlled burns. Fire paints the landscape black, but that fades into the vibrant green of luxurious new growth.

We would need liability, lots of it. We would need to establish who owns that smoke and how much it would take to kill the neighbor’s indoor parakeet.

Introducing more exotics is a fine strategy. Kudzu can be first.

Add cogon grass, Japanese stilt, and sericea lespedeza. The list is nearly endless and the opportunities to replace good quail habitats with very poor quail habitats are as creative as they are nearly limitless.

Rural landowners, a dwindling breed by this time, will want to hang on to their land and will need to take advantage of other revenue streams. The south, with a long growing season and a multitude of tree species, will become regarded as the country’s “wood basket.” Any idle land, places where the old grasses might continue to hang on, will naturally convert to trees without fire. But to make these marginal lands productive one of the most successful ventures of the 20th century will occur. Loblolly pine will be ge-

32 Hunt & Field

netically improved to grow very well on a wide array of sites. A housing market will ride on the high tides of cheap wood. Pine plantations and housing developments will eat up quail habitat.

Herbicides must be improved. We must not have competitive vegetation in young tree plantations or in agricultural fields. We will make this a no-quail land, too sparse with overhead cover, a place that is a “shooting gallery” for predators. Without wooly, weedy, uncultured places, the chicks would not have the type of habitat that produces high volumes of insects, something that they absolutely must have during the first six weeks of life. Any farm field left dirty with weeds must be an eyesore and a money pit.

Insecticides must be improved to kill those tasty, protein-packed insects that the quail chicks require. All of this should make progress in getting rid of quail. But, we must continue to work in two directions with our strategy. We must also give thought to human habitats.

Once quail populations begin to fail, and they will, we will come to a place where hunting quail becomes more of a “trudge” and much less of a “shoot.” Good memories of great hunts will become rare. When that occurs, there will be a tipping point, a place where the tribulations of owning bird dogs in a suburban environment become too worrisome a thing ... not to mention expensive. All of the trappings that accompany dog maintenance, care and training will be way too bothersome and we will replace “bird dogs” with other breeds. Very crucial to this is the recognition that sportsmen need something to hunt. We will reintroduce deer and turkey to the places where they have been extirpated.

Sportsmen will flock to an outdoor experience that can be done cheap and is intensely satisfying. To top it off, the modern land-

scape will easily support these species. Deer and turkeys will compete with quail for resources. For example, honeysuckle thickets, a fine escape and loafing habitat for quail, will take a beating from deer browsing.

Dogs and quail hunting will slowly become old fashioned. If we can get our quail eradication project to this point, to the place where we are a generation or three removed from good quail hunting, then the demand for quail will be left in the diminishing hands of those who loved it beyond reasoning. Kill the memories, kill the passion and kill the quail.

We will almost be there, perhaps a point of no return, at least on a landscape scale. We will need to be subtle now, but let’s introduce coyotes. Actually, we will not need to introduce the coyote, he will naturally arrive at just about the right time. Because of no more alpha predators, and trapping a thing of the past, the adaptable coyote has been expanding his range since anybody ever thought to notice. But, because timing is everything, he will get the blame as will other similarly inconsequential factors. But by providing believable villains and boogy-men myths, we can get sportsmen to focus on correlating, but insignificant problems (e.g., coyotes do not affect wild quail populations) and to demand ineffective remedies. Distraction is a good enemy of quail. Finally, we can invent pen-raised quail release operations where folks believe that turning semi-tame quail loose in habitats that could not support the street-wise, wild birds as being a cure-all. Once again we need to distract and drain with ineffective means. Penraised operations will be both good and bad. They will be bad for our quail control crowd because they will keep the glimmer of the glory days alive. People will get a taste of quail hunting and the

partnership with a dog who knows both his business and yours.

It will be good for quail sabotage because the released birds are born and raised in artificial confines where gene flow is restricted to the best egg producers…not enabled by pure survival abilities and fitness in the real world. It can narrow the gene base of the wild population as the pen-raised birds are introduced year after year and interbreed with them. If we can accomplish all of this, quail populations will melt off of this transformed landscape as if they were ice pellets dissolving into oblivion on a red hot stove. Indeed, we did all of this. Mostly nowadays, except for here and there where wild quail are managed intensively, the new landscapes for southern wildlife and human populations do not include these wonderful little birds. Young boys and girls are no longer distracted by quail and seldom whistle the clever little, two-note song. It would be a Godsend if somehow we could reverse-engineer the past 60 years for the quail’s sake.

Dr. Allan Houston is a Professor of Forest and Wildlife Ecology in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries at the University of Tennessee. He is also the Director of Forest and Wildlife Management and Research at the Ames Plantation. Ames Plantation is the home of the National Championship Field Trial for all-age bird dogs. Dr. Houston has been involved in numerous quail research projects. He has also studied hawks, small mammals, beaver and deer. His forestry research includes silvicultural treatments for hardwood forests. He is currently involved in a project to investigate increasing tick populations and the prevalence of tick-borne diseases.

Hunt & Field 33

Handler, Mark McLean working through his brace.

The Field Trial Horse

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By Alicia Johnson Photography by Jamie Evans

t is the morning of a Field Trial and as dawn breaks horses are being saddled. The wind whips through the sage colored, winter grass and the pine tree limbs softly creak with every gust. The horses stand quietly as if they know to conserve their energy for the next few hours when they will pace behind the English Pointers and Setters who are searching for their Covey.

The ideal Field Trial horse is known to be obedient, graceful and one that has enough endurance to cover hundreds of acres in a single brace. When pacing behind the dogs at work, a rider must have an intuitive, dependable horse in order to produce a successful and pleasurable brace and ride. A closer look at what makes an ideal Field Trial horse reveals exactly what characteristics riders and trainers are looking for in their mounts.

Jacob Parks, professional trainer and owner of Gaited Horsemanship, attests that the Tennessee Walking horse (TWH) is traditionally the most sought after horse in the Field Trial world. Known for its natural gait, the TWH is both willing and easy to train. The breed is known for its role as the original “Plantation Horse.” It was bred to be ridden for hours at a time, through hundreds of acres and with a smooth gait that keeps the rider comfortable in the saddle. Still, today, the breed is used to gait over hundreds of acres and through muddy, rough, hilly and unexpected terrain. Although the TWH is the most common breed used in Field Trials, any naturally gaited horse, including Spotted Saddle Horses and Rocky Mountain Horses are ridden.

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No matter what gaited breed, the ideal Field Trial horse has a smooth, collected, and calm four-beat gait. According to Jacob, a horse that paces or trots too much is frowned upon in a Field Trial. Excessive pacing and trotting is uncomfortable for the rider who will spend multiple hours in the saddle. Jacob states a horse with a “nice, smooth ‘rocking chair canter’ is a necessity for handlers, judges, and riders.” Not only is this collected canter comfortable, but it enables the horse to move into a faster gallop if the dogs get ahead.

Riders in several disciplines seek horses with a pretty head, set on a nice neck, quality bloodlines and conformation, but these are not always the first traits Field Trialers seek in their horses.

Typically, a bigger horse around 16h is preferred. This allows the rider to see the dogs more easily when mounted. A taller horse is also more capable of a longer, ground-covering stride. “A strongboned horse with good feet” is integral to handling the physical demands of the brace Jacob states.

One of the most unique aspects to a Field Trial is the combination of gun fire, dogs, and a large gallery of horses all working through open fields. Tolerance to gunfire and dogs are absolute necessities in a Field Trial horse. Dogs running up from behind, through the gallery and under foot must be tolerated by the horse. Spooking of any kind is undesirable. And a good Field Trial horse must be fit, but also know how to conserve energy. Field Trial horses are ridden for multiple hours during a single brace, and at times back

to back days. It is not uncommon for handlers, judges and avid riders to have three to five horses they rotate throughout Field Trial competitions.

During a brace horses work through large, open fields and are very close to other horses and riders. Horses may be nudged or bumped by others so it is key for a horse to be tolerant of other horses in its space. Stallions are not ridden in a gallery of horses and traditionally geldings are preferred due to the close nature of the ride. Mares are not always frowned upon, but a mare should not kick out or squeal when in the gallery of horses. Being able to ground tie is another key attribute of a Field Trial horse. When the dog is on point and the handler or scout dismounts the horse must be obedient and stand quietly when reins are dropped. It wouldn’t be a good day for a handler if his horse spooked at the gun fire and left him or her stranded in the field.

A horse trained for Field Trials should only be lacking one thing: experience. A trainer like Jacob can mimic numerous possible scenarios the horse and rider may encounter during a brace. He or she can ride on different types of terrain, cross water, and traverse hills to prepare the horse; however, only experience will truly finish a Field Trial horse out. One or two years of Field Trial experience in the elements, such as snow, sleet, rain, and even heat provides the horse with its finishing touches.

Perhaps one of the most beautiful traits of a Field Trial horse is the grace it has while carrying its rider over hundreds of acres.

It is obvious these horses love their job as their ears are perked forward and their heads bob with their smooth gait. They eagerly carry their rider through any element the unpredictable winter

weather can have on their terrain. Whether they pace over ice, mud, water, rocks at the bottom of a creek, or through a thicket of brush and pine forests, these horses keep their heads high and eyes forward as if they are watching the pointers or setters search for their quail.

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The original glass and wood cabinet in the tack room showcases Mrs. Ames’ side saddles, and carriage horse harnesses and tack.

One of the first telephones in Fayette County, Tenn. can be found in the tack room as well.

This telephone went directly to the Ames Manor home and was installed in the late teens.

The center of the barn houses the Ames’ carriages. The Brick Stables was and still is an advanced engineering design. Mr. Ames did not want center support beams in the carriage room. They wanted to move carriages in and out with ease, without maneuvering around beams.

In the upstairs of the barn, above the carriage room, large steel rods are braced though massive wood beams supporting the entire

Ames Plantation’s Brick Stables

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he Ames Plantation’s Brick Stables is one of the finest stables in Tennessee. The stables were completed in 1913 by Hobart Ames. It houses 21 stalls, ten stalls that Mrs. Ames occupied with her horses on her wing of the stables, and ten additional stalls on the adjoining wing Mr. Ames utilized. On Mr. Ames’ wing there is an enclosed Stallion stall. There are also five standing stalls on each wing where fellow field trial guests could rest their horses while they visited or ate lunch with Mr. Ames.

The Brick Stables are just as they sound, built inside and out with brick. There are long brick isleways with original wood beams that support the structure and stalls. The original brass handles and hardware all remain on the stall doors and throughout the 21 stall barn.

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two story structure in place from above, rather than below. The advancement of engineering and architecture was well before its time when it was completed in the early 1900s.

The barn is still a working barn today.

During the National Championships the first light one can see from the Ames Manor home is the glowing lights projecting through the stables’ windows. The Brick Stables is maintained by the Ames staff. Chris Weatherly restored the wood doors and supports restoration projects needed in the stables. All restoration projects maintain the historic integrity of the structure and its original design and build.

The stables is known to be one of the warmest places on the Ames property during cold winter days. It is well insulated and protects

horses and their riders from bitter winds and icy weather that typically arrives just in time for the National Championship.

In the summer the stables are well ventilated, allowing heat to escape and flow from the top cupolas. It was designed to be warm during the winter and cool and breezy during the hot southern summers.

Electricity was obtained in the 1930s. Prior to rural electricity, Mr. Ames had a gasoline powered generator that lit the stables. The original electricity stayed in place until 2007 when the original tube and knob wiring was re-wired.

In the upstairs of the stables there are massive grain bins that stored feed throughout the year. These grain bins were built with sloped floors so the grain would flow with gravity

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down into the stables. Two rooms are found upstairs as well. These were living quarters for the stable workers to keep the stables in pristine condition.

To finish off the intentional design of the stables there is a horse and dog cemetery about 200 yards from the stables. The adored companions found their final resting places in view of the grand stables where they had the opportunity and privilege to live.

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The Mysterious Wasting Syndrome

Ames Plantation, in the middle of the CWD infection zone.

By Dr. Allan Houston

C

hronic Wasting Disease was discovered in southwestern Tennessee in 2019. Certainly, the disease had been present on the local landscape for a number of years before it was discovered. It has since spread across much of western Tennessee.

Unfortunately, Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, Tenn. is in the middle of the infection zone; and compared to a decade ago, we are observing what might be typified as a younger and smaller herd.

CWD was first described in the mid-1960’s when penned deer in Colorado began to exhibit symptoms that were labeled as a mysterious “wasting syndrome.” Stress was usually blamed; but, in actuality no one knew the cause. In the late 1970’s, Dr. Beth Williams, a wildlife veterinarian, performed necropsies on deer and discovered brain lesions consistent with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, which is a medically correct way of saying: an infectious disease that ends with a brain riddled with small holes.

A year later, a neurologist, Stanley Pruisner, discovered a very small protein that could become misshapen and influence other proteins to assume that same shape. These proteins, which he called prions, would proliferate inside the body, move into lymph systems and from there the nervous system and finally the brain, where they would clump and cause small holes, or as Williams noted, TSE. Hunt & Field 41

CWD is confined to Cervids, or deer-like animals, including white-tails, mule deer, elk and moose. It is always fatal, usually killing a deer within 18-to-36 months. The prion is not alive; and with no genetic material, there is nothing to “kill.” Denaturing the prion requires 1,800 degrees F or highly concentrated chlorine solutions. The prion can be deposited onto the landscape with feces or urine, remaining durable and deadly for decades.

The prion is a multiforked dagger: deer are highly social and the prion can be transmitted as they lick and groom one another; prions are continually deposited on the landscape, nigh on to being indestructible, perhaps best imagined as a long-lasting poison; CWD can even arrive in newborn fawns with fetal transmission from the mother, although perhaps a moot factor with any infected mother apt to transmit the disease to a fawn anyway; deer live long enough to breed for a season or two and there is no strong genetic selection process to favor resistance; and bucks have a list of behaviors, especially during the breeding season, making them especially prone to exposure.

In the final stages, a deer is truly pitiable. It becomes emaciated, drooling, maybe propped against something or spraddled like a sawhorse, oblivious and aimless. The popular media, quick to coin a headline, labelled these “Zombie Deer;” and it quickly took root in the public consciousness this was a litmus for the prion’s presence in a herd – “See no Zombies, See no Disease.”

However, even with a high incidence of the disease, a deer in these final stages is essentially never seen. In the wild, as the disease progresses and before its ravages are apparent to a casual observer, deer become predisposed and succumb to other problems. They rarely live long enough to become zombies.

At Ames, every harvested deer arrives at the Check-In Station to be weighed and aged. Every deer is checked for CWD. It is extraordinarily rare for a deer to show symptoms obvious enough to say, “this one has CWD.” Yet, about a third of the does and half the bucks do have it.

Upon discovery in 2019, Ames began to move away from its highly successful QDM program and more toward CWD

University of Tennessee Research students practice dart shooting to help captured deer and obtain samples for CWD and COVID research on Ames.

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mitigation and an aggressive research program. Although the disease has been studied for more than half a century, there is much yet to learn, with every new piece of the puzzle helping in the fight and buying time as laboratories continue to seek ways to combat the prion.

We have developed research partnerships from around the country and these include TWRA’s help and involvement at every step. Colorado State University is testing dog’s ability to detect metabolites associated with the disease and have used Ames as a training ground. Work is ongoing with the University of Wisconsin to examine the presence of prions in mineral stations and how to go about neutralizing infected sites. Mississippi State University identified 105 scrapes on Ames and monitored these with cameras during the 2021-22 deer season, identifying 218 unique bucks, over 3,000 scrape interactions and more than 6,800 connections between bucks as they roamed across the 10,000-acre study area. Prions were found in some scrapes and also on the licking branches above the scrapes. These findings demonstrate the potential for scrapes to act as sentinels, a deerinstalled system to detect CWD and act as an early warning.

A current study out the University of Tennessee is looking at both CWD and COVID in the Ames herd. Deer are captured, samples obtained, and fitted with collars reporting location every 30 minutes and able to send a “death signal.” The collars record proximity to other collared deer and there are stations scattered around Ames that turn on cameras when a collar is within a detectable radius to record interactions with uncollared deer.

Deer are one of the few animals, other than humans, that can contract COVID. As with us, the disease can have harmful lung

effects; but the major concern is potential for a herd to harbor the virus and with continual mutation and transmission, eventually have a dangerous variant spill over into human populations.

The deer are captured with long hours, drop nets, cage-traps made of flexible nylon and dart guns with darts equipped with homing devices to help locate the animal.

A question regarding CWD: “is the meat safe to eat?” While there has never been a documented case of human illness with exposure to CWD, the potential for prion mutation and length of incubation are unknown. The CDC’s recommendation is to avoid meat from an infected animal because, “while the CWD threat to humans is low, it is not zero.”

In a final analysis, no one wants a fatal disease named after them.

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Forestry & Conservation

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A Decade Ago Ames Forestry Program Took a Leap of Faith.

By Dr. Allan Houston

t was an idea compelled with increasing indications that the eastern hardwood forest is growing older and regeneration is lacking. While growing older seems positive, it must be considered in the context of a forest growing older while at the same time being picked over with repeated harvests. As a result, it is a forest slowly occupied with less and less quality. All the while, no widespread attempts are made to regenerate the forest.

Myself and my colleague, Dr. Scott Shlarbaum at the University of Tennessee, decided to attempt genetic improvement of various hardwood species, particularly oak, and follow this by planting highly selected trees into the explosion of woody and herbaceous competition that follows a clearcut. And, then walk away, leaving the seedlings to their fate.

Most scientists said it would not work.

To date there are over 20 species with more than 20,000 trees are under study. To illustrate, for example, if northern red oak was bearing, we identified 30 or so trees that were at least a quarter of a mile apart to prevent genetic kinship. With repeated visits to each tree, and in direct competition with squirrels, deer and turkeys, we collected between 500 and 1,000 acorns.

These acorns are considered to be “half siblings” because while the mother tree is the one dropping the acorns, the paternal influence, represented in pollen coming in from everywhere, cannot be known.

These acorns are transported to a nursery where they are carefully planted and kept separate by mother tree. All summer the seedlings receive an intense irrigation and fertilization regime; and by the time they are lifted in the fall, can be as much as 6 feet tall.

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Once lifted, again kept separate by mother tree, they are transported to Knoxville, placed in cold storage and over the winter each tree is graded according to several criteria, including the degree of “first order lateral roots,” the stout offshoots from the main root, a trait that correlates with good growth and survival.

The best of these trees are taken to Ames and planted in orchard settings with each tree’s pedigree kept separate.

As the orchards develop, trees are evaluated for various traits, and not just timber production, but wildlife attributes too. For example, in a water oak orchard the progeny of one mother tree tends to hold their acorns aloft until well after the first of the year, a trait that might be excellent for wildlife. Another “family” produces smaller than normal acorns, a trait perhaps good for various birds, quail included.

We have also collected plum twigs from the various patches and created rooted hedgerows in an attempt to preserve a quickly vanishing part of the historical landscape.

Of course, as might be imagined the resources needed to accomplish this are large, with nursery space and treatments, greenhouses, equipment, labor to sort, grade, mark, transport and plant the trees. Each tree is virtually irreplaceable. Therefore, electric fences are erected around the orchards to discourage deer from destroying the plantings. Actually, the fences serve more in the way of “advice” than a complete deterrent. But, after a generation or two of deer have experience with the fences tend to stay out of the orchards, mostly.

It has been astounding to discover the variability within even a single species. Acorn production is a case in point. Some trees bear early and tend to be prolific throughout their life. Some start

in mid-life and tend to bear well from then on, some begin well then slack off to become nearly barren, and some families simply tend to not have many acorns at all. Stem form can vary among families, with some having a strong inclination to form forks, at about the same height, not a desirable timber trait.

The project also tested the ability of these trees to compete once planted behind a clear-cut and left to fight it out with the ensuing explosion of competition.

Typically, sycamore and sweetgum in the bottoms and yellow polar in the uplands dominate the regeneration; and while these are good species for some purposes, they fail to provide many of the timber and wildlife benefits of oaks.

A particular objective of the study was to create mixed stands as opposed to single-species plantations. We want to enrich the developing regeneration with our selected trees. The objective is to have about 36 planted trees per acre at maturity. Given the normal stature of a large oak, 36 trees per acre would capture about half of every acre and would be of enormous interest to any timber buyer. Or squirrel or turkey or deer.

A person needs to chop their way into a young stand for measurements to get a true appreciation for how fierce the competition can be in the early years. Briars, weeds, vines, trees and more briars form a spiderweb of competition. Not all the planted trees live. Many are outpaced and dwindle into the shade.

But, some make it and some make it spectacularly.

These are not small studies. In one planting of over 4,000 trees, with cherrybark and swamp white oak featured, there are many trees that approach 60 feet tall at 15 years of age; and, before we

Larry Teague is measuring a 15-year-old cherrybark red oak, a winner, on its way to take a place in the mature crown. It is a promise to the future, kept.

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project them as being “winners,” they must also surpass rigorous crown-size-and-position parameters.

I tell students the greatest expense in forestry is “failure,” because poor decisions can last a long time. A stand that develops and grows through a full rotation without oak, if oak was possible, is a form of failure, at least to someone who must deal with the stand years down the road.

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The project has developed into the very leading edge of hardwood silviculture. That leap of faith and the entire project, from beginning to date, 20 years of work, and with trees in nurseries and greenhouse soon to be planted, would not be possible without the continuing support of the Trustees of the Shackelford Trust.

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