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Ames Amateur Field Trial

Dialed In Wins PrestigiousAmes AmateurAllAge By Kent Walker; photos by Vera Courtney

What has for many years been arguably one of the most prestigious and competitive All Age events in the country, the Ames Amateur once again lived up to its storied past. drawing a field of 46AllAge contestants and 16 derby entries, the trial ran from monday december 27 to friday december 31, 2021 at the Ames Plantation, grand Junction, tenn. early morning and afternoon temperatures remained near 70 degrees with overcast skies throughout the entire trial. only one half day ’s running was delayed due to thunderstorms and heavy rain.

Judging this year’s renewal were elton Bray and korry rinehart. Neither are strangers to the judicial saddle. Both are excellent horsemen and ride with a keen eye on each bird dog. veteran eight-year old-performer dialed in, “Claire, ” was absolutely ‘dialed in’to the birds, as she carded three stellar finds while laying down a strong forward and responsive ground race under the whistle of matt Pendergest. With temperatures reaching 72 degrees, conditions were less than favorable as she was turned loose on the afternoon course onthursday. Nonetheless, Claire responded with the toughness that has brought her to the winners’ circle on so many other occasions throughout her career. taking second place honors was small’sWhite Charger for owner and handler mike small of evansville, indiana. Charger was credited with one find well to the front and a forward and searching ground race. third place laurels went to game rebel for dr. fred Corder. rebel had one find during his hour near the old agronomy shed, where he was discovered by the scout after a brief absence, as the course turned back south on the third afternoon. After a long ride back to the call of “point, ” the handsome pointer was standing with style for wing and shot. He finished his hour well to the front at pickup. in the companion derby event, matt Pendergest was back in the winner’s circle once again – this time withAwakened. for first place honors, Awakened ran a good forward race, carding a stylish find near the end of her brace. taking second was Phillips linebacker for mike small. third place was awarded to a consistent winner on the derby circuit this season, Cocklebur Breaking Bad for Bubba,Amy and Colt spencer. the second and third place dogs showed all age potential in their ground races.

As with most trials there are many people to thank. this trial in particular has a great supporting cast, beginning with the Ames Plantation staff and the use of these historic grounds. the ongoing, much appreciated support of sportsman’s Pride dog food, who has represented this trial and others throughout the midsouth and region 6, stepped up again this year donating dog food to all the winners. Club director Chris Weatherly of the Ames Plantation rode every brace and marshaled the trial. ken Blackman did yeoman’s work of driving the dog wagon, providing snacks between braces, assisting at road crossings, and collecting entry fees. southern eatery and linda stewart provided tasty lunches throughout the trial. And

AllAge winners: Front Row: Matt Pendergest with Dialed In, Mike Small with Smalls White Charger. Back Row: Kent Walker, Korry Rinehart (judge), Megan Henry, Scott Little, Elton Bray (judge) and MasonAshburn.

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Derby winners: Front Row: Mike Small with Phillips Linebacker,Amy Spencer with Cocklebur Breaking Bad, Colt and Bubba Spencer. Back Row: Kent Walker, Korry Rinehart (judge), Lowry Strickland, Elton Bray (judge), John Chandler Strickland, John Taylor, and Chris Weatherly.

special thanks to vera Courtney for all the wonderful photography during this years’ Ames Amateur. mrs. vera has been capturing photos of the Ames Amateur for seventeen years. What a great crew!

Hope to see everyone again next year. AllAge winners:

First: dialed in, matt Pendergest, owner/handler

Second: small’s White Charger, mike small, owner/handler

Third: game rebel, dr. fred Corder, Jonathan Burch

owner/handler

Derby winners:

First: Awakened, matt Pendergest, owner/handler Guy Hendrix

Second: Phillips linebacker, mike small, owner/handler

Third: Cocklebur Breaking Bad, Bubba andAmy spencer, owners/handlers

Bubba Spencer Matt Pendergest

Whippoorwill Forever Wild (shown on left of photo) works the course ahead of handler Matt Cochran

Hobart Ames Memorial Classic

By Nancy Brannon; photos by Vera Courtney the 69th renewal of the Hobart Ames memorial Classic, open All-Age and derby, started monday, January 10, 2022. Judges for this National Championship qualifying stake were mike Jackson of Battle ground, iN and virgil moore of Canyon, tx; reporter, Jim Atchison of Caruthersville, mo. Braces were run on the National Championship courses at Ames Plantation, grand Junction, ten-

nessee. there were 48 dogs running in theAllAge stake. on the first day a “cold morning with ‘bluebird skies’ greeted this morning’s riders in the 2022 HobartAmes memorialAll-Age, ”vera Courtney wrote. day two was a “brisk 27 degrees” with an “almost cloudless sky, ” she reported. day three of the Hobart Ames memorial All-Age was a “cool, 35 degrees with thin clouds for this morning’s breakaway, ” Courtney reported. on January 13, it was another “cool 35 degrees for the kick off of the last day ofAll-Age dogs. ” there was, indeed, cold weather for the All-Age braces, but most days were mostly sunny and temperatures reached almost 50 degrees by friday afternoon. inclement weather held off until saturday afternoon for the last braces of the derby, when rain poured and temperatures dropped to the 30s. snow came in the area later saturday night. dr. rick Carlisle of Ames Plantation said that “birds were at a premium during this trial. ” in the All-Age Classic, there were 12 finds from 11 dogs. in the derby Classic, there were eight finds from seven dogs in one and one-half days.this was in contrast to the Ames Amateur (dec. 27, 2021), which saw 24 finds by theAll-Age dogs and eight finds by the derby dogs in eight 30-minute braces. At the AftCA National Amateur All-Age invitational (december 6, 2021), there were eleven finds on monday, ten finds on tuesday, and four finds in the call-back. “We have seen an influx of hawks in the area lately, so the birds are staying close in cover, ” dr. Carlisle said. “you fly, you die. ”

All-Age Results:

First: game Wardon, handled by dr. fred Corder, owner

Second: Papa Joe, handled by mike Hester for owner tremel Hester (his grandson) third: Hendrix ’s Copperline, handled by Burke Hendrix, owner the Hobart Ames memorial derby began on a “beautiful morning, ” friday, January 14, 2022 with 24 dogs contending for the honors (25 entered, but one withdrew). mike Jackson also judged the derby, along with Joey mcAlexander, who is the new President of the Hobart Ames memorial field trial Club. the derby was completed on saturday January 15, 2022 with the following winners.

Derby Results:

First: Haney ’s stormWarming, handler ike todd, owner Chris Cagle

Second: knight’s little John, handler ike todd, owner scott griffin

Third: seek N in, handler/owner Will dunn

(above) Riders in the gallery on a very cold first day of the Hobart Ames Memorial Classic All-Age field trial. (below) Brothers Shannon and Keith St. John rode in Friday’s Derby. (all photos by Vera Courtney)

Belle Meade Foxhound Performance Trials

From Epp Wilson, MFH, Fred Berry, MFH, and Tom Brannon, MFH the masters of fox Hounds Association (mfHA) is sponsoring a series of foxhound Performance trials. each of these events is a great opportunity to experience the very best foxhunting behind an exceptional pack of hounds, and in some of the best hunt country in North America.

Performance trials offer a way for foxhunters to gather, measure hound performance, enhance breeding programs, and exchange ideas. every three years, the mfHA sponsors the Performance trial Championships. during the 2021-2022 season, multiple exciting qualifying events culminate with the Performance trials grand Championship on march 26-27, 2022 in Hoffman, North Carolina.

Hunts participate by invitation only and they bring only their very best hounds. Hounds are numbered to allow mounted judges to record their observations, which are then loaded into a scoring program to determine the awards.

All fox hunting is fun, and Performance trials are like “fox hunting on steroids. ” you will find many of the best hounds and the most avid foxhunters at these Performance trials. this level of foxhunting is definitely an adrenalin sport.

Belle meade Hunt in thomson, georgia hosted their 21st qualifying performance trial on January 22-23, 2022. the Pack Championship winner was tennessee valley Hunt (tvH) of New market, tenn.

Competition was stiff! seven of the best packs of hounds from illinois to kentucky to georgia competed, and they had outstanding hunting both days. Ateam of twelve judges scored hounds in the categories of Hunting, trailing, and full Cry. ryan Johnsey, mfH and Huntsman for tennesseevalley Hunt, was asked to comment on the weekend’s Performancetrial. ryan was very complimentary about how well organized and well run this trial was, by eppWilson, mfH and the Belle meade hunt. He said that placing well at a performance trial can be a matter of a hound being at the right place at the right time, and the stars seemed to be aligned for tvH’s hounds that weekend. “We were asked to choose five of our best hounds for the competition and, when asked which one i would root for the most, it was tvH Headboard.this hound lived up to my expectations. i’ ve been watching him perform well all season. He shines! He is pure Penn-marydel, bred and whelped attvH, with lineage from both longreen fox-