Summary of the Running by John Yates

Cherry (Foreman) and Taz (Ecker) finished with clean grouse work in the first day's running of the Venango Grouse Trial Club's open all age stake. In eight braces completed, nine grouse, three woodcock and one pheasant were moved on the courses. Conditions ranged from mostly cloudy in the morning to sunny in the afternoon, with temperatures ranging from the low 30's to the upper 40's. Scenting conditions were average to to good during the day, with light winds, moderate humidity and moderately noisy leaf conditions on the ground. The running: Brace #1 - Loleta #1 - one grouse and three woodcock seen - Benny (Bressler) finished without birdwork. Cherry (Foreman) finished with one find on a grouse and two woodcock (the same location during the PA Championship, just beyond the pines about seven minutes into the course, produced two multi-bird, multi-species finds during the recent PA Championship). Brace #2 - Loleta #2 - No birds seen - Guy Begone (Minard) was lost to judgment, and Gabe (Tufts) finished with no birdwork. Brace #3 - Loleta #3 - No birds seen - Riddlin (Minard) was picked up by handler at 52 with no birdwork, and Pennstar (Brenneman) finished with an unproductive and no birdwork. Brace #4 - Loleta #4 - three grouse seen - Tuna (Foreman) finished with no birdwork - Chip's Torquato (Ecker) was leashed at 26 following an incident with a grouse. Brace #5 - Lamonaville #1 - one pheasant heard (probably a stocked bird; a dog's bell was heard to stop, a cock pheasant was heard to cackle, and the dog's bell moved on) - Mate (Ecker) finished with no birdwork, and Windy (Foreman) was picked up at 54 after handler got separated from the forward party for 20 minutes. Brace #6 - Lamonaville #2 - four grouse were seen - High Five Wrangler (Minard) finished with no birdwork. Romee (Foreman) was up at 8 after an incident with a grouse. Brace #7 - Lamonaville #3 - one grouse seen - Skunky (Mark Hughes) finished with three nonproductives (one on a porcupine) and no birdwork. Taz (Ecker) finished with a find on a grouse at 59 (with 10 seconds remaining on the clock). Brace #8 - Lamonaville #4 - No birds seen - Sarah (Ecker) was picked up by handler at 15 with no bird contact. Shakes (Foreman) finished with no birdwork and two unproductives. Tomorrow: Brace #9 is scheduled to breakaway at 7 a.m. on Loleta #1. The NWS forecast is for clear and sunny skies with a low of 28 and a high of 58, with light south winds. The puppy is expected to be concluded tomorrow, and the first nine braces of the derby are expected to be concluded.   Day 2   The perils of beautiful weather descended on the all age stake in its second day of running on Saturday. Only one bird was seen all day (a grouse), and it wasn't pointed. The morning began as frosty (upper 20's), but warmed up quickly into the upper 50's under crystal clear skies. By late morning, humidiuty levels were low and the dry leaves were very noisy. Seven braces were completed. Brace #9 - Loleta #1 - no birds were seen - Sally (Bogle) and Yarrah (Ecker) finished. Brace #10 - Loleta #2 - no birds were seen - Hank (Bressler) finished. Flash (Kepler) was scratched. Brace #11 - Loleta #3 - one grouse was seen - Meg (Tufts) and Ben (Bogle) finished. Brace #12 - Loleta #4 - no birds were seen - Judy (Hughes) and Tina (Stiteler) finished. Brace #13 - Lamonaville #1 - no birds were seen - Copper (Klein) finished, and Good Golly (DeRosa) was scratched. Brace #14 - Lamonaville #2 - no birds were seen - Chief (Bressler) was out of judgment as time expired, and Parker (Stoker) finished. Brace #15 - Lamonaville #3 - no birds were seen - Abby (Hughes) finished with an unproductive, and Chili (Klein) finished with a back on the unproductive. The puppy stake was concluded Saturday (see separate entry), and the derby stake got well underway. The derby judges were hoping to get in nine braces, but when I left it appeared that approaching darkness might not allow more than eight. The all age resumes at 7 a.m. Sunday on Loleta #1, and the derby resumes at 7:30 a.m. across from Lamonaville #1. The NWS weather forecast calls for very windy conditions Sunday, with gusts up to 37 mph, with mostly cloudy skies, a 40% chance of rain after noon and a high of 62.   Day 3   The good news was that Saturday's beautiful weather went away on Sunday, and 12 birds were seen and four dogs finished with clean bird work. The day dawned clear and frosty, but thick clouds moved in, humidity increased and occasional gusty winds and very light drizzle were seen after noon. Thornapple Zara, Shady Hills Billy and Mr. Biggs finished with grouse finds, and Max's Doc Holliday finished with a find on a woodcock. The judges saw 10 grouse, one woodcock and one pheasant. Brace #16 - Loleta #3 - no birds seen. Molly (bressler) and Annie (Mike Groy) finished. Brace #17 - Loleta #2 - two grouse seen - Fatman (Minard) was picked up after an incident on an unproductive, and Buck (Ecker) was leashed after an incident with a grouse. Brace #18 - Loleta #3 - three grouse see - Thornapple Zara (Leet) finished with a find on a grouse and a divided find on a grouse. Shady Hills Billy finished with a divided find on a grouse and an unproductive. Brace #19 - Loleta #4 - one woodcock seen - Doc (Kepler) finished with a find on a woodcock, and Dutch (Hughes) was lost to judgment. Brace #20 - Lamonaville #1 - one pheasant seen - Lacey (Ecker/Peters) had a mannerly find on a cock pheasant, but was lost to judgment at 40; Dixie (Leet) finished. Brace #21 - Lamonaville #2 - three grouse seen - Pumpkin (Mike Groy) and Molly (Henke) were picked up by their handlers before time. Brace #21 - Lamonaville #3 - two grouse were seen - Mr. Biggs (Foreman) finished with a find on two grouse; Smitty (Hughes) was scratched.