New Field/Dual Champion!!

Everything came together in the field for our boy these last two weekends! At the San Joaquin Brittany Club Field Trial in New Cuyama, CA, River went 1st in Open Gun Dog for a 4 point major! Going into the next weekend at the same venue, he competed in the Open Gun Dog stake for the California Brittany Club Trial and repeated his success, for another 4 point major!

And just like that, he is a Field Champion! We are so grateful for his quick success and to have him back home with us.


It has been a dream to have him be a Dual, Paul kept telling us how capable he is, he just needed everything to come together, and that he did. It was so nice to have everyone be so complimentary of his runs, to know that he had really deserved his wins. We knew that he had competed against some very competent dogs and were proud of him.

Thanks to Paul and Peggy Doiron for all of their hard, skilled work in training and fielding our dog!

California Brittany Club 2012 Juvenile Field Dog of the Year

River was just awarded the CBC 2012 Juvenile Field Dog of the Year. River had a great field career as a pup, placing in some 18 field trials as a Puppy or Derby dog!

Summer Specialty

 We are going to breed this boy sometime, we want to make even better versions of River. We want to make sweet companion dogs like he most definitely is. We want to make beautiful field dogs that can be in the field one day, running and finding birds like a pro, and then enjoying the show the next. We love this dog and we believe in his ability to make beautiful puppies one day. We think he is so balanced, moderate and beautiful.

We chose over a year ago to make the trek to Seattle to compete in the Summer Specialty. We have lots of family there, so it was a good excuse to get some dates down and make the trip. We took our new family trailer and all five of us (plus 1 one the way) and we went to a few family reunions, visited the city and even fit in an extended weekend of dog shows.

With only showing River here and there, I feel like I have to re-connect in the ring with him each time. This time he wanted to be treated like a princess:) So I did and we made the cut each day in the BOB classes (huge, beautiful classes), and then we did the Field Trial Dog class at the actual National. I was petrified because we had just one competitor, but he was gorgeous! It was DC Sanbar Castle Built on Legends, Kody. For some reason, the judge made it awfully fun, really making a competition out of just the two of us. He really appreciated the cleanliness of Rivers' down and back though and in the end, he gave the win to River. I was so happy with the win, knowing what a lovely dog we had competed against.

My mom, the boys, River and cousin Holly at the Green River, near Enumclaw

The judge was telling me how much fun he had judging this little class. What a compliment to the breed he gave by saying that his Field Trial Dog class was his favorite judging of the day!

River finishes

We had shown him just a handful of times. Let's see, mom showed him as a 6 month-old in Ventura (in which he got RWD to a major), I showed him once at like 7 months (he wasn't super put-together at that point:), and then we did the Mission Circuit when he was 17  months. He got a BOW for a 5 point major and a WD for a 4 point major that weekend, as well as a RWD and a Best of Sweepstakes, not a bad weekend trip!
He had gone straight back out to the field, receiving 18 puppy/derby placements after that and got broke when he was 2.
We took him back to Mission Circuit the next year, when he was just over 2 and he received two more BOW's, one being at the San Diego Brittany Club specialty. He was now finished:)
Here are some photos from the weekend

Western Futurity

River had been out on the road with Paul and Peggy Doiron, doing his field thing. He got 2 points over in Arizona by getting a 2nd place in Open Gun Dog at a 5-point major trial. He must be pulling himself together in the field. They were going to finish their circuit up at an Idaho trial and the Western Futurity stake. We decided to make the trek up there to handle him in the show as well.

River grows a lot of hair in a short period of time, so I had a lot of work to do. I set up shop in the bathroom of the hotel and started cutting hair. I still wasn't pleased when I had finished, but it would have to do, I was just too tired.

The final three, River got 2nd money male, Jake, in the middle got 1st, and sweet Vinny got 3rd. I thought it was a nice final lineup

Paul and River getting ready for his run

awesome photo! Caleb and I in the wind

Caleb loves River so much and is so, so happy when he wins a ribbon!

photo op with a tank in Middleton, Idaho, thanks to Robin Tomasi, we didn't miss the opportunity!

Paul took him from us once the show was over, he had to run in the field the next day. He got 2nd place in the Gun Dog Futurity and when they combined that with his 2nd Money Male win in the Bench show, he received the honor, Dual Dog Award for the Western Futurity! We were ecstatic!!  Robin Tomasi received the award in our absence

Paul and River

Robin and River