The Region 19 Brittany All Age Amateur Championship concluded on Sunday in Valentine NE. I managed to get my dog around and place 3rd, in arguably the toughest Amateur trial in the Brittany world (including the Amateur Nationals.). The trial always has a great entry (40 dogs this year,) and is run in the Sandhills of NE, on mostly wild sharp tail, chickens, pheasants, and a few released pheasants to insure all the courses are even. The northern Sandhills have TONS of birds this year, but boy are they wild. My dog finished with one find, and one none productive during the hour, even though he was standing his birds and they left early before the judges could see them (I was later told by a Pro I should have just fired, pointed out the direction the birds flew, and let the judges sort it out.) With temps rising to the low 90’s every day, it’s hell on dogs. Between the hills, the mud, the sand burs, the heat, and all the wild birds, its not for the faint of heart. None the less, we made it around and finished. What made me even more proud, was this is a dog I bred, who was previously owned by a friend who passed away, and sat for a long time before I took him. He’s had late start, but I think he’s starting to come around....... If anyone is ever looking for a place for a great mixed bag hunt, the Sandhills around Valentine NE would be a great place to start, but bring plenty of dog power. We could have easily killed sharpies, chickens, and pheasants almost every day. We moved 30-40 sharp tail this morning while hunting, and a couple pheasants as well. The Sandhills are not an easy place to hunt however.
