Walla Walla Derby/Zuchtschau
by Frank O’Leary
The weather in Walla Walla, WA was perfect on May 2nd and 3rd for the Western
Region Derby and Zuchtschau. Cool and damp in the morning for the field search
and by 10:00 AM sunny and warm. The weekend saw twelve dogs get tested in the
Derby and the same twelve evaluated for their conformation rating.
Saturday morning, Senior
Judge Herman-Josef
Schomakers from Surwold,
German; Jeff Martin from
Penticton, BC, Canada; and
Judge Joe Kelly from Boise,
(L to R) Rae Brown & Nuggy vom Trocken Bach, Terry Anderson and Master vom
ID put seven dogs through
Trocken Bach, Billy Merchant and Newt vom Trocken Bach, Herman-Josef Schomakers,
Randy Blanchard and Obi-Wan vom Gänsehimmel, Joe Kelly, Jeff Martin, Gordon
their paces in the Derby.
MacIlvennie and Nate vom Trocken Bach, and Mike Kennedy and Qutella von Kings
The test was held on the
Crossing
Buckley Ranch in Lowden,
WA and the large alfalfa fields provided the perfect area for the Derby search. Each
of the seven dogs performed extremely well and were rewarded with a Prize 1 for
their efforts. To view the results visit nadkc-wr.org or click here to be routed to the
site. The Judging team complimented the handlers on the performance of their dogs
and noted it was obvious that a great deal of effort had been put forth in preparing the
dogs.
Following lunch the testing group proceeded to Touchet High School for the
Zuchtschau where they were joined by the additional five dogs that would do their
Derby on Sunday. Herman-Josef Schomakers was the Formwertricher for the
Zuchtschau and Jeff Martin took advantage of the opportunity to apprentice under
him. The classes consisted of five for the Junior Male Class, three for the Adult Male
Class, and four for the Junior Female Class.
Junior Male Class
Newt vom Trocken Bach, owned and
handled by Billy Merchant from
Brighton, CO, received SG1 in the
Junior Male Class. Followed by Nate
vom Trocken Back SG2, Gunnar vom
Adlerberg SG3, Obi-Wan vom
Gänsehimmel SG4, and Fergus vom
Adlerberg SG.
The Adult Male Class Güther vom Adlerberg, owned
and handled by Don Evanson from Kennewick, WA,
was the V1 dog. Master vom Trocken Bach received
the V2 and Griff vom Adlerberg SG.
Adult Male Class
Junior Female Class
Nuggy vom Trocken Bach, owned and
handled by Rae Brown, was the SG1
Junior Female. Qutella von Kings
Crossing was SG2, Oreo vom
Gänsehimmel SG3, and Gabie vom
Adlerberg SG4.
Herman noted that he has seen a great improvement in the quality of the dogs in the
Western Region since he first visited our Region at the Annual Meeting in Spokane,
in 2008.
Saturday evening the group retired to The Brik
Restaurant for a social hour (or so), dinner, and
the awards. The Judging Team graciously spent
time to critique each dog and handler as they
made the presentations. The Western Region
presented each of the Judges with a set of four
tumblers etched with Western Region of the
(L to R) Frank O’Leary, Joe Kelly, Jeff
NADKC and the head of a DK. The glasses were
Martin, & Herman-Josef Schomakers
done by Rockin CK Pedestals & Woodworking,
Kim Blaskowski, from Stevensville, MT. It appeared as if a good time was had by
all.
Sunday morning the participants met again at the Touchet Merk and proceeded to the
testing site. Today there would be five dogs tested in two separate Derbies. Roger
Green, from Brewster, WA, went way above and beyond the call of duty driving over
four hours to eliminate a judge’s conflict with one of the dogs. THANK YOU
ROGER!!! Roger replaced Jeff Martin in Group #2 consisting of two dogs.
Again the weather was perfect and Group #2 provided some really good watching.
Fergus vom Adlerberg, owned and handled by Eric Wieland, from Terrebone, OR,
earned 4h’s in Nose and Search on his way to a Prize 1.
All five dogs in Group #2 and #3 received Prize 1 for their efforts and again the
Judges conveyed to the handlers how much they appreciated the work that had been
put into the dogs and that it was reflect in the performance in the field.
All and all it was a good weekend. All the handlers had prepared their dogs for
success and were rewarded with a Prize 1. The Judges recognized the effort put forth
and compliment the handlers accordingly. Herman-Josef complimented the Western
Region on the quality of dogs being produced in this area and stated that we should
be very proud of our progress.
As a side note, for those of you that remembered we were having a little trouble
getting Herman-Josef here. He arrived Friday night at 9:00 PM, although thirty hours
late. That was the good news, the bad news, his clothes arrived Sunday at 2:30 PM
just in time to get ready to leave Monday morning.