Field trials go on most all summer, but I have hung up the leash for this spring. From here on, all roads lead to the fall nationals in Nebraska where I expect all the leading contenders to be present. I have looked over some of the potential competition, and am pleased that we have some very promising gun dogs here in Ohio.

Ohio Vizsla owners now have several good dogs. Over the past two weeks, they have spread out in every direction and have returned home with wins and placements.

I believe Ohio Vizsla owners are maturing both as handlers and breeders of fine dogs. They will offer strong competition this fall, but I predict that the year 1982 will be their strongest year yet.

Considering that the Miami Valley Vizsla Club had 87 Vizsla entries this spring is testimony enough to all these years we have closed all our stakes except Open Limited Gun Dog. Vizsla owners have responded by learning to train and compete effectively with each other. Those with field champion titles can compete with other breeds, but perhaps not too effectively against the basic prejudice often encountered.

I have often advised other Vizsla specialty clubs to follow our pattern and forget about PROFIT while concentrating on developing and helping each other become competitive. Breed improvement will not come about any other way, for the best potential handler and dog are perhaps excluded because they do not have the confidence to enter against the more experienced dogs and handlers. It is a real concern and will always keep many of our Vizsla novice owners out of field trials.

While Ohio Vizsla club members had fifty one of the eighty seven entries this spring, we recognize that our trials are made by those Vizsla owners from out of state with their entries also.

This spring we had several scratches before the drawing, or otherwise we would have turned entries away. This should never happen. Every Vizsla entry should be accepted. Hopefully the two Ohio clubs recognize that this problem needs solved for the fall trials. We have discussed having two courses on Saturday and one Sunday, and then adding an Amateur Limited Gun Dog stake.

Too many amateur stakes are now pop gun which makes it very difficult for some dogs to win the amateur title as four retrieving points are needed. No club to my knowledge offers amateur puppy or derby and open points from in these stakes cannot be used. Consequently, the Amateur Field Champion title is more difficult to obtain. Most clubs only offer one amateur stake and four open stakes. A change is needed.

While I recognize the need for having some method to highlight winning dogs, the Top Ten has never found much favor with me. Professional handlers should always be at the top as they attend the maximum number of trials while some amateur handlers enter only four to eight trials a year, and may have much better dogs.

Once my dogs finish their titles, II am looking for other prospects to campaign while fully realizing that it is wrong to “retire” a top winning dog altogether. Nevertheless, it has been my practice to quit running in closed amateur stakes and many gun dog stakes closed to other breeds.

Ch Behi’s Jeri Redef’s win in Amateur at the Greater Cleveland Vizsla Club’s trial March 21/22 and DC Behi Csecse Gyors Lab’s win at the Miami Valley Vizsla Club’s trial April 4/5 should have met all the requirements for their Amateur titles. Fleeta was left in the Conestoga Vizsla Club’s Amateur stake because it was open to other breeds.

Because of having finished both Amateur titles, I changed my two entries from the Amateur to the Open Gun Dog stake at the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Ohio April 11/12. As it turned out, the ground was very wet and muddy, yet Fleeta (*behi Csecse Gyoirs Lab) had four quail fiunds and ran an extremely forward, strong, race. She was called back for a retrieve and was awarded third place.

I entered a Shoot to Retrieve trial March 28 and placed Ch Behi’s Jeri Redef second in a field of 32 pointing dogs. The interesting fact was that both Jeri and the first place dog had identical bird work with one back. The difference was that the first place dog was not steady to wing and show. The field trial chairman apologized to me for what he assumed was poor or unfair judging.

These trials do not provide adequate means to credit dogs that are steady to wing and shot, and such crediting may not even be desirable for those most interested in playing this game to win.

Some experienced Shoot To Retrieve handlers can be less than honest in their methods. They will purposely find a reason not to shoot and work and rework that bird for the entire 25 minutes (an unshot bird is marked for three minutes before either dog can work it again) and obtain credit for a find each time. The scoring may also be manipulated by judges who favor one handler or dog breed over the other. So, what’s new ?

At the Conestoga trial April 18/19 Hilda and I were there a couple days early. During those two days, I ran the dogs both days, and the second day Fleeta pulled a toenail from the bottom of a toe. Her performance suffered each time she was down. In the Amateur stake, I had her foot bandaged and fully expected to pick her up if she did not run well. The protective cover lasted through the worst of the mowed brush and she went on to win with a very satisfying performance. Her grandmother, Trixie, most always had a protective boot to protect a cut pad and she never let a handicap detract from a performance.

Ohio Vizsla owners having success at recent trials other than their own are: Robert Sloane with Ch Camarily Rambling Rose CD won Open Gun Dog at the Vizsla Club of Eastern Iowa and Amateur Gun Dog at Western Michigan Vizsla Club and placing third in Open Puppy with Camarily Rambling Buckaroo at Eastern Iowa, Wayne Leis placed second in Amateur Gun Dog with Miss Midge of Behi at Western Michigan Vizsla Club; Pat Johnson placed fourth with Redef’s J Paces Rush in Open Gun Dog and third in Amateur Gun Dog at Western Michigan Vizsla Club; Dr Nancy Boggs Heinold DVM placed third in Open Puppy with Paradox Title Chase of Behi at Western Michigan Vizsla Club and David Kayser placed second in a Walking shooting dog at the Clovernook Pointer and Setter trial with Behi’s TaTa Julie Khan.

There are other gun dogs here that are also competitive with others waiting in the wings and their handlers getting progressively more competitive. Carolyn Feder got the “bug” again at the Miami Valley Vizsla Club with Redef’s Freeloadin Fred  and is serious about having him broke by fall. Dr Paul Rothan, Dave Kayser and I plan on helping her reach that goal.

Providing some background and additional information to the above article. At this time MVVC was field trialing at Lloyd’s Wildlife Area which allowed for one course only. 87 entries was considered a huge trial for one course. Additionally there was no Amateur Walking Derby or Amateur Walking Puppy stakes. And Amateur Limited Gun Dog was added to the schedule during this time. At this time the Illinois and Ohio clubs were one of few Vizsla clubs offering trials open to Vizslas only. Despite some opinions that existed back then and now about lowering the quality of the stakes offered by closing trials/stakes, this lack of quality never panned out. Closed stakes were done so because the Vizsla entries were justified in quantity and quality. Illinois and Ohio became the benchmark of Midwestern Vizsla field trialing in high class open competition and high class amateur field trialing.

Other Ohio dogs competing at this time were to be DC AFC Fieldstone’s Tip Top Timmy owned by Rothans and DC AFC Fieldstone’s Hey Duke, owned by Stan Weiss. Timmy was destined to win his NAFC title in Nebraska 84. Paul has been known to state that luck rode with him in the saddle for that National Championship. He had just finished the course. Time was called. He whoaed Timmy with a bird popping up a couple steps ahead of the whoaed dog. Other Ohio dogs competing with high class amateur status during this time was the pair owned by David G/Clara Kayser of Redef’s TaTa Beki Khan and Behi’s Tata Julie Khan acquiring their FC and AFC status. And yes, Redef’s Freeloading Fred became one of the dogs to beat that fall. Another MVVC bitch of note was the Schroaders’ Ch Boshar’s Budapest Babe who had been bred to a future VCA HOFer Ch Valhi Stick To Your Guns and had produced DC AFC Askim destined to be a VCA National Derby Winner, National Shoot To Retrieve Champion and the VCA HOF.

Yes indeed, that particular fall at Nationals offered a fistful of Ohio Vizsla entries bustling in quantity and quality.