RICHMOND, INDIANA- This was my first trip to Autumn Oaks and now I'm hooked! I will definitely do this again! What a great time!

I stopped and stayed with friends and hunted on my way to Autumn Oaks from Helena, Montana. It was a 2000 mile trip just to get there but of course that's because I made side trips to hunt and visit. I stayed the first night in South Dakota with fellow Black and Tan owner, Heath Gustafson and his family. Good company and good hunting, too! It was good for my hounds to unwind after being in the dog box all day. And it's always fun to hunt in another part of the country. The next day, further east, I stayed with my new friend, Roger Sears and his family. He intends to be a Black and Tan owner in the near future. Another enjoyable visit! Both families went out of their way for me and my hounds and it made my long drive bearable. You, see I was traveling alone with three hounds so I drove every mile myself.

I arrived at Wayne County Fairgrounds Wednesday afternoon and found a shady spot under a big tree. I parked and stayed there until I left. Shady places would be at a premium in the days to come. Some people had already been there for days. It's a yearly meeting place for lots of folks; some come to hunt, some come to show and some come without any dogs just to visit. And then there are those who leave with a new pup or two.

I fell under a few of those categories. I came with hounds to show and I had previously arranged to meet Avis Brech and Bev Schlaich from Spring Hill Kennel, Spring Mills, Pennsylvania to pick up 2 new dogs. Oh, and, of course, I went to Autumn Oaks to visit.

The fairgrounds were filling up more everyday. And there were more dogs and more puppies than I had ever seen in one place before! What fun! I got to meet many other Black and Tan owners, too many to mention. There were a lot of good-looking black dogs there. Kinda makes you humble to see so many fine black hounds.

Got to show my young female, Jujube, on Friday in the open class. She's a timid one but stood well for me. Didn't even knock over the bench! I then showed my Champion male, Sonny Boy, Saturday morning and from what I was told, the judge spent a long time looking at him. That made me feel like the trip was worthwhile! I showed my 8 yr. old Grand Champion male, Domee that afternoon. And it was hot. At least for us Montana folks! Domee was hot, too but showed well. I was happy with the way my dogs performed. I didn't go to Autumn Oaks expecting to win. I wanted to show what kinds of hounds are being raised in Montana. And I think I accomplished that.

A few of us from out west made it to Autumn Oaks: O.W. Hill from California and the young redbone man who traveled with him, and their red dogs, Linda Mack from California and her Plotts, and the only other Montanan, Scott Sciaretta with his good Walker. Scott's from Swan Lake, Montana. There may have been others that I didn't bump into. But it sure was good visiting with the ones I did meet.

I picked up my new pup and a 4 yr. old female on Saturday from Bev and Avis after the show was over. My pup. Ladybug, is sired by SPRING HILL LASER who's out DACH LAIR'S PRIDE OF VA. and DACH LAIR'S TIMBER TEE. Her dam is SPRING HILL LETHAL HEIRESS who's out of CARTER'S LETHAL WEAPON. I have high hopes for this one. And the 4 yr. old, Fanny, is sired by SPRING HILL SHADOW who is a son of FLATBRANCH BO. And her dam is DACH LAIR'S SALLY'S IMAGE. I intend to breed her to my Domee next spring.

Unfortunately, I could not stay that night. I had to get back on the road, had to get back to work. It was hard to leave before everything was over. I made it home to Helena in 2 ½ days, only 1750 miles. And this time, I had 5 hounds in hot weather to travel with. But we made it home without any problems.