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ANNOUNCEMENTS:
Vicky Barnett in Los Alamos has two male GSP rescues looking for good homes. 4 - 6 months old, littermates. (505) 662-9116. Please see flyer enclosed.
The club has a new Tritronics launcher for club members to check out a week at a time. See Mike McMullan.
MEETING MINUTES FROM 3/12/01:
Members present: Cecil M, Mike and Jill M., Linda S, Tom Loomis,
Bob and Rose F, Sean Baldwin, Tammy and Mark Krueger, Roger
Comstock and the Prairies.
Meeting called to order at 7:08
1. The Club has approved the purchase of a tent. Sean, Daniel and
Mark are still looking at options.
2. Fall Hunting Test. Will be held with the Central New Mexico Brittany Club. Cecil Mullins is the new Chairman and Roger Comstock is the Secretary. The CNMBC would like to propose the following schedule for Saturday and Sunday, (15 - 16 September): CNMBC: Junior, Senior Master and YGSPC: Senior, Master, Junior. CNMBC feels that there will be less scheduling conflicts for Senior and that since Yucca ran Junior first this Spring it will be their turn to start the wild green dogs in the morning. They are also planning to use a "bird field alone" for their event.
3. Hunt Test Judges: CNMBC has the following judges available
and the events they may be able to judge:
Vicki Northington (J/S/M)
Sarah Sherk (J/S/M)
Neil Christensen (J/S)
Gail Tunberg (S?)
John Tunberg (S?)
Denise Soon (J/S)
By combining YGSPC judges and CNMBC judges, the clubs may be able to schedule the judges so they can still enter dogs they want to run. CNMBC has secured Tom Workman from El Paso as a judge for the fall.
CNMBC would like to get the judges list and send in their application within the next month.
Dan Jensen of CNMBC has also said he will put together, mail the premiums, and schedule the events with his own software. He asks for the latest mailing list from Yucca and that Yucca schedule the PortaPotty. The clubs will split all shared costs down the middle.
Any questions, please contact CNMBC's Hunt Test Secretary Dan Jensen at dino_maria@email.msn.com
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4. If you have an email address, please give it to Mike Prairie newsletters will be posted on the YGSC website at www.angelfire.com/nm/ygspc. If you would like to view the newsletter on the website, instead of having one mailed to you, please contact Mike P. Mike's email address is: PrairieMR@worldnet.att.net
5 Patte Titus has volunteered to be our delegate at the National Specialty Show in Jacksonville, FL. Approved by unanimous vote provided that Doris S. didn't want to do it. Patte had been informed by email.
6. Yucca Specialty Show: Thursday May 10, 2001. Linda S. is looking for donations for a $2 raffle. The Club has purchased the trophies and needs to cover the expenses. We also need help on the day of the show.
7. Contact Mark K. If you are interested in having, your dog participate in a medical test of arthritis treatment medications.
8. The Club discussed problems of lack of consistency among Hunting Test Judges, likely due to minimal training requirements. Mark K. will draft a letter to AKC for discussion next meeting.
Meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m.
EDITORIAL:
With the topic of Hunting Test Judges up for discussion, I
thought I would take this opportunity to quote the AKC Handbook,
Regulations for AKC Hunting Tests for Pointing Breeds From
Chapter 1, General Regulations, Section 7, Judges Responsibility.
"It is strongly recommended that clubs select as Judges
individuals with broad and extensive background experience in
handling and working with Pointing Breeds in the field" And
from the section Guidelines for Pointing Breed Hunting Tests,
Part 1, Introduction "Clubs should recognize that Judges
will make the difference in how well hunting tests serve the
needs of thousands of Pointing Breed owners. It is vital that
only those people familiar with field work and the purpose of
these hunting tests be considered as Judges" "Tests are
not mechanical. Judges will have to make interpretations based on
their dog knowledge and the requirements of the tests. Situations
will occur that are not specifically covered in the Regulations.
In these instances, the Judges make their own interpretation
based upon their experience to arrive at fair decisions."
In this Newsletter editor's humble opinion, if Yucca makes the
decision to hire only experienced judges, not just hunt test
groupies, but experienced BIRD DOG people the club will go a long
way in improving the sport. By experienced Bird Dog people, I
mean Hunters and Trialers. They must have a complete
understanding of how a dog hunts. I can't help but wonder how
well can someone judge a Hunting Test when they have never been
hunting. The judges also need to be willing to continue learning
about bird dogs. I personally would never enter a dog of mine
under any judge who claimed to know all. And how about those
judges that say they "know what a dog is thinking" ?
Dan and I have been hunting over our GSPs for 18 years now, and
every season we learn and grow with our dogs. Each dog is an
individual and has so much to offer us in our ongoing quest to
understand the Bird Dog. The Hunting Test is a wonderful tool to
help us gauge our dog's natural ability and training. As a
unified club, Yucca can choose the very best judges and not the
convenient judge, in doing so we will be aiding Pointing Dogs in
our community.
~Doris J. Schoenfelder
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When the Man woke up he said,
"What is Wild Dog doing here?"
And the Woman said,
"His name is not Wild Dog anymore,
but the First Friend,
because he will be our friend for always and always."
By Rudyard Kipling
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REMINDERS:
6:30 p.m. Monday April 9, 2001 is the next club meeting. It will
be held at the Golden Corral on Montgomery and Wyoming. Come
early, eat dinner, and enjoy the company of fellow dog
enthusiasts.
NEW ON YGSPC'S WEBSITE:
MEET OUR OFFICERS NEW HUMOR MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION
PLEASE VISIT US AT: https://www.angelfire.com/nm/ygspc
UPDATED OFTEN!
YUCCA GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER CLUB OF ALBUQUERQUE
