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Seabank Kennel, 282 Millers Falls Road, Northfield, MA (2026)

06/02/2026

With apologies for the delay in posting some results: with my trial season starting the day after Christmas and just wrapping up this last weekend, some things have slipped.

We wrapped up the Ten Days of To***co Valley trials with the Hudson Valley GSP Club trial at Flaherty. This was many of the same folks that had put in the inaugural To***co Valley Regional Championship — and all their work is greatly appreciated.

We had a light showing with the Raspberry Beret taking 3rd in Open Gun Dog and her son, the Man in Black, winning the Amateur Walking Derby with Jess handling him.

We then took a few dogs up to Fryeburg, ME to try our luck in the woods. The grounds have rarely suited me and my dogs, but the club and people always have. I handled four dogs including an unexpected reunion with a short, hairy dog — because nobody expects Miroslav Šatan. And for a good bit of the brace, I thought Demon and I were going to be in the hunt (but an equally diabolical bird spoiled that party). After her glory with Cash the weekend before, Jess took a swing at handling a broke dog for the first time. And we greatly appreciate judge Kelli Short’s coaching while Jess handled the Hobgoblin for the first time. An ambiguous circumstance kept him out of the formal placements but earned the two of them an Award of Merit.

We wrapped up the New England trial season with the Connecticut Valley Vizsla Club trial at Flaherty. Conditions were jungalicious, but besides Saturday morning being rather wet and hypothermic, it was a good weekend. As chair of the event, too, I want to thank all the entrants, judges and volunteers, and especially the remainder of the committee for making it a smooth, amicable, and fun event.

I won’t mention the heartbreaks, but we had a good showing. Spudtastic had a strong race and a solid covey find to claim Open Derby! Doug McKenzie pulled out a great run with two strong finds (including his first on a woodcock), a ridiculously honorable honor, and a stop to flush to win the 3pt OGD! Bravo, D-Pants!

His half-sister, the Chaos Monkey, earned fourth in the stake with a four-find jamboree. And again, so happy her owner could be there on a horse to watch her!

Incidentally, both Spud and Danny were bred by my good friend, Holly Hatfield! Thank you for such lovely dogs.

Throwing her in the deep end, albeit with scouting by my good friend, Allen Welch, Jess took the Hobgoblin out for Amateur Gun Dog — and with a strong, smooth race with three finds, he too won a 3pt major and his name on the Patrick Cooke Memorial Trophy. Congratulations to his owners, David Melnick & Meredith Wadsworth (who is also his breeder). Thanks for the opportunity to run this great dog.

All my dogs were scouted by Jess Woolston whose help has been invaluable this season.

All my dogs are fueled by Purina ProPlan — and we appreciate their support of the great sport of field trialing as well.

05/14/2026

Kudos to the Hudson Valley German Shorthair Club, and in particular Jared Smith and Cory Roy, for all their effort to put on the inaugural To***co Valley Gun Dog Championship here at Flaherty FTA.

There were five pros and thirty-six dogs drawn for the three days. And from start to finish, the event had the atmosphere and attitude of a championship. Bravo to the HVGSP and its crew of volunteers in putting this on and pulling it off in style.

Events like this are dependent on sponsors and we thank Purina, Gun Dog Supply, Kane Active Recovery Footwear, and Totally Hook’d fish treats for dogs for their support.

Thank you to the judges for their time in the saddle and congratulations to all the placing dogs.

I am pleased to announce that our own BillyMac took 3rd in a field of strong dogs! He was ably scouted by Jess Woolston and is fueled by Purina ProPlan.

I also had the pleasure of scouting the winner, Go**ds, for Mike Mullineaux. He is a special dog and it was a great performance. Congratulations to Julie, his owner!

Shiner aka ‘The Hobgoblin,’ and the only grey dog entered, was being carried till the final day after a strong, three-find race. Always a pleasure to run him and remind folks that there are great other-colored dogs out there, too.

The youngest of the three dogs I ran, Summit also ran — just not for long enough. Rain and wet birds. Enough said. We’re still very excited about him.

05/14/2026

We spent last weekend at the Nutmeg GSP Club field trial at Flaherty. Thank you to the small, dedicated team of volunteers for putting on a hospitable, organized trial!

I managed to get four of five dogs around clean with bird work in the OGD — and was pleased to hear from both judges and spectators that had seen most of them run in the fall that the string was now looking even stronger and more confident.

With two other pros here in preparation for this week’s championship, the OGD had an even deeper pool of talent than at the PANE trial. I am pleased to announce that Paisley took 3rd and Bramble 4th! Bravo, ladies!

Even better, Bramble’s owner, Rebecca, was there to watch her own dog’s improvement over the week.

Thanks again to all the judges for looking at my dogs and to Jess Woolston for scouting for me.

We are currently camped here for the inaugural To***co Valley Regional Championship!

05/05/2026

This past weekend we had the much shorter drive to Flaherty FTA to take part in the PANE trial! Thank you to the core of dedicated club members and volunteers who made this a hospitable, well-organized trial.

Besides a slightly later start due to rain on Saturday, and a strong enough northwesterly wind that seemed to keep everything on just this side of chilly, we had great weather for running dogs.

First up was Open Derby and I am delighted to report that the Man in Black took 2nd with a strong race and two bird contacts to earn second! (It should be noted that only two placements were handed out in the stake too.)

Then came Open Limited and the Pippopotamus took a solid fourth in a strong field of dogs. She is really starting to put it all together and be a consistent contender.

The next day we ran in Open Gun Dog and the Chaos Monkey ran in the first brace and held on for fourth. It was made even better with her owner on hand to ride in the gallery to watch her dog. This was also her first broke dog placement.

Thanks again to all the judges who looked and and appreciated my dogs. And thanks, too, to Jess Woolston for once again scouting all my dogs.

04/30/2026

It’s been a whirlwind for the last two weeks.

Our final trip on the whirlwind winter tour was to the Red Setter National Championship in Pinckneyville, IL to run Rex the Rumpshaker in the Futurity and Derby. Sadly, we came away with nothing but experience — but enjoyed the company of old friends and the opportunity to meet some legends and watch some great dogs.

We got home on a Monday night, swapped some dogs around, and headed to the VCCNE and CNEBC hunt tests out at Herman Covey WMA in Belchertown, MA. Thank you to all the volunteers and judges for their hard work!

At which point, we were able to finish Bo the Gordon’s Junior Hunter and he can henceforth be known as Beaconfield Bellagio Lamborghini JH!

Then we headed to the TarTan Gordon Setter and the ISCNE hunt tests out on Cape Cod at Crane WMA. Thank you, too, to all the volunteers and judges for their hard work!

And at this point, we were able to finish Argyle’s Junior Hunter and he can henceforth be known as Shikari Mazarine Jest Wear It JH. Bravo!

I had brought the big rig and the horses so that we could run some of the field trial dogs before and after the tests began. And there are some training pictures of them here, too.

I am significantly editing this post to share two stories, one new, one old. At the Old Dominion Vizsla Club trial in February, I watched two handlers -- one who I had never seen before and seemingly bionic but maintaining a respectful pace, the other who I knew well but struggling a little on Slate RIver's rollercoaster hills. Coming up one of those short, sharp hills, the first handler's dog punched through a cover strip of brush, across a mowed lane, and then came to a stop in the next cover strip. The handler called point -- and while an honor is not required to be demonstrated in a field trial, the second handler was still finishing the climb and their dog had established an honor of its own. And the original handler waited. And in doing so, not only showed absolute faith in their dog, but also demonstrated a degree of sportsmanship and situational awareness at the highest level. And those are impressions you want to leave with a judge.

The other is a story about training and mentorship. In the first summer I spent with Bill Gibbons up in the White Mountains, there were several of us riding behind Bill and Harold. I had never been on this part of the training grounds before and as we (unknowingly for my part) approached a wire cattle fence, Bill raised his voice and angrily told me to 'anticipate' and get the gate opened so the handlers could simply ride through uninterrupted. And he did so with a force that left others in the party surprised. After the sting of a rebuke had settled, I took his point to be that situational awareness, awareness of more than just yourself, is critical. Some time later, in a conversation he initiated, I shared that his correction had felt a little harsh at the time. And he apologized. But 15years later, I still remember the lesson. And on Monday night past, I had a dream in which Bill and I were leaning on a rail fence just talking about dogs.

(Bill would so often say how much he missed his deceased friend and mentor, Bill West; how much he wished he could share with him all the things he'd figured out since they'd last seen each other. This was one of those moments for me.)

And starting next weekend, we return to our regularly scheduled program of Flaherty field trials!

04/08/2026

We arrived safely in Ionia, MI last Tuesday for me to judge the Michigan Brittany Club Amateur Walking Championship and then run and judge at the Michigan Brittany Club trial over the weekend.

Thank you to both trials for the invitation to look at your dogs. Your hospitality was much appreciated!

The championship was deliberately compressed into one day to avoid running dogs on Thursday in heavy rain. Congratulations to the winners! It was a pleasure to see a number of very strong performances.

I had dogs entered in both OD and OGD for the weekend. But after a decent day on Friday (when I judged the OLGD), Saturday was a complete washout and the club was sensible enough to cancel the stakes scheduled for that day.

Nevertheless, when I turned my first of five dogs loose on Sunday morning, it was into a headwind and blizzard. Not snow as such and not quite big enough to be called hail… whatever feels like being peppered with #8 shot from 60yds. But mercifully that squall only lasted about 8mins.

Despite the conditions, we had a great set of runs — and ultimately took 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the 16dog stake. The stake included dogs I had placed in the championship on Wednesday (including a former National champion), and the winner of the OLGD stake on Friday.

Paisley took 1st — and was the dog turned loose into the blizzard. She had a find while it was still snowing, then another rock solid set-up as the snow ended — this turned out to be a big clump of feathers from a fresh kill — and stood through her bracemate running in front of her, and then a second find on the way back in. She is very intense on her birds!

The Pippipotamus took 2nd! She had 3x finds, two of which were high quality locations she had clearly taken herself to. She got a little loopy on the way back in, but never quit and was strong on the ground particularly out into the headwind.

Doug McKenzie got 4th. He also had three finds, and after breaking for a bird shot for him at Dillwyn, I was pleased to see him progressively tighten himself up with each of his finds!

There are also a few training pictures from Monday morning to follow too. But for now, we are in Pinckneyville, IL waiting to run the Rumpshaker in the Red Setter Nationals!

04/04/2026

We just got to Ionia, MI after our lightning trip to the 2026 VCA National Gun Dog Championship at the lovely Oak Ridge Pointing Dog Club in western Pennsylvania. I was on the committee, but the real work was done by Laurie Fairchild, Melissa Thomas, Rebecca Rowley, Diane Fazio, and the hostests with the mostest, Corinne Miklos and Julia Bonar.

Thank you all for such a warm, welcome, and organized event!

I came to run the two brothers — Cash and Tucker — in the National Derby Classic. Cash had a good race going, but after an initial flash point, he would then have a super stylish point which sadly was non-productive in a previously-planted spot. Brother Tucker ran in the first brace drawn with Dan Bowen’s super nice Minnie. I don’t remember the final scorecard, but it was a wonderful brace to open the stake. Minnie had been a little more consistently forward during the 30mins and I was pleased to see her rewarded with 3rd place. And for his efforts, Tucker earned the only Judges Award of Merit! What a great way to wrap up your Derby career! Congratulations to his owners, Steve & Sara Miller!

I ran three dogs in the NGDC — Havthor, the Toaster, and the Pippipotamus. Going in reverse, the Pippipotamus was laying down a great race till she dropped over the ridge after the road crossing and was found on point. It was a suitable spot to try and get the retrieve and it turned into a bit of a 🎪 (through no fault of anyone or anything but a combination of difficult circumstances). The bird was cleanly killed but landed blind to Pippi — and it took a good while to get her on the right side of the wind to be able to locate the dead bird. Except she then located a second live bird, tried to go to it to retrieve it, but it then flushed — for which she then stopped. But it was obviously a complicated situation for a relatively inexperienced dog and I opted to excuse her from further judgement and get her back on track with retrieving the dead bird.

Braced with the eventual winner, Shelby, BillyMac laid down a great race with 1x honor, 2x finds, and 1x STF. And then, for the first time in his field trial career, he broke on the fall of the bird in the callback retrieve — breaking more than just my heart in the process. But after the initial disappointment, it was still heartwarming to reflect that six weeks ago we weren’t sure if he’d be alive. The Toaster is back!

Havthor ran in the first brace and while his pattern was a little chaotic at moments, he is still just a very strong, three-year-old and I was very proud of his effort, application, and manners! He had three finds and completed his retrieve on course! He was awarded 3rd (and with the size of the stake, this also earned him another retrieving credit towards his FC)! Congratulations to his owners, Kim & Mike Barry!

I also had the privilege of getting the Fenway Flash into shape and getting him tuned up for this NGDC. And it brings me great joy to say that Fen earned 2nd in the NGDC at 11yrs young! Congratulations to his owners, Shawn & Maria Harris!

Thank you to all the judges who looked at my dogs — Bob Reynolds, Jeff Currier, and Jon Small — and to Maria Harris for scouting all my dogs!

My string is fueled by Purina ProPlan and I thank them for their ongoing support of this great sport of field trialing!

03/23/2026

I am so very pleased to announce that, after three finds and a solid race in 85deg heat, the judges, Kevin Donahue and Mark Calder, selected the Hobgoblin as the 2026 WCA National Walking Gun Dog Champion! He can henceforth be referred to in official correspondence as:

NWGDC FC Southpaw Bootlegger!

Congratulations to his owners, David Melnick & Meredith Wadsworth (who also bred the dog). It has been a true pleasure to train and handle this dog over the last few years.

Congratulations too to all the other placing dogs! I have seen a number of you run — and i knew we had a challenge ahead of us!

Thank you, again to Kelli Aitken for scouting Shiner. There might be no prize money in AKC Nationals, but I am glad that we were able to return your and Diane Vater’s investment in the Calcutta!

This was the first national champion I have handled here at Seabank and I want to recognize my wife, Meg, for supporting my decision to go pro and tolerate all the smelly dogs in the house.

Shiner is powered by Purina Pro Plan — and we are grateful for all their support to the fine sport of field trialing!

03/22/2026

We left Slate River about 10days ago to head just a ways downstate to Dick Cross WMA outside South Hill, VA for the Wilderness Pointer Club trial. I enjoy visiting new clubs and new grounds to give different dogs the opportunity to shine.

The club had designated Open Gun Dog as a walking stake — and so, in practice for our next two competition stops, I thought I should probably get my own body used to it. I ran four dogs in that stake and was pleased with all of them — even if birdwork seemed to be at a premium. The unexpected surprise was that Otto was awarded 4th! Congratulations to his owners!

The Open Limited stake was horseback and I ran 5 dogs in that. And all 5 made it around with birdwork! After getting over a mystery infection which had knocked him down for a few weeks, it was great to turn the Toaster loose and earn 3rd! It was also great to have the opportunity to turn the Fenway Flash loose and earn 4th!

But then we hauled for two days straight to head for Ardmore, OK to compete in the AKC Walking Gun Dog Championship (often informally referred to as the ‘All-Breed’). This year’s championship wraps up tomorrow but depending on a judging commitment, I may not be able to stay for the end. The 2.5wk long event was hosted by the San Antonio Weimaraner Club — and they have done a spectacular job with dog wagons, hospitality, bird planting, etc. A truly warm, welcoming, very well organized event! Bravo!

Kudos also goes to the two judges, Kevin Donahue and Mark Calder, for taking a huge hit on themselves in order to try to safeguard dogs and handlers. The weather has been spectacularly hot — with the afternoons over 90degs. In a regular championship, judges generally judge two three-brace chunks with a lunch break in the middle. These two gentleman opted to ride six braces in a row to avoid the worst of the afternoon heat and knew every waterhole, puddle, and lake access on the course. The San Antonio Weimaraner Club also purchased four additional water tanks to put out in course and set up cooling stations back at the clubhouse.

As for Havthor and the Hobgoblin: I couldn’t be happier with these two dogs. As it happened, due to scratches and bi***es in season, we ended up running in the final brace of Day 3 and Day 4 with the temperature at least 85degs on both occasions. The course was an out-and-back and so both dogs also ran with the wind up their backs.

Havthor just turned three a few days ago, he’s never been here before, and as it turned out, he finished his hour with two blown pads. (He’d probably blown them originally when he ran two stakes in 2.5hrs at Dillwyn.). He had 4 finds and a STF and a strong, consistent race.

The Hobgoblin has been to Ardmore before but not with his handler on foot. And not in 85deg heat. He had 3 finds and a strong, consistent race too.

My congratulations to my good friend, Kelli Aitken, for winning the 88-dog Horseback portion of the All-Breed — and my thanks for scouting both these dogs for me.

It was too hot to be out riding the Master Chief and Oreo Speedwagon for largely recreational purposes so I don’t have much perspective on what is I think a 62-dog stake. But I wanted to register that I was pleased with my two dogs in far-from-perfect conditions.

Being in the last brace for two of those days has meant that some of the other inmates have been able to run and get some training in the much cooler mornings. And there are some pictures of them, too.

03/09/2026

Thank you to the GSP Club of Central Virginia for putting on a smooth, organized, and very hospitable trial here at Slate River Farm in Dillwyn, VA.

Thank you, too, to all the volunteers who ran the dog wagon, planted birds, and gunned! Your efforts are noticed and appreciated.

Thank you, as well, to Joe Petroski and Melissa Siegmund, for the loan of Cole for a few braces to give Chiefy a break

Thank you too to all the judges for looking at my dogs and for the assorted placements. And congratulations to all the following owners!

The Hobgoblin took a solid 3rd in the Open All Age stake, despite the heat and suicidal avian behavior!

Toodles earned her first placement with a 4th in the Open Gun Dog, also despite the heat of the afternoon, and terrible scenting conditions.

The Rumpshaker took 4th in the Open Derby with a beautiful find and a decent race — even if he might have wanted a haircut to deal with the heat.

However, the Pheasant Plucker showed up to win the 11dog Open Derby with a strong race and two good finds, the first of which he let me dismount and flush for him!

And, barely two hours after running in the Open All Age (in which poor luck meant the judge couldn’t see his bird flush wild), Havthor came out to run another great race and make a retrieve on course to win the Open Limited Gun Dog stake for 1pt and his first retrieving credit.

As ever, thank you to Jess Woolston for scouting my dogs. It makes a huge difference having consistent help.

Seabank Kennel

06/02/2026

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

05/05/2026

04/30/2026

04/08/2026

04/04/2026

03/23/2026

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03/09/2026

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