BIG SKY OPEN SHOOTING DOG CLASSIC
BIG SKY FIELD TRIAL CLUB

April 16, 17 & 18

GROUNDS: Scott Brown Ranch, 10 miles north of Circle, Montana.  Take Highway 13 north to mile marker 10, turn east for 1.5 miles and follow the “field trial” signs.

DRAWING: Thursday, April 15th, 8:00 pm at the Wooden Nickel Bar and Restaurant, Circle, Montana.

COURSES & GAME:  Starts 8:00 am daily.  Multiple courses, native Sharptail Grouse, Hungarian Partridge, & Pheasant.  No smoking or training on grounds.  No ATVs on any of the courses.

BIG SKY OPEN SHOOTING DOG CLASSIC (1 HR)……….ENTRY FEE: $85
  Judges John Junnila of Billings, MT and Robert Clark of Laurel, MT

OPEN ALL-AGE DERBY (30 MIN)………………….ENTRY FEE: $30
OPEN ALL-AGE (30 MIN)…………….……...….....…..ENTRY FEE: $35
OPEN SHOOTING DOG DERBY (30 MIN)……..ENTRY FEE: $30

Please note that lunches and the Saturday night BBQ are included with your entry.

Big Sky Open Shooting Dog Classic is listed as a National Amateur Invitational points trial.

First place will be awarded a Alfa .209 Starter Pistol and custom leather holster, 2nd and 3rd will earn gift certificates. Tuffy's Dog Food Company has generously donated a palette of dog food to disperse to winners.

DERBIES: Dogs must have been whelped on/after January 1, 2008.

ACCOMMODATIONS: Camping available at the trial grounds.  Motel accommodations at Travelers Inn Motel – (406) 485-3323, Circle Montana.

Entries to: 
Austin Turley -  (mob.) 406.860.7161
or Dave Noel - (home) 406.248.6351, (mob.) 406.861.6818

2010 BIG SKY SHOOTING DOG CLASSIC

 2009 Winners, Railita w/Austin Turley, Black Crude Joe/John Junnila, Lone Mountain Magique w/Sean Kelly

The 5th Annual Big Sky Open Shooting Dog Classic (2010 model) will commence on April 16 and carry through the 18th to be held, once again, on the storied Scott Brown Ranch in Circle, Montana. Chairman, Austin Turley, announced this year that first place will be awarded an Alpha .209 starter pistol with a custom leather holster by Windfall Leather Works. He also announced that Tuffy's Dog Food has once again generously donated a pallette (21 bags) of dog food to the trial to disperse amongst the winners. Companion Big Sky Field Trial Club stakes will also take place.

BIG SKY FIELD TRIAL CLUB WINTER STAKES

Member AFTCA

GREAT FALLS, MONTANA

 February 20 & 21, 2010

NOTE: PRE-DRAWING—THURSDAY EVENING!

Grounds:    Trial Grounds on Ulm Bench, above the First Peoples Buffalo Jump(a.k.a. Ulm Pishkin), 15 miles west of Great Falls.

Drawing:    Thursday, February 18, 2010, @ 6:00 pm at the home of Glenn & Shawn Conover,  Vaughn, Montana.

Starting time:  At the discretion of the chairman.

Courses & Game:    Multiple courses with native Sharptail, Hungarian Partridge, and Pheasant

STAKES & ENTRY FEES

Open Shooting Dog        30 min.        $35.00
Open All Age            30 min.        $35.00   
Open Derby             30 min.        $30.00
   

ALL ENTRY FORMS MUST HAVE DOGS REGISTERED NAME AND REGISTRATION NUMBER.


Accommodations & Motels: 
        Holiday Inn Express      406-455-1000
        Crystal Inn                406-727-7788
        Motel 6                406-453-1602

Judges:    To be announced at drawing.

Blank Ammunition only & plugged barrels.

Entries To: 
        Field Trial Chairman
        Glenn Conover
        406-788-4540
        glennc@mt.net

2010 Officers of Big Sky Field Trial Club

At the annual meeting held in December in Billings the new executive of the Big Sky Field Trial Club was chosen. As follows:

President - Austin Turley
Secretary - John Junnila
Treasurer - Dave Noell

Thanks to these fine individuals for donating their time to the sport we enjoy so much!

Interesting article regarding private eco land management.

http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/article_116a0b7a-ed31-11de-9313-001cc4c03286.html

2009 Montana Dog of the Year - Railita

The Big Sky Field Trial Club met in Billings on December 5, 2009 for it's annual meeting. During the meeting the Dog of the Year results were announced. The five highest placing dogs were as follows:

1st  Railita - Austin Turley - Open Shooting Dog  
2nd  Prairie Heat - Shawn Conover - All- Age Derby  
3rd  Railita - Austin Turley - Am. Shooting dog
4th  Lone Mountain Tourist - John Mandell - All -Age 
5th  Arcata - Sonny Clark - Shooting Dog Derby


Railita, coming 4  year old, English Pointer female, owned and handled by Austin Turley was pronounced the 2009 Montana Dog of the Year.

A hearty congratulations is extended to Austin for his accomplishment.

Thank You! to the residents of Circle, Montana

The Big Sky Field Trial Club would like to thank the landowners of the Buffalo Creek drainage who have generously allowed us to hold our horseback, pointing dog competitions on their properties.  For approximately the last five years we have been privileged to hold our competitions on their land. 

Due to the quality of grounds that we are allowed to compete on, the plentiful birds that inhabit those grounds, and the hospitality that is displayed to the contestants by both the landowners and the community, the semi-annual competitions have become popular to contestants from afar.  This past August in excess of 50 contestants from across the U.S. and Canada came to Circle to compete.  They came from such states as Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, North Dakota, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Texas, Nevada, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho as well as our own Region 14 (Alberta, British Colombia, Saskatchewan, and Montana).  These contestants spent the better part of two weeks in Circle.  Hospitality was shown by the numerous businesses which were frequented.  To name just a few: Travelers' Inn, Wooden Nickel, VFW Club, Kay's Family Dining, Corner Bar, Stockman Lanes, Schmidt's Super Valu, all the fueling stations, and the Kuchen Kottage.

The stewardship of the grounds we are allowed to compete on is second to none.  The birds which inhabit these grounds are plentiful to say the least, in no small part due to commitment of the landowners.  The land has great cover, abundant tree rows, accessible water, planted foods for the game (both upland and big game), as well as the farmed crops which surround the area.

The Big Sky Field Trial Club recognizes that we are extremely fortunate to be able to enjoy these grounds as well as this community.  We have tried to show that appreciation by giving back to the community as we are able.  Over the past five years we have regularly contributed to community groups that have been brought to our attention by the landowners.  This has included the Redwater Valley Ambulance Service, Circle Junior Rifle Club, and the Circle Swimming Pool Fund.  We realize that the generosity the landowners have shown us can not be equaled, but we hope that through these donations, our thanks to them, and our actions we can let them know how much we appreciate all they have done for both us and the land they so finely steward.

If you are curious about just what it is that we are doing, you are more than welcome to come. If you own a horse, bring it and ride with us. If you would need to borrow a horse, we will make certain you have one to ride. We would love to show you our sport and why these trials have become so highly regarded.

With the holiday season fast approaching, The Big Sky Field trial Club would like to wish all a Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas, and a Prosperous New Year.  We look forward to seeing everyone again next year.

On behalf of The Big Sky Field Trial Club,

Austin Turley

Big Sky Field Trial Club Annual Meeting

Details:

WHEN: Saturday, December 5th, 2009

WHERE: McKenzie River Pizza, 405 West Main in Billings Heights, 406.254.0066 - www.mackenzieriverpizza.com

TIME: Lunch 11:30 - 12:30 and Meeting begins promptly at 1:00 pm

Members with items they wish to have on the agenda should be in touch with the President or Secretary (Tom Nygard & John Junnila).

Central Alberta Pointer & Setter Club

Strut's Rambling Man, pointer male, owned by Rick Steen and handled by Mike Jordan in Rick's absence, won the Central Alberta Pointer & Setter Club's inaugural Alberta Prairie All Age Classic. Cole had two good finds, that took a penetrating effort in the bluffs, and a strong ground race. Light Rail, pointer female, takes runner up honors. Handled by Shannon Nygard and scouted by her owner, Tom Nygard, she ran a big race that included wonderful handling as well as covering the hunting objectives.

The Alberta Prairie Shooting Dog Classic was won by High Powered Gasoline, pointer female, owned and handled by Ron Bender. Suzie's single find in a tight draw and fine ground pattern for the hour cemented the victory. Runner up honors went to Lone Mountain Magique, setter female owned and handled by Sean Kelly.

This was the first running of the Central Alberta Pointer and Setter Club's Alberta Prairie All Age Classic, as well as the Alberta Prairie Shooting Dog Classic. Coordinators, Paul Falkowski and Sig Guggenmoos are to be congratulated for a job well done under adverse conditions. The reported shortage of birds in Central Alberta was put to rest with several good pieces of dog work as well as many birds being ridden up by members of the gallery. The dogs had a more difficult time, however, as the wind was howling (30 - 50 mph) and the grounds were dry. We had a wind/rain storm Saturday night. Regardless of the weather a good time was had by all .

Region 9 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship

Another report from American Falls, Idaho this evening bore more great news for members of the Big Sky Field Trial Club. Dave Noell of Billings, Montana gained runner up honors in the Region 9 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship in American Falls with his 11 year old setter male, Our Rowdy Friend. Rowdy had a classic shooting dog race with one find during trying weather conditions of high winds and dry habitat. What a way to wind down a career!

Region 14 Amateur All Age Championship

Word from Mortlach, Saskatchewan has the Big Sky Field Trial Club well represented. Our own Glenn Conover earned runner up honors with his and his wife's dog, Prairie Crude at the Region 14 Amateur All Age Championship in early September. Hank powered his way to the runner up title with one find and a large prairie race amongst a field of 48 dogs. Hank was bred by Butch Nelson and his wife, Karen Paugh. Congratulations Glenn and Shawn!

Montana Shooting Dog Championship

The running of the 2009 Montana Open Shooting Dog Championship followed on the heels of the Region 14 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship at the Scot Brown ranch in Circle, Montana last week. The running came off on the advertised date of August 25 but did so with an afternoon start to accommodate the huge number of entries in the Amateur Championship. Judges Harold Ray of Waynesboro, Georgia and Dave Noell of Billings, Montana crowned Hawthorne Kate, pointer female handled by Jim Tande and owned by Tande and Dan Miller as the 2009 Champion. Runner Up honors were anointed to Nella Running Tab, handled by Sean Kinkelaar and owned by Vagas Mathiesen.

The grounds at the Scot Brown ranch were in great condition for the event and held vast numbers of birds for the dogs to locate. The finds were focused, equally, on all six, one hour courses and the participants were quick to agree that every course gave an equal chance to produce the winner.

Dave Noell will publish his report in the ensuing weeks. Watch this site for it first.

Region 14 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship

The 2009 Region 14 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship drew 65 dogs on the night of August 20 at the Wooden Nickle Restaurant in Circle, Montana. The overwhelming response to the call for entries surpassing even the most optimistic expectations. Judges Mike Furney of Panama City, Florida and Dr. Lou Qualtiere of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan rode a dedicated watch. The winner emerged in pointer female, Heard Hill's Queen Mary owned by Buck and Lynn Heard of Moultrie, Georgia. Mary was ably handled by Alabama native, John Neely in the first brace of the event. Runner-up honors went to defending Champion, Bridges Lake Pat, owned and handled by Tim Moore.

The bird population was superb with the opening morning braces encountering 30 contacts with four varieties of birds! This would prove to be routine during the running. Weather even cooperated, for the most part, as we saw temperatures in the 90's only two of the five days of running. The friendly camaraderie of the event was equally outstanding as evidenced by last year's Champion, Bridges Lake Pat's owner, Tim Moore treating over 30 participants to a shrimp boil as a token of his win from 2008. None of us flirted with loosing weight during the feed.

Watch this space for the complete report as compiled by judge/reporter, Lou Qualtiere.

2009 Big Sky SD Championship Sponsors

Montana Derby

A clarification in the advertisement regarding the Montana Derby appears to be necessary. It has been the policy of the Big Sky Field Trial Club, during past years of holding the Montana Shooting Dog Championship, to include a derby, when we have enough time. This year, as well as next year, we are also hosting the Region 14 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship so we will attempt to host a derby between the two events. This will happen only if the entry totals from the Amateur Championship allow for the time to do it. We have allowed for one day, on Monday the 24th and any remaining partial day on the 23rd, to accomplish this, but we won't be able to firmly schedule it until we tally the entries for the Region 14 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship on the night of the draw, August 20th. This is the only time available to hold a derby event as we are required to be off of the grounds prior to the opening of Montana's bird season on September 1. If you have any further questions do not hesitate to contact either of the Chairmen of the event.