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Two New AKC Hunt Titles!

May 10, 2023

Charity Upchurch AKC Hunt Tests , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Pending AKC approval, Sally is now Bluestem Sally Forth SH, NA II! She and I got our last AKC Senior Hunter pass at the Rappahannock Brittany Club AKC Pointing Dog Hunt Test in Dillwyn, Virginia on Saturday, April 29th. Since we did not title her in Junior Hunter, it took five passing runs for the title. The first four we received at the AWPGA Eastern Regional Specialty in March. We went five passing runs in a row, which was very exciting.

I appreciate all of the judges assistance in guiding me through my first hunt test title. I’ve been in the gallery for 10 years now and it was finally time to step up to the plate. I have to give the most credit to Charles for training her; all I did was go in and drive a truck that he built. This is not going to be a common event for me until I get my last child out of the house in four years. Even then, I expect it to be infrequent since I enjoy wild bird hunting more.

This photo was taken right after we jumped out of the truck at our AirBnB at the end of the day, so my jaeger lead is not on correctly. Also, I am in sneakers instead of my boots. Of course it bothers me now looking at the picture, but I was too excited and tired at the time to care.

Charity and Sally with their last SH pass ribbon in Virginia

Our second new title comes is one that has been a long time in the making! Plus it was the same weekend that Sally finished Senior Hunter. At eleven years-old Bluestem TracHer became an AKC Master Hunter at the North Dakota Pointing Dog Club/Montana Brittany Club joint AKC Pointing Dog Hunt Test. TracHer is from our “C” Litter between Sam and Mae (both of whom have crossed the rainbow bridge). Congratulations Susan on a job well done and staying with the dream for so long!

Bluestem TracHer MH with owner-handler Susan and Wirehaired Vizsla, Condi, and her first Senior Hunter ribbon
Bluestem TracHer MH, the spitting image of her dam Little Lady Aspen, NA I “Mae”

Also at the Rappahannock Brittany Club test, Charles and Obi got their first AKC Master Hunter pass. AKC Master Hunter takes six passing runs for the title, so we’ve got some miles to travel before that is done.

Charles and I both had some fashion faux pas in our photos. He’s already changed out of his hunt test hat and boots in the photo. Do not try to handle dogs in Crocs:)

Obi and Charles with the first AKC Master Hunter pass ribbon.

Before we worry about finishing Obi’s AKC Master Hunter, we have to get through NAVHDA Invitational in September. Charles traveled with some dog training buddies out to Moberly, Missouri this past weekend for some in-depth training.

Obi with Charles backing Tracy Johnson’s Vizsla way off in the distance at Missouri Valley Outfitters
A liver German Shorthaired Pointer backing Obi’s point

The perspective of the following photo is interesting since it was taken by the person who planted the duck for blind retrieve practice on the bank of the pond opposite Charles as the handler. So Obi was sent from the far side of the pond to swim across and retrieve the duck on the bank that is in the foreground of the picture.

Obi retrieving a duck to Charles, in orange on the far bank.

I wish that I could give credit to the folks who took the photos out in Missouri, but Charles didn’t give me any names. He seemed very pleased with the results of the weekend training in Missouri after being a little disappointed in not getting more passing runs in Virginia the weekend prior.

Duke is a year and a half old and is currently zero for eight runs in AKC Senior Hunter. He is a young, stubborn pup with a lot of prey drive. He does not want to hold still when that bird is getting kicked up, even with commands. We have a long road ahead and he is doing many things right, it only takes one mistake to get pulled from an AKC test. Here he is looking cute at the vet office for his rabies shot.

Duke is cute at a year and a half and 62 pounds

Ruth has become my dedicated canicross dog. Canicross is a sport that is more popular in Scandinavia and Canada, where the handler wears a hip harness with a bungeed dog lead attached to it and you go hiking. Right now we are exploring the trails of Kings Mountain National Military Park, where the American Revolutionary War Battle of Kings Mountain took place. It is a good way for two old moms to get out, plus I take our fourteen year old son Caleb too.

Ruth on the canicross harness back at the beginning of April, it is much greener here now.

One of our “P” Litter puppies from our surprise litter between Ruth and Stonyridge Zoro got out preserve hunting with her girl in Kansas at the end of March. Great job Madilynn and Rose!

Rose and Madilynn excited about their first rooster together!

I don’t have whole lot to say about the Westminster Kennel Club dog show this year since I was teaching swimming lessons and busy around the dog farm here. One thing that stood out to a lot of us long time followers is that the stands were completely empty. I hope that in the future the club is able to move it back into Manhattan at Madison Square Garden in February for the experience that we all miss. The last MSG show was in 2019 before COVID. I just feel blessed that our daughter Cordelia and I were able to go in 2018 since there is a chance that it may never happen again in Manhattan. The Piers where the benched show and breed judging happened are completely falling apart into the Hudson River, so we all may be stuck going to the Billie Jean King Tennis Center in Queens in the future.

Empty stands at WKC 2023, I stole this screenshot out of someone’s Facebook video.

Charles will keep plugging along here with training for Invitational and I’ll be prepping for breeding season here in a couple of months. I’m expecting Ruth to come into season late July with pups whelped in September and going home around Thanksgiving.

I currently have thirteen reservations with deposit for our Fall 2023 litter. As my deposits are fully refundable until the puppy is three weeks old, this list often shakes up at the last minute with folks having life events that lead them to hold off until the following year. If anyone is reaching out at this point looking for a pup, they need to be comfortable with the fact that it could be Spring 2024 before I have any puppies available. But it is all up to the good Lord and Mother Nature, so we’ll see what is provided to us. Email bluestemkennels@gmail.com for inquiries.

Ruth’s AKC SH Pass

April 22, 2021

Charity Upchurch AKC Hunt Tests , Leave a comment

Feel free to email bluestemkennels@gmail.com to enquire about our 2022 litter plans. As of right now, AKC/NAVHDA Wyo Plainsman Kenobi, NA I “Obi” and Bluestem Peaches En Regalia, NA I “Ruth” is a for sure planned litter for Spring 2022. That very well may be it, I am watching Fire’s recovery from her litter this year to decide whether or not she’s up for having another or if it is time to retire her this summer.

Also, feel free to reach out if you feel like you would like to be considered for Fire’s retirement home (AKC/NAVHDA Bluestem’s Prairie Fire, NA I with an AKC Walking Derby placement and around a hundred wild birds both upland and waterfowl). She is 7 years old and in good health, giving her a good 3-4 years of hunting left, and another 3-4 years of being a good pet. Right now our griffons are living to be around 15 years old, with Sue being our oldest retiree at 17. Fire would be spayed and through recovery before re-homing. She really needs a hunting home, whether it be a family or a retiree. She is a great bird-finder and retriever both in the field and in the water. I do not charge a re-homing fee to a high quality home, but please realize that I will ask lots of questions because she is my beloved family member and I want her to be in a good place. She is the first dam that I’ve bred myself. I will get some photos together and make another post once I’ve made my final decision on whether to have her retire this summer or next.

Sally is growing! She’s gained about five pounds since her siblings left. I’ve lost one of my favorite throw pillows to her attacks and one of Charles’s pair of shoes has taken a beating to the chews. She still has a few housebreaking accidents a day but is getting better. Here she is getting her second round of shots last week.

Sally at the vet at 11 weeks

Over the weekend of April 10-11 Charles took Obi and Ruth down to the German Wirehaired Pointer Club of Nebraska’s AKC Hunt Test at Branched Oak Field Trial Grounds. Obi was having rotten behavior with his bracemates, so no passes for him, but Ruth managed to bring a ribbon home on Sunday! This is Charles’s first AKC Senior Hunter pass with any of our dogs so it is pretty exciting. As he gets closer to finishing her title, I will explain the ins and outs of the AKC Senior Hunter Test, but I’m on a time crunch right now and need to just post the pic and move on with the day.

Charles and Ruth with their first AKC SH ribbon

I am pretty much caught up with email except the ones that I’ve gotten over the last week, so hopefully I can get on those over the weekend and stay caught up. Four dogs take a lot of walking, I’ve had to step down from lifeguarding so that I only have one out-of-the-house job of substitute teaching now. My oldest son is wrapping his junior year of high school and there are so many papers, projects and tests to help him study for! And my husband’s firm was acquired about a year ago, so there could always be some surprise changes there. I’m working on getting as minimalist as possible in case a move comes up. It sounds like all of the new owners are enjoying their pups and so that feels like an accomplishment and job well done.

Good luck to other breeders with pups on the ground, owners with new pups getting them started and everyone training and testing this spring.