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My First Field Test
On June 2 and 3, 2001, I competed in my first North American Hunting Retriever Association Field Test.. My owner is a member of the Spokane Bird Dog Association and they were the club that sponsored the event. I was only 16.5 months old and I passed the tests both days!! I was the youngest dog to pass each day.
When a dog passes these tests, he gets a Ribbon. After passing FOUR tests, with a minimum score of 80% on each test, a dog is awarded a title. I am trying to get my SR (Started Retriever) title this year. After a dog is awarded the SR, he can try for WR (Working Retriever) and the really top notch dogs can get a Masters or even a Grand Masters title.

This is my owner and me walking to make my first retrieve in a Field Test.
There were lots of other dogs, lots of other people and lots of gunfire. I could smell and hear lots of birds. I was pretty excited to say the least.
The "Holding Blind".
There were some other dogs that got to be tested before it was my turn. While the other dogs are getting to have fun retrieving, the next dogs in line have to wait in areas called "Holding Blinds".
This is so that I couldn't see the other dogs retrieving----I sure could hear them and smell them though. I knew my turn would be soon.
My first Land Retrieve.
That's me, right behind the tall grass. I'm in a "sitting-heel" position by my owners left leg.
There is a man in the distance. His job was to release and shoot a live duck. My job was to run out as fast as I could, pick up the duck and run as fast as I could back to my owner. Then I had to do a "sitting-heel" by my owner's left leg and hand him the bird without dropping it first.
A really long Land Retrieve.
Far out in the distance was another man (you can barely see him). His job was to release and shoot a pigeon for me to retrieve back to my owner. When I brought the pigeon back to him, my owner was very proud and said, "GOOD BOY!!" to me.
Water Retrieve.
This was my first Field Test "Water Retrieve". The duck was shot and it fell down behind the big hedge of Wild Roses on the hill on the other side of the water. My owner sent me on the retrieve and I had to go from land to water, across a bar of land, through more water and then up the hill and find the duck to bring back to my owner.
The end of the First Day of the Field Test.
This is my owner and me after our first day of the Field Test. I had completed 5 retrieves. Three of them were "Land Retrieves" and two of them were "Water Retrieves". I was ready to do more, but I think my owner looked pretty tired.
My first Ribbon !
This is a picture of my owner accepting my Ribbon for passing the Field Test on the first day. I got to do it all over again the next day, and I passed that day too, and got another Ribbon. The two men with their hands in their pockets were the Judges of the Field Test. They told my owner that they really enjoyed watching me in the tests.