Select a larger picture (162KB) 2007 Texas Amateur All Age Brittany Championship Winners 1st Dakota Luke, Dick Mantler, 2nd TLM Comanche Chief, Tom Milam, 3rd Make My Day Dude with scout John Cross, handler-Jessica Carlson, 4th TJ's Prairie Blizzard, Jessica Carlson Judge Bob Rankin, Ed Peace, Gary Smith, Judge Gary Young, Reporter David Downing

The Winners
 
  1st place: "LUKE", FC DAKOTA LUKE, owned by Dick and Cindy Mantler and handled by Dick.  Luke broke away with a lot of enthusiasm and carried it throughout the hour.  At 23 Luke was found standing tall.  Birds were produced and all was in order.  He continued hunting hard and was rewarded with two more finds at 48 and 57.  Luke finished the hour with a strong forward move that impressed the judges, considering the heat.  With good ground speed and three good finds, Luke was declared the 2007 Texas Amateur All Age Champion.
 

Select a larger picture (145KB) 2007 Texas Amateur All Age Brittany Champion and Runner Up Champion Dakota Luke, Dick Mantler, Runner Up TLM Comanche Chief, Tom Milam Judge Bob Rankin, Ed Peace, Gary Smith, Judge Gary Young, Reporter David Downing

  2nd place: "CHIEF", TLM COMANCHE CHIEF, owned by Tom and Linda Milam and handled by Tom Milam.  Chief ran in the last brace of the championship and almost stole the whole show.  He ran a nice forward race, with good ground speed.  At 16 Chief had a stop to flush with all in order.  At 25 point was called and a nice covey was produced.  Chief was sent on and was found on point again at 36.  A hawk was seen leaving right in front of the dog and a half eaten quail was produced.  More birds were spotted by the judge but Tom elected not to put them in the air.  Chief finished with a really nice forward move and was awarded Runner Up Champion.
 
  3rd place: "DUDE", FC/AFC MAKE MY DAY DUDE, owned by Ed Tillson and handled by Jessica Carlson.  Dude broke away from camp on course one and was found standing at 14.  The birds were in a thicket that made it impossible to put them to flight.  After a valiant effort by Jessica, the judges finally told her to fire her gun and go on.  Dude continued a nice forward race, handling kindly.
 
  4th place: "BLIZZARD", TJ'S PRAIRIE BLIZZARD, owned by Ed Tillson and handled by Jessica Carlson.  Blizzard broke away on course three and immediately went into hunt mode.  At 27 scout John Cross found him standing tall in a thicket with a nice covey in front of him.  Jessica flushed and Blizzard was sent on with no further bird contact.
 
 
The Running
 
  Brace 1:  CHIEF'S GUNNER (Arnold) and WINTUCK ROCKET'S RED GLARE (Milam).  Gunner was hunting hard and doing a nice job for owner Doug Arnold.  He had good finds at 29 and 37 but at 46 he was spotted under birds and ordered up.  Rock broke away hard and was running a nice race.  At 32 he had a true "limb find" and Tom flushed the bird from the tree.  Rock was missing at time and then showed from the rear.
 
  Brace 2:  TEJAS IRON MAX (Graves) and COUNT SIROCCO (D'Arcy).  Both dogs ran hard early.  Max was quite a handful but Tom managed to hang onto him for the entire hour.  Roc ran a more forward race and made some nice all age moves but neither dog was rewarded with bird work.
 
  Brace 3:  BLUERIDGE BLAZEN GEM (Schneider) and MEGABUCK'S HELL ON WHEELS (Cross).  Ruby broke away hard only to run through a covey of birds at 1 minute.  She failed to stop and was leashed.  Harley ran hard and handled nicely for John, but was unable to come up with any birds.
 
  Brace 4:  MO-DAN'S "BELIEVER" (Cross) and JIMMIE'S KING TUACA (Peace).  Buddy ran hard early and made some nice moves but seemed to fade later in the brace.  Rex ran hard and strong until he was lost at 57.  He was not returned to judgment.  No bird work occurred for either dog.
 
  Brace 5:  BELLA'S BEAU MAX (Nelson) and WOODSONG'S TEXAS TORNADO (Milam).  Max was a bit lateral but hunting hard.  He suffered two non-productives and was ordered up by the judges.  Freddie ran hard and had a find at 27.  All was in order and he was sent on only to be lost on deer at 50.
 
  Brace 6:  TJ'S PRARIE BLIZZARD (Carlson) and HILL COUNTRY RUNAWAY SARGE (Mantler).  Blizzard's race was noted above.  Sarge broke away hard and never looked back.  At 27 he was declared out of judgment and the Tracker was pulled out.
 
  Brace 7:  MAKE MY DAY DUDE (Carlson) and DANI KAHLUA (Nakamura).  Dude's run was noted above.  Dani ran fast and snappy the entire hour but finished without birds.
 
  Brace 8:  T&W'S DIAMOND JIM (Peace) and RUSTY RIDGE RAM TOUGH (Kilpatrick).  Jim broke away in a true all age manner.  At 24 he disappeared and was not returned to judgment.  He was found later that evening 3 miles from the grounds in a Coyote snare.  Reports are he has a sore leg but will be OK.  RT ran a nice forward race at medium range.  He had a fast, snappy gait and hunted hard but had no birds.
 
  Brace 9:  COUNTESS MIRIAH GALE (D'Arcy) and DAKOTA LUKE (Mantler).  Gale hunted hard and had a find at 40 and a back at 57 but her range was not to the judges' liking.  Luke's race was noted above.
 
  Brace 10:  ORION'S FLO JO (Smith) and PANCHA'S PRINCE EDWARD (Peace).  Flo began the race at a workman like pace.  She had a find at 17, in the same briar patch that Dude had found, with the same results.  At 28, she had another find and birds were flushed.  After two bouts with sand burrs, Gary elected to pick her up at 40.  Eddie broke away with a lot of enthusiasm and took some birds out at 8 minutes into the brace.
 
  Brace 11:  CHEYENNE WIND DANCER (Cross) and ORION'S TEXOMA SUPERSPORT (Smith).  Dan ran a really nice race, with good range and speed.  He seemed to run to all the right places, but just couldn't come up with any birds.  Sport couldn't get it together and Gary elected to pick him up early.
 
  Brace 12:  TLM COMANCHE CHIEF (Milam) and TJ'S APACHE (Carlson).  Chief's race was noted above.  Bandit seemed to have a mind of his own on this day.  He showed good ground speed and range but was lost halfway through his brace.
 

1st		--		"Luke", FC Dakota Luke (D), owner/handler -- Richard Mantler
2nd		--		"Chief", TLM Comanche Chief, (D), owner/handler -- Tom Milam
3rd		--		"Dude", FC/AFC Make My Day Dude (D), owner -- Ed Tillson, handler -- Jessica Carlson
4th		--		"Blizzard", TJ's Prairie Blizzard (D), owner -- Ed Tillson, handler -- Jessica Carlson