It's not too late to help out this coming weekend at the AKC Licensed Retriever Field Trial. We need throwers, gunners, stake chairmen. No one is unqualified to work. If you've never helped, don't be shy. We will gladly teach you and put you to work.
It's a fun weekend to watch field champion retrievers compete for championship points. Lots of professional and first time handlers. Young dogs and older experienced dogs to watch.
Call Tony Despenas if you have a 1/2 or full day of your time to offer.
Thanks!
Tony Despenas email: tony@mwcinc.com or 515-249-2192
It is with great sorrow that we inform the membership of the passing of long time club member and past MIRC President, Terry Plagman of Runnells, IA. Terry gave unselfishly of his time and knowledge to AKC, NAHRA & UKC retriever organizations. He volunteered as a thrower, shooter, blind planter, judge and event secretary in countless hunt tests & field trials over the years. He introduced and mentored many newcomers to the sport.
Terry will be sorely missed by the retriever world.
http://ilesfuneralhomes.com/obituary?id=1194976
Here you'll find updated club news, club trial results, work days, training days, pictures and general information about our club. Visit us regularly and see what we're up to.
We will try to provide information in user-friendly formats with choices of MicroSoft Office products (Word, Excel) or PDF format. Please let us know if you can't access any of these links or documents.
NOTE TO CLUB TRIAL PARTICIPANTS: Entry table will be open from 8:00 am and close at 8:30am!!
As you all know, club trials are hosted and organized by members that are also judging, throwing birds and running their own dogs. We are limited with members to staff the entry table for an extended period. In 2010, the following changes were made to the club entry process. Club entries will be accepted at 8:00 and close at 8:30 to allow running the first stakes by 8:30am. We will no longer accept entries after 8:30am. Please be prompt in arriving to the trial grounds and making your entries so the stakes can set up by 8:30. If your event is not one of the first to run, please offer your support to these early stakes so we can quickly complete them and get all events started in a reasonable time frame. Thank you for your efforts to simplify the winter club trials!
2013 Club Fun Trials:
Jan 20th Hosts: CANCELED due to extreme cold
Feb 24th Hosts: John Goossen & Ted GardnerMarch 24th Hosts:Ken & Becky Reed
April 28th Hosts:Jon Zunkel
2013 AKC Licensed Retriever Field Trials:
May 10-12th
Sept 13-15th
2013 AKC Licensed Retriever Hunt Test:
June 1-2nd
A committee has been formed to organize and manage the 2013 AKC Hunt Test on June 1-2, 2013. Special thanks to these members: Ken Reed, Tony Wingerter, Terry Plagman, Jim Forneris, Jim Meyer, Todd Vande Noord, Craig Weier and Eric Webb. Please offer your support and help to these great folks that stepped up to bring this event back to the club. It takes a great deal of effort to host these licensed events so be sure to thank them and offer your help.
President: Tony Despenas: tony@mwcinc.com
Vice Pres: Tanja Frye: tcfrye515@gmail.com
Secretary: David Hoke: dhoke@issbank.com
Treasurer: Brad & Beth Harman: bnbharman@gmail.com
AKC Delegate: Ron Ainley: rainley@ainleykennels.com
Chichaqua Liaison: Tony Despenas: tony@mwcinc.com
Board Member: Bruce Mountain: mountlab@netins.net
Board Member: Ron Ainley: rainley@ainleykennels.com
Board Member: Jon Zunkel: tricountyboarding@yahoo.com
Two new locations at Chichaqua for dog training/trialing continue to make progress. We used the new 40-acre (mountain hill property) during the fall field trial. We will be adding a parking lot and mounds to this area, but there will be no water on this site. The second location (bowl field) will include a 3-acre pond with a long point running north and south. The pond design has been approved and is staked out for digging. The excavation will likely begin after our May licensed trial. Both locations are a huge addition to our current training/trial grounds at Chichaqua.
A very special thank you to club member Bruce Mountain for his commitment and legal expertise in representing our club throughout the planning process with the Polk County Conservation Board.
Special thanks to the members of the Midwest Retriever Club for the generous $1,000 donation towards the development of the new dog training grounds! May of these club members also belong to Mid-Iowa so a big thanks to all for the support of these grounds.
Let's hope for plenty of rain to fill our ponds and warm weather to allow the grass to grow. These will be wonderful new grounds for all retriever enthusiasts!