Category: Spaniel Hunt Tests

NEW! Gunners’ Choice Awards

In what we hope will become a new tradition, MSDA rosettes were presented each day to winners of the Gunners’ Choice Award. A longstanding custom in field trials, the concept is simple: the event’s gunners choose the dog that they would most like to put in their truck to take hunting. The selection is made entirely by the gunners, not the judges or the committee members, and is based on the dog’s performance during land work. Winners of the Fall 2024 Gunners’ Choice awards, pictured below, were:

  • Friday 9/13: Couper, an English Cocker Spaniel handled by Kathy Salemi. (Friday’s hunt test was sponsored by the FCRSA.)
  • Saturday 9/14: Jax, a Welsh Springer Spaniel handled by Lauren Hendrickson.
  • Sunday 9/15: Cayla, an English Cocker Spaniel handled by Alexandra Rudershausen.

(Photos are courtesy of the handlers.)

Photos & Results from MSDA’s Fall Hunt Test Weekend

MSDA’s annual Fall Hunt Test Weekend at Rebel Ridge Farms was filled with sunny skies and great hunting. It included a Judges and Handlers Seminar taught by AKC Senior Field Rep Tom Meyer, a small afternoon Spaniel Hunt Test sponsored by the Flat-Coated Retriever Society of America, Pointing Mock Junior Hunt Tests, and two full days of AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests sponsored by MSDA.

Individual results for MSDA’s Spaniel Hunt Tests are posted on HuntSecretary.

Pro photographer Matt Toth took photos of the spaniel hunt tests. They are available at https://mtfieldsports.smugmug.com/MSDA-Spaniel-Test-914-915-2024.

Some additional photos of the events and of the Friday and Saturday spaniel hunt test ribbons ceremonies are on MSDA’s Flickr site at  https://www.flickr.com/photos/mdsportingdog/albums/.

Volunteers needed for the Fall Hunt Test Weekend

Especially for the hunt tests on Saturday and Sunday, volunteers are very much needed for the three-day hunt test weekend. Whether you’re an experienced bird planter or a total newbie, we need your help and it’s a great way to learn more about the tests and the people involved as well as develop some much-appreciated skills.

MSDA members will earn volunteer credit that counts toward their 2025 voting membership. Some of the tasks include: signing people in, planting or throwing birds, shagging, brief stints as a line or field marshal, and helping with lunch. We also need a couple of people to bring desserts to round out the menu for our homecooked lunches to be served on Saturday and Sunday.

If you’re able to contribute some of your time when you’re not running your dog, or even if you’re not entering the tests at all and are willing to come out to help, please contact Roseanna Bennett via Roseanna@mdsportingdog.org to volunteer.

Much more information about the Fall Hunt Test Weekend events is at https://mdsportingdog.org/2024-fall-hunt-test-weekend/

Entries are open for Fall Hunt Test Weekend

MSDA’s annual Fall Hunt Test Weekend will be Friday September 13, Saturday September 14 and Sunday September 15 at Rebel Ridge Farms in Elkton MD.

Here is an outline of what is planned including: a Judges and Handlers Seminar, three Spaniel Hunt Tests, and a Pointing Mock Junior Hunt Test. That page also has links to detailed information and entry forms for all events.

2024 MSDA Fall Hunt Test Weekend

MSDA’s annual Fall Hunt Test Weekend will be Friday September 13, Saturday September 14 and Sunday September 15 at Rebel Ridge Farms in Elkton MD.

Here is an outline of what is planned including: a Judges and Handlers Seminar, three Spaniel Hunt Tests, and a Pointing Mock Junior Hunt Test.

We are still doing some final planning for the weekend so, even though you may see some events listed as “pending” or even “approved” on AKC and HuntSecretary websites, entries are not yet open. We expect to open entries for all Fall Hunt Test Weekend events no later than July.

    Save the date for Fall Hunt Test Weekend

    Planning is underway for the MSDA Fall Hunt Test Weekend, this year spanning Friday September 13, Saturday September 14 and Sunday September 15 at Rebel Ridge Farms in Elkton MD. It’s going to be packed with activities, potentially including:

    • Handlers’ and judges’ in-person spaniel hunt test seminar on Friday, with classroom time in the morning, a lunchtime panel discussion and guided observation of an actual hunt test in the afternoon.
    • Pointing mock hunt tests on Saturday with morning and afternoon braces.
    • Spaniel hunt tests, three in all, on Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday.

    Much more information will be available soon here on the MSDA website and in a future club newsletter. 

    Photos from Spring Hunt Test Weekend

    Our Spring Hunt Test Weekend of 2024 was April 20-21 at Mt. Ararat Farm in Port Deposit, MD. Instead of it being an MSDA event, we assisted the Clumber Spaniel Club of America with their two days of hunt tests . Although it was held by the CSCA, other flushing breeds participated as well. Photos by professional photographer Matt Toth are available online at https://mtfieldsports.smugmug.com/Clumber-Spaniel-Club-Hunt-Test.

    A big thanks to the organizers, volunteers, judges, and participants who made the weekend so successful!

    Entries are open for CSCA Spaniel Hunt Tests

    The Premium List is posted and entries are open for the Clumber Spaniel Club of America 2024 National Spaniel Hunt Tests the weekend of April 20-21 at Mt. Ararat Farm in Port Deposit MD. Information and entries are available at HuntSecretary.com. Entries will close on April 8. All AKC flushing breeds may enter, although Clumbers will have priority.

    MSDA will be providing assistance for the CSCA Spaniel Hunt Tests this year and will not be holding our own Spring Hunt Test Weekend, so we look forward to seeing everyone at the CSCA event.

    2024 MSDA Field Events – Dates

    MSDA’s calendar of field events is filling up! Here’s what we are planning so far for 2024:

    • Bird Instinct Clinics Saturday and Sunday, March 2 & 3, as part of the annual Spring Event at Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, MD. Details will be available in January.
    • AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests on Saturday and Sunday, April 20 & 21, sponsored by the Clumber Spaniel Club of America, at Mt. Ararat Farms in Port Deposit, MD. Although Clumbers will have priority, other flushing breeds are also eligible to enter. MSDA will be providing assistance with this event. (We will not be holding our own weekend of hunt tests this spring.)
    • Field Day, our annual FUN training day for bird dogs of all experience levels, will be Saturday, May 18 at Rebel Ridge Farms in Elkton, MD. More information and on-line registration will be available in late February.
    • Fall Hunt Test Weekend will be Friday-Sunday, September 13-15 at Rebel Ridge Farms. MSDA is planning three days of AKC Spaniel Hunt Tests PLUS an in-person seminar, on Friday 9/13, for AKC hunt test judges, handlers and prospective handlers. We’re still very early in the planning process for this weekend; we may add other activities. More information will be available later in the year.
    • Training Days for Flushing Dogs has been a huge hit over the past couple of years! Specific dates, locations and formats for 2024 are To-Be-Announced.