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GROUSEVALLEY SPRINGERS |
ALL
I EVER WANTED WAS A |
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And boy did I ever get one! |
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Patches' "TAKE NO PRISONERS" attitude left no stone unturned. Shown here is Homeagain Patchwork (Patches) and myself at our second Field trial in 1984 after competing in the puppy stake. Yes that's sweat on my brow ! I was a nervous wreck but she won that event in spite of me . I recall the encouraging words of Joe Ruff "A pro can do a lot to make a dog look good , but he can't put that kind of style in a dog. And she's got it!" Patches came from a fine line of field bred Springers including N.A.F.C. & F.C. Dansmirthth's Gunshot, E.N.F.C. Saighton's Stinger, E.N.F.C. Markdowm Muffin, and F.C. Saighton's Superspeed just to name a few. All of which meant nothing to me at that time because all I wanted was a hunting dog. The fact is, that stuff is very important and if you don't have the best ingredients don't expect the best results. |
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Not wanting to give up neither hunting or trialing (I so enjoyed the rush) Sherry and I decided to breed Patches to the 1984 Canadian High Point Open dog of that year C.F.C. Beothuck Samson and kept one pup from that litter (Jake shown on the right). I had the best of both worlds , a great hunting dog (Patches) and a great trial dog (Jake) who cleaned up in the minor stakes and by 1988 became the second High Point Canadian Dog. C.F.C. Springville Jake was a fair size Springer but when he ran, he went full out and with his low running stance and his honest nose, once he locked on to a runner, the bird had no choice but to fly. As Patches grew older I turned to Jake as my hunting partner . I had my go at a number of different pups of other breedings, not of our own, but none sparked my interest. I knew what it took to become a champion and wanted it again. Aside from becoming an exceptional hunting dog Jake provided his service as a stud dog and was used extensively. A well deserved reward for such fine work. One particular breeding of which caught my interest was that of Jake and C.F.C. Springville Peppermint Patti. I selected one of the females of that litter and ....ditto.... another Field Trial Champion (Susi). I'm not saying that it's easy to produce a field trial champion . It's not! It takes a lot of training, hard work and patience, but above all the dog must have the ability. |
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C.F.C.
Springville Santa Fe Susi acquired her championship points by age 3
in 1996. She was always a great competitive dog that never let me down,
she just got better as she got older. There have been a number of great
dogs is our household since Susi and I see a bit of her in each one. |