Keystone's Red Recession

Keystone's Red Recession

Some Good Spring News

It seems like we weren’t the only ones beset by offbeat injuries and such lately. But with the jinx going around there was still good news to be had from the field. It is getting tough to keep track of all the puppies that are spreading out across the country but here are some highlights.



For the most part a National Championship is just like any other except for the name. Even so, for some reason they seem to keep coming for the dogs. CH Peacedale Duke and Richie Frisella added a RU-CH to his laundry list by being named RU-CH at the US Complete National Amateur Shooting Dog Championship in RI in April over 33 entrants (see pic above). This makes Duke the third male setter out of Lacey to place in a National Championship stake and the 5th National Championship placement for all of them on wild and planted birds. Pretty neat stat! Bill Henke came back the week after his puppy stake accident in Marienville and got a third in the Venango derby stake with his female Keystone’s Best Bette out of Keystone’s Red Rage and Keystone’s Pale Rider. And Sig Degitz in Superior, WI continues to develop his latest Keystone’s Red Ryder – Chip’s Torquato pups around wild birds. Sig says his female Marley is an unbelievable grouse dog and she got to show it by placing 3rd in the MN derby stake with 2 nice grouse finds (as a puppy). Attached is a picture of Marley with her placement and also her brother Will pointing a woodcock (although he is not as masterful at wild birds as his sister).

The Best of Times and Worst of Times

Not sure what it is but this winter-spring has been a roller coaster. Keystone's Red Rage had a good winter in SW Georgia with Jim Tande. The highlight of which was an hour and a half hunt off horseback on purely wild quail in which he had 10 great covey finds and out birded his two pointer bracemates 10 covies to their combined 3. He came back north running and hunting as good as he ever had. Then I have never had as great a spring season working dogs in our upland covers as this one. My reliable covers were full of grouse. Every pine stand or barberry patch was full of tracks, feathers, and droppings. The dogs performed exceptional work pinning very spooky grouse in the sparse spring cover. In a month of weekends they scored about 20 grouse finds and half a dozen woodcock and very few mistakes. The plan was to judge the Ontario Grouse CH in mid March then be in good shape for the Armstrong Classic, Reg 1 Walking CH, and maybe catch one or two more. But things have imploded. Bill Henke lost what was a promising young female, Keystone's Red Rum (not Red Run as listed but an ironic name switch that did not need corrected), that was high on our future plans out of our last Torqe and Lacey litter while running in the Grand National Puppy Classic. Mickey broke his tail somehow while I was judging the Ontario CH. And now Lacey is battling an old recurring shoulder injury. The highs and lows of bird dogs are like the wind. Take each find one at a time and enjoy all you can when it is there. One thing I have learned over the years; no matter how bad it seams at times if you keep going forward the good is always around the next corner.