A Day at the Eastern GSPC Field Trial

Snip's Sixth Sense Wyatt MH

This past Saturday I ventured to Medford, NJ to the Eastern GSPC Field Trial. This was the very first field trial I have ever attended. I'm by no means new to dog hunting events as Jim and I run our GSP Cleo in NAVHDA and AKC hunt tests, but hunt tests and field trials are substantially different. What I found to be very much the same with them though is the great people you can meet at either style event.

Raf and his Setter

Kona the 11 month old English Pointer

Lovely Mae

I ended up at the field trial because I was hired to photograph an amazing GSP named Snip's Sixth Sense Wyatt MH. Wyatt had a great weekend placing 3rd in Open Limited Gundog on Friday, 2nd in Open Gundog on Saturday (both days he was handled by Bruce Shaffer) and he placed 3rd on Sunday in Amateur Limited Gundog while being handled by his owner Jon Sensinger. I got to witness his impressive run on Saturday with him taking 2nd out of 20 dogs. He is ranked 11th with the GSPCA Open Gundog and 13th with the AKC GSP Open Gundog for 2011. Wyatt is 34 months old, has his health clearances and is available for stud to approved dams. For more information on him please contact Bruce Shaffer through his website.

Wyatt

One of the most interesting aspects of the field trial for me were all the horses. At one point I had to laugh to myself as I was jogging along next to about 6 of them.  I can understand after attending the trial why a horse is a necessity. The dogs run so big. Unfortunately I can't get good pictures on a horse. I can only hope that Nike and upland boot manufactures will team up and develop a cross training mud boot. After running about 6 braces I appreciated the fact that I'm in good shape otherwise it would have been a really long day!

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My new Logo!!

Over the last 8 months I have been on the hunt for a logo for my Byrd Dog Photography business. Having a logo is an important part of being branded in business and makes you more identifiable. Someone may not remember the name of your business but they will remember your logo. For instance when you think of McDonald's you think of those golden arches. Your logo goes on everything from sweatshirts to business cards to brochures to your website. It's your symbol. It's what represents you. What I discovered over this past 8 months is that it really matters who you choose to brand you and represent your identity to the world.

From the beginning the name that kept coming up during my research was that of Greg Blair. He not only came highly recommended to me but he had the experience and portfolio I was looking for. Greg not only has 20 years experience in design (10 of those years owning his own design firm in Milwaukee, WI) but he is also a dog lover and an upland hunter. I loved the fact that when I told Greg I wanted a GSP in my logo I didn't have to explain to him what one looks like. He already knows....in fact he owns one as well as two fine looking English Pointers.

Neenah Creek's Unanswered Prayer - Call name Rookie (13 years old)

1X NSTRA CH, 2005 Wisconsin Regional Champion

2006 Wisconsin Regional 2nd Runner-up

Blair's Bella Dancer - Call name Bella (4 years old)

American Field Placements

Blair's Highway Man - Call name Dan (3 years old)

American Field Placements

As long as Greg has been in design he has been hunting over dogs. To him there is nothing nicer than seeing a pointer run, point, and stand for the flush. He loves the whole package and I can relate to that. He loves hunting grouse and makes his way to North Dakota each year for sharptails or huns and also gets to Northern Wisconsin for ruffed grouse.

For anyone who owns a animal rescue, a kennel, a hunting club, a veterinaries office, a hunting preserve or anything related to the outdoor industry and you are looking for branding materials such as logos, brochures, or web design I highly recommend contacting Greg Blair. What he can offer you which many other designers can not, is he understands your audience because he is an active member of it. It's been my experience through this process that having someone who truly understands your end user is invaluable. Below are some examples of Greg's other logos. What you will notice is he has a simple, clean style to his designs. He lets strong, bold graphics convey the desired message to the marketplace.

I'm not trying to pigeonhole Greg as he does logos and branding for all kinds of business's not just the dog related industry. I can say from experience he is a real pleasure to work with. If I ever need additional marketing material in the future he will be the person I contact. Feel free to check him out on his website or send him an email at glblair5@gmail.com. I know you will be happy with the end result....I sure am!  

Some more examples of Greg's work:

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AKC Hunt Test Weekend in Delaware

Fieldmans Journeyman Jake - watching the bird he just pointed get flushed

This past weekend Jim and I ventured south to "The First State" to run Cleo in two AKC Senior Hunt braces. I can sum the weekend up in one word....Cold. We drove down in a legit blizzard yesterday and although it didn't snow today it was bitter cold mainly because of the vicious winds. But the dogs were out in numbers and running their hearts out.

Cleo's bracemate on Saturday - Piper

Piper honoring Cleo

 Cleo

Cleo had a so-so weekend. She ran well yesterday passing another leg of her Senior Hunter Title. We were pleased with how she worked although we had hoped she would have honored better considering how much we have been working on it lately. But as a whole she did pretty well and we were pleased. The big surprise of the weekend was when we found out that our brace mates on both days would be handled by Bruce Shaffer. Bruce owns Almost Heaven GSP's out of Springfield, West Virginia. I know Bruce through my friend Jackie as he trains her dog Gunny.

Jim and Bruce walking their brace

Piper

Cleo on point with Jim walking in for the flush

Up until this point Jim and I have only run brace's with other amateur handlers. Bruce is by all means a complete professional. He trains all sporting dog breeds including pointing, flushing and retrieving breeds. Both Jim and I learned a ton just watching the simple nuances of how he handled his dogs. It was a real treat. Today I walked an extra brace with him to take pictures of a dog he trains that's on the up and up.  He is 20 month old Fieldmans Journeyman Jake and boy does he have style and wheels! After watching this dog run today I was a believer....pass over the kool-aid. Lol. Below are some pics of him in action.

Jake right before his brace began

On the go!

Jake came right around a corner and had a fabulous honor

Bruce and Jake

If anyone is looking for a trainer in the West Virginia, Western Maryland and or Western Pennsylvania area I would recommend contacting Bruce. He handles all breeds and runs in primarily AKC Hunt tests and field trials. I will actually be attending my first field trial next Sunday when I head to New Jersey to photograph Snip's Sixth Sense Wyatt MH in action. Wyatt is currently ranked nationally in the top 10 for  field trial dogs with the GSPCA in 2011. I'm looking forward to it!

Below is one more pic of Cleo on point today. It's prob my favorite pic of all weekend....mainly because she's my bff and I always feel she has such a stylish point.

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Dog Cave!

A big box was waiting on the doorstep when I got home from work tonight! I was so excited waiting for this to arrive. If you read the post It's been a hard day's night from last month you would know Cleo is snuggler. She loves to be in our bed completely covered by blankets. So I did a little research on the internet and this is what I found.....

The Cozy Cave Dog Bed!

It's a super plush dog bed and it has a top on it so she can burrow in and lounge away. When I pulled it out of the box she knew it was for her but she didn't get it at first. She kept biting the bed and trying to pull the top off of it. I actually climbed inside of it and as soon as I did she made the connection and burrowed in and pushed me out.

Still trying to figure it out and biting the top

I bought it online here. I got her an extra large because I know she likes to spread out. She's a medium sized dog at about 55 lbs but as I have stated in earlier posts she can take up an entire king size bed. And besides if I can fit in it it's plenty spacious. It cost $99.00 but the shipping was free and I had it in about 5 days. She seems to really like it so far! Epic Win!

Now that's a snuggly (and spoiled) dog!

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