Wild Rose Hunting Retriever Club

Lisa shared with us some pictures via facebook that are just out of this world.\
If you've not checked out our new WRHRC Facebook Page you should do so now.
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We had a lot of fun on Sunday May 12th with our 13th Annual 7 singles. We were blessed with some truly great weather. You can see here that good times and sunburns were had by all.

Even though the registration numbers were down slightly over last year we still had a great field day with 30 registrations. Congratulations go to the winning team Shaun Brien and his Black Lab Female "Teal". A sweetheart of a dog she ran very well and - with a healthy amount of competition from the finalists - was able to mark her way into first place.
Many thanks to all the volunteers, donors and supporters who make this event possible every year.

Results of this year's event - and previous years are available here.
seven_singles_results.pdf

This year's event organizer, Mary Shillabeer had the following message for all.

Thank you to everyone that supported our 13th Annual Seven Singles Series. (I checked back in my old newsletters, and confirmed that this is the 13th year!) Read the rest of this entry »

A last minute reminder that our annual Seven Singles event is still a go for this Saturday. The forecast is calling for nice weather and calm winds so it should be a great day.
Bring some cash for the Calcutta. Remember your lawn chairs and sunblock.
My never fail tip to ensure a sunny day is to remember to pack an umbrella.

Whoa...it is MAY next week! How did that happen?

Just a reminder of a couple of upcoming events. We need preregistration for the Seven Singles. Just need to know how many people and dogs. Payment can be made the morning of. Thank you to those that have already pre-registered!

Saturday, May 12 - Kathyrn - WRHRC Seven Singles Series, Judges – Dan Danforth and Laura Jones. Entry fee $20.00 (members only). Registration at 8:00 am, first bird falls at 8:30 am. Three birds guaranteed (depending on the entry, could get more). To volunteer to gun or donate birds, contact Ross Murphy webmaster@wrhrc.com 403-475-0607. To register (pre-registration is a MUST so we know how many birds we need), contact Mary Shillabeer lottadoghair@shaw.ca Lunch provided, by donation. Bring your own drinks. Bring cash for the Calcutta! Be prepared to help out!

Sunday, June 3 - Kathyrn – WRHRC NAHRA Picnic Test - Registration - 8:30 a.m., Starts at 9:00 a.m., For more info contact Colette Prefontaine 403-982-9875 cprefontainester@gmail.com or Peggy Gardiner 403-936-3675 peggygard@yahoo.ca WRHRC Members - $10 for Started/Intermediate, $15 for Senior, Non Club Members - $15 for Started/Intermediate, $20 for Senior. VOLUNTEERS needed!!

The picnic test is open to non-members...please share this information!

The training season is ramping up for the year and with it comes all the events that we enjoy. Registration is now open for our second event of the season, that is the annual picnic test. This event is usually held at club grounds and is done to simulate a NAHRA retriever hunt test without all the high pressure judging and costly entry fee. Stakes will be Started, Intermediate and Senior.

Picnic test organizers this year are Peggy Gardiner and Colette Prefontaine and they have requested a cut off registration date of May 15th so we can get some numbers.

This event is for members only, so if you've not renewed for 2012 you should do so ASAP. We will also be looking for volunteers to act as gunners so if you do come please expect that you will asked to throw turn or two. If you want to volunteer to gun or for other duties please contact Peggy or Colette.

This should be a great event as always so come on out, have fun and we will see you there.

June 3 Kathyrn – WRHRC NAHRA Picnic Test - Birds fall at 9:00 a.m., Registration - 8:30 a.m. FMI contact Colette Prefontaine 403-982-9875 cprefontainester@gmail.com or Peggy Gardiner 403-936-3675 peggygard@yahoo.ca WRHRC Members - $10 for Started/Intermediate, $15 for Senior, Non Club Members - $15 for Started/Intermediate, $20 for Senior. VOLUNTEERS needed!

Also, don't forget to signup for the seven singles event coming in May.

A date has been set for the Seven Singles Series:

Saturday, May 12 - Kathyrn - WRHRC Seven Singles Series, Judges – Dan Danforth and Laura Jones. Entry fee $20.00 (members only). Registration at 8:00 am, first bird falls at 8:30 am. Three birds guaranteed (depending on the entry, could get more). To volunteer to gun or donate birds, contact Ross Murphy. To register (pre-registration is a MUST so we know how many birds we need), contact Mary Shillabeer

A FABULOUS lunch will be provided, by donation. Bring your own drinks. Bring cash for the Calcutta! Be prepared to help out!

The Seven Singles is for members only...so if you have not renewed...you might want to contact Lisa.

Please see the Right Side bar for a listing of upcoming field events.

Help NAHRA raise funds for the 2012 Invitational being held this May in Arizona. A great cause and a nice prize.

Send Your Bid To the Invitational! 5 Night Stay in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico “Get 3 – 6 couples together and send your bid with a friend to the 2012 Invitational in May in Arizona” See the NAHRA Invitational website for more details at http://www.nahrainvitational.com/auction-items.php on this 6 bedroom, 6 bath home just minutes from the Ocean beach.

A message from NAHRA President Frank Plewa.

My fellow members,

With 2011 drawing to a close, I thought it was time to send a message to you all as well as wish each of you and your families a very Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous New Year. This has been one of those messages that I have been trying to complete for some time but hunting seasons and holidays just kept delaying the process. Oh well, better late than never!

While the testing seasons have been over in most parts of the country for a few months, the Southwest is getting started on the new year. In particular, Senior handlers who will be trying to get their dogs qualified for the 2012 NAHRA Invitational to be held May 29 through June 1, 2012 at Foxboro Ranch Estates near Munds Park, Arizona. I would like to thank the Copperstate Hunting Retriever Club, Lenda Barker and the rest of the Invitational Committee for taking on this event. I know this will be another successful NAHRA Invitational and I hope that all handlers from across the country will make every effort to attend.

I would like to take the time to congratulate Lenda Barker for reaching the milestone of 100 judging points in 2011 and also apologize to Lenda for this "atta girl" being so late. But even after the fact, it is no less important or significant as Lenda is one of only five judges in the history of the NAHRA program to reach the 100 point plateau. Of greater significance is that she is the first lady to attain this status. Attaining 100 points speaks directly to her enduring and continued service to the program, and also to the confidence of so many clubs that continue to request her to preside over their events. Congratulations!

There are a bunch of other kudos to hand out as well. I would also like to congratulate and thank the 2011 Invitational Committee for a highly successful and enjoyable event at Chichaqua Bottoms this year in Iowa. Members of the Central Region teamed up to put on a great event on some very delightful test grounds. I personally was able to attend this event and as always, found the company and the dog work very enjoyable. It was great to see some folks who have labored for some time with their dogs and finally get that long sought after qualification. It was a testimony to a lot of hard work and perseverance.

It was even more special to see Dakota Tilleraas become the youngest handler (male or female) to qualify a dog in an Invitational Event. Her achievement caused a bit more water to flow on an already wet day and there were no shortage of hugs administered. A big "Atta boy girl" to Dakota!

It seems that there will be no Regional Director position elections as one incumbent and two new folks ran unopposed in their respective regions. Congratulations to Patsy Hove in the Central and Tom Rourke in the Northeast. I look forward to working with you both. Thanks to Matt Arndt for staying on in the Alaska Region.

On the other hand, a very special thanks to outgoing Directors Dan Tongen and Bill Preston for your service to NAHRA. On behalf of the membership and the BOD we all thank you for giving your time to the organization and your regions.

It has been a pleasure to see the continued resurgence of NAHRA in the West Region under the leadership of Regional Director Harry Williams. We all thank you Harry for all you have done in just a couple years. Without the extra effort, this would not have been possible.

Thank you to all the clubs and members for supporting our program by putting on a generous number of events this year despite the economy. NAHRA did pretty well considering the shortage of funds in many households and in light of the competition for entries with those limited dollars. I made it out to three regions running dogs or judging this year. As always, it was great to see old friends and make a few new ones along the way.

My wife Valerie and I had the privilege of judging in Alaska this summer and had a great time. We took the opportunity to combine the judging assignment with a vacation. We are indebted to Kody and Kent Bull for making this possible. What a great bunch of folks at Midnight Sun Gun Dog Association. It was nice to see that even that far away from home the people and dogs are all pretty much the same. Great hospitality and a breathtaking view wherever you looked. I think this was a great preview to the 2014 Invitational Event. Thanks Midnight Sun!

Thanks to the Rappahannock River Retriever Club for their return to NAHRA. I was able to attend this event held at the Shady Grove Kennel Hunting Preserve near Remington, Virginia. Thanks to Bradley Sisson, the test committee and landowner Neil Selby for making this happen. I am hopeful that this is the first of many tests to be held again in Virginia.

As for the state of NAHRA, just where are we?

I am happy to report that NAHRA remains in good shape financially mostly due to a great job of management by our BOD and especially treasurer Dan Hove. NAHRA operated in the black again this year and at the same time, eliminated over 83% of our long term debt mostly in the form of repayment of outstanding loans incurred early in the last decade. Under Dan's watchful eye on the budget, NAHRA has paid back $11K of its long term debt since December of 2010 leaving approximately $2250 to repay which will put all unresolved historic debt behind us.

Our progress in the financial area has been steady. We have achieved the short term goals of reducing our expenses and eliminating most of our long term debt while continuing to operate the business of NAHRA. NAHRA now has other sources of income through our sponsorships and sale of Banner Ads on our website.

Through the hard work by Dan Hove and others, NAHRA has several National Sponsors already on board for 2012. Native Performance Dog Food will once again be a NAHRA sponsor and has actually upped the ante by increasing their 2012 contribution. In addition to a cash contribution to NAHRA, the Regional Events and the Invitational will receive product for fundraising of their choosing.

Tri-Tronics continues to be a NAHRA Sponsor contributing potentially significant product to us. I say potentially significant because the monetary amounts of the seven e-collars and discount coupons they have contributed have not yet been realized. As presented in an earlier message, two collars will be contributed to the fundraising efforts for the 2012 Invitational and also one each for the five Regional Events. In addition, each club will receive a 30% discount coupon for Tri-Tronics products. The clubs can use these as they see fit.

With some of our short term goals having been realized, we have turned our attention to long term goals which will help us build our membership by providing other avenues to finance NAHRA growth. While it has been a slow start, efforts to construct the NAHRA Educational Foundation (NEF) is well underway. Tom Johnston has been leading the effort to create what we hope will be a tax exempt organization to assist NAHRA in its conservation goals through the use of trained retrievers. We hope to file for 501C3 status with IRS in the first half of 2012 if things continue on the current path. This will enable the NEF to receive donations that will be used in various educational programs that our clubs may become involved to put forward NAHRAs mission in promoting trained retrievers as conservation tools. By providing these programs to the public, NAHRA clubs will indirectly benefit from membership generated through the exposure the events will provide. Thus, this will give NAHRA clubs another avenue to increase membership in addition to their normal activities and events they participate in currently. I hope all clubs will participate in this effort. For more information, please contact Tom Johnston.

It seems communication between the BOD, Regional Directors and members has been adequate as I have not heard much in the way of complaints on the subject. However, if there are problems please let us know as soon as possible so we can try to make any necessary corrections. Please let your RDs know if you are having problems or are not getting all of the information you need. You can also email me but it is preferable to go through your RD.

As you know, the BOD and the EBOD make changed to our administrative processes when warranted through the development of policies. We try to make these known through your RDs, our website and via email. Please make sure you and your clubs are staying current with the most recent information. We would like to avoid any problems due to the lack of communication.

I believe that is a pretty good overview of NAHRA for 2011. Now on to 2012! I wish you all a safe and prosperous New Year. Pick em up clean!

Frank Plewa
NAHRA President

The lucky winner of the 2011 Pheasant Draw is Curt Currie. I was seriously hoping to win this one myself but sincere congratulations to Curt and a heart felt thank you to all who helps support this year's draw.

Win a 20 bird pheasant shoot at Spruce Creek Upland Hunting Club in Olds Alberta.
Limited draw with only 100 tickets being sold. Cost is only $20 each, a great value.
Dogs available or you can use your own. 100% of the proceeds are going to the Wild Rose Hunting Retriever Club. Draw Date is Nov 5th and the tickets are going fast. To get yours use the contact us page on the website or contact Greg Drew.

Support the WRHRC and have a great chance at winning an exceptional hunting experience at a premier Sporting Club.

This is a great view from the perspective of a hunting dog named "Sugar".