Full Breeze successfully defends her title at the Ontario Grouse Championship

Full Breeze

Full Breeze, Dick and Bob’s 7-year old female, was named champion at the Ontario Grouse Championship, April 13, 2023. “Bree”, now a veteran of the grouse trial circuit, came off a solid performance in previous days at the Grouse and Woodcock Invitational to defend her 2022 title at this important spring event. 32 of the country’s top cover dogs went to the line over a three day period at these historic Allegheny National Forest, Marienville, PA grounds. Courses covering more than a dozen square miles were designed to weave through traditional grouse and woodcock cover. “Bree’s” winning effort came in the afternoon of day 1 of the event . Temperatures were in the upper 70s when she was cut loose. At the breakaway “Bree” was flying. Moving with a lot of crack in her tail, she made the class impression that Dick’s and Bob’s dogs have become known for over their plus forty-year partnership. Running on the same course that she hunted on in 2022 when she won this event, “Bree” went to the same area she had scored on game the previous year. At 10, as she drove into inviting cover on the right side of the course, her bell suddenly stopped ringing. Handler, Dave Hughes, went to this strip of cover and found her standing with 12 o’clock style. She was so intense that her body was trembling with excitement. Dave flushed for quite a while finally putting up a woodcock 20 yards in front of her stance. From here “Bree” hunted through course 1 on the Loleta side of the grounds. At 35 she pointed in very heavy cover but no bird could be produced by Hughes who emerged with bloody arms from the effort to get a bird up. Perhaps “Bree” hunted too much, for at times she got lateral in her pattern, but each time she came to the front and went on gamely. Fortunately there was some water in the small streams that intersect this course so “Bree” could refresh herself occasionally. She was able to sustain her championship effort until the 60 minute mark where the ending found her 150 yards ahead still driving, still searching.