(l-r) Dave Hughes, George Johnson, Dick Brenneman, Bob Watts
At the awards ceremony held in Milan, NH, during the running of the Grand National Grouse Championship, our 7-year old female, Straight Forward, received recognition as the top English setter all-age cover dog for 2015- 2016. This is the second time that “Cracker” has won the Seminatore Award which is named after Massachusetts native Mike Seminatore who trained and handled many famous cover dogs over a period of decades throughout New England. “Cracker” previously won the Seminatore Award for her successes during the 2012-2013 cover dog season.
This is the fourth time our kennel has won the Seminatore Award. Grand National Grouse Champion Body Guard won it for the 1997-1998 season and our multiple champion Full Blast won it for the 2013-2014 cover dog season. All our Award winners have been handled by Dave Hughes.
While earning this award caused us to reflect on “Cracker’s” performances last year, we are currently thrilled with her performances during this new season with her being named the current New England Grouse Champion and earning RU Championships in the New York and Pennsylvania Grouse Championships as well as RU Champion in the MI Woodcock Championship. These wins have “Cracker” leading the present Seminatore Award competition by a wide margin.
What a blessing to have owned and enjoyed a great dog like “Cracker”.