GRAND NATIONAL GROUSE CHAMPION BODY GUARD
11-30-143
DECEASED, 2005—FROZEN SEMEN AVAILABLE
Grand National Grouse Champion Body Guard (140080, male, 7/10/92) had a competitive career that spanned more than seven years. Over that time he scored eleven wins in the toughest of competition including the Grand National Grouse Ch. at Marienville, PA over a field of 69 dogs that included 17 former champions. More importantly for breeders and the breed, “Skeets” has left a genetic footprint in the cover dog winners he sired who raised the level of coverdog performance for generations.
From our personal perspectives of having raised Skeets and worked him as a young dog, Skeets impressed us with his ideal confirmation. He weighed right around 48 lbs when in competition-shape and he struck a natural balance between strength, power and quickness. His smooth gait let him get to objectives fast and his especially snappy tail and the jump in his step let him look exciting doing it. Skeet’s sister, 3xCh. Northern Anndee, was also a classy dog and it was a thrill to put the two of them down together as young dogs–what an eyeful they were. Skeets and Anndee pointed wild birds and backed each other at four months of age. Anndee was hard hunting and busy digging into the cover. Skeets ran naturally bigger with more power.—he went to places Anndee got to later. Even though Skeets was bold and independent, he was easy to handle and work with. He had the gene that made him want to hunt out front and be responsive–seldom a tug and haul effort to get him from the side or rear and to the front. On game Skeets pointed with a high set and straight tail. When dogs work wild birds, they can be found in natural pointing poses other than the ones seen on magazine covers, but Skeets always made a positive, stand-up-tall, stylish impression on point. In workouts, Skeets was a hard and willing worker–no quit in him, even in the heat. His sister, Anndee, was an equally determined dog.
The highlight of Body Guard’s career was winning the Grand National Grouse Championship in 1998 over a field of 69 which included 17 champions. Pro handler Dave Hughes guided Skeets to this win which veteran observers related was among the most impressive wins at the Grand in decades. Skeets combined this win with a first at the prestigious Venango All-Age (44 entrants) and other placements to amass enough points to win the Mike Seminatore Award for the Setter Cover Dog of the Year. This award was received at a ceremony held at the Bird Dog Hall of Fame in Grand Junction, Tennessee, in June of 1999.
We retired Skeets in 2000. We hunted Skeets regularly and in addition to grouse, he loved to hunt pheasants. He was a master at pinning a running bird. In his younger days when he was being finished by pro Dave Hughes, Skeets developed the knack of handling running birds and this skill served him well throughout his career and on no occasion more so than that memorable relocation on a running grouse the day he won The Grand National Grouse
Championship.
PEDIGREE:
Ch. Body Guard’s pedigree relies heavily on the blood of Grand National Grouse Champion Ghost Train. This long-time winning Ghost Train line from Michigan is combined in Body Guard with the New England-based Chief setter line (campaigned by Mike Seminatore for whom the Cover Dog All-Age Award is named). Skeet’s sire Ch. Northern Alibi also won the Grand National Grouse Championship and it was on the basis of his strong record and the consistent top level performances of Northern Alibi’s parents that he was selected as a sire. Dick and I had seen Northern Alibi’s parents Ch. Ghost Train Delight and Ch. The Class Train perform–they were classy bird finders whose record of more than 30 wins each speaks for itself. They were among the finest of the Fruchey family’s line of grouse dogs that included the famous Ch. Ghost Train.
Wire, Pennsylvania Grouse Dog of the Year, 1984. Our partnership’s first dog.
Body Guard’s dam Liberty Express Wire is one of the eleven cover dog winners produced from the cross of our kennel’s first dog, Wire, bred to Meteor’s Express Train. “Skeets” dam, “Libby”, had a good number of wins and was the first call-back in the Grouse Futurity. We kept a string on Libby when we placed her with Paul Rebarchek as we recognized her class and hard drive at a young age. Libby’s sire, Wire (PA Grouse Dog of the Year, 1984) has established himself as a prominent producer of great grouse dogs. Wire was a dog noted for classy, hard running and he had a natural way of always going to the front. Wire was impressive on point with a very straight tail. He produced 39 winners who rang up a total of 318 wins–most all in cover dog trials. Three of Wire’s offspring won cover dog Championships.
Meteor’s Express Train, dam of 10 winners by Wire
Meteor’s Express Train (1st place derby winner, pro Gene Ullman, handler) was a strong 42 lb. female whom we acquired from Jack Boise specifically to breed to Wire–the plan worked, as this breeding produced brothers and sisters to Libby that won a hundred times including the 1st The Grand National Grouse Futurity (Harmony Hills Duke–Everett Skehan, o) and the Northeastern Woodcock Champion (Ian’s Blue–Steve Groy,o).
Note that Wire and Meteor’s Express Train go back to two of Ghost Train’s greatest offspring (Wire’s dam was 3XCh. Ghost’s Star and Meteor’s Express Train’s sire was PA Grouse Champion Sam L’s Meteor). Ms. Jetrain, Meteor Express Train’s dam was by Ch. Jetrain, son of Ghost Train.
Body Guard comes by his abilities honestly as his background is virtually 100% based on dogs who have hunted and trialed exclusively on grouse and woodcock. We believe in relying on dogs who have been developed and proven in the woods, in contrast to using horseback or all-age setters and trying to reprogram them from the job they were genetically designed to do.
We also believe, as do most all the consistently successful producing kennels, in line breeding. Ghost Train is the line we choose to build upon and we have mixed that with outcrosses to top performing grouse dogs of other lineage from time to time. This formula worked for Body Guard as well as for his highly regarded sister and littermate 2XCh. Northern Anndee (she 4X invitee to the Grand National Grouse and Woodcock Invitational).
PRODUCTION
As a sire, Ch. Body Guard has produced 30 winners and these progeny have won 143 field trial placements.