Wendig Haus Kennel

Our Field Trial Start:

In April 1999

Leslie and I bought our first horse with the intent of field trailing.  We couldn't use Felina much due to lack of tack, corral, riding skill, and the ability to load her in the trailer. So we had to put horse work on hold.

Leslie and myself started our Field Trial career late 1999. Our start was slow and clumsy to say the least, but we were determined to compete. Thank God, we have friends like Bob Walker and Darrel Brown who basically taught us everything we needed to get up and going on Felina. Our first few trials were more like experiments, we had to learn how to ride a horse and handle a dog pretty much all at the same time. 

Hunter and Jessie were our first field dogs. Despite our inexperience they overcame it and gave us a beautiful one-two punch. Hunter & Jessie paved the way for us and all our Wendig Haus dogs.  Leslie & I, owe and respect Hunter & Jessie for everything they taught us and what we learned together. 

In spite of the horse thing, we faired well.

2000

We had a combined  5 placements with Two Major Wins in 2000.
How's that for a first year?

2001

We had a combined  15 placements with Three Wins in the year 2001
Not Bad for a couple of rookies..

2002
Samson became bird crazy wild child, but ...Sophie maintained herself by

Our two broke dogs shined:

Jessie ran just a few times:

Hunter had a good start and a very strong finish.

In December and our last trial for the year, Hunter came through with a Double WIN in New Mexico:

We lost Jessie due to a car accident ten days prior to this field trial. Hunter sensed our hurt and set out on a mission. His timing made this double win ever so special. 

We had a combined 16 placements with Five Wins in 2002 !

We finished  TWO Dual Champions this year. It was the finish we dreamed about and worked so hard for.  But 2002 was the year I lost my best friend, we just couldn't celebrate.

As we cope for the loss of my Jessie, we push on. Hunter is approaching ten but he is still a major threat. Hunter will continue to work toward his AFC title while Sophie and Samson continue their field training. We hope to have them both competition ready by mid year. Compared to Hunter and Jessie, Sophie and Samson have the advantage of early exposure to field trial competition & horseback training.  Leslie and I now have three years of field trial experience to fall back on, we learned a lot!.  We are confident  we can whip Samson & Sophie into contenders very quickly.   Look for them.  Samson is now ahead of Hunter and the last couple times I ran him with Jessie, he challenged her for the front.  Sophie's leg speed is excellent! Both, Hunter & Jessie always had a hard time shaking her off when they ran together.  Look out for our new One-Two Punch or they will pass you up !

2003
Well, 2003 was an off year for us. After having a good 2002, then the loosing my Jessie late November, the motivation to push on was slim to none. We did run Hunter a couple times but he lost his magic or perhaps I did. He placed third at a Brittany trial, I thought he was good enough to win, but that is how that goes and he was in top position at The San Diego Trial but blew the call back. Leslie and I agreed, it was time to hang up his collar and concentrate on the youngsters. We are very proud of Hunter & Jessie. I can only dream of how good they could have been with experience handlers and trainers. What they could have become if they had the opportunity to compete on a regular basis as those dogs on circuit with professionals. The only limitation our dogs have is our pocket book.

In about January, 2003, Samson had a knee injury.  The Vet told us not to exercise for quite a while. Samson didn't do much of anything for about 9 months. You would have thought he would have been a mess, but to my delight he handled his birds just fine. He still has a long way to go and his knee seems strong.

Samson and Sophie made their Broke Dog debut in November at the GSPC of Riverside Field Trial. Sophie caught the eyes of the judges both days, but just couldn't quite get through clean. At the GWP FT, same thing. She looked good, but not quite there. Samson ran once at the RC trial and took a 3rd place in the AGD Stake. He is not quite ready to win and since we got the placement we wanted, we decided to hold back until he is ready to win.

In the advent of this past year, we will evolve with a new healthier attitude. We will have fun and enjoy our dogs today. I doubt if you will see me pushing to get a title every year as I did with Jessie. We will enjoy our dogs and if you do not see us competing, we are having fun elsewhere........

But be Warned:  "Look out for the Wendig Haus Dogs or they will pass you up !"

2004

We also look forward to see some of Orea's & Hunter's other puppies in action.
Laddie Schell, who owns, "I Love Lucy III", Lucy has made grand progress and is just about ready for competition.
Rob Rogers owns, "Roger's Sadie Girl", has recovered from a shoulder injury and will soon be ready for competition.
Pete Schmidt owns, "Wendig Haus's Abby Rose", After a 22 stitch hunting experience and an infection, Abby & Pete are anxious to start competing. Abby consistently stands her birds & honors her bracemate.
Robin Baye owns "Chocolate Chipper JH", and Chipper is already out hunting with Robin.

Sophie, Samson, Lucy, Sadie, Abby, & Chipper are all very nice & exciting.
We look forward to see what they do in their upcoming careers.    

2005

We had a slow start, I did not get them out for any conditioning or training and it was evident.

2005 Year Summary

Both dogs are running well now.  In that last 36 dog OGD stake, Sophie ran just as well as Samson, but unfortunately went birdless. We plan on continuing with our training, we are excited about competing in 2006.