Result: U. S. Complete National Amateur Shooting Dog Championship
Location: East Windsor, Connecticut
Post Date: Feb 3, 2025
Submitted By: Jamie Nee

U. S. Complete National Amateur Shooting Dog Championship (l-r): Bill Bonnetti (chairman), Jason Williams, Gregor McCluskey with Braeval Rory, Jamie Nee (judge), John Olfson (judge), Doug Dix, Brian Dix with Lightning Flash Remington, Rich Warters, Bob Arkley, and Amilcar Pereira with his grandson.
The U. S. Complete held its National Amateur Walking Shooting Dog Championship November 16-17, 2024, at the Dr. John Flaherty Field Trial Area in East Windsor, Connecticut.
These grounds are infamously known as "Pelton's Pasture" to some old-time New England field trialers, including your scribe.
Our trial was successfully held after a spring cancellation due to several days of torrential rain and flooding on our grounds. It was deemed unsafe for the dogs, horses, and participants. The decision was made wisely. We moved the championship trial to this fall.
Luckily, this time, Mother Nature cooperated with us for the entire weekend. It got a little warm late morning on the second day. Nevertheless, it was great weather for the entire trial.
At the leadership helm, Field Trial Chairman Bill Bonnetti executed a well-run and organized trial that allowed us to see premiere walking dogs on wide open grounds in the late fall. These grounds allow for a running dog to reach out at times.
Along Bill's side is his partner, Jayne Fogarty, who saw to the many details of the kitchen and clubhouse arrangements. Jayne is the most gracious host, offering all participants and attendees breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Jayne is and was always omnipresent in the clubhouse, making everyone feel comfortable. Jayne is always offering food and beverages. Jayne, in her own humble way, demonstrates quality support and leadership skills. Bill and Jayne make a great team.
We had liberated quail for the weekend. However, several dogs had connections with pheasants that the State stocks during the fall hunting season on these grounds.
Judges for the event were John Olson of West Hartford, Connecticut, and Jamie Nee of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
John is a constant and iconic judicial presence in many New England trials. These include walking and horseback, as well as many wild bird trials. John is extremely knowledgeable and knows what it takes to place dogs in the aforementioned types of trials. John also graciously provided horses for our trial.
Your scribe, the other judge, has been involved in walking field trials for close to 30 years. These were mainly in New England until the last 10 years or so, reaching out to the Eastern part of our country and down South for walking and horseback trials.
OUR WINNERS AND OTHERS
Braeval Rory, an Irish Setter male, appeared in the third brace with handler and owner Gregor McCluskey. "Rory," as this nice Setter male is called, set the tone and standard early on for the rest of the trial. Rory scored five well-timed finds and a back. Each find had exceptional polished manners. Rory's ground race was very strong, making huge casts to the front. Several times, we found him standing where you would want to see him on point after a warranted absence. Rory also ran the perimeters of some large fields where one would want to see a running dog do exactly that. Rory finished very strong well into the old Dearborn area. Rory's strong finish would be an eventual determining factor in naming him the ultimate champion. Rory has an exciting future ahead for himself and Gregor.
Our runner-up champion, Lightning Flash Remington, ran in the fifth brace. This was the last brace of the first day's running. Remington scored four finds for young handler and owner Brian Dix from Vermont. The third find was a nice limb find on Fox Hill, but well within an acceptable distance from the course. It took the handler, the judges, and the gallery some time to get there after point was called. Once the bird was produced and all was in order, Remington went on to have one more find near the power lines before the Dearborn area. The last two finds were not our typical bird locations. That said, the last two finds were where other dogs did not have finds during the two days of running. Remington also had a strong finish. I have had the opportunity to see Remington run before. He's always a threat and consistently gets into the winners' circle.
Cape Point Hidden Jewel, an exciting 6-year-old English Pointer female, ran in the sixth brace. This brace ended up being the first brace of the second day. "Jade," as she's affectionately called, received a formal Honorable Mention. Jade ran a proud and well-executed hour for co-owner and handler Bill Bonnetti. Bill owns Jade with his brother Brad. As previously mentioned, Bill is our esteemed field trial chairman for this championship event. Jade had a very nice race that included and resulted in four pretty finds. It was an exciting hour to watch. On any other day, she would have changed things. Jade ran a championship-caliber race.
In full disclosure, as one of the judges, our eventual decision between these three dogs required much discussion and debate between John and myself.
We had to get surgical with our judicial responsibilities and break down each of the three aforementioned dogs' performances, segment by segment, to reach our eventual and challenging decision. This sometimes can be a challenge for any judge but also adds to the quality and caliber of the dogs that ran. These three dogs made the stake itself worthy of the championship title it offers.
Other dogs of note were Richfield Roxy and Great River Bella, who both made the hour, drove hard, and looked fancy doing it. However, they didn't fare as well as the three dogs above for a few reasons.
Finally, the U. S. Complete Association would like to thank our loyal and faithful sponsors, Purina and Garmin. Their continual support makes our trials possible and successful.
East Windsor, Conn., November 16 - One Course
Judges: Jamie Nee and John Olfson
U. S. COMPLETE NATIONAL AMATEUR SHOOTING DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 16 Entries
Winner-BRAEVAL RORY, F1700621, Irish setter male, by Braeval Ghillie-Braeval Skye. Gregor McCluskey & Braeval Kennels, owners; Gregor McCluskey, handler.
Runner-Up-LIGHTNING FLASH REMINGTON, F1687367, setter male, by Denco's Crockett Again-Arctic Tundra Bird Dog. Doug Dix, owner; Brian Dix, handler.