Result: ABHA National Championship

Location: Berea, Kentucky

Post Date: Dec 10, 2025

Submitted By: Terry Boatright

ABHA National Championship: Ronnie Rogers, Terry Boatright (owner/handler of champion), Greg Isenberg with Tenacee Franklin, Tim Hammons (judge), Rich Meadows (judge), Donna Boatright, Travis Patterson (owner/handler of runner-up), Cliff Monroe with Mohawk Mill Shake Up, and Tony Bingham.

Thursday, November 6, saw the start of ABHA's National Championship hosted by the Tennessee Valley Bird Dog Club on the grounds of the Miller Welch Wildlife Area, Berea, Kentucky.

I want to express my appreciation to our sponsors, Purina Dog Food and AFTCA, for their support and donations to the field trial community. I greatly appreciate Donna Boatright's help; she helped me chair two championships back to back, and I'm sure she did way more work than I did. Brian Stockrahm came down from Indiana to drive the dog wagon. A special thanks goes out to our judges who sat in the saddle for four days of judicial duties. Thank you, Tim Hammons and Rich Meadows. Several others contributed where needed as well. Thank you all.
The first day of the trial started out with what appeared to be the best day of the trial weatherwise, as the weather channel forecasted rain for the rest of the trial. Nice weather wasn't enough for the competitors, challenging scenting conditions left dogs birdless, and a majority of the handlers reaching for their tracking collars' receiver. Handlers began wondering if any birds were even out there to be found. The first day dogs were just not going to the birds and were running off.

The following three days of the trial were just the opposite, scenting conditions changed to favor the dogs, and the rain mostly stayed away. This, coupled with the buildup of birds from the first day, caused many dogs to have one too many birds, resulting in several early pick-ups.

The winner, Tenacee Franklin, a pointer male, emerged from the first brace of the last day. Franklin had five well-dug-up bird finds that were out on the edges. Franklin exhibited excellent dog manners as handler Greg Isenberg went above and beyond during flushing attempts, often crawling around on his hands and knees in thick cover, literally right in front of his dog on point to produce a bird.

Runner-up in this year's championship was Mohawk Mill Shake Up, also a pointer male. Shake Up came out on the second day of running. He pushed the edges and range to the limit of what the judges were looking for, topping it off with a very mannerly find for owner and handler Cliff Monroe.

Due to the low number of entries, the National Derby Classic was cancelled for this year.

Berea, Ky., November 6 - One Course
Judges: Tim Hammons and Rich Meadows
ABHA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 29 Pointers and 13 Setters
Winner-TENACEE FRANKLIN, F1686506, pointer male, by Elhew Moneymaker-Class Act Pretty Penny. Greg Isenberg, owner and handler.
Runner-Up-MOHAWK MILL SHAKE UP, F1698765, pointer male, by Mohawk Mill Trail Warrior-Legendary. Cliff Monroe, owner and handler.

Open Puppy
The Open Puppy saw several really nice puppies running. Topping the field was Boatright's Ruby Red ("Ruby"/ISF), handled by Terry Boatright. Ruby started out running a huge race until about three-quarters of the way through her brace. At that time, she tried to point quail on two separate occasions in a fence roll. After the second quail contact, Ruby decided to stay in the wood line to find more birds and shorten her distance drastically, but it was enough to finish in the top spot.

Second place in the Puppy was "Buster," handled by Travis Patterson. Buster had a big going, mostly forward race to lock up the second-place position.

The third-place puppy was also handled by Travis Patterson. "Susy," a tri-colored setter female, ran a shorter but more consistent race than the first and second place puppies. Susy has shown to be a consistent winner this season, placing several times in different states thus far to start her field trial career.

ABHA OPEN PUPPY - 4 Pointers, 2 Setters, and 1 Irish Setter
1st-BOATRIGHT'S RUBY RED, F1721927, Irish setter female, by S C SIMPLY Irresistable-Keep On Shining. Terry Boatright, owner and handler.
2d-HUBER'S GUT BUSTER, F1717651, pointer male, by I'm Gallant-Huber's Ice Queen. Travis Patterson, owner and handler.
3d-HUBER'S GATLING GIRL, F1720922, setter female, by Boatrights Iron Eagle-Boatright's Texas Tornado. Travis Patterson, owner and handler.

ABHA Open Puppy: Terry Boatright with Boatright's Ruby Red, Brian Stockrahm (judge), Tim Hammons, Travis Patterson with Huber's Gut Buster, Rich Meadows (judge), and Kayleigh Johnson with Huber's Gatling Girl.