Result: Esmont Field Trial Club of Virginia

Location: Scottsville, Virginia

Post Date: Dec 10, 2025

Submitted By: Tommy Stargell

We held our fall Scottsville trial as usual at the beautiful Greenfield Farm belonging to John Milton. We thank Mr. Milton for his hospitality and his generosity.

The trial took two days, November 21 and 22, to complete. The conditions were cold both days, with rain coming in on Saturday, November 22, and lasting most of the day. The rain caused a morning delay, but we then trudged along and completed the braces with a minimum of trouble.

We would like to thank Purina for their sponsorship. Thank you also to our judges, Steve Mills, Al Dahl, Kirk Regensburg, Pete DelCollo, and Tommy Stargell. Donna McGuire did a terrific job in the kitchen preparing our lunches. Darryl Miller performed bird planting with his ever-forming perfection. Mike Winchester handled the dog wagon with help from Kirk Regensburg. It was a group of many who worked together, and that made for a quality trial.

We started off with eight good derby dogs. Besting the field was Sadie Ridge Rip. He had two broke finds and a back coupled with a strong forward race. Second was Wells Midas Touch, who carded two finds and good movement. Third was Walnut Tree Kay, who had two backs and a fast forward race.

The Amateur All-Age was convincingly won by Rocky River Loaded. He had finds at 54 and 58 and ran a pretty and large race. Second was Dry Creek Ares, who had three finds and a solid race. This dog had, by far, the most outstanding cast of the trial in the airplane field.

We ran the Shooting Dog on Saturday. It was wet and uncomfortable, but it was that way for everyone. The winner was Nomads Change Order, who had four finds and a nice shooting dog race. He pointed at 34 in the airplane field in what could be called the Briar Patch from Hell. Handler Lewis waded in with vigor and gusto. This was not some whimpy halfway effort; this was not some scrawny little bush. The effort was outstanding, and lo and behold, a bird was seen by handler who pointed it out to Judge Dahl, who said, as he should, "Shoot your gun!" This was not an attempt at "something for nothing." It was full-blown how to show a best effort and thus get a proper reward. Second was a really nice dog, Sugarknoll White Lightning. This big ole pretty boy had five finds and was fun to watch.

Gracie's Scout won the Saturday Derby. He carded two finds and a fast-footed race.
We thank everyone for coming and hope you will consider our Purina Points All-Age and Shooting Dog trials in the spring.

We enjoyed having you all.

Scottsville, Va., November 21
Judges: Kirk Regensburg and Tommy Stargell
AMATEUR DERBY - 7 Pointers and 1 Setter
1st-SADIE RIDGE RIP, F1714960, pointer male, by Rocky River Loaded-Sadie Ridge Sally. Grayson Francis, owner and handler.
2d-WELLS MIDAS TOUCH, F1711553, pointer male, by Miller's Upgraded Version-Wells Ray of Gold. Worth Lewis, owner and handler.
3d-WALNUT TREE KAY, F1717435, pointer female, by Walnut Tree Blue-Walnut Tree Betty. Steve Mills, owner and handler.

Judges: Steve Mills and Tommy Stargell
AMATEUR ALL-AGE [One-Hour Heats] - 5 Pointers and 1 Setter
1st-ROCKY RIVER LOADED, F1696572, pointer male, by Broken Halo-Morgan's Mountain Maggie. Grayson Francis, owner and handler.
2d-DRY CREEK ARES, F1696250, pointer male, by Bad News Bob-Dry Creek Ginger Snap. Jeff Smith, owner and handler.

Judges: Al Dahl and Steve Mills
AMATEUR SHOOTING DOG [One-Hour Heats] - 6 Pointers and 2 Setters
1st-NOMADS CHANGE ORDER, F1700670, setter male, by Black Top-Jo Veeta. Worth Lewis, owner and handler.
2d-SUGARKNOLL WHITE LIGHTNING, F1700086, pointer male, by Lester's Shockwave-BK White Rain. Peter & Christine DelCollo, owners; Peter DelCollo, handler.

Judges: Pete DelCollo and Tommy Stargell
AMATEUR DERBY - 2 Pointers and 1 Setter
1st-GRACIE'S SCOUT, F1712367, pointer male, by Miller's Heat Seeker-Powell Mountain Gracie. Gene Hogge, owner and handler.