Result: Six Runs Field Trial Club

Location: Rose Hill, North Carolina

Post Date: Apr 8, 2026

Submitted By: Al Fazenbaker

Open Puppy: Adam Dubriske, Nick Mellon (judge), Steve Stuart (judge), Dave Theroux with Gail Force Wind, Russ Fazio with Hitail Perfect Storm, Al Fazenbaker and Charlie Howard with Conneaut Creek Colleen, and Hunter Dubriske.

Although many of the details of the history of Six Runs Plantation are lost to the past, it is nearly certain that the land was utilized in the early days of the country as a source of naval stores. The region was covered by longleaf pine, which, when burned in earthen kilns, produced a tar highly prized by shipbuilders of the time. That, along with other naval stores such as turpentine and pitch, quickly turned the Cape Fear River basin into a boon for those willing to work in this trade. The grounds in which the Six Runs Field Trial Club runs were, at one time, a large plantation of thousands of acres. Years of harvesting the longleaf pine and the introduction of iron-clad ships eventually doomed the naval stores trade, and many of the boom towns so vibrant in the day are now ghost towns. The land on which the Six Runs Field Trial Club is run is owned by Steve and Cathy Howard, direct descendants of the original settlers of the region. Several of Steve's ancestors, including his grandparents David and Roswell Register, are buried on the property. These grounds are surrounded on three sides by the Black River and one of its tributaries, Spearman's Mill Creek, which is formed just north of the property by the confluence of Six Runs Creek and the Great Coharie Creek. These waters, which run to the Cape Fear River and on to the city of Wilmington on the Atlantic Ocean, transported thousands of barrels of naval stores prior to the Civil War. After the war, much of the property was utilized by the family for subsistence farming. Steve Howard, along with his son Carl and his grandsons Charlie and Tripp, who are avid bird hunters, found the property by mere coincidence and were shocked and overjoyed to find that this property, the land of their ancestors, was being offered for sale. Steve purchased the property from Red Setter Hall of Famer Joe Edwards, a veteran field trialer of Red setters, who had owned the property for nearly 40 years and had worked tirelessly to groom the place into a high-quality bird hunting and dog training grounds. In Steve Howard's hands, that process is continuing, as is the continuance of bird dog field trials.

The Six Run Field Trial Club conducted its running of the annual spring trial from February 27 to March 1, 2026. On behalf of the American Red Setter Bird Dog Club and its officers (sponsors of the trial), I want to extend a note of thanks to new owners Steven Howard, his wife Cathy, sons Carl and Phillip, and grandsons Tripp, Charlie and Parker Howard, who have offered these exceptional grounds, groomed for quail and quail hunting, to the field trial community. Six Runs Farms, now called the H3 Farm, is an outstanding venue for running bird dogs. The grounds, a mixture of piney woods, warm-season grasses, hardwood thickets, and cropland, are ideal for propagating and holding coveys of quail. Virtually every brace in this trial had multiple pieces of bird work. Our sport would not be what it is today without the generosity of people like the Howard family. Thank you so much for promoting this sport that gives us such great bird dogs!

We want to thank our sponsor, Cargill Industries, maker of Black Gold Dog Food (https://blackgoldpet.com/), a premium feed for superior performance. If you are looking for a high-quality feed for your performance animal, consider Black Gold. Special thanks to Cargill Rep James Costin, who spent the day at our trial and watched the dogs perform on these grounds.

Also, a huge thank you to the U. S. Complete Shooting Dog Association (https://www.uscsda.org/ for their support, as well as Purina Products (https://www.purina.com/pro-plan) for supplying coupons for the winners. U. S. Complete and Purina are two of the backbones of walking trials in the United States, and we look to them for sponsorship of our sport. Thank you for your continuing support!

Regardless of your level of participation at this event, you will not go away hungry at Six Runs! A huge shout-out to Cathy Howard and Deb Fazenbaker, who made sure that everyone was well-fed through the weekend. Cathy cooked up a lunch of pulled pork with all the trimmings, and Deb set a table of homemade lasagna with all the required sides. Thanks for the many hours of work involved in keeping everyone fed.

Last, but not least, a big thank you to our judges, who spent long hours in the saddle to ensure a fair and impartial judgment of all the entries. Mike Harryman, Andy Weik, Nick Mellon, John Outlaw, and Steve Steuart took the time and effort to provide a critical evaluation of the entries, and we are grateful for their work.

We also wanted to note that one of our most stalwart supporters of this trial and field trials in general is in our thoughts and prayers. Rev. Andrew Brown of Garland, North Carolina, has had recent health issues and, unfortunately, was unable to attend our trial. We wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him again at our next event.

The Open Puppy had a very nice entry of 12 dogs, and the judges noted that this was a quality group of young dogs, boding well for the future of our sport! Taking the blue was Gale Force Wind, handled by David Theroux. Russ Fazio handled his nicely moving setter, Hitail Perfect Storm, to a second-place spot, and rounding out the placements was Charlie Howard, 12-year-old grandson of Steve and Cathy Howard, who handled this reporter's Red setter, Conneaut Creek Colleen, to a third-place finish. This was Charlie's first field trial, but I suspect it won't be his last!

The Open Derby was handily won by Howards Last Stand ("Gauge"), the most loved dog of Steve and Cathy Howard, and handled by their 14-year-old grandson, Tripp. This was, like his younger brother, Tripp's first field trial, and he handled his charge with the expertise that comes from experience gained quail hunting with his dad and granddad. Robert Smith garnered the second-place spot with his nice going female, Stump Hill Farms Salty Jewel, and Russ Fazio finished up the placements with a nice run with Hitail Rolling Dixie.

Winning the hotly contested Open Shooting Dog was Hitail Roxy Afield, handled by Russ Fazio. Roxy put on a show with wide and forward casts and perfect bird work to take the coveted blue. Mia Star grabbed the No. 2 spot for handler Steve McKalko, and CC Irresistable Rufus, handled by this reporter, finished up the placements with a third.

Russ Fazio's Hitail Rolling Dixie continued her winning ways, taking first place in the Amateur Derby. The red setter veteran Joe Edward garnered second place with his Red setter, Come Back Barron. Howards Last Stand stayed in the game, taking the third-place spot, handled by the now veteran handler Tripp Howard.

The Virginia contingent swept the one-hour Amateur stake, with Mohawk Mill Charmer scoring the top spot for handler Ashby Morgan. Lee Flanders took second place with Chippokes Cracker Jack, and Ashby came back with Mohawk Mill Big Stuff to take the No. 3 spot.

We hope you will plan to attend the 2027 renewal of our trial at H3 Farms next year.

Rose Hill, N. C., February 27
Judges: Nick Mellow and Steve Stuart
OPEN PUPPY - 1 Pointers, 5 Setters, and 6 Irish Setters
1st-GALE FORCE WIND, F1723241, setter female, by Super Storm Cliff-North Country Shooting Star. David Theroux, owner and handler.
2d-HITAIL PERFECT STORM, F1720599, setter female, by Dun Rovens Zip-Castle Rock's Autumn Breeze. Russ Fazio, owner and handler.
3d-CONNEAUT CREEK COLLEEN, F1721926, Irish setter female, by S C Simply Irresistable-Keep On Shining. Allen Fazenbaker, owner; Charlie Howard, handler.

Open Derby: Mike Harryman (judge), Tripp Howard, with Howards Last Stand, Robert Smith with Stump Hill Farms Salty Jewel, Andy Weik (judge), and Russ Fazio with Hitail Rolling Roxie.

Judges: Mike Harryman and Andrew Weik
OPEN DERBY - 4 Pointers, 1 Brittany, 3 Irish Setters, and 1 German Shorthair
1st-HOWARDS LAST STAND, F1719646, setter male, by Dryfork Mac I'mbringinit Back-Class Act Tomoka Rose. Steve Howard, owner; Tripp Howard, handler.
2d-STUMP HILL FARMS SALTY JEWEL, F1722218, pointer female, by Harbor City Express-Harbor City Bell. Daniel Bell, owner and handler.
3d-HITAIL ROLLING DIXIE, F1714644, by Hifives Rolling Stone-Speed Dialing Kaia. Russ Fazio, owner and handler.

Open Shooting Dog: Russ Fazio with Hitail Roxy Afield, Nick Mellon (judge), Steve McKalko with Mia Star, John Outlaw (judge), and Al Fazenbaker with CC Irresistable Rufus.

Judges: Nick Mellow and John Outlaw
OPEN SHOOTING DOG - 2 Pointers, 6 Setters, 1 Brittany, 5 Irish Setters, and 1 German Shorthair
1st-HITAIL ROXY AFIELD, F1705101, setter female, by Dun Rovens Zip-Castle Rock's Autumn Freeze. Russ Fazio, owner and handler.
2d-MIA STAR, F1702751, setter female, by Windstar-Hometown Queen. George Najor, owner; Steve McKalko, handler.
3d-CC IRRESISTABLE RUFUS, F1705229, Irish setter male, by S C Simply Irresistable-Cut Loose. Deborah Fazenbaker, owner; Al Fazenbaker, handler.

Amateur Derby: Mike Harryman (judge), Russ Fazio with Hitail Rolling Roxie, Joe Edwards with Come Back Barron, John Outlaw (judge), and Tripp Howard with Howards Last Stand.

Judges: Mike Harryman and John Outlaw
AMATEUR DERBY -
1st-HITAIL ROLLING DIXIE, F1714644, setter female, by Hifives Rolling Stone-Speed Dialing Kaia. Russ Fazio, owner and handler.
2d-COME BACK BARRON, PL024410, Irish setter male, by Come Back Trump-Class Act Tomoka Rose. Joe Edwards, owner; Tripp Howard, handler.
3d-HOWARDS LAST STAND, F1719646, setter male, by Dryfork Mac I'mbringinit Back-Class Act Tomoka Rose. Steve Howard, owner; Tripp Howard, handler.

Joe Allen Edwards Amateur Shooting Dog Classic: Al Fazenbaker (chairman), Ashby Morgan with Mohawk Mill Charmer, John Outlaw (judge), Lee Flanders with Chippokes Cracker Jack, Steve with Mohawk Mill Big Stuff, and Mike Harryman (judge).

JOE ALLEN EDWARDS AMATEUR SHOOTING DOG CLASSIC [One-Hour Heats] - 3 Pointers, 4 Setters, and 1 Irish Setter
1st-MOHAWK MILL CHARMER, F1682716, setter female, by Mohawk Mill Lucky Charm-Fort River Jackie. Ashby Morgan, owner and handler.
2d-CHIPPOKES CRACKER JACK, F1691321, setter male, by Skyview New Edition-Grid Iron's Sorrell's Penny. Lee S. Flanders, owner and handler.
3d-MOHAWK MILL BIG STUFF, F1691821, pointer male, by Mohawk Mill Trail Warrior-Hirollins Fantasy Girl. Ashby Morgan, owner and handler.

The Howard Family: Steve Howard, Cathy Howard, Charlie Howard, Carl Howard, Tripp Howard, Parker Howard, and Phillip Howard.

Steve and Kathy Howard.