Result: Indiantown Gap Bird Dog Club

Location: Petersburg, Pennsylvania

Post Date: May 27, 2026

Submitted By: Ernie Saniga

Keystone Open Shooting Dog Championship: Aidan Tracy with Waybetter Rebel and Mike Tracy with Faithful, joined by participants.

The Indiantown Gap spring trial was run April 6-12, 2026. Four stakes were offered. In order, they were the Keystone Open Shooting Dog Championship, the Keystone Yankee Open Derby Classic, the Indiantown Gap Amateur Shooting Dog Classic, and the Region 2 Amateur Shooting Dog Championship.

Judges were Lane and Darcy Hodges for the open stakes. The Amateur Classic was judged by Darren Boyer and Allen Welch. Bart Hastings and Stacy Goodie rode for the Region 2 Championship. All placements were well received.

Greg Strausbaugh is the field trial chairman, selects the judges, is the ground crew chairman, and bird planter for many of the stakes. He is helped in the latter tasks by Ted Foust. Ted and George Tracy plant the birds in the amateur stakes; Mary Tracy runs the kitchen, and this reporter is the secretary. Retired Penn State Professor Art Hower is the overseer, not a small contribution.

Free dinners and cocktail parties preceded public drawings for all stakes on April 5. Ted Foust and Bill and Muriel Primm funded a dinner in Huntingdon on Wednesday in honor of their 2025 champion, R Q's Saddle. Summerhill Kennels, Karen Saniga, Sheila Cassidy, and R. B. and Brigit Powell provided dinners at the clubhouse. The Powells sang and played music for us one night.

Winner of the Keystone Championship was pointer Waybetter Rebel, owned by Bill and Muriel Primm, Allen Linder and Madison McDonald. The 6-year-old is on quite a roll, having annexed runner-up at The Masters, winner of the Carolina Celebration at the Clarendon Plantation, and winner of the Inez Smith Classic at the Smith Plantation. Four in a row in stiff competition is noteworthy. Here, Mike Tracy showed him running these edges with intelligence, scoring first at 25 across from the sycamores near the old bridge, again at 35 after a big swinging move, and then at 40, 45, and 55, finishing with aplomb. Class on the ground and on game was the icing on the cake.
Runner-up was the Duerksen pointer female, Faithful, also handled by Mike Ttracy. She scored first at 11, then, catching the front, swapped ends together with her bracemate a few minutes later. A big cast at 30 found her nose up with birds in front of her. A stop-and-flush at 40 was followed by finds at 46 and 56, with a strong finish.

Mike Tracy won first and second in the Keystone Yankee Derby Classic with littermate pointers Peek A Bull and Bully Budd. They are owned by this reporter and his wife, Karen. George Tracy was third with Sunset Creek Uptown Girl, owned by Mark and Karen Janiec. All owners rode. Peek A Bull scored four times in a race that was good early, good in the middle, and strong at the end. Ditto for Bully Budd, not quite as wide in the middle, also with four finds adding a stop to flush. Uptown Girl was medium throughout, scoring a find and a divided find in a snappy race. All had high, and finished work on game.
Interestingly, the first two are by the Saniga-Primm pointer, Ch. Bully Rock x Todd Montgomery's Sandspur Belle, while the third dog is by Doug McMillen's Ch. Double Deuce Zeke x the Hughes' R-U Ch. Braggabull, the latter a littermate to Ch. Bully Rock.
Joe Lordi won the Indiantown Gap Amateur Classic with his pointer male, The Secret. Secret was on the string of Jeanette Tracy and was given to Joe to campaign when Jeanette opened a boarding kennel. He is a former Keystone champion. Secret ran a very strong race, stuck like glue to these edges, and notched three good finds handled with high, tight style to win the stake.
Second went to Alex Smith's pointer, Calico's Over The Top. The pointer ran a fine race with a good finish, scored three nice finds, and also had a nonproductive.
Miller's Flowers and Lace was third, handled by Mark Janiec, in a smooth race and polished work on her multiple finds.

The Region 2 Amateur All-Age Championship was won by Chris Catanzarite's pointer, Backcountry Bruiser, coming 10 years old. Chris noted that this is the dog's 10th championship. Here, he ran like a young dog, filling these big edges and spacing six finds with high style and finished manners. A strong finish capped the fine performance. Runner-up went to Miller's Flowers and Lace, the Allen Linder and Madison McDonald pointer female from the George Tracy string. The pretty female was handled by Mark Janiec to a swinging race with five good finds, an unproductive, and a back.

Petersburg, Pa., April 6
Judges: Darcy Hodges and Lane Hodges
KEYSTONE OPEN SHOOTING DOG CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 27 Pointers and 2 Setters
Winner-WAYBETTER REBEL, F1689139, pointer male, by Dominator's Rebel Heir-Calico's Country Strong. Bill & Muriel Primm & Allen Linder, owners; Mike Tracy, handler.
Runner-Up-FAITHFUL, F1684597, pointer female, by Waybetter Rocky-Steel City Karen. Dr. Roger & Susan Duerksen, owners; Mike Tracy, handler.

Keystone Yankee Open Derby Classic: Peek A Bull with Aidan Tracy, Bully Budd with Mike Tracy, and Mark Janiec with Sunset Creek Uptown Girl, joined by participants.

KEYSTONE YANKEE OPEN DERBY CLASSIC - 8 Pointers
1st-PEEK A BULL, F1712607, pointer female, by Bully Rock-Sandspur Belle. Ernie & Karen Saniga, owners; Mike Tracy, handler.
2d-BULLY BUDD, F1712603, pointer male, by Bully Rock-Sandspur Belle. Ernie & Karen Saniga, owners; Mike Tracy, handler.
3d-SUNSET CREEK UPTOWN GIRL, F1713966, pointer female, by Double Deuce Zeke-Braggabull. Mark Janiec, owner; George Tracy, handler.

Keystone Amateur Shooting Dog Classic: Joe Lordi with The Secret, Sheila Cassidy with Calico's Over The Top, and Mark Janiec with Miller's Flowers and Lace, joined by participants.

Judges: Darren Boyer and Allen Welch
INDIANTOWN GAP AMATEUR SHOOTING DOG CLASSIC [One-Hour Heats] - 16 Pointers and 2 German Shorthairs
1st-THE SECRET, F1686192, pointer male, by Waybetter Rocky-Ladywood's Keepsake. Joseph E. Lordi, owner and handler.
2d-CALICO'S OVER THE TOP, F1692315, pointer male, by Dominator's Rebel Heir-Calico's Country Strong. Alex & Tiffani Smith, owners; Alex Smith, handler.
3d-MILLER'S FLOWERS AND LACE, F1696283, pointer female, by Miller's Upgraded Version-Miller's Special Edition. Allen R. Linder, owner; Mark Janiec, handler.

Judges: Stacey Goodie and Bart Hastings
REGION 2 AMATEUR ALL-AGE CHAMPIONSHIP [One-Hour Heats] - 12 Pointers
Winner-BACKCOUNTRY BRUISER, F1672645, pointer male, by Erin's War Creek-Backcountry Tornado. Chris Catanzarite, owner and handler.
Runner-Up-MILLER'S FLOWERS AND LACE, F1696283, pointer female, by Miller's Upgraded Version-Miller's Special Edition. Allen R. Linder, owner; Mark Janiec, handler.

Region 2 All-Age Championship: Chris Catanzarite with the trophy, Allen Welch with Backcountry Bruiser, and Mark Janiec with Miller's Flowers and Lace, joined by participants.