Al started training Retrievers professionally with his father in 1996 and has found a home at Sandhill Kennel, which his father started in 1974. Al has run every national since 2001, and in 2005, he had seven dogs that qualified (the second most qualified in the U.S.). Since he joined Sandhill Kennel, the kennel has produced 16 field champions and 37 dogs on the National Derby List. Another claim to fame? Al and his father are the only father and son team to win opens in the same weekend.

Bart has owned and operated Bar Ten Kennel for 12 years. During that time our client’s dogs have qualified for the National Open and the National Amateur Retriever Championships, finished FC and AFC titles along with numerous qualified all age and derby list dogs. Top of the line performance requires top of the line nutrition, which is why we feed Eukanuba exclusively.

Buck has been training retrievers professionally for over 25 years. His kennel is known as Swift River Retrievers LLP, and is located in north central Massachusetts. He has titled 50+ Master Hunters and continues to run many AKC Master Hunt Tests each year. Buck has attended and run dogs in most of the Master Nationals since the beginning of that event in 1991. He also has several QAA dogs and many Qualifying JAM’s and placements to his credit. Buck not only trains retrievers, but is also known for his “train the trainer” classes. He has helped many of his clients train their dogs to compete successfully at the MH and QAA levels. He also holds workshops throughout the summer that help his students make the jump to upper level AKC Hunt Test and Field Trials. You can get more information on Buck by visiting his website www.swiftriverretrievers.com

Chris and his wife Natalie, along with their two sons Cayden and Cooper, own and operate Flatlander Kennels in Western, Nebraska. They are a full-time Retriever training facility that specializes in training Retrievers for hunt tests and the SRS. They run numerous HRC and AKC hunt tests along with the Super Retriever Series. Chris' training career started in 1990. His first love was field-bred Springer Spaniels, which he trained to master hunters and did some field trialing. He still owns a Springer to this day. In 2000, he turned pro and opened Flatlander Kennels in the heart of waterfowl country. Since then Flatlander Kennels has trained numerous GRHRCHs and MHs, along with being very competitive in the SRS. The accomplishment Chris and Natalie are most proud of is Flatlander Kennels' hunt test pass rate. Passing over 90% of the hunt tests that they enter!

A retired senior analyst, C.W. Bud Moore has field trialed bird dogs for over 50 years and won over 500 placements. He has finished several AKC Champions, and FDSB Champions and won over a dozen dog of the year awards. Bud has also judged over two dozen major championships and many qualifying trials. He is the secretary and treasurer for the Kansas Field Trial Clubs Association. He also hosts the Sunflower Open All Age Championship, a National Championship qualifier. Bud has mentored many young people who are now winning trials, and currently operates The Mountain Man Kennels, with 10 winning Pointers at present.

Chad Smith Birddogs, Tucson, Arizona. Chad has been training pointing dogs professionally for over 15 years. Focus is on gun dogs for the foot hunter. He has trained over 150 English Pointers and Setters for multiple clients throughout the United States. Chad considers his biggest achievement the satisfaction he receives from the dog's owner when he returns the animal.

Dan Heard began training Retrievers in South Louisiana. over 20 years ago as an amateur, titling multiple dogs in AKC hunt tests and HRC hunt tests. He qualified both of his dogs for four Master Nationals, competing and passing in two nationals for their National Master Hunter Titles. He then moved on to field trials where he began to train for Derbies and Qualifying stakes. Two years later he was the proud co-owner, trainer and handler of the 2004 National Derby Champion now known as FC AFC Taylorlab Downtown Dusty Brown, and a 2008 National Amateur Finalist. Dan currently resides in Raytown, Missouri where he and his wife now train dogs professionally.

Growing up with wild quail just a few hundred yards from his front door in Texas, Dan began hunting and competing with his English pointers as a teenager. Some 40 years later, his passion for breeding and training top quality bird dogs has never faltered. Dan and his wife, Glenda, own and operate Phantom Kennels (www.phantomkennels.com) located right in the center of Texas in Abilene. Over the years they have become one of the largest and most successful breeders of English Pointers in the United States. This breeding program has produced many field trial winners, field trial champions, and top notch shooting dogs for the most discriminating hunters. Dan is a full-time professional trainer, training all pointing and retrieving breeds. He trains year round in Texas and moves to South Dakota for his summer training program in August and September.

Dan started training his own dogs for hunting and hunt tests in 1980. Success in Field Trails and Hunt Tests followed and Dan became a full time pro trainer and started Marks a Lot Kennels in 1990. He has earned over 100 AKC Master hunter titles, 12 of which were received before the dogs were 2 years old. Dan has qualified over 60 dogs for the Master Nationals since 2000 and has placed 2 dogs in the Hall of Fame. Dan’s philosophy is to teach, teach, teach, then correct. Dan trains both gun dogs and competition Hunt Test dogs, they are all athletes and Dan has been feeding Eukanuba so they perform at peak performance. Marks a Lot Kennels is located 560 miles from Dallas/ Ft. Worth, TX.

Dale is the owner and operator of Red Label Kennels. Dale has been training dogs for 19 years. He started out by training pointing breeds and then later switched to Labrador Retrievers. Red Label Kennels was started in 2001 and by 2005 Dale turned pro. He and his wife Becky have two daughters; Ashley is a junior in high school and Emily is married with a new baby, Carson. Dale has titled many dogs in major stakes from Master Hunters to Hunting Retriever Champions. What started as a hobby, eventually turned into a lifestyle for Dale and his family.

I began my career back in 1984 working for Ed Minoggie at Minoggie Kennels. The kennel is located on Sauvie Island which is about a 20 minute drive from downtown Portland, OR. Little did I know, what started out as a job would turn into a lifetime career. I bought Ed out in 1996 and haven’t looked back since. I began running AKC hunt tests when they started up out west in the 90’s. I ran my first Master National in Butte, MT in 1997. Since then I have participated at every Master National. I have qualified the dogs I have handled over 50 times. I am particularly proud of the 12 dogs I have placed in the Master National Hall of Fame. With a favorable vote from the AKC board of directors these 12 dogs will soon be granted a Master National Hunter title. I have been very fortunate to have trained and handled some incredible dogs over the years. One dog in particular stands out. His name is Fr. Jim’s Rebel Yell MH. “Judah” has qualified at 6 consecutive Master Nationals. Minoggie Kennels is a boarding and training facility. We offer everything from basic boarding to obedience and/or gun dog training to hunt test training and handling. We also raise 2 to 3 litters of Labradors and occasionally of Golden Retrievers each year. None of my successes or my ability to be able to travel the country in search of the “pewter plate” would be possible with out the help and support of my wife, Kim. She is what makes Minoggie Kennels “home” to a lot of dogs. For more info please visit our website at: www.minoggiekennels.com

I am the owner and operator of Gold Leaf Retrievers in Newton Grove, N.C. I have been training Retrievers since 1996. The first Retriever that I ran in a hunt test attained the title of GRHRCH and MH. I mainly train and run AKC hunt tests, however, I have put Derby points and QAA titles on a few dogs. I have fed Eukanuba for the past few years and I am really sold on its performance level.

I grew up hunting all types of game and birds. I began training my own upland pointing dogs 30 years ago as a hobby. Then in 1995, my wife and I bought the first of our quality Labrador Retrievers - "Taz" and I made the switch to water dogs. I read all the materials I could find, watched all the known retriever training videos, took all the classes available, and worked with several professional retriever trainers around the country to learn as many techniques, styles and tips as possible. Little did we know that Taz would change our lives forever!.

We fell in love with the breed and intended to begin a breeding program. Realizing this would take many years of preparation and planning and plenty of land, we made an investment of a small 25 acre "farmette" in western Maryland. At the time, I was still working with my brother in our very large rebar construction company. After building our breeding pack and campaigning our own dogs earning national qualifications, many of our puppy buyers asked me to train their dogs. Clearly my passion, I decided to leave our construction business and become professional in 2001. Focusing early in the Hunt Test arena, I am proud to have qualified several Master National dogs, even earning a 3X "Hall of Fame" in 2008.

Visit my website at: www.walkerbranchretrievers.com

In December of 2001, George Shaw opened Stony Point Kennels for business, offering general pet boarding and Retriever training. They are located in Shenandoah, Iowa, which is in the very southwest portion of the state. One achievement that he is very proud of is not losing focus of the fact that "every dog counts." Many trainers push for winning trials or qualifying for a national, and in the process "wash out" dogs that don't live up to those high standards. There are probably less than 2,000 Retrievers that qualify each year for national events offered by the different organizations. But the way George sees it, AKC alone registers around 200,000 Labradors each year. He wants to give the same effort to the weekend hunter who just wants a hunting dog. Years after the fact, he gets emails, cards and photos from owners who are bragging on their successful season. George feels Eukanuba is the best food he can feed, period. He strongly encourages his clients to keep with Eukanuba when they are feeding at home.

As an Amateur field trial trainer Jimmie has been training dogs for 11years in southeast Missouri.His accomplishments include Three FC-AFC ,Qualifying for 10 National Amateurs with Three different dogs and Qualifying for Two National Open.Plus Jimmie was a National Amateur Finalist in 2006 in Klamath Falls,Oregon an in 2009 in Virginia, Minnesota. www.wildwingsretrievers.net

Jim's dog interest is focused on AKC Retriever field trials where he has qualified 12 dogs for the National Amateur Retriever Championship and been a finalist with three of them. He has won a Double Header and owned five titled dogs (AFC/FC). He has judged the National Amateur plus about 90 other field trials. Last year, Jim competed in the Canadian National. He is very active in Retriever field trials and well-known across North America.

Justin Tackett grew up in southwest Arkansas with Retrievers. His dad ran competitive Retrievers and Justin started his career as a kennel boy and bird thrower at the ripe old age of 10. He ran his first All Age stake in 1985 at 16 years old; he also began his career as a waterfowl guide that same year.
After attending the University of Arkansas Justin went west with his yellow Labrador, Lucy, where he spent his summer as a fly-fishing guide in Montana, the fall as an Elk and Mule Deer guide in Idaho. But, he always spent his winters in Arkansas guiding hunters up and down the White River corridor in Arkansas.
It was during a fly-casting competition in Denver, Colorado, in 1995 that he was interviewed by an ESPN production team. That interview got Justin his start in television. Not long after that Justin headed up the team that created both the ESPN Great Outdoor Games Retriever events and the ESPN Fly Fishing Challenge. That Retriever event would later become the world’s most popular sporting dog competition, the Super Retriever Series, now in its 10th year on the Versus network. In 2002 Justin and his yellow Labrador Yella also became the host of Duck's Unlimited Water Dog, now in its 8th season and also airing on Versus. Justin and Yella are currently working toward her AKC trial titles after completing her HRC/UKC Grand Title. Justin and Yella continue to guide hunters every autumn from South Dakota to Arkansas.

While growing up in N/W PA Ken Blackman’s dad bred, raised, trained, hunted and competed with Labrador Retrievers. After college, a career in Technology Consulting took him worldwide. With an early retirement in the late 90’s, Ken and his wife Sue moved to rural Fayette County, near Grand Junction, Tennessee, home of the Ames Plantation which, annually since 1878 has hosted the National Bird Dog Championship. In addition to operating a small boarding kennel he also breeds, raises, trains, hunts and competes with Brittanys, Pointers and Labrador Retrievers. As an amateur, he’s titled his “Wolf River” dogs in AKC, UKC, American Field and AFTCA. He belongs to and has been an officer in a number of Field Trial Clubs in SW Tennessee and does volunteer work at the Bird Dog Hall of Fame. He judges both pointing dog Field Trials and Retriever Hunt Tests. But a large part of his time is spent helping Sue find homes for Brittanys found abandoned and surrendered in shelters Sue’s work with several rescue organizations since 2001, contributes annually placing over 600 Brittanys in new homes through a network of volunteer coordinators, nationwide.

Ken Neil purchased his first field trial puppy in November 1999. Her name was Good Idea's Whoa Nellie and she was 49 days old. This month she will be nine years young! Ken's biggest achievement in the sport would have to be winning two national championships in one year with two different dogs: 2007 NAFC FC Good Idea's Whoa Nellie and 2007 NFC AFC Candlewood's Something Royal "Windy."

I was born in California in 1966 into a dog family. My mother got her first field trial dog when I was four years old. Throwing birds was always a part of my life, however I didn't start running dogs until after college. (B.S. University of Northern Colorado).

My first trial dog was a hand-me-down from my Mom. Hawk and Mom didn't see eye to eye on things so I was lucky enough to run him. The first trial I ran was the Open at Idaho Retriever Club, dropped on the water blind. By the end of that year Hawk was a Field Champion and we ran seven series in the 1989 National Open. All this before I ever ran a Derby, Qualifying or a hunt test. This dog opened my eyes to my future.

In 1990 I moved to Oregon to begin working for Jerry Patopea. While there, I did anything to learn more about training Retrievers. Jerry had a great crew of dogs then (FC AFC Aces High II, FC AFC Circuit Madam, FC AFC Midnight Code Breaker, FC AFC Westwinds Mighty Mo among others). During my time with Jerry, he won the high point open award twice and had 15 National finalists. This got me fired up to do the same thing.

In 1994 I started my own business in Colorado. I arrived with one paying dog. Within the first year my truck was full. In 1996 I was lucky enough to finish my first National as a pro with FC AFC St. Croix Pelican. Since then I have had 50+ Open wins, successfully trained 18 Field Champions, made numerous Qualified All Age dogs and have had many dogs on the Derby list. My clients have also been very successful with 50+ Amateur wins. We have qualified for many Nationals, with six finalists. (FC AFC St. Croix Pelican, FC AFC Teal McKenzie II MH, FC AFC Tartan Prime Time, FC AFC Mizpah Miss-both National Open and two-time National Amateur)

Luann Pleasant purchased her first Retriever about 20 years ago. When this dog was about three years old, she began helping and training other people's dogs for field trials and Hunt Tests. She has brought seven dogs to their Field Championship titles along with at least 30 Master Hunter titles. They have qualified for and ran six Open Nationals and three Master Nationals, one of which she took eight dogs and eight dogs went to the last series and qualified. At a recent Trial she won the Open and qualified the dog for the 2008 Open National, won the qualifying, which qualified the dog All Age, and won the Derby, putting a total of 20 points on the dog. What a great weekend!

Lance Vines started training dogs in 1997, after his wife surprised him with a Golden Retriever puppy that she had bought from a pet store. Shortly after, he bought his first registered Labrador. He then started competing in hunt tests, which turned his passion of training into a career. He now owns and operates Duck Band Retrievers, in Jonesboro, Arkansas, where he has trained numerous HRCH and MH level Retrievers, including the second-youngest male Chesapeake Bay Retriever Master Hunter in history. Lance also competes in the Super Retriever Series, and has recently begun competing in AKC field trials.
Visit his training facility at: www.duckbandretrievers.com.

Mike Berube, Owner/Operator of Long Pond Kennel & Guide Service, has been training full time professionally since 2001. Prior to 2001, was a full-time guide/trainer at a shooting/hunting preserve. Berube runs a string of 16 dogs with an emphasis on gun dog training and AKC hunt tests. He resides in Northern New England (Cornish, Maine), but also conducts winter training in southern Georgia (January-April).

Berube performs limited breeding of Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and Labrador Retrievers. His Long Pond dogs have been featured in advertisements for Eukanuba, Bayer Advantix and AKC.

His biggest achievements/accomplishments have been qualifying dogs to run at the Master National every year since 2002. He has entered and qualified dogs at every Master National event entered in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008 and achieved MNHOF title on God's Speed Thunder Struck.

On training he believes, "Personally, the best feeling as a trainer comes when I return a dog to a client knowing they have a well-trained dog suitable to hunt in any area of the country."

After trying a number of different major brands, he has fed Eukanuba exclusively since 1995.

Mark Fulmer of Sarahsetter Kennels offers training for the discriminating sportsman or dog owner. For 16 years, Sarahsetter has consistently provided high-quality gentle training for pointing dogs, upland Retrievers and flushing dogs. Mark specializes in the early development of the Setters that he sells as puppies.

Visit Sarahsetter Kennels.

Mark’s passion for retrievers started when he was seven years old. Duck hunting and competitive duck calling had always been a passion with his family. Mark thought the ultimate fulfillment of the hunt, would be to have a great dog to retrieve ducks that they just couldn't get to.

One of Mark’s notable accomplishments was early in his career (early 1980’s) when he was named the Louisiana State Duck Calling Champion for three straight years. He also competed in the World Championships of Duck Calling that final year, and placed 6th. Soon after that, Mark took up dog training in his spare time.

Mark trained his first dog at the age of 19 while working as a machinist. The only thing he could think about while working was training dogs. When business became slow, he became dispensable and decided to move out West to California.

This is where he met the Late Great REX CARR. Mark found Rex’s knowledge to be a bit overwhelming, but the experience was second to none. Mark still feels today that Rex’s spirit is behind him while training and running dogs. This is why he believes he has become a solid dog trainer.

Mark then decided to move back to Louisiana in 1985, where he found work in a machine shop, to make ends meet, while training dogs part time. Shortly thereafter, he quit machining altogether and started training dogs full time in May of 1986.

Since 1986, Mark has produced 35 Field / Amateur Field Champions and has had a High point Derby dog. Mark has achieved Three National Open Finalists, and helped produce two Amateur National Finalists, not to mention thousands of quality hunting dogs to his credit. Mark does all of his own training and lives by the slogan, “From Fetch to FC”.

South Lake Kennels is located in Laplace, La. and trains in South Dakota in the summer. Please visit his website at www.southlakekennel.com.

Since 1979, Pete Fischer has been raising and training Retrievers for the field. His business, Fischer's Kennels & Hunt Club Inc. near Albany, Minnesota, has established a reputation as one of the Midwest's premier gun dog training kennels. Pete and his dogs have been featured on TV programs that have aired on numerous outdoor shows in the Midwest. His current demonstration dog is Rex, a male black Labrador. Rex attained his AKC Master Hunter title at just 25 months of age and was one of the youngest dogs qualified for the 2001 Master National.

A retired Oklahoma firefighter, Randy Anderson has been involved in the competitive pointing dog world for over 25 years. He started his career as a successful amateur bird dog trainer, handler and breeder, and then starting in 1999, Randy became a professional bird dog trainer and handler. He has since won several major circuit All-Age Championships and awards. His awards include the 2003 Quail Championship Invitational, the prestigious Joe Hurdel Award and nine dog of the year awards. Randy has had derbies on the Top 12 derby list the past seven years. He owns and operates Crosscountry Kennels LLC in Vinita, Oklahoma. The Kennel provides all types of sporting dog training and services.

Rody began his life with retrievers as he was growing up on a small farm in Central Texas where he enjoyed dove hunting with his Dad and favorite black lab, “Bear”. His passion for waterfowl hunting began while attending college at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. After completing his Bachelor’s Degree in Wildlife and Fisheries and a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Education in 2002, Rody went to work for Triple Crown Dog Academy near Austin. Rody worked at Triple Crown Retrievers for four years as the Director of Sporting Dogs, and became a certified professional trainer and behavioral specialist. In the summer of 2006, Rody left Triple Crown and relocated to a beautiful 21 acre property in Paige, Texas and “Best Retrievers” was born. Rody actively competes in AKC hunt tests and field trials, HRC hunt tests and the Grand, and the Super Retriever Series. Rody has trained numerous Grand Hunting Retriever Champions, Master Hunters, and has qualified for the SRS Crown Championship three different years. He feeds Eukanuba and believes it is a major contribution to his success.

At 16, R.J. became a professional bird dog trainer, and by 18, he had earned his first field championship. At 19, he became the youngest person ever to win the National Canadian Chukkar Championship. Nearly 20 years later, R.J. is still training and field trailing pointing dogs at his Quicksilver Kennels in Moses Lake, Washington. R.J. has won more than 60 AKC, CKC and AF Championships. One of his most amazing feats is R.J.'s record of winning with eight different breeds of pointing dogs – Gordon Setters, English Setters, Irish Setters, English Pointers, German Wirehaired Pointers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Vizsla and Brittanys. He received the English Setter of the Year title for three straight years.

Robert Milner, a retired Air Force Reserve LtCol, is a Retriever trainer and breeder of many years experience. He founded Wildrose Kennels in 1972 and brought it to the forefront of the breeding and training of British Labrador gundogs. He worked several years for the Memphis Fire Department structuring a world-class Urban Search and Rescue Dog and Handler training program for their FEMA USAR Task Force. He also served several years as program manager for the task force and made numerous deployments with them. He is author of Retriever Training for the Duck Hunter (1984) and Retriever Training – A Back to Basics Approach (2000), as well as being a past Retriever columnist for Ducks Unlimited magazine. He has judged field trials and hunt tests in both the U.S. and the U.K. He currently owns Duckhill Kennels and is breeding and training British Labrador Gundogs and experimenting with positive training protocols for gundogs, passive alert scent detection dogs and disaster search dogs. He is also experimenting with Headstart Programs of early learning in young puppies headed for those three career fields.

Rich Robertson is a second-generation dog trainer who lives in Payette, Idaho. He competes dogs in American field trials all across the United States. He's one of the top 10 handlers in the sport and has been for the last 20 years. Rich has won over 200 championships and has started this year's trial season with a bang. Already, he has won two of the four Big Prairie Trials in the Dakotas - the largest entry in the trial's history. He attributes his win record to quality dog food.
Rich Robertson www.robertsonkennel.com

Scott Greer lives in West Tennessee where he operates North Fork Retrievers Kennel. Greer has been training Retrievers for 11 years. He has qualified five different dogs for the SRS Crown Championship since 2002 and is one of the few handlers to have won three SRS qualifiers. Scott is also a proven hunt test pro with numerous Hunting Retriever Champions, Master Hunters and Grand Hunting Retriever Champions.

Troy Merrill has been training Retrievers since 2000. He has run hunt tests for the last six years titling three dogs for clients and two of his own at the master level. He would say his greatest achievement is not in the hunt test world but producing quality trained dogs that hunt in the marshes and rice fields of Northern California.

Tom Oblinsky started his dog career training search and rescue dogs for the USAF. Along with search and rescue he worked with drug enforcement. While on active he started a small business training Labrador Retrievers for hunting. Toward the end of his career with the USAF, Tom found his way into AKC field trials and Hunt Tests. He has run dogs in hunt tests and field trials from coast to coast. His biggest accomplishment was reaching 401 overall master passes last year, while his most memorable accomplishment is reaching 67 out of 69 master passes with one dog named Pearl. Tom has a great passion for his dogs and has since he started in 1992. Tom's number one core value is respecting your dog.

See Tom's dogs powered by Eukanuba at www.triplethreatretrievers.com.

In his early 20s, Weldon began competing as an amateur in field trials. He helped organize the Carroll County Field Trial Club, which is still active. After five years as an amateur, Weldon began his career as a professional handler and trainer. Weldon spends his spring training time in Texas where dogs are exposed to an abundance of wild birds. As hot weather arrives, he travels to his summer camp in South Dakota to train on the prairies for about 60 days each year. Some of the great dogs Weldon has trained are: Tripoli, Forty Grand, Shameless, Rebel Magic, Rebel Jewel and Hawk's Royal Rebel.