Smoke Rise Kennel continues to produce Champion bird dogs. The dogs shown below were trained and handled to their titles. Hearty congratulations to these great dogs and their owners.

Drifter is a home-grown champion. The son of Sandra’s best Gordon buddy, Smokey, Drifter has never known a trainer other than Jesse. Working with this innately talented dog has been both a blessing and a challenge. In spite of having more "bird dog" than he knows what to do with, Drifter can be soft and had to be brought along with a patient and loving hand. Drifter repaid that consideration by capturing all but one point of his field title by the time he was two and a half years old. In the Spring of 2007, running only occasionally, Drifter completed his title by winning a 21-dog Open Gun Dog stake at an all-breed trial in Ohio. Drifter had turned 3 years old five days before that competition.

A California import owned by Carolyn Gold, Flyer became a member of the Smoke Rise team in 2005. Having spent over a year with another trainer with nothing to show for it, Flyer arrived at Smoke Rise too old to run in Derby. He came out as a Gun Dog in Fall of 2005, scoring placements behind older, more mature dogs. The following season (Spring and Fall 2006), Flyer racked up numerous placements in Open Gun Dog and Open Limited Gun Dog, including a 5-point major and a 4-point major. Impressively, Flyer completed the Fall season in 2006 with 9 of the 10 points needed for his field championship, all earned out of the broke-dog stakes. In the Spring of 2007, with a bit more experience under his belt, Flyer came out with a can-do attitude. He scored multiple placements in the early part of the season, but could never quite break through to that blue ribbon position. Finally, in May of 2007, at the last all-breed trial of the season, Flyer secured the elusive final point needed for his Field Championship by winning a 15-dog Gun Dog stake in Michigan. This win made Flyer a Dual Champion at two months shy of his fourth birthday.

After finishing his Open Field Championship, Flyer returned home to California to compete in dog shows and to work with his mom on earning his amateur title.

Dottie entered formal bird dog training in the summer of 2007 when owner Regis Cantini sent her to Smoke Rise Kennel at four years of age. Dottie never competed in field trials as either a Puppy or Derby dog, and Jesse was her first professional trainer. In the Fall of 2007, Dottie scored her first points by taking an all-breed 4 pt major in an Open Gun Dog stake in Connecticut.

Jesse and Dottie resumed their campaign in the Spring of 2008. Dottie got off to a fast start by placing 3rd in an all breed Open Walking Gun Dog stake at the GSCA trial in Cedartown, Georgia the first weekend of March. A month later, Dottie took another 4 pt major in an all breed Open Gun Dog stake at the GSCA trial at Killdeer Plains, Ohio. That same weekend, she took a 2nd place in the all breed Open Limited Gun Dog stake, placing one position behind her litter brother, Ace.

Though she only needed two more points to complete her field championship, Dottie finished it off in a big way by taking a 5 pt major in all breed Open Gun Dog stake at the North Country Gordon Setter Club of Minnesota Club trial in Forest City, Iowa, 4/11 – 4/13. Dottie completed a strong season by also taking placements in the Open Limited Gun Dog stake at North Country and at the season’s final trial in Delaware. It’s impressive to note that Dottie earned all her points out of “broke dog” stakes and completed her championship in less than 12 months.

Ace is another of Smoke Rise Kennel’s home-grown talents. Selected as a 7-week old puppy from a friend’s backyard breeding, Ace was raised in the Chapman’s living room along side the Yellow Lab and Gordon Setters who make up the rest of the house contingent.

Ace scored his Puppy and Derby points early but ran rarely after the age of two. Finally deciding that this fine, natural bird dog deserved the chance to complete his field championship, Jesse entered him in a couple of Open Limited Gun Dog stakes in the Fall of 2007 and a couple during spring season 2008. Ace took a 3rd place in an all breed OLGD stake at the ISCO trial at Killdeer Plains, Ohio, March 22 and 23. That stake had 18 starters. He completed his field championship with a 4 pt major in an all breed OLGD stake at the GSCA trial at Killdeer Plains, Ohio, April 5 and 6. Ace collected the last six points needed for his title in less than 12 months. During that time, he competed in less than a half dozen trials and always in the Open Limited stakes. Ace’s litter sister, Dottie, also completed her field championship during the 2008 spring season.

Solo came to Smoke Rise Kennel searching for direction. Though her owner, Patricia Sanborn, had handled her to a 4-point major in an Open Gun Dog stake in Connecticut in 2007, Solo had matured into a strong willed female with a very independent spirit. Getting her to complete the course with her handler and while staying out of trouble had become a significant problem. Jesse worked hard and long to convince Solo that it was fun to be a team player and that good things could happen if she would stay with her handler.

Solo had several placements and "near misses" in the 2007 field trial season. She captured 2 points in an Open Gun Dog stake in Delaware that fall. Things were definitely turning around.

In the spring of 2008, Solo finished her field champion title with a 4 point major earned in an all breed Open Limited Gun Dog stake at the Irish Setter Club of Ohio club trial run at Killdeer Plains, Ohio, March 22 and 23. Solo was approximately three weeks pregnant at the time of this win. She finished off the spring by scoring her first two amateur points in the Amateur Gun Dog stake at the GSCA filed trial at Killdeer Plains, Ohio, April 5 and 6.

Owned by Jimmy D'Amico of Farmingdale, New Jersey, Roy came to Smoke Rise Kennel when knee surgery made his owner unable to continue running him in field trials. Needing only a couple points to finish his Field Championship title, it was Jimmy's hope that Jesse and Roy could pick up those points while he recuperated.

A polished and reliable gundog, Jesse and Roy found their stride almost immediately and Roy took a placement almost every time he was on the ground. By taking a second place in a 26-dog Open Limited Gun Dog stake on Saturday and winning a smaller Open Gun Dog stake the next day, Roy completed his Field Champion title in May of 2009.

In the fall of 2009, Roy continued his streak by winning and placing in both Open and Amateur Gun Dog stakes. The icing on the cake was his very impressive performance at the 15th Annual Gordon Setter National Field Trial at the Branched Oak grounds in Nebraska. Competing against highly competitive fields of over 30 dogs each, Roy won both the Open National Championship and the Amateur National Championship. It was quite a week with Jimmy and Jesse both getting to have the thrill of handling Roy in a National Championship-caliber performance. Congratulations to Jimmy, Jesse, and to Roy!

Out of American Field bloodlines, Buddy had no experience with AKC field trials prior to coming to Smoke Rise Kennel in the summer of 2008. Owner Regis Cantini knew that he had a top quality bird dog and decided to register him with the AKC in order to see what he could do in that arena. At four years old, Buddy was a "green" gun dog with tons of run and breathtaking style on his birds. With all that natural talent, it wasn’t long before Buddy was ready to begin competing.

Buddy’s first AKC trial was the GSCA trial in Wisconsin in late August. He was awarded a third place in the 19-dog Open Gun Dog stake that weekend. Because he’d never run in AKC events as a puppy or derby dog, Buddy was starting with no points toward his Field Champion title. He quickly made up for lost time by winning three major stakes in the next three months and earning all 10 points needed for his title during the fall half of the 2008 field trial season.

Capturing his first Open Puppy placement at the tender age of 8 months, Seven went on to finish his Field Champion title four months short of his fourth birthday. Between that first placement and the final win, Seven scored a total of 23 placements. He finished with back-to-back wins at the Tartan Gordon Setter Club trial in Connecticut, taking both the all-breed Gun Dog stakes that weekend. Impressively, the last five times Seven was run during the 2009 spring season, he earned a placement. Four of those ribbons were blue earning Seven a total of 16 points, far more than he needed to earn his title.

Seven is a Southern boy, making his home at HighPoint Gordon Setters in Rougemont, North Carolina. Owners, Bill and Jan Holloway, plan to compete in Amateur stakes beginning in the Fall 2009 season and hope to add an AFC to this impressive youngster’s credits.

Owned by Marianne and Dano Morf of Clear Lake, Iowa, Minnie is another gem in the impressive crown that is Prairie Star Kennel. Home of the late NFC/NAFC/FC/AFC Prairie Star High Noon (Cooper), Minnie is a fine example of the quality Gordon Setters Prairie Star continues to produce. Minnie holds a special place in the hearts of Jesse and Sandra, as well. She is the daughter of our favorite couch potato, FC Gunsmoke Highplains Drifter, and the granddaughter of our old man Smokey (NFC/FC/AFC Gunsmoke Rising). Having spent large portions of her young live at Smoke Rise, she is an honorary Ohioan.

Minnie picked up her first puppy point at the tender age of exactly 7 months. She went on to finish her Field Champion title only one month after her third birthday. A young, energetic bitch who covers the ground with a happy, animated style, Minnie continues to improve with maturity and experience. It seems likely that, where Minnie is concerned, the best is yet to come.

Marx, owned by Annette Pusey of Raleigh , North Carolina , came at field trialing in a rather round about way. Annette, who has shown dogs in conformation and AKC hunt tests for many years, was introduced to horseback field trialing at the ISCO trial run in conjunction with the ISCO National Hunt Test in 2004. At that trial, she ran Marx in the horseback Open Puppy stake. Sticking to the ground, Marx finished his Junior Hunter (JH) title in four straight passes in November 2004. While training toward the Senior Hunter title, Annette continued to show Marx in conformation shows, completing his conformation Championship on September 3, 2006 , his 3rd birthday. In December of 2006, Marx earned his Senior Hunter title, again with four straight passes.

When Annette decided in 2007 that she wanted to attempt a Field Champion title with Marx and that she needed assistance to make the transition from Hunt Tests and Walking Trials, Jesse was recommended to her by other customers whose dogs were part of the Smoke Rise Kennel team.

Focusing on conditioning and teaching Marx how to run in front of a horse, Jesse scored a couple of placements during that first season. Annette worked with Jesse on several occasions, learning the nuances of horseback handling and making sure that Marx was comfortable running in Open stakes with Jesse at the same time that he was competing with Annette in the Amateur stakes.

In 2008 everything came together and Marx began placing regularly in Gun Dog stakes. He really hit his stride that fall when he took a 5-point major in his second trial. The following weekend, at the Michigan Irish Setter Club trial, he scored a 3-point major, which finished his Field Champion title and made him only the 22nd Dual Champion in the history of the Irish Setter breed. That same weekend, with Annette at the helm, he earned two more points toward his Amateur Field Champion title by taking a second place in the Amateur Gun Dog stake. On December 13, 2008 , Annette handled Marx to a 4-point major in an Amateur Gun Dog stake, thereby completing this AFC title as well. Quite the Christmas present.

Strider, owned by Patricia Sanborn of West Chester , Pennsylvania , began his field trial career by winning the Open Puppy stake run in conjunction with the 2005 Gordon Setter Club of America’s National Championship. Handled by his owner, Strider was, at the time, only six months and two weeks old. Pat continued to serve as trainer and handler by running Strider in local trials for the rest of the fall and taking first place in three more Open Puppy and Amateur Walking Puppy stakes.

In the spring of 2006, Strider came to Smoke Rise Kennel to continue his development. Throughout that season, he continued to gather placements, but was unable to pick up the elusive blue ribbon as a derby dog. Always a wide-ranging, hard-running dog, Strider sometimes overran his nose during his Derby season and went birdless. Clearly, this young dog had all the tools and only needed time, seasoning, and maturity to excel.

Strider made a strong statement when he scored four points in one of his first trials as a Gun Dog in the fall season of 2007. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t see blue again until the spring season of 2009. Strider had numerous placements in between, but first kept eluding him.

In March of 2009, Strider and Jesse finally got all the bugs worked out and Strider finished his Field Champion title convincingly by winning both the Open Gun Dog and the Open Limited Gun Dog stake at the Potomac Irish Setter Club Trial in Delaware . He followed that up with an Open Limited Gun Dog win the following weekend at the Irish Setter Club of Ohio Trial at the Killdeer trial grounds. In preparation for competing at the 2009 GSCA National Championships in the fall, Pat has resumed handling Strider and they hope to complete his Amateur Field Champion title in short order.

Loch, owned by Jane deCasteja of Tuxedo Park, New York, did not come to Smoke Rise Kennel until nearly the end of his derby career. At 19 months of age, Loch had earned one puppy point and was going to "age out" of Derby in only a few more months. Deciding that Loch needed a different training approach since he was soon going to have to compete as a "broke" gun dog, Jane changed trainers and Loch became a member of the Smoke Rise team. Quickly developing the strong working relationship that had previously been lacking, Jesse and Loch picked up his Derby points in April of 2006.

Because Loch turned two that summer, he would be forced to run as a gun dog in the fall half of the 2006 field trial season. Not ready to make that jump, Loch continued training that fall but did not compete in any trials. At the same time, Loch was shown intermittently in an effort to complete his bench title.

Coming out as a gun dog for the Spring Season of 2007, Loch continued to develop. A larger, "show type" Gordon, Loch always ran hard and put down a big, intelligent course. As he matured into a reliable broke dog, all the pieces came together and Loch captured a 3-point major in April. Loch tallied three more points in the spring of 2008 and finished his field championship in the fall of the same year at just over four years of age. Since Loch had earned his bench championship earlier the same year, this made him the 53rd Gordon Setter AKC Dual Champion.

Littermate and housemate to Prairie Star Mint Condition (Minnie), Bart is also owned by Marianne and Dano Morf of Clear Lake, Iowa. While Minnie spent most of her puppyhood in Ohio, Bart is a true native son of Iowa and was raised at the Prairie Star Kennel. As with his sister, Bart's ties back to Smoke Rise Kennel (dad Drifter and granddad Smokey) have always meant that we pulled a little harder for him to succeed. Not that much wishful thinking was required. Bart, a big stylish Gordon with a real desire to please, showed the quality of his breeding from the first.

Since puppies are judged on run alone and are not given an opportunity to point birds, Bart was not successful in earning his puppy points. While he covers ground well, always moving to the front, Bart really shines as a pointing dog. Bart has a strong desire to point, impressive, upright style, and easily picked up his Derby points at about 18 months old. After that, Jesse and Bart took about a year to work on polishing up his broke dog skills and preparing to bring him out as a gun dog in the fall of 2008. A 4-point major win in November of 2008 left Bart sitting at 8 points and looking at a winter off. The field championship would have to wait until 2009. Bart placed consistently in gun dog stakes throughout the Spring season of 2009 but couldn't break through and capture the elusive blue and those final two points. That changed in the fall of 2009 with back-to-back 4-point majors at all breed trial on consecutive weekends in September. Bart was now a Field Champion with points to spare! Bart is now primarily running in amateur stakes with his dad, Dano Morf, at the helm. Completing Bart's Amateur Field Champion title is the goal for 2010.

An amazingly stylish bird dog, Bess showed more point, style and intensity as a 3-month old pup than is often seen in finished adults. Marianne Goodwin of Pennsylvania, a long-time owner and breeder of winning Gordon Setters, decided that this pretty little Pointer pup would be a "fun diversion" for her retirement. And Bess has never disappointed.

Bess has been a little charmer from day one and, with her kind personality and soft temperament, required a gentle hand to guide the development of all the God-given natural talent. Under Jesse's tutelage, Bess was trialed sparingly as a juvenile but still scored her Puppy and Derby points before the age of 15 months. Bess made her debut in the fall of 2009 as a broke Gun Dog. She picked up a couple of points late that fall and was only in need of a four-point major to finish. When Jesse brought Bess back out in the spring of 2010, she was the polished, reliable bird dog he'd been working toward for almost three and a half years. Bess demonstrated this by finishing her field championship at the Potomac Irish Setter Club's all-breed trial (the very first trial of the spring season) where she won both the Open Gun Dog and the Open Limited Gun Dog stakes. She defeated a total of 40 dogs that weekend. Bess continued to have a successful spring season with a number of placements, including a couple of seconds behind her brother, Tank.

The result of a "backyard" breeding that accidentally brought together some exceptional bloodlines, Tank was stylish and birdy from the start. When family and work pressures made keeping and trialing Tank impossible, his original owner sold him to Marianne Goodwin, who already owned his sister, Bess. A big, good-looking male, Tank and Bess made a pretty pair intermixed with the black and tans on Marianne's line.

In spite of his size, strength and exuberance, Tank has a strong desire to please and is actually a kindly soul. Like his little sister, Tank required gentle guidance to make the most of all his natural gifts. While Tank was trialed sparingly as a juvenile, he still scored his Puppy and Derby points before the age of 15 months. Tank took all of 2009 off from active competition while he and Jesse worked on making him a class broke Gun Dog. When Tank returned to trialing in the spring of 2010, he ran in only three trials taking a third in the first and winning the last two. The wins, both majors, finished Tank's Field Championship with impressive style and a total of 42 dogs defeated in the two starts.