Bobby Wills Wins American Retriever Classic

by Shawnna Johnson
April 14, 2009

Last weekend, near Paris, Tennessee, a group of retriever teams from all over the country showed up to run the newest retriever event around. The American Retriever Classic is a newly founded retriever event, promoted and owned by Mr. Ed Watson from Mansfield, Tennessee. With about 300 acres to utilize, along with training ponds, he has developed this farm into some of the best grounds that our retriever world has ever seen. And that is where a professional retriever trainer and professional handler, Bobby Wills, along with "Star", a yellow Labrador Retriever powered by Enhance® 30-22 Professional Athlete became the first winners of this spring's 2009 American Retriever Classic.

This event was held to see if they could find the very best Retriever and handler team of the week. But it was held for several other reasons. Love of the retriever is one reason. Love of retriever games too. Those of you that run events with retrievers know how much fun you and your family can have at one of these events. It also shows a team's hard work, training, and effort paying off. It's also a great place to take your retriever during the off season - when there is nothing left to hunt. Keeps those amazing hunting retrievers in excellent condition and sharp mentally. Also, in order to showcase the best retriever teams from all over the country, the Classic wants to provide another retriever event for us all to love and run. So it is another few days of good times with our friends, family, and those great retrievers. The next trial event will be planned in the fall. They are working to find a good date that will not interfere with other already scheduled events such as the UKC Int'l Grand Hunt or the Super Retriever Series.

This type of retriever event has been part of our retriever world now for over a decade. With exciting events growing similar in nature to include: The Super Retriever Series, World Retriever Championships; among other Invitational events like the one at Bear Branch in Alabama. It seems that annual events are popping up all across the country. These hybrid type runs showcase retriever teams from the hunting world, different clubs, hunt tests, and field trials. They award prizes and varying purses to their winning circle. This event is running to find the very best "overall" retriever team in America.

The teams faced some very tough series last weekend. They ran through trial setups with two retired guns, faced tough marking concepts, hunt test situations, and this one included a blind series over 520 yards in length! While not to forget the hunting situations too; that only finishes the greatest type of retriever/handler teams. The ones that train, practice, and compete can endure over an American waterfowl or upland hunt right beside a quad with two retired guns. And let's face it; knowledge and experience in training for all of these different areas are the things that the best retrievers in the country should be able to conquer when they encounter it.

Well known professional teams attended from venues such as the SRS, UKC Hunt Test world and the AKC trial circuit. Pros such as J. Paul Jackson, Clint Johnson, Scott Greer, and Bobby Wills each had multiple retrievers into the semifinals. They were part of the top 10. They proved to be the best in the field and the on top of their game.

Last weekend's event awarded Bobby Wills with Star first place and $5000. Among the winning teams, Tyler Sheppard and Taylor, a QAA retriever, came into the second place spot and took home a boat. In third place, a professional trainer, Scott Greer and Candy, a yellow female retriever proved to be very consistent in every series which awarded them with a top spot at the winner's circle. Greer mentioned that his running mate, Candy, had been running as good as ever. Candy is a fine retriever that loves her work. Most people do remember Candy once they have either watched her work or have ran against her in a competition.

Star and Wills found themselves on top of the game early, and ran strong through to win the finals. They worked together well as a team through some of the hardest retriever setups some had ever seen! The judges had the bird placement just right, and along with wind and terrain made for a difficult weekend full of several series that would surely develop the best team. The best team of the weekend did surface. Star making the cut to each series in no higher than third place in each series showed consistency, incredible control, excellent marking, and she did show the crowd how much she loves to run and what experience and being an overall complete retriever looks like. This nine year old yellow girl really has heart and soul for being a working retriever. She also showed that running beside Bobby Wills in an event is where she is having fun and has already lived up to her name. Star, who is owned by Nicky Dunn, has spent most of her life as a field trial dog running all age stakes. She has a tremendous desire to work, retrieve, and compete; as only a wonderful Labrador Retriever can do.

When asked about his winner and running mate, Bobby said, "Star is a very consistent retriever; she can do the advanced stuff, and she likes her work. She knows where the birds are and in the field and goes right to them. She just doesn't miss much and is a lot of fun to run."

I believe that we all will be watching this winning team run together well in other events as well. The only reason we didn't see her in Somerville at the SRS was due to the timing of her heat cycle.

So, it seems that the Classic found what they were looking for over three days near Paris, Tennessee last weekend...An exciting retriever team that can stay consistently on top and conquer the field around them that weekend. A team that faced all of the challenges that judges imaginations, birds, and terrain could have thrown at them.

This Spring's 2009 American Retriever Classic Winning Team - Bobby Wills & Star.

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