Day 5 – Flight D – Test 3 – Goose Pond-Water – Wednesday, October 21

Flight D: Martin Bell and Bruce Bachert

Goose Pond-Water – Water Triple, Water Blind, Diversion Shot

Flight D moved to their third test with 30 dogs having been dropped from the second series.

Goose Pond is a Water Triple with a water blind and a diversion shot. It was mid-afternoon when we arrived at the third test site for Flight D. Bird number one was thrown to the right of the handler, up a slight slope, landing dry at 70 yards. The second bird, at 91 yards, was also thrown to the right landing in low cover. Bird number three, on the handler's far left, was thrown to the right making a large splash at 33 yards. After the dogs picked up this left-hand go-bird, they ran the water blind at 61 yards. Next, the dogs picked up the right hand bird and finally the middle bird.

While we were there, we saw three of the six dogs that ran stay dry going out to the right-hand bird. The rest of the teams had nice jobs. The gallery enjoyed a bird's eye view of this test from the top of the levee. 

Day 5 – Flight C – Test 3 – Palmetto East-Land – Wednesday, October 21

Flight C: Carol Hynes and Tellus Calhoun

Palmetto East-Land – Land Triple, Land Blind and Honor

Flight C moved to their third test with 36 dogs having been dropped from the second series.

This Land Triple with a blind and honor contained an out-of-order flyer and a blind run under the arc of bird number three. The terrain was a strip-mowed field with wide strips of cover. Standing on the mat, bird number one was a flyer shot to the left at 118 yards in front of the mat. Bird number two was thrown to the right, landing 84 yards from the line to the left of the flyer. Bird number three was 55 yards below the line, off to the right hand side of the field, thrown to the left. The blind was at 107 yards and the line to it was under the arc of bird number three, the go-bird.

Flight C is the second group to visit this test site and the conditions today were different than what the previous flight experienced, because there was little to no wind. We arrived early afternoon to this test, fully underway. Of the six dogs we saw, we saw one good job, two handles, one not invited to run the blind and one break on the honor. 

Day 5 – Flight B – Test 3 – Palmetto West-Land – Wednesday, October 21

Flight B: Dale Langhorne and Ed Sullivan

Palmetto West-Land – Land Triple, Land Blind, Honor

We arrived at this test, mid morning with temperatures in the 70's. Flight B moved to their third test with 12 dogs having been dropped from the second series.

Flight B's third test is a Land Triple with a blind and an honor using all pheasants. Bird number one was thrown to the left at 80 yards. The left-hand second bird was thrown to the right, 60 yards from the line. The third bird was a flyer landing 150 yards from the line; this bird was shot to the left; the line to retrieve this bird was under the arc of bird number one. After the dog picked up all three marks, the blind was at 90 yards under the arc of bird number two.

We watched seven dogs late this morning. We saw most handlers picking up the flyer first and the remaining selecting the short bird first. All the handlers chose to pick up bird number two second. Of the dogs we saw, five of the seven dogs had to be handled on at least one of the marks and one was not invited to run the blind.

Day 5 – Flight A – Test 3 – Furr's Pit-Water – Wednesday, October 21

Flight A: Judges Robert Rascoe and Tom McMorrow 

Furr's Pit-Water – Water Triple, Water Blind, Diversion Shot

We arrived at the third test for Flight A, Furr's Pit, a Water Triple, late in afternoon. Flight A moved to their third test with 18 dogs having been dropped from the second series.

This Water Triple using all ducks was set in a pond with trees on the far bank. The first bird down was thrown to the right across the pond landing three feet from the water's edge on land at 61 yards. The second bird station was located to the handler's hard left and threw right into a tiny cove on the far left side of the pond at 19 yards. The third bird was thrown flat straight out into the pond, landing a tantalizing 25 yards from the line on the handler's right.

The dogs picked up the go bird on the right and upon their return, a diversion shot was fired. Then the dog was to run the water blind across the pond on the far shore to the handler's left at 28 yards. The next bird to be picked up was at the handler's discretion and we saw a split between the left short bird versus the long middle on the opposite shore.

While we were there, we watched six dogs run. There was a split on the way the handler's ran the blind. Half handled away from the suction of the second mark down and the other half did not. Most of the dogs we watched retrieved the left-hand mark first and then went long for the money bird. However, the best job we saw had the long bird picked up immediately after the blind.

Rick Winnie describes Furr's Pit-Water