June 25, 2008

New Prague, MN

June 25, 2009: DockDogs rolled into Northern
Minnesota with a bang, and what a weekend it was. With great weather, a Breed
Record-Breaking jump, and even a Fair Sponsor jump-off between six brand new
dogs with only a couple minutes of practice each, there truly was something for
all dog lovers. The 2009 Bemidji Game Fair &
Pet Expo saw some of the best dogs Minnesota
has to offer, as well as some new dogs that made quite a name for themselves.

The qualifying Big Air waves brought out
a lot of first time competitors - giving some of the veterans in the sport a
run for their money. Friday evening saw Team STIHL’s  Tom Dropik and Rocky take the first Big
Air qualifying wave with a great jump of 22'8", coming in second was
newcomer Andrew Thul and Windsor taking (19'9")
and another newcomer and junior handler David Horsmann
with Harley taking third (16'9"). Saturday morning's wave 2 brought out
the best jump of the weekend and an all-time record for a Golden Retriever as
Steve Roessler and Rouser began their Big Air performance with an amazing
25'0" jump. Team STIHL’s Tom
Dropik and Rocky took home the silver with a jump of 21'8" and Steve
Roessler added a second medal with his dog Sota who
had a jump of 21'2". Wave three saw more of the same, as Steve and Rouser
brought home the gold with a jump of 24'10", Steve and Sota
moved up to second with a jump of 21'6" and Team STIHL’s Tom
& Rocky took third at 21'0". Steve and his Golden's continued to
dominate in Saturday's final Big Air qualifier taking home 1st (Rouser
24'3") and second (Sota 21'10") once again.
Providing some parity to the top three, was Jessica Johannes with Phoenix who had a jump of
21'8". The final Big Air qualifying round saw more of the same as Steve and
Rouser took home the top honors with a 23'5" jump, Jessica Johannes and Phoenix took second with
a jump of 22'2" and newcomers John Villebro and
Clifford jumped 21'6".

Saturday night's Extreme Vertical Finals
brought out plenty of excitement as Team STIHL’s Tom Dropik and Rocky dueled
it out with junior handler Kristina Schaffhausen and Zeke. Kristina and Zeke
edged out Rocky with a winning jump of 6'8" and added a new personal best
of 6'10" shortly after.

Speed Retrieve started Friday night with
a qualifier that saw only 3 teams, however some great
times were turned in giving the on looker. Team STIHL’s Tom and Rocky took home the
gold with a time of 6.591, followed by David Horsmann
and Harley at 7.442. Saturday morning's wave was more of the same, as Team
STIHL’s Tom
and Rocky (6.747) edged out a different junior handler, Brendan Pucel & Caly (7.624) to take
first. Sunday's qualifying round saw a weekend best 6 teams compete, with Big
Air slayers Steve and Rouser taking home the top time at 6.745, followed by
Kristina Schaffhausen & Zeke (6.956) and Brendan Pucel
with his other dog Trigger at 7.248.

The hotly contested Iron Dog competition
could not have been any closer with all of the teams being within 40 points of
one another. Team STIHL’s Tom
Dropik and Rocky took 1st with a score of 2983.71, Steve and Rouser took second
at 2952.41 and Kristina Schaffhausen and Zeke took third at 2949.43.