Day Five of the Master National

It seems as each day of this event goes by, it gets a few degrees warmer. Flight A went into their third series with 89 dogs. As we stopped by the test,  Flight A, was just finishing up "Butterfly Slots" in the late afternoon. They are so far ahead of everyone else at this point, that they decided to give everyone a break from the afternoon sun and start their next test, "Give Me A Brake," tomorrow. It was overheard by this roving reporter that the Judges stated that they had lost a lot of good dogs today. Let's hope not, though.

It takes a well-oiled crew to break down and set-up a test and we have seen this group do it twice now with efficiency and expediency. Callbacks to come...

Flight B moved from "Give Me A Brake" to "Oh No, Mr. Bill" mid afternoon. With 98 out of 114 dogs called back to this third test, we expect they will be in this same location for this afternoon and all of tomorrow...possibly into Friday morning. The water marks in this test were a welcome relief for the dogs in the hot afternoon sun. 

Flight C started their third test at "Double Trouble" and Flight D went to "Give Me A Brake."
We will visit them tomorrow for updates...

The "Other" Food Wagon at the Cattle Ranch

The food wagon at the Cattle Ranch equipment sheds contains a Chef from Catering by Gayle creating hamburger, Polish sausage, shrimp & grits, garden and chicken salads and more. Some of the profits go to Marion Academy as a fund raiser. The drink wagon is manned by the students.

 

Wednesday Artisan Shops

The Artisan Shops are now open by the White House at the Cattle Ranch! These local craftsman have brought their wares of pottery, clothing, shoes, jewelry, paintings, woodworking items and gourmet food. There is definitely something for everyone here...you can do your Christmas shopping early.

These jigsaw puzzle dogs are hand-crafted labs that stand up and can be a puzzle and a statue.

Eric Ball was selling Butt's Sauce. This sauce won First Place "Best in Sauce" at the Pork-Cook-Off in New Orleans. The name for the sauce came from his girlfriend's family recipe...that is their last name. This is a mustard and vinegar based sauce that can be used for dipping and marinading.

FireHorse Pottery is located in North Port Alabama, north up Hwy. 69. It is located in an part of North Port that has metal-working shops, potteries and cute places to eat lunch.

Perfect Touch Home and JKB Design, both from Demopolis have home accessories and high-end clothing.

Art From My Heart had inspiring Christian paintings created on reclaimed materials and canvas. The little dog's name above is Angel.

The Partridge Berry is an accessory store located in Greensboro. It is right down the street from ther now famous Pie Lab. They have unique shawls, scarves and jewelry.

Tuesday Night Workers' Party

We arrived at the New Era building for the Workers' Part at 6:30 pm after a long day in the field under the hot sun. Everyone was ready to relax, enjoy the food and beverages and catch up with their buddies about what was transpiring at the other Flights. The majority of the raffle items were provided by Avery Sporting Dog, along with Cabelas, Purina, Eukanuba, Trti-Tronics, Dogtra, Black Lab Vodka, the Master National Merchandise Committee and the Retriever News. After a meal of grilled chicken, ribs and pulled pork with all of the sides, President John Blackbird thanked all of the sponsors and expressed how grateful the Master National Club was to them for all their generous support.

Everyone attending was given a raffle ticket. The items were displayed along many tables. Each item had a brown paper bag in front of it with the description of the product. You had your opportunity to choose which item appealed to you at which point you dropped your ticket in the corresponding bag. Alice Rodriguez was the MC for the raffle and along with the assistance of Marissa Melo, they would draw from each bag and then call out the winning number.

As dinner came to an end and the raffle was completed, a local DJ'S named Phil and Kim McNeill from Demopolis, AL, started playing the tunes... From line dances to Sweet Home Alabama, (A personal favorite) they tried to accommodate the entire crowd. One of the boys broke into song over the microphone with Mustang Sally (and he was pretty good, too!)

As with all good parties ... they must come to an end!