First Placement

It was likely at
A one course trial
Held on a weekend
Close to home

When you won your first placement
Third in an amateur derby
You entered on a whim
Knowing nothing of what it took to win

“Turn ‘em loose”
A judge said
And a volunteer stranger
Turned your entry loose

The course was thirty minutes
But in truth about twenty
A bird was planted
In two places 

Your entry passed the first
With no hint of a scent
Of the bird dropped there
Twenty minutes before
From a box held by the mounted bird planter

The next was planted
Five minutes from the end
Your entry smelled it
Flash pointed and rushed in

Luckily she did not catch it
And at your loud “whoa”
Hesitated 

Her finish was modest
But she was not lost
When the fifth and last brace finished
The secretary announced
Her name for third place

In your heart you knew then
As you know for sure today
She got the placement
As your welcome to the family 

You look back 60 years
To that long ago day
And ask yourself
What did that third place cost me? 

And your answer is
Countless dollars since spent
But worth every penny 

For there is no thrill
For one bit by the bug
Like turning one loose
In a bird dog field trial