Sam woke Monday ‘fore dawn
Rolled over, found the lite switch
Squeezed it on, slipped off the bed
Shuffled to the bathroom
Relieved himself, pulled on his clothes
Boots last, then out the door
Drove the dually through the dawn
To the grounds where his two horses
Grazed in the paddock by the stable held gun powder in the War
He called them in and gave them hay
Curried one he would ride the two hours
Saddled him and put the other in a stall with water
Walked to the clubhouse
Poured himself a cup of coffee
Nodded thanks for the “Good lucks”
Before eight he sat mounted at the breakaway
As the gallery riders gathered
He counted forty
John Russell rode up with three judges
Announced the names of dogs and handlers
Reminded to leave space behind the judges for scouts to cross
“Let ‘em go” said senior judge
Scouts loosed them
Off they sped
Two handler songs, a pea whistle toot, a “heah, heah”
Dogs reached the bottom, grabbed edge by creek, took it forward
Crossed creek at cut, riders followed
Sam looked at his watch
1:45 to go
The first two hours, Saturday and Sunday, had got him here
Could his dog put down a race
Find quail two or three times or more
If so he’d have a shot at Champ or Runner-Up
This would be his last brace
He was quitting the game
He’d played two decades as a pro
Four had been called back
From the twelve entered
To be judged on their four hours as one heat
It was a true test
Of an all-age dog
Of its guts and grit, its nose and pattern and range
He was thinking, maybe
If he got a break or two
If a hole did not appear, you never know
He had lost some, should have won
Won some, he should have lost
If the judges saw all he saw
But that was not how the game worked
Each dog was judged on what a judge watching saw
Not the same judge for they switched dogs
And each judge had his standards
Likes and dislikes, loves and hates
Beauty lay in the eyes of a judge, so did ugly
Just pray he’s watching when dog’s doing
What he should be doing
Distracted when dog’s not-one never knew
Until the spokesman
Read the note signed by the judges
Sometimes just two of three here
However it turned out today
He’d had a good run with some good dogs and horses and owners
Competing against other men like him
Most not saints or satins either
Just guys who love a good dog and a good horse
And being out-of-doors competing
What now, he asked himself
A job with pay enough to live on
To match his wife’s, a nurse and mother
Of their two kids, a boy and girl
In high school now, soon bound for college
The reason for his retirement from the circuit, bless them
To be continued…