Category: Remembrances

Ted Baker

May 5, 2022 | Other Things, Ted Baker | Comments
On behalf of the family, thanks to all of you for being here. Today’s display of love and respect means the world to those of us who Ted left behind. I’m sure he is looking down with a big smile on his face and a tear in his eye. TED BAKER WAS NO ORDINARY MAN. Read more

Two Heros

March 1, 2022 | Henry Caruso Jr., Remembrances | Comments
They are two heroes, both Pennsylvanians, both Vietnam combat veterans. Both are pointing dog professionals. One is a Marine, one is Army. They both saw much combat, and that has had its inevitable consequences, physical and mental. Read more

T. Jack and Ted and the Florida Championship

January 14, 2022 | Florida Open All-Age Championship, T. Jack Robinson, Ted Baker | Comments
Many a friendship has been inspired by a mutual love of bird dogs. My favorite story of such a friendship is that of T. Jack Robinson and Edward L. “Ted” Baker. That friendship spawned many others, and led to the breeding and development of legendary All-Age and Shooting Dog Champions over six decades and a premier wild bird field-trial Championship celebrating its 50th Anniversary. Read more

A Magic Day

December 24, 2021 | Jim Heckert, Remembrances | Comments
December 22, 2021 was a magic day for me. Why merits telling you a story. I am now eighty-three years young, and no longer shoot, for reasons of safety (mine and my companions). Until recent years quail and grouse hunting were my fall and winter therapy for the cares of life. Bird dogs and watching them do their thing still are. Read more

Remembering the Quail Championship Invitational (1996 through 2006)

November 25, 2021 | Quail Championship Invitational, Remembrances | Comments
Reading John Russell’s splendid new book, The Invitational Champions, has brought back precious memories of the eleven years it was my privilege to report the trial at Paducah. My invitation to report came from John after my first report of the Florida Championship in 1995. I had attended the trial at Paducah as a spectator briefly in 1993 when Silver Bullett won his second crown, no Runner-Up. Read more

The Cadillac Farm

November 2, 2021 | Bird Dogs, Other Things, Remembrances | Comments
I met Joe Prince November 14, 1973, introduced by his brother David, a life insurance salesman seeking prospect referrals from me, a 35-year-old lawyer doing estate planning in Richmond, Virginia. Joe was a grain farmer in Sussex County, forty miles south of Richmond at the village of Stony Creek. But Joe’s claim to fame was as a quail hunter of a special kind, the kind every city-bound quail hunter longs to have as a friend. Read more

My Thanks to Field Trials

October 18, 2021 | Commentary, Remembrances | Comments
With age we worry we have not expressed thanks to all those we owe thanks. So here I say thanks to all involved with pointing dog field trials for their countless gifts to my joy. Yes, joy, pure and simple, for field trials have meant pure fun for me. I claim no special knowledge or skill about field trials beyond appreciation of their entertainment value. I simply enjoy them, watching Read more

My Last Conversation With Big

September 23, 2021 | Remembrances | Comments
It was at Nonami Plantation, Albany, Georgia. I had flown to Atlanta alone and driven in a rental car south to Albany to see a bit of the Masters Championships, a Bucket List trip. The grave of Sam Ellis had drawn me like a magnet to the spot. Read more