 Medina, OHJune 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 DockDogs Veterans 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 dominance with an amazing 25'0" jump. 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 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".
The Big Air Finals brought some excitement of their own, with Steve and Rouser winning the Pro Finals with a jump of 22'10" and Jessica Johannes with Phoenix taking second at 21'5". The Semi-Pro Finals were won by junior handler Brendan Pucel and Caly with a jump of 20'4". Rounding out the top three were Josh Villebro and Clifford (20'0") and Dan Myers with Piper (19'6"). The Amateur Finals were dominated by newcomers, as Tom Rollinson and Mickey took home top honors after competing in only their 2nd Big Air Wave competition ever with a jump of 18'4". Junior Handler and newcomer David Horsmann and Harley (18'2") took second and Linda Ruiz and Lita (17'6") took third.
Saturday night's Extreme Vertical Finals brought out plenty of excitement as veteran Tom Dropik and Rocky dualed 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. 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 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 Junior handler domination of the finals continued with Speed Retrieve, when Brendan and Trigger took first (6.707), Steve and Rouser stole second (6.877) and Jessica Johannes and Phoenix snatched up third (7.154).
The hotly contested Iron Dog competition could not have been any closer with all of the teams being within 40 points of one another. 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.
Congratulations to all that participated this past weekend, we look forward to seeing you all soon. A special thanks goes out to the Bemidji Game Fair & Pet Expo, Joey the Jack of all Trades, the DockDogs Northern Stars Club, the 6 hoses that filled our pool, the Schwann man, and everyone that came out to see the show. We hope you enjoyed it. We know we did!
DockDogs® is the independent governing and sanctioning body for regional, national and international dock jumping performance sports. DockDogs® establishes the rules and standards of the sport, tracks results and records and supports and promotes the growth of its athletes, events, spectators, and sponsors.
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