Cranberry Country HRC

05/27/2026

Training tomorrow afternoon at Bally's Gun Dogs. 4:30 to Sunset. The Cranberry Country Hunt Test is open and training/testing is in full gear across Wisconsin.

05/26/2026

Cranberry Country HRC opens up tonight for entries on huntsecretary.com. Please get your entries in at your earliest convenience. It seems that clubs in Wisconsin are reducing the number of Finished flights due to low entries so help us out by getting your finished entries in as soon as possible in case we need to make some tough decisions as well. Thanks everyone.

04/22/2026

The grounds at BGD are still drying out and we will resume training soon. NO training tonight but we look forward to seeing club members for group training soon. Please send in your dues to Anne if you haven't done so and plan on attending training. Have a spectacular spring day!

04/11/2026

IMPORTANT NOTICE
Cortney Bally has cancelled the training at Bally's Gun Dogs in Tomah for Wednesday April 15th as the water is over the banks of the ponds and the grounds are TOO soft for traveling/parking on without doing property damage. She will inform Jim O'Brien if 4/22 will work dependent on weather conditions and if the grounds dry out before then. Please check back.

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04/11/2026

Take a listen to the Upduck Podcast as Bill Kehoe and the moderator discuss the beginning of Badger State HRC and the other Region 8 clubs
https://open.spotify.com/episode/1uaTZEtcs9ByihMLmupdMr...

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04/09/2026

Wednesday Evening Training to start next Week April 15th @ 4PM weather permitting. I will send out a confirmation early next week to confirm time after I speak with Adam. We are grateful he allows club training on his beautiful property. Make sure to get your dues into Anne shortly if you have not already done so.
[email protected] for questions and an application.

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04/03/2026

Cranberry Country HRC will be holding two flights of Finished, one Seasoned and one Started hunt tests for each day on July 11 and 12 in Tomah. Please make your plans now and save the dates! Thank you.

02/20/2026

*** UKC Change to the Hunting Retriever Magazine ***
There will be a transition to digital issues of the UKC owned magazine. Instead of 6 hard copy magazines, UKC will publish two hard copies highlighting the Spring and Fall International Grands. The remaining four issues will be digital copies. See page 7 of the February/March issue of the Hunting Retriever Magazine for more details.
There is no change to the club reports for the Region 8 submission for the magazine.
Club reports are due to me NLT the 13th of each odd numbered month, so the mext deadline is March 13th.
Bill Kehoe
Region 8 Public Relations Representative

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01/26/2026

The 2026 Master Amateur Invitational will be held at the Madison Retriever Club grounds in Stoughton from June 21st to the 27th. The Master Amateur Retriever Club is looking for volunteers to ensure they can host a topnotch event here in Wisconsin. By supporting this event as a volunteer, you can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity to see outstanding dogs and handlers in action -- right in your own backyard! Whether you can help for a day or a week, please contact MARC Secretary Anne Millane at [email protected] and provide her with your name, email and phone number, availability and area of interest. MARC has many positions available -- test dogs, paid bird station workers, hospitality, etc. This is a great chance to help with a national retriever event and meet/work with folks from all over the country! Hope to see you in June!

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01/16/2026

The snow brings quiet to the areas around Tomah and Warrens, so Cranberry Country HRC members are out enjoying time with their friends and family. Planning is underway for the July 11 and 12, 2026 HRC hunt tests on the bogs. Mark your calendars.

Here is some interesting tidbits about the area's history and culture:

* Lumber & Railroad Roots: Tomah's early economy was built on logging and railroads.

* It's the boyhood home of Frank King, the creator of the beloved "Gasoline Alley" comic strip.

* Military Presence: The area has a significant military connection due to its proximity to Fort McCoy, an Army Reserve base, and Volk Field Air National Guard Base. The areas around Fort McCoy were the sight of AKC field trials and hunt tests until the 1990's.

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11/21/2025

Cranberry Country HRC held its second annual waterfowl hunt test at Bally’s Gun Dogs in Tomah Wisconsin over the weekend of July 12th and 13th. Turnout was great with challenging tests, great grounds and skilled judges making it a successful experience for everyone involved. Two flights of Finished, one each of Seasoned and Started were conducted with judges from Region 8 with handlers coming from Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota and Indiana with some driving eight hours of more to enter.
Set up commenced on Friday afternoon and the workers and judges capped the day with a barbecued chicken dinner, baked potatoes, coleslaw and salad at the air conditioned Tomah-Warrens Sportsman’s Alliance club nearby in plenty of time to get some needed rest before all the action got underway.
Highlights from the weekend included four young handlers running Started all passing with their dogs, while two handlers achieved milestones with 500 HRC point club recognition-Bill Chittenden with Gus and Zach McFarland with Kai. Great accomplishment Bill and Zach!
Saturday night’s banquet attended by more than fifty people was held at the Tomah-Warrens Sportsman’s Alliance club, included smoked brisket and pulled pork, fried chicken, cheesy potatoes (to die for!), baked beans, coleslaw and assorted beverages. The raffle drew a lot of interest with Garmin eCollar, Zinger Winger G5, Dogtra Edge eCollar and more than $6K in merchandise donated from American Natural Premium, Avery Banded, Dogtra, Gun Dog Supply, Garmin, Huntmark (Oshkosh), Knuckle Bustin Retrievers, Penny Langer and Dunkin, Perfect mARC, Purina, RuMac Labradors and Zinger Winger. Raffle basket donors included Moe’s True Value in Black River Falls, Humbird Cheese, and Molter’s Grocery both in Tomah. One donor Huntmark included an online coupon code valid through 12/31/25 for anyone (including those reading this write up) for 10% off. Coupon Code: CC-HRC10. Please take a look at their dog training equipment available with the 10% off on all online purchases at huntmark.com.
It takes a lot of help to make for a successful hunt test weekend, and many people stepped up to assist with ours from Badger State HRC, Horicon Marsh HRC, Muddy Water HRC and WISILL, all partners in the game so to speak. Special thanks to Mike Delaney, Carrie Scaff, Jake Scaff, Jim Scaff, Steve Silk, Chad Nickols, Jenny Macaluso, Jim O’Brien, Sara Pesch, Kim Krupicka, Becky Coppersmith, Jim Coppersmith, Anne Millane, Adam Bally, Cortney Bally and their kids- Lane and Brooke. Hired help from the Tomah FFA and Vernon County Youth Dairy Council filled many of the field positions. Thanks to everyone who helped out at our summer hunt tests.

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