10/13/2026
- Wow, what a year 2026 has been for Cooperstown Kennels in the competition arena. From May-October we competed at 9 hunt tests across the APLA (including the Triple Crown), HRC, and AKC and 1 O/H Qualifying Field Trial earning 99 passes (out of 112) and a Reserve JAM in the Qual. We competed with 17 different dogs and earned 34 new titles! That's right 34 new titles!
This would not have been possible without my awesome kennel help this year. Sawyer Malsin and Damanick Zenner were my outstanding do everything guys. These young men threw birds, loaded wingers, planted blinds, planted birds, shot flyers, shot upland birds, did every kennel chore, mowed and w**d whipped grass, and helped maintain equipment. They were awesome!
Huge thanks to my clients and friends who also helped a ton! Special shoutout to Don Silloway, Jesse Jones, Terry Jones and my brother from another mother Scott Beck and his amazing wife Bobbi Beck. These folks helped with training, getting birds, shuffling dogs, going to the vet, etc... Thank you!
Big shout out to the Waters Retriever Club crew for our Tuesday working sessions.
Thanks to the staff at Town and Country Veterinary Clinic for keeping our team healthy and performing at their highest level.
Thank you to Hunter Rose and Kelly Swiderski for letting me stay and train with them this spring, Tigh Leibel and Samantha Ekern for letting me stay and train with them this fall. Big shout out to Ryan Pasman and Tina Pasman for being my training and traveling buddies this spring and for the Triple Crown. Thanks to Coteau View Hunts and Kennels, LLC. and Thunderstruck Retrievers for the use of their grounds for training.
Thanks to all my clients for trusting us with your dogs and allowing us to help your dog reach their potential. We are blessed with a great client base!
And of course a huge thanks to my girls Breanna VanDeHey, Claire and Elise for holding down the fort and tolerating my new career and obsession. I love you!
Congratulations to the following dogs and owners:
Cory O'Nell and SHR Goose - 2/2 in Started and Cory finished up his SHR title!
Rob Yarroch and Halsey - 2/2 in Started. She went into heat so we didn't get to finish her title.
Melissa Maitland and CPR SHR Reign - 4/4 in Started and 2/2 in CPR
Jesse Jones and CPR SHR Ruth - 4/4 in Started and 2/2 in CPR
Michael Marcell and CPR SHR Duke - 4/4 in Started and 2/2 in CPR
Mike Gallagher and CPR SHR Sadie - 4/4 in Started and 2/2 in CPR
Scott Beck and our boy CPR SHR Junior - 4/4 in Started and 2/2 in CPR
Chad Brownell and HR Moose MH - picked up 5 HRC Finished Passes to earn his HR Title.
Phil Gribble and 3xGMPR HRCH Coupe - Coupe went 6/6 in APLA Master to earn his Master, GMPR, 2xGMPR and 3xGMPR titles. He went 8/8 in HRC Finished to earn his HRCH title and he went 1/1 in AKC Master! 15/15 - This dog is incredible!
Jena Lee Zenner and 4xGMPR HRCH North - North went 2/2 to earn the coveted 4xGrand Master Pointing Retriever title!
Steve Zenner and 4xGMPR-TC HRCH Goose - Goose went 4/4 in the APLA to earn his 3x and 4x Grand Master Pointing Retriever title. He went 2/2 in HRC Finished as a tune up and then went on and passed the APLA Triple Crown in Montana to earn his "TC" title with ease!
The rest of the dogs we competed with were our own dogs or co-owned dogs and they had a great year.
CPR SHR Mel - 4/4 in Started and 2/2 in CPR. The titles don't reflect where she is at in training. And I'll say, this is probably the best dog I've ever trained. So stay tuned...
GMPR HR Summer - 2/2 in APLA Master to earn her Master and Grand Master Pointing Retriever titles! Our sweet girl finally got consistent training this year and really put it all together.
GMPR HR Jackie - 2/4 in APLA Master and 3/4 in HRC Finished this year earning her Master and Grand Master titles (one more finished pass for her HRCH!). Jackie is so talented. The sky is the limit for her!
4xGMPR-TC HRCH Waylon MH - Waylon went 2/2 in APLA Master to qualify for the Triple Crown. During the summer he passed 8/8 in HRC Finished earning another 120 Championship Points. And then he passed the APLA Triple Crown to earn his TC title! This is one special Chocolate Dog!
4xGMPR HRCH Addie - Addie passed 5/6 APLA Master tests to earn her 2x, 3x and 4xGMPR Titles! She earned her first AKC Master pass (1/1) and she also passed 7 more HRC Finished tests to earn another 105 Championship points! This dog may be small, but she's a beast and always a fan and judge favorite!
3xGMPR HRCH Rickey - Rickey earned his GMPR, 2xGMPR, and 3xGMPR Title with the APLA going 5/6. He also picked up 6 more HRC Finished passes and along the way earned his HRCH title. Rickey went 1/1 in AKC Master Hunter and the cherry on top was earning a Reserve JAM in my and his first Qual. Big thanks to our friend and training buddy Jerry Petraitis for all the work he did with Rickey. We wouldn't be where we are on without Jerry and Aspen Creek Kennels. Rickey is a very special animal! This was a big year for Rickey and next year will be too!
