at the MC's invitation to join the Luther March Hunting Retriever Club. They were welcomed and invited to train with the group.

Serge was in awe of the club members' dogs. He admired their control, discipline, marking and retrieving abilities. Just two weeks - and two training sessions later - they entered their first UKC Hunting Retriever Started level test. Remy passed. On the following week, he completed the Started level requirements. At the next test, they moved on to the Seasoned level, expecting to breeze through that one, too. Instead, Serge compares the experience to hitting a brick wall. Undaunted, they went to work on handling and control. Four and a half months later, the team achieved their third pass and the Seasoned title. Serge says that this was a challenge for both Remy and himself. This level of test is designed to simulate a duck hunt. It included the elements of being in a blind, the handler firing poppers, honoring, 40-yard blinds, and double retrieves - on land and in the water.

"The dog makes me look good. I'm just here for the ride..."

Between April and June of 2000, Remy participated in both the UKC Finished level tests, earning that title, and also ran the AKC Master Hunter tests. By September of 2000, just sixteen and a half months after they began their hunt test quest, Remington achieved his UKC Hunting Retriever Champion title.

The Mid-Penn was the pair's first AKC hunt test. Remy walked to the line off lead, at heel. He sat quietly as the Judge spoke to Serge, then embarked on the hunt dead. Remy lined it, winded it, and made the retrieve in no time at all. He passed his first three Master Hunter tests, and met the title requirements in 2001 with just eight attempts.

And along the way, he found the time to earn his UKC Upland Hunter title as well. It is nothing short of amazing!

"The dog makes me look good. I'm just here for the ride. He's incredibly smart," Serge speaks of Remy with admiration. "He's so disciplined. He is a natural flusher. Remy is steady to wing and shot although we didn't train for that. When I blow the whistle, he stops."

Success runs in the family. Besides Remy, littermate HRCH Springville's Browning has also achieved the Hunting Retriever Champion title. Remington was the first with Browning following suit. The family pedigree includes notable springers: FC/AFC Bricksclose Matchwood, FC/AFC Turtlecreek Camden Penny, ENG FTCH Badgercourt Druid, 1987 NFC Pondview Left in the Light, and CFC Springville's Krispy Crunch.

When it was learned that the UKC Hunting Retriever Grand Champion test was to be held just two hours travel time from where Serge lives, it was suggested that they ought to give it a try. Serge explains that they set their expectations low. It was enough of an honor just to know that Remy would be the first English Springer Spaniel ever to participate in a Grand level test. If he were to make it through the first and second series, that would be a real bonus.

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