The summer of 2010 was busy running Manny in both AKC and HRC hunt tests. He went 4 for 4 in HRC Seasoned tests getting his HR title and achieved his first Master pass before he was 3 years old.
In March of 2011
Manny came out in Novice with a bang going HIT with a score of 199 on his first leg! His next 2 legs were also in the ribbons with a second place and a first place respectively. *You can view his first leg on Manny's video page.
The
summer of 2011 he proved proficient with Master setups. He passed 4 more tests (in a row) to have his 5 Master passes to title!
After getting his MH title we took the winter off from field to brush up on our obedience.
In March of 2012 he went 3 for 3 with two first places and a third to become a new CDX.
I took up my friend Kathy Doyle-Winslow on her offer to handle Manny for me at the New England Sporting Dog Association dog show in March of
2012. He was Best Gun Dog on both Saturday and Sunday under breeder judges Barbara Pepper and Michael Faulkner. On Saturday he went 4th in the Gun Dog Group under Ms Margaret Brown from Scotland who told me: 'that's what a Golden Retriever should look like'. On
Sunday he was awarded a Gun Dog Group 3 under Ms Deborah Verdon.
In June of 2012 he received his CCA from breeder judges: Berna Welch, Kay Gosling and Elizabeth Greenfield all with very high scores. This has made him a VC
from the GRCA (with 17 points).
By July he was running so well I decided to try a field trial. Manny took a 4th place in an *all breed* O/H Qualifying! He was so honest and gave me so much effort each series, I could not
have been any more proud of him. The ** earns him 8 points from the GRCA to make him a VCX with 25 points.
In September of 2012 he earned his 4th HRC finished pass to make him a Hunting Retriever Champion. Just 3 weeks after achieving
his new HRCH title, he was Winners Dog for his first points- a 3 point Major. The major win combined with his field trial placement (**) earned him entry to GRCA's Dual Dog Hall Of Fame.
In November of 2012 he received his
second Major under breeder judge Kathy Lorentzen. We took some time off over the next two months for the holidays. In January 2013, Manny was awarded Yankee Golden Retriever Club's CDX Trophy at our annual awards banquet.
Back to the breed ring in February 2013 to be awarded BOW at LIGRC Specialty under breeder judge Susan Foster for his third Major. On the road to Maryland Sporting Dog and is awarded a (Major Specialty) RWD under breeder judge Ellen Hardin. He continues
onto Louisville, KY with Graeme Burdon and is awarded WD for a Specialty 4 point Major, defeating 29 dogs.
Manny finished his Championship on April 7, 2013 with 5 majors to his credit (all breeder judges), a BOB from the classes
and a Group 1st under respected breeder/judge Michael Faulkner defeating a combined total of 304 dogs! The Group 1st gives him 5 SDHF points.
Despite having 8 months off from field training to finish his breed Championship, we
jumped back into the field trials and in August 2013 he was awarded a Reserve Jam in another all breed Qual. At the 2013 GRCA National Manny placed first in the Field Dog class and first in his class in Gun Dog Sweeps. He was awarded the Bill Lester Trophy
by the GRCA Board of Directors. This trophy is awarded to the GRCA member accumulating the highest points in AKC licensed or member breed shows and AKC licensed field trials during the calendar year.
The judges comments as reported in the GRNews:
Ms.
Michele Gawenka: "A moderate dog with correct, slightly wavy coat of lighter gold. Nice substance. Beautiful head and expression, dark pigment. His proportions and angulation are textbook and his movement is clean and effortless. With a CH, CDX,
MH, WCX**, DDHF, VCX titles, he's everything a Golden should be."
Ms. Barbara Branstead: "A correct, moderate dog with good movement."
In January of 2014 he was awarded the YGRC Bench and Versatile Golden Retriever Trophies for his successes in 2013 - a very
nice way to wrap up the year!
In February we took a trip to Long Island, NY for the LIGRC Specialty. His first time out as a special and he is awarded
a JAM under Connie Gerstner. He gave Graeme one bark in the ring to let him know he was having a good time! In July he was in Canada and received 3 Canadian CH points and was RWD at the Canadian Regional Specialty. September brought us to the obedience
ring and he received 2 UD legs placing first and second place.
At the 2014 GRCA National Specialty in October, Manny was awarded the Bill
Lester Trophy by the GRCA BOD for the second year in a row. He was also the co recipient of the CH/AFC Lorelei Golden Rockbottom UD trophy last awarded in 2005!
Always happy to be in the ring with his buddy Graeme Burdon he is awarded BOB at Central NY KC on 11/15/14 under Michael Faulkner and the next day is Select Dog under judge Charlotte McGowan for a total of 8 GCH points in one weekend. Three weeks
later he is first place in his Utility class to title!
I decided to show Manny myself at the Hudson Valley Golden Retriever Club Specialty on
6/5/15. What an absolute thrill when the judge, Suzanne Hemminger, pointed to us for Best of Breed in an 88 dog entry!! A day I won't soon forget!
Most
recently he was awarded Best Veteran Veteran and a JAM at YGRC Specialty under breeder judge Ainslee Mills- owner handled.
Capping off his impressive show career, Manny is spending
his retirement as a Therapy Dog International certified therapy dog. He accompanys me on hospice visits and is a bright spot in the 'Good Grief' program for kids who have lost a parent. He is a complete natual with the kids and they love him- a win win for
all involved.
We are very proud that Manny is the 5th CH MH ** Golden Retriever in GRCA history
Regarding his registered name:
The theme was the 'OZ' litter. At the time Manny Ramirez (the pro baseball player) was on the Boston Red Sox and was always in the news for
antics on and off the field. The coined phrase of 'Manny being Manny' was in the papers all the time. He was a great player who made people laugh at some of the silly stuff he did. I changed the spelling to RamirOZ and added the 'Being' to go with the 'Manny
being Manny' phrase.
There you go- Manny was named after a talented athlete with a sense of humor. :)
