Shadow Oak Bo Remembered by Tom Word
" That setter may be tough enough," Luke said, and I nodded agreement, as Robin fitted Bo in the roading harness.
After that I watched him perform each year at Chinquapin in the Florida Championship until his retirement. Each year he ran a strong race with good bird work. Bo was braced in the finals in 2015 with the winner, Utah's Red Rock Express, handled by Rich Robertson , and both scored six finds in big sweeping races. Judges Gary Lester and Cecil Rester called that the best trial they had ever witnessed.
A moment from that trial etched in memory was a find by Bo near the end atop Lookout Ridge, when Robin asked him to relocate. It was windy and gallery riders were close. Relocation at Chinquapin is always difficult, for the wire grass is like a NASCAR track for the birds, which prefer to run for fear of hawks. Despite the pressure, Bo calmly circled wide atop the ridge and pinned the running single sixty yards from the original stand, with never a moment's hesitation. He did the same repeatedly at the Ames Plantation, I observed watching Brad Harter's Videos.
Winner of the National Championship in 2013 and 2014, he also won the Continental in 2010 and in all six Championships and six Runner-Up Championships. Bo restored belief by many in the setter as an all age dog. And belief by bird hunters and horseback shooting dog fans in an all-age setter as a sire of gun dogs and horseback shooting dogs. My son Scott has a Bo daughter that is the best bird dog (on grouse, woodcock and quail) we have owned in sixty years of setters. Rest in peace, Bo, you will not be forgot.
About the Author : Tom Word
Visit authors website | View more articlesTom Word is a lawyer who represents individuals about managing their assets and for amusement writes fiction and non-fiction about bird dogs and humans obsessed with them.
About the Artist : Ross B. Young
Visit artist websiteA lifelong hunter and fisherman, Young knows the adrenaline rush of a covey rise, the smell of dawn as ducks cup into the decoys and the thrill of a trout rising to a well-placed fly. Personal experiences like these add authenticity to his paintings and invite the viewer to relive his/her own outdoor adventures.
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