The list of attendees were:
Dick and Jackie Propernick with Luigi (Orange Male BI) and Bayou the Lab
Keith and Valerie Kessler with Izzy (Orange Female BI)
Ralph and Barrie Minnitte with Sadie (Brown Female BI), Alena (Orange Female BI), Romeo (Orange Male BI), and Paolo (Orange Male BI)
Michael Vernon with Lucy (Orange Female BI)
Lane Conrad and Dan Koon with Draco (Orange Male BI), Apollo (Brown Male BI) and Dixie (Orange Female BI)
Brian and Katie Driggs with Gracie (Brown Female BI)
Izabela and Piotr Kisielinski with Nebula (Brown Female BI), Luna (Orange Female BI) and Oy (Brown Male BI)
The Cadona Family – Franco, Ellie, Sarah, Luke, Bruno, Adrianna and Anna with Dante (Orange Male BI), a Boxer and a Lab.
John Callaci and Martha with Cyder (Orange Male BI)
John Kavalier (owner of 2 Braccos)
The Bill & Carolyn Rech Family – “The Luigi Propernick Fan Club”
Ericka and Robert Dennis with Rico (Orange Male BI), Milana (Orange Female BI), Romeo (Orange Male BI) and Regina (Orange Female BI)
Special Guests of Honor:
Tracy Jenson-Presson – owner of High-On Kennels, NAVHDA Judge and 25 years experience training dogs
David Awbrey – 35+ years of experience training field dogs and very active in NAVHDA San Diego Chapter
Carla Foster – AKC and Rare Breed Judge with 35+ years of experience with large breed dogs
Don Barthel – Bird Dog Photography
Total – 29 people, 4 guests of honor, 20 Bracco’s, 2 Labs and 1 Boxer!
We started out the weekend on Thursday night with a cocktail hour at our house. Everyone was greeted with an informational packet and a shirt and hat commemorating the event. We got off to an early start on Friday morning with breakfast at 7 am. Breakfast featured a local favorite- egg burritos and cheesy potatoes. We also had Danishes, Starbucks Coffee, juice and fruit.
We then started out at 8 am to drive 1 ½ hours to High On Kennels in Santa Ysabel California located in the mountains east of San Diego. We welcomed Tracy Jenson-Presson and started with an explanation and demonstration of a NAVHDA Utility dog. Then we put a few Braccos in the field and let them hunt, point and retrieve some chukkar. Then we had a nice lunch of sandwiches and afterwards Tracy began instructing on how to do Force Breaking to Retrieve with the dog, an essential part of a finished NAVHDA gun dog. We then had a quick demonstration of the tracking required by a NAVHDA utility dog. We finished the day with a fun game by having a remote launcher catapult the dead birds into the air and the dogs had to go fetch them in record time. Draco, owned by Dan Koon and Lane Conrad, won with a time of just under 30 seconds! Congratulations Draco! We then returned to San Diego and had a great dinner at our local sports bar hang out, Yogi’s. A great end to a very fun and successful day!
Saturday started at 7 am once again with breakfast at our house. More egg burritos, cheesy potatoes, Starbucks Coffee, Danishes and fruit. We left at 8 am for our next hunting spot in Ramona, California in the San Diego foothills. Our first item on the agenda was pictures! Don Barthel of Bird Dog Photography took a group photo and had everyone pose individually with his or her dog(s) to commemorate the event. David Awbrey provided the birds and the instruction this day on how to train a young dog. Everyone was impressed with his knowledge and asked a lot of questions. We were instructed on how to use the Wonder Lead, the shock collar and how to set up the Whoa Post. Lunch of sandwiches was served, and then we went into the field and watched the young dogs work on trapped pigeons. We had great help from the gunners, Dick Propernick, Ralph Minnitte and Ericka Dennis. Thanks to Piotr for handling the birds and traps and to Don for photographing all the dogs in the field. We left for Cardiff by the Sea at 4 pm. Saturday was capped off by a delicious barbeque at our house. Bravo to the caterers, Barbeque 81. Fantastic! Our bartender Robert did a super job by keeping everyone’s drink filled. Plus, we had a great raffle of donated prizes that raised over $300 for the Bracco Italiano Club of America!
We got to sleep in a little on Sunday with breakfast starting at 8 am. More burritos! Then we all headed down the road to a local park for the dog show. Special thanks to our judge Carla Foster who gave everyone feedback on the dogs overall appearance and movement. She was very professional, objective and very helpful with constructive comments. The winner of the puppy group was Polcevera’s Dixie owned by Dan Koon and Lane Conrad. The Best of Opposite Sex was Luna Heinaaron owned by Izabela and Piotr Kisielinski. The Best of Breed was Edoardo’s Romeo di Casa Bravo owned by Ericka and Robert Dennis.
We would like to thank all the attendees for taking time out of their busy lives to learn more about the Bracco Italiano breed and meet fun and interesting people and to all the volunteers and attendees who helped make this weekend a successful one.
Thanks and we look forward to 2009!
Lots of Bracco Love!
Ericka and Robert Dennis
Garibaldi Kennel
Cardiff by the Sea, CA
Hunting in Gerlach Nevada - Minnitte Kennel January 2007
Ericka and Romeo made a trip to Gerlach Nevada in January to hunt Pheasant and Chukkar with our good friends Ralph and Barrie Minnitte.
The temperature was only in the teens and twenties but we had a great time!
Italy Fall 2006
In September of 2006 we took a vacation to Italy and visited good friends along the Amalfi Coast and then up to Savona to see Gian Paolo Poggio and his lovely wife Vittoria. It was a great time had by all! This trip was very special because we ended up finding our lovely Regina.
Vittoria, Bob and Paolo
Bob with World Champion Rivana del Monte Alago
Seeing Regina in the field for the first time with Ericka and Paolo
Italy Spring 2004 Field Trials and SABI Article
Ericka had the privilege to attend field trials in Tuscany in March of 2006. She observed some of the most elegant and beautiful Bracchi in the world.
Ericka would like to thank the SABI for their kind hospitality. She was also invited to write an article about her experiences for the SABI newsletter.
See below for the article in Italian and English!
Flavio Fusetti and Jaap Muller getting ready to let the dogs run
Giovanni Grecchi, President SABI and his beautiful dog
Group Side Trip to Volterra
Time out for lunch – great food and great company
In the field
The Bracco Italiano Field Trials: An American Perspective
It was a great joy and privilege to be invited to the working trials in Tuscany. The surrounding hills were a very beautiful place to watch the dogs work. There are many, many things I learned during my trip and I will try to highlight the most important.
First, I was very impressed with the dedication of the people associated with the SABI. It is a lot of work to plan and execute a gathering such as this. Without these people, the traditions of hunting and conformation of the Bracchi would not be alive today. I also learned what tradition means and how the Bracchi have been a part of Italian families for many, many generations. This tradition and dedication shows in the field.
I learned that the dogs must be obedient and live to serve their owners. Rarely did I see a dog disobey its master. This is something I must strive for in my Bracchi. I also saw the most beautiful and elegant dogs in their method of hunting. This emphasis on style in the field is something we do not have in America. Even though there were not many birds in the field, the dogs still had the drive and enthusiasm to search a very wide area. Their use of nose and sense of game was excellent. Lastly, the conformation of almost every dog was the best of the best. The years and years of refining the breed to do the work it was intended to do was evident in every dog I saw. The dogs had light movement, sound structure and an elegant trot.
The Bracco Italiano is a new dog to America. We do not have the history and breeding experience that Italy has. Therefore, we must learn from the Italians by establishing contacts, asking questions, watching field trials and viewing shows. There are a few families in the US who are breeding the Bracchi. We do our best to breed sound, healthy, working dogs. It is important that we have very, very excellent foundation stock or we risk the chance of losing the true type of this breed. I hope by meeting the members of the SABI, we can work together in the future to keep this breed true to the traditions established many, many generations ago by true Italian hunters.
I would like to thank Mr. Giovanni Grecchi for teaching me and helping with the training days in Tuscany. I would also like to thank Mr. Giuseppe Manfroni for allowing me to follow and learn from him during the two days of the field trials. Lastly, I would like give many thanks Mr. Flavio Fusetti for inviting me, making reservations, driving me around and being my interpreter. I had a great time with all the people and I look forward to seeing everyone in the future.
Best Wishes,
Ericka Dennis
<insert italian copy of SABI Newsletter>
Delor Kennel Trip – 2004
Ericka went the visit Lucia Delor and Delor Kennel in Milan Italy in 2004 to pick up Milana. She had a great time hunting with Lucia’s husband Massimo and his uncle Luigi.
Massimo and Luigi with their limit for the day. The dogs are Orso and Titti
Puppies!!
Dog World Article 2002
In 2002 we attended the World Dog Show in Amsterdam Holland. Rico was one of the dogs featured in Dog World as the only US representative of the Bracco Italiano at the show.