KEVIN BATTISTONI English Spaniel Field Events, Springer Spaniels
I purchased in Wales, Amerlda of Green Island, an FC here in the States that later became the dam of my black and white male dog ‘Zip’, the 2006 US National Open Champion. “Zip was FC, AFC, NFC, CFC Cross- winds Warpath, 2006 US National Open Champion and a 2010 Bird Dog Hall of Fame Springer inductee. He was second in Canadian National one year, a runner up high point dog one year and in three years of active all age competition, won 6 times, was second 8 times, third 15 times and had 2 fourth places. He fin- ished 81% of the trials he was entered in and he placed in 77% of those trials he finished. Zip was testimony to our breeding program foundation stock; he was sired by one of those first three pups I kept from that third litter we bred way back when. In many ways, Zip was an extraordinary dog, possibly a once-in-a-lifetime animal. In addition to his flawless competition career, during his short life span he proved to be a pro- lific sire of extraordinary offspring. On one outcross breeding, he sired a Cana- dian National Champion; CNFC, FC, AFC, Prairie Meadows Rise and Shout “Rise” and in another outcross, he sired the Springer that has now accumulated more field trial points than any other Springer, ever; two-time National Ama- teur Champion (one in Canada and one in the US) FC, AFC, NAFC, CAFC, CFC, CNAFC Flushingwing Annie, ‘Annie’. I don’t have an accurate count of the champions he produced, but it was a sizable total. “In December 2013, 15 US and Cana- dian Springer owners with dogs having
direct Crosswinds genealogy joined with my wife and me in sponsoring the fifth series at the US National Open Championships in Cambridge, MD. The Springers competed by those 15 owners at that time had accumulated a total of 30 individual championships; open and amateur, US and Canadian, plus several national placements. “One of our personal dogs, my wife’s liver and white male Pilot, was second in the 2010 US National Ama- teur, beaten at that trial by his cousin Annie. At another National Champion- ship, a Canadian National Amateur in 2011, three of the four placements were dogs we either sired, bred or owned and handled. Our personal dogs have earned 18 Championship titles and 3 national placements. “Over the past few years we have been concentrating on continually refin- ing our line. Correspondingly, our pup output has been somewhat reduced, but we still adhere to our core prin- ciples; superior noses and bird-finding abilities, biddability and that insatiable drive. Our standards have not changed. The only significant difference we can see in contrasting where we are now to where we were when we started is that in our more recent breedings, we can see the results of the tighter line breed- ing; most notably apparent in more uni- formity across the litters. We are not quite finished; we hope to stay at it a while longer. It would be nice to create one more National Champion. “I thank the AKC for selecting me and my Crosswinds line as breeder of the year. I am incredibly grateful to be their 2016 honoree. I also thank each and every one of those field trailers who have Springers with Crosswinds genealogy, for campaigning their dogs, for getting placements in trials and for making their dogs champions. I would not be the 2016 Breeder of the Year if it were not for each and every one of them.” MITCHEL & MARGOT BROWN Retriever Field Events Mitchel and Margot Brown have been active in Retriever field trials most of their adult lives and as a married team for the last 22 years. They live full- time in Boston, Georgia, whose greater area is one of the largest communities of winter Retriever areas in the country. They have owned, trained and handled
“I bought my first Springer in 1985. She was a well-bred, field trial wash out and I bought her as a gun dog. I ended up breeding her three times to Ray Cac- chio’s 1986 ESS National Open Cham- pion, FC, NFC Pondview’s Left in the Light, but did not keep a pup until the third litter, at which time we kept the three pups and I started trialing. One of those first pups became an FC, AFC and East region high point dog; the hook was set and we were off, never to look back. It seems like yesterday, but in real- ity, that was 20 some years ago. “From the very beginning, our breeding efforts focused on perfecting three critical traits: 1) super olfactory senses and bird finding ability, 2) bidda- bility (the eagerness of the dog to work with its handler/owner) and 3) creating Springers that lit up like fire when in the field, but at the end of the day were happy to lie in front of you while you napped on the couch. “Over the years, there have been many memorable instances; many excit- ing trials and many serious trial dogs. For a few years, I was routinely traveling to the UK and bringing back breeding stock; outcrossing my domestic blood- lines with UK lines, all the while trying to remain true to my three guiding prin- ciples. I had a few crackerjack imported dogs; one noteworthy handsome dog, a big liver and white male named Ynys- lawd Swift that we made into an FC and AFC and yet another memorable import was a very special black and white bitch
Above: Spaniel Field Events winner, Kevin Battistoni shares his
Right: Mitchel and Margaret Brown, Retriever Field Events.
honor with “Riot, Riot”, AFC Crosswinds Comic Relief and “Proof”, Crosswinds Proofs in the Pudding. 50 • S how S ight M agazine , F ebruary 2017
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