PRAIRIE CITY – The annual Shoot to Retrieve competition was held last week.

The contest drew 19 hunters, all from the local area. The dog breeds included Brittany and springer spaniels, [ointing Labradors, German shorthairs and German wirehair pointers, Labrador retriever, and a Chesapeake retriever. The weather was great except there was little wind in the morning and the afternoon heat tired the dogs out quickly.

Despite the less than ideal scenting conditions Jim Hammett with Brittany spaniel, Bixby, took the first-place slot with the all time high score of 70 points. While second and third were tied at 56 points and a flip of the coin determined place. Roy Beal with his German short hair cotton took second place, and Mark Bagett took third place with his black Labrador retriever Gina Bella.

The game is run over two days with a total of three birds each day planted before the hunter takes the field. The hunter and dog must work together to find, shoot and retrieve the birds all within 15 minutes. If the team does in less than 15 minutes they score points for each 30 seconds not used. In addition points are awarded for any of the 5 shotgun shells they are allowed to carry. The dog gets a point for pointing or finding the bird , the hunter gets 3 points for shooting the bird and the dog gets another two points if he makes a proper retrieve.