Wall of Fame
Welcome to High Prairie Farms Flushing Spaniels, LLC Wall of Fame! This is a collection of photos and memories of our most remarkable dogs. Some are field champions. Some never reached that title, but were far superior spaniels that always gave solid performances in the real hunting world of Montana, Colorado and Nebraska.
These dogs performed to perfection on pheasants in the cattail swamps and buffalo berry coulees. They were awesome on sharptail grouse and the occasional Hungarian partridge or sage grouse in the wheat stubble fields. These are the dogs with special personalities and great abilities in the field. They were all my best friends. Most have passed on and I miss them dearly! They all have given me great memories and taught me a lot along the journey of life!
Warrior’s Sweet Happy Jack “Jake”
Warrior’s Sweet Happy Jack
DOB: 4-8-88
Sire: CNFC, FC, CFC Whitlock’s Warrior
Dam: Belle Aurore Diana
Jake was the first dog I ever trained and field trialed. He not only was the first dog I placed in a field trial, but he was out of the first litter of puppies I ever produced. Jake had 9 Open All-Age points before I retired him to the task of being a superior upland hunting dog in the Montana coulees, the plains of Colorado and the corn stubble of Nebraska. Jake was a superior bird finder and long range marker. In addition, Jake was fully trained to take hand signals on blind retrieves. Jake made many unbelievable retrieves and sorted out some very tough runners and hard to find, buried-in cock birds. He was an ideal family dog and possessed superb bird sense and tracking skills. Jake was great in the water or on land. Jake taught me a lot about trusting a dog’s nose. Jake lived to be 13½ years old and was still hunting at the age of 12.
High Prairie Luckothe Irish “Irish”
photo by Judith Strohm
Irish was very special. It was me that had the Luckothe Irish on my side. I sold Irish as a puppy. I bought him back at about 6 months old and never looked back. Irish was the first dog I won an Open All-Age field trial with. He ended his trialing career one point short of FC and was a far better dog than most that have earned that title. He had perfect range, excellent control, a superior nose and was a tracking fool. He not only was an excellent marker, but he was finely tuned to handle long blind retrieves. Irish had true spaniel style. He never lied when he said bird! He faced heavy cover with a vengeance and always gave 100% on land or water. Irish made it all look easy! Irish was still hunting at the age of 13 years and lived to the ripe old age of 15. He exemplified the kind, biddable spaniel that was always eager to please. Look at many of my pedigrees today and you will see Irish’s influence on my breeding stock. Irish excelled in hunting wild pheasants in cattails, multi-floral roses and buffalo berries. He was the true “Gentleman’s Companion!”
High Prairie’s Wild E. Riley “Riley”
photo by Judith Strohm
DOB: 3-15-90
Sire: FC Renegade of Whitebridge
Dam: Byrd of Housty (U.K.)
Riley was the best sharptail grouse dog I have had. He excelled in all upland hunting, but seemed to out-perform all the others on sharptails. Riley was a brother to Irish. He retired from the field trial circuit with 22 Open All-Age points. He was always a solid performer on land and in water. Like his brother, he was a superb tracking dog and a great retriever. He always faced cover and hunted 100%! Riley put a lot of wily pheasants and sharptails in the pot. I will never understand how I got so lucky to have both Irish and Riley from the same litter! Riley taught me vast amounts on how to train dogs as individuals rather than using the same approach for every dog. He taught me more about reading and training dogs and even more about trusting my dog’s abilities. Riley hunted hard until the age of 12 and lived until he was 13½ years old.
“3 Old Men!” Riley on the left, Ed (My father, center, at 82 years of age) and Irish on the right. The dogs were 12 1/2 years old on this hunt of Montana Ringnecks.
Troilus Danosbud Bingo “Bingo”
DOB:
SIRE: High Prairie’s Luck o the Irish
DAM: Badgercourt Sable Of Windmillwood
Bingo was a son of Irish. His tenacity in the hunting field and competitiveness in field trials earned his place on the Wall of Fame. A hard going, power driving dog which was fearless in cover is the only way to describe him. Bingo was a cover thrasher extraordinaire with endless endurance! He put everything he had into hunting hard. He just loved it! He was a specialist in cattail swamps and pheasants in the woods.
Sired by Irish, I purchased Bingo from the owner when he was close to 2 years old. to finish out his training. I kept him and started running him in trials and hunting with him. I had a lot of awesome hunting days in the field with cover where most dogs wouldn’t have gone and in cold and ice breaking conditions.
With his hardcore drive combined with getting a later start on training him I never got Bingo his win to make him a field champion. He had 13 open all age points when I retired him and starting trial handling dogs for Roy French’s Denalisunflo kennel. Bingo did teach me a ton about field trialing and enjoyed his retirement years hunting wild pheasants, sage grouse, huns and sharptails in Montana.
Bingo was what all true hunting spaniels should be in the field. He was hard working with extreme stamina is really difficult hunting cover. He had the bird skills and instincts to find birds in any cover; in any conditions! He was a super long range marker and retriever with a soft mouth. The best part of Bingo is that even with all his drive and desire to hunt he was a very social dog and loved people.
Bingo was also a very well built spaniel and was an accomplished sculptor’s model as well as being superb in the field. He was the dog used as an artists model for Stan Bentalls’ sculpture “In Pursuit” as part of a series of ceramic gun dogs released by the Danbury Mint. Stan also released a limited edition in bronze as well. Bingo had spectacular looks and grace in the field.
FC Aber du Slip (U.K.) “Sady”
photo by Judith Strohm
Sady was awesome! She was extremely consistent in the field trial game and was an incredible dog on wild birds! Without a doubt, Sady was one of the best pheasant tracking and bird savvy dogs I have ever seen! I purchased Sady from a friend as a young started dog from England. She was the first dog I personally did all the conversion work with and made her an Open All-Age field trial champion. She taught me a lot about the importance of proper wind patterns and how good dogs can run them perfectly. Sady taught me how dogs adjust their hunting range according to the cover they are presented with. She did everything right! Sady was exceptional at running the winds in textbook fashion and finding birds. She was an extremely kind and attentive dog. She was always eager to please! Sady is one of the foundation bitches for my breeding program. Most of my pedigrees show FC Aber du Slip. Sady had it all: good looks, excellent personality and was incredible in every shooting venue!
FC Denalisunflo’s Drive “Teaser”
DOB: 9-8-96
Sire: FC Denalisunflo’s Frosty
Dam: Denalisunflo’s Betsey
Owner: R.E. French
My most successful field trial dog was Teaser. In 1998, I was given the opportunity to select a dog from Bird Dog Hall of Fame inductee, Mr. Roy French, to start running on the open field trial circuit. I went to a Minnesota trial and watched several dogs and selected Teaser from the bunch of puppies. Soon after, the winning started and never stopped. Teaser went on to be the 1999 Rocky Mountain High Point dog. In 2001, Teaser was the United States Open High Point dog. In 2002, he was the Mid-West Interclub High Point open dog. He was very talented, consistent and a dream to be around. Teaser was gifted! It would be close to say whether Teaser or Sady was the best bird finder I have ever seen. They are without a doubt #1 and #2 with me, giving Teaser the slight edge. Teaser was unusually good at marking falls as well as sorting out runners. He had the uncanny ability to make huge (and I mean huge) retrieves look easy. Teaser was exceptional in water as well as land. He just had all the right stuff! Unfortunately, Teaser never got to hunt wild birds much since he was owned by Mr. French. Teaser was always exciting to watch and a thrill to run! As his name indicated, he had incredible drive, speed and style, was easy to control and flat out smoked birds! He was still winning trials at the age of 8½ years.
FC Denalisunflo’s Tim “Tim”
DOB: 1-09-98
SIRE: FC Denalisunflo’s Frosty
DAM: CNFC, FC, CFC Denalisunflo’s Tisa
Owner: R.E French
Tim came to me as a clear surprise. I had traveled down to the legendary Denalisunflo Kennel to look at dogs and really liked Tim. Several months later, I was discussing dogs with Mr. French and brought up Tim. Mr. French felt he had a more talented dog in another animal. He was making arrangements to get this other dog delivered to me. When I opened the crate, there was Tim! To say the least, I was delighted. Nine days later, I placed Tim in his first open All-Age field trial. That was the beginning of a great career, with several wins in large, fifty to sixty dog trials. I championed Tim for Mr. French in 2003. Tim was pure class! I handled him for Mr. French until Mr. French’s death in 2003, when I purchased Tim for my kennel. Tim was a very dynamic spaniel in the field. He had a great nose, was exceptional on moving birds and was an excellent marker and retriever. Tim had a very kind and extremely bonding personality that made him a joy to be around. Tim was a consistent dog that was very aggressive in cover and ran the winds well. He was very sound in water as well as on land. Tim performed well in both the field trial and hunting environments and was exceptional on sharptail grouse as well as pheasants. He played a large role in my breeding program.
FC Denalisunflo’s Stretch “Stretch”
Picture unavailable
DOB:12-10-96
Sire: FC, AFC Denalisunflo’s Happy
Dam: Denalisunflo’s Sieta
Owner: R. E. French then Mhari and Gary Peschel
Like Teaser and Tim, Stretch came to me from Denalisunflo Kennel. Stretch was just a puppy when I received him. With my further training and handling, he placed in his first eight puppy stakes. We then moved on to the open stakes where he had a solid career. Stretch was then sold to one of my other clients, for whom I made him a field champion. Stretch was a very soft dog combined with a little more independence. He was a talented animal throughout and was loaded with bird tracking skills. He was an incredible dog at making unbelievably long retrieves. Stretch was an all-around talented dog with a kind temperament.
FC Badgerdyke Buccaneer (U.K.) “Dan”
DOB: 2-17-97
Sire: FTCH Supescud Swank of Stagsden
Dam: Gwibernant Loach
Owner: Mr. Lynn Miller
Fast would describe Dan. I imported Dan from England for a client. I personally did all of the conversion work and within a year was placing him in field trials. He finished the first national championship he ran in. In the next few years, I had several wins with him. Dan was a very exciting animal loaded with incredible speed and style. He would tear up the heaviest, nastiest cover and make it look easy. He was a total package that was always in contention for the win. With my conversion and handling, Dan was an Open All-Age champion within 2 years of running in U.S. field trials. He had style combined with great speed and all the bird skills.
FC Larford Fragg (U.K.) “Paddy”
DOB: 1-17-2001
Sire: FTW Larford Doc
Dam: Arnothill Sophie
Paddy was one of those dogs that was superb in both the field trial forum and in the hunting of wild birds. In the field trial venue, Paddy had a great fall of 2006! He won two open field trials in less than a month to make his AKC Open field champion title. He did all this with me performing as a one-armed handler, since I was handicapped with a torn rotator cuff and had my arm in a sling. In the Rocky Mountain field trial, which he won, Paddy tracked out a crippled pheasant that ran well over 100 yards in very hot, dry conditions. It was truly one of the greatest pieces of dog work I have ever seen on a crippled bird.
In the hunting field, Paddy had incredible desire to please and unbelievable endurance. He tore up the heaviest, nastiest cover and makes it look easy! Paddy had dynamic spaniel action with lots of drive, superior tail action and was great on all aspects of hunting. He was a solid dog in the water as well as on land and was fully trained to handle blind retrieves. Paddy was a truly versatile spaniel who hunted as well as trialed. He really loved tearing up hunting cover in the quest for sharptails, partridge and pheasants.
Paddy was an accomplished “model” as well as being superb in the field. He appeared on a wide variety of packaging labels for Sergeant’s Pet Care products. With his spectacular looks and unbelievable grace in the field, Paddy has and will continue to make a strong, positive impact on our future breeding program. Paddy was an English import with awesome talent!
Paddy’s Last 2 pheasants at 13 1/2 years old.
Tim with Paddy with Montana birds
John and Paddy’s son Bridger on left. Tim and Paddy on right.
I shot the last wild pheasant for Paddy when he was 13 ½ years old and we lost him at 14 ½ years of age.
Tawneyhill Copper (U.K.) “Copper”
Tawneyhill Copper
DOB: 09-07-01
SIRE: FTW Housty Eternal of Tawnyhill
DAM: Tawnyhill May
Copper was an English import I obtained as a very young dog. He was total power, a superb talent with the personality of a big teddy bear! Copper had an outstanding nose and was a solid bird tracker. He had all the qualities I love: running the winds very well, aggressive in all cover (wood or fields) and solid in marking and retrieving. Copper had incredible drive and desire and exceptional endurance. He was awesome in heavy cover and had great bird sense. His personality and eagerness to please made him very special. He always wanted to play as a team. He was an extremely soft, kind and attentive animal. Unfortunately, we lost him right when he was coming into his prime. Copper was a larger spaniel, in the 50# to 54# class. Though big, he had exceptional spaniel action for such a large dog. He was always eager to please and rock and rolled in the hunting field.
Dixie McGinty (U.K.) “Dixie”
Dixie was pure and total class! I was blessed to have the opportunity to import Dixie in 2007 from England. Dixie was sheer harnessed power! She had one speed and was as an absolute flying machine when it came to speed and drive! She was a very hard going gal bashing the heaviest and nastiest of cover. Heavy cattails were one of her favorite places to hunt. She tore them up! Miss Dix, as I called her, had an excellent nose and was a very solid, long range marker and retriever. I can remember her making one of the most amazing retrieves I have ever seen in my career while hunting with my friend Jack in Montana. She made it look easy. In addition to power she had all the details, naturally running detailed wind patterns. Miss Dix was a true versatile dog. She could be handled to long blind retrieves anywhere and handling water as efficiently as she did land work. She loved to hunt and was exceptional at tracking running pheasants! With all of her power, Dixie had exceptional pace, style and endurance. She had an extremely active tail action which adds to her spaniel style. Miss Dix was very eager to please and loved attention. She was a soft and kind soul who was always fun to be around. We have been blessed to have numerous offspring which we intend to keep insuring her special qualities move forward. Her son Dodger was a prime example of the power and love of cover which she has passed on. Miss Dix was a "top of the line" hunting spaniel!
Rambler Rodger of Roanlodge (U.K.) “Whynn”
DOB: 05-16-00
SIRE: FTW Roughburn Swank
DAM: Whinreek Idalgo
Whynn was a talented English import and a proven producer of great puppies. He was the grand sire to the 2009 U.S. High Point Open Dog. Whynn was never campaigned on the field trial circuit. He came into my life at a point where I wanted a break from “life on the road trialing” so I just enjoyed him as one of my ace hunting dogs. He excelled at it! He boldly faced all cover, was an excellent bird finder and could be handled anywhere. Whynn was very well bred and was an extremely handsome black and white Spaniel. With a superb nose, Whynn was exceptionally savvy on moving birds and a solid marker and retriever. He had incredible drive and style with great drive on his flush. His personality outperformed his hunting drive. He was a very kind, bonding dog that adored human companionship. Whynn was affectionate and attentive. He loved to be loved! Whynn excelled at hunting wild birds, including sharptails, and was excellent in water. He could be handled easily across 120 yards of water. Whynn was an extremely consistent dog that was very aggressive in cover and ran the wind perfectly. He consistently produced quality puppies that were very social and talented in the field. His genetics will continue to influence our future generations.
Edgegrove Hammer of Badgercourt (U.K.) “Tom”
Edgegrove Hammer of Badgercourt
DOB: 06-01-2005
SIRE: Ir. Open FTW Innislusky Monty
DAM: FTW Edgegrove Elen of Badgercourt
Tom was an English import I obtained in January, 2007. He had superb talent with a soft bonding temperament. Tom had an outstanding nose, great bird sense and was a solid tracker on moving birds. He ran the proper wind patterns very well and was solid in all marking and retrieving. Tom had incredible drive and desire and exceptional endurance. Having spent his youth in England, he was awesome in heavy cover. Tom was a soft, kind and attentive animal who loved human interaction. Tom was always eager to please! He had exceptional spaniel action and style with a hard driving flush. Like many of the classic “Badgercourt” line of dogs, Tom had a broad, solid, all black face. He was very well bred and was an extremely handsome spaniel. He did everything with superior intensity! Tom tore up the heaviest, nastiest cover and made it look easy! Tom was a truly versatile spaniel who hunted as well. I never campained Tom in field trials. I did not have the interest in trialing at that time and enjoyed hunting more. He was a solid dog in the water as well as on land. Tom was an extremely consistent dog in the field.
I widely used Tom as a stud in our breeding program and you will see his name in many pedigrees and he will be an strong influence in our future generations.
Tom on left. Son of tom (Drummer) on right.
A family affair! Tom second from right back row, Sons of Tom— Baxter, Rudy and Drummer back row, Oroe front right. Tom granddaughter, Zoe front left.
FC Nel’s Jigsaw’s Viper
DOB: 07-04-2011
SIRE: NAFC, FC, AFC Sundart Solar
DAM: FC Nel’s Lady Jigsaw
Owner: James Nelson
Miss Viper came to me for training from a client at 22 months of age with many issues. She had been started by another pro who created several problems within her training. The owner wanted her to be a field trial dog for him to run. I saw plenty of talent hiding in among the issues and gave the best effort I could to salvage her. Long story short is we made great progress and I was able to get her Open field champion title on her. Viper was a top class dog with talent. She had great power and ran hard with really nice style. Miss Viper ran the winds very well, found birds well and was a great retriever! She was a lovely, kind and bonding gal who loved attention. It was truly a pleasure to get to work and salvage her and bring out all her natural talents. She was just a joy to run.
High Prairie’s Artful Dodger “Dodger”
DOB: 05-27-2007
SIRE: FC Larford Fragg
DAM: Dixie McGinty
Dodger is an early inductee in to the Wall of Fame. He is a son of Dixie and Paddy and has earned is place on the Wall of Fame through his tenacity in the hunting field. The only way do describe him is power driving, cover basher extraordinare! Like Paddy and Dixie the heavier and tougher the cover the harder he goes. He is a specialist in cattail swamps and pheasants in the woods.
I originally sold Dodger as a puppy and he turned out to be far more dog than the owner could hold on to. I bought him back when he was a little over 2 years old. I am glad to have been blessed getting him back. He is what all true hunting spaniels should be in the field: Hard working and extreme stamina is really hardcore cover. He has exceptional bird skills and instincts to find birds in real cover.
In addition to his hard driving hunting style Dodger is a kind dog who likes human contact and interaction. He is a very special pal. I have shot tons of pheasants over him and he is always one of my dogs I take out when I know the cover and conditions are going to be tough! I have been blessed to have had several very special sharptail grouse hunts with him as well.
Dodger has been used in our breeding program to bring in his element of drive and bird find skills all combined with personality. Those elements will continue to contribute to breeding program in upcoming generations. He is still hunting hard at 11 1/2 years old.
High Prairie’s Sunshine Zoe “Zoe”
DOB: 08-24-2009
SIRE: High Prairie’s P.T. Cruiser
DAM: Roseate Rhea
Owner: Adis Zilic
Zoe was top shelf! She was a successful Amateur field trial dog for her owner and she had the talent to run in the Open trial stakes as well. At the same time she truly excelled in the hunting field. She ran equally well for me as well as her owner.
Zoe had an outstanding nose, great bird sense and was a solid tracker on moving birds. She ran the proper wind patterns very well and was solid in all marking and retrieving. Zoe had incredible drive and desire. She learned her hunting skills in the real hunting cover of eastern Montana. The heavy coulees and cattail swamps honed her skills making her awesome in facing heavy cover. Zoe naturally knew how to hunt in the woods as well. She adjusted very well to the mixed bag offerings of pheasants, sharptails and huns. Zoe was a soft, kind and attentive animal. She was always eager to please! She had exceptional spaniel action, drive and style with a hard driving flush. I had the true pleasure of having many incredible hunting days with Miss Zoe and her owner Adis. Just about everywhere I go hunt today I have fond memories of past birds I shot for her in those locations. She was as good as they get!
Zoe on the right, Oreo on the left
Zoe on the right
Zoe’s first Sharptail
Adis and Zoe n left, Oreo and Amel on right
Adis and Oreo on left and Amel with Zoe on the right
High Prairie’s Lower Rhythm “Drummer”
High Prairie’s Lower Rhythm
DOB: 03-21-2013
SIRE: Edgegrove Hammer Of Badgercourt
DAM: High Prairie’s Ebony Retriever
A super dog is the only way to describe Drummer! He hunts hard, faces cover very well, has a superb nose, and excels in all hunting disciplines. He handles it all and loves water to. Drummer is exceptional in the field but a very calm dog to be around and a very kind soul.
Drummer was born here and started by an amateur friend to give that person experience training spaniels. He is a son of Tom and a grandson of Whynn. He came back to me as a young started dog and went straight into the hunting field at 14 months of age. He has since become one of my ace hardcore hunters on the truck!
Drummer faces the cattails, woods, prairie grass and any thing that is presented to him equally well. He is a tenacious tracking dog with great birds sense.
Drummer has been a top producer as a one of our sires. He is a proven producer of dogs that are kind and calm to be around but go hard in the hunting field. We have many really talented offspring of his and look forward to them carrying on his qualities into the future.
Thank you for letting me to share a few of my great dogs with you. Each one carries their own special memories and many of these memories still bring tears to my eyes. Most of these dogs have passed on, but their impact will never be forgotten!
Timothy A. DeGroff