SEPTEMBER 18, 2026
Update 7:15pm – Caravan at 7:15 am. Test dog at 8:00 am. 600 Grady Road. Dog 33 starts, Billy & Dan.
Callbacks to the 10th – dogs called back 1,18,30,32,33,37,39,54,55,57,64,65.
Day 6 Turns Toward the Final with a Big Series 9 Land Quad
Back at McParland Farm, 16 dogs face four land marks, three retired guns, rolling hills, and one more critical step toward the 10th series.
Back to McParland for Series 9
After callbacks from the 8th series water blind, the field narrowed to 16 dogs, and the Championship returned to the lush, rolling hills of McParland Farm for Series 9. The stakes could not feel much higher: the dogs that advance from this land quad will become the qualifiers for tomorrow’s 10th series.
Bright sun lit the grounds, with the temperature at 18°C and a steady 14 km/h wind, gusting up to 23 km/h as forecast. The mat is oriented south, putting the wind at the handlers’ backs. S
Series 9 Test
Series 9 is a land quad with three retired guns, shot long-retired left, short-retired right, middle-retired, then the left go-bird. With four birds on the ground and three stations disappearing, this is a memory test. Dogs must sort out multiple right-to-left throws, resist old pictures and visual pulls, and stay honest across the undulating fields.
- Gun #1 — Long retired: A drake mallard thrown right to left at 279 yards. The gunners retire when they hear the last gun shoot, with the holding blind positioned near the stand of trees separating the fields.
- Gun #2 — Short retired: A hen pheasant thrown right to left at 106 yards into tall dead yellow grass. This station sits in a lower field to the right of the mat, with gunners retiring into a marsh grass blind.
- Gun #3 — Middle retired: A rooster pheasant thrown across the front of an island of scrub and trees at 206 yards, with the gunners retiring into a brushed-in blind toward the center cover.
- Gun #4 — Go-bird: A rooster pheasant thrown right to left at 178 yards.
Test Dogs
Test dog Tex, handled by Dennis Harwood, came to the line at 1:49 p.m. and gave the gallery the first look at the quad. Tex did a good job on the go-bird and the short-right retired, finding the hen pheasant quickly in the yellow grass. When sent for the middle-retired island bird, he went wide to the left, splitting the difference between the go-bird and the middle gun before being handled to the bird. On the long retired, Tex took a tight line close to the trees on the right, curled toward the cover, and was handled to the long bird.
Test dog Tule, handled by Mark Jemison, followed at 1:58 p.m. She made short work of the go-bird rooster pheasant, then went directly to the short-retired hen pheasant in the yellow grass on the right. Tule then indicated she wanted the long-retired bird and left the mat on a good line, but she broke down short and made a hard left turn across the field. She hunted back and forth across the slope to the left of the fall area before being handled to the bird. For the island bird, she went directly to the holding blind, hopped into the cover, and quickly came out and found her rooster pheasant.
The Competitive Field Begins
The test is running at approximately seven minutes per dog. A pool of ice water is waiting in a holding blind for the dogs as they come off line, a welcome recovery spot for canine athletes working hard across these rolling fields. While the afternoon is not hot, the effort is unmistakable and we want to make sure no dogs get too hot.
It’s fitting these canine athletes were sponsored in the 9th series by Anytime Fitness, Perth.
Dog #18, Darcy, handled by Howard Simson, came to the line at 2:40 p.m. to open Series 9 for the competitive field. With only 16 dogs still in contention, every bird, cast, hunt, and decision now carries finalist-level weight. The road to the 10th series runs straight through this land quad, and the Championship charge is on.
Update 2:30 pm – Callbacks from series 8 – 16 dogs called back 1,12,18,28,30,32,33,37,39,53,54,55,57, 61,64,65.
Day 6 Brings Finalist Fever to the 2026 Canadian National Retriever Championship
Series 8 returns to the picturesque Chadwick property, where a 208-yard water blind, brisk north wind, and championship pressure set the stage for Day 6.
Back to Grady Road for Series 8
Day 6 finds the Championship back at the picturesque Chadwick property, this time for a water blind in a natural pond setting. Excitement is building across the grounds, because by the end of today the finalists for the 2026 Canadian National Retriever Championship will be known. With only 25 dogs coming to the line, every whistle, cast, water entry, and decision carries extra weight.
Morning Conditions
The skies were bright at 7:45 a.m., with the temperature sitting at 12°C. The forecast calls for a high of 19°C, with a brisker north wind today at 15 to 23 km/h.
Series 8 Water Blind
The mat is oriented south, looking out over a natural pond dotted with strips and islets of marsh grass. The test is set south of yesterday’s water triple, giving the dogs a fresh picture on familiar property. The blind is 208 yards, with the bird fixed to a float board, or “rat trap.” The blind planter sits in a boat more than 30 yards deep and to the right of the blind.
The line begins with an angled entry into the water, with some saplings placed to divert the dogs. Once in the water, the dogs push through a gap in the marsh grass about 125 yards from the mat. From there, the shoreline angles toward the bird, meaning the farther the dogs travel, the closer and more tempting the right-hand shore becomes. A soft point sits on line before the final 15 yards or so to the bird, making this a test of commitment and control.
Test Dogs Show the Pull of the Shore
Test dog Tex, handled by Dennis Harwood, came to the line at 7:49 a.m. and immediately showed how influential the angled shore could be. Tex needed three whistles down the angled shoreline to get into the water, then a few more to push through the slot in the marsh grass. Once he reached open water, Dennis still had to help him hold his line. The right shoreline and soft point were inviting, and Tex needed a couple of left-hand casts to push him off shore and onto the bird.
Test dog Tule, handled by Mark Jemison, followed at 7:58 a.m. Tule also needed a few whistles up front to navigate the angle entry, again showing that both dogs wanted to skirt down the right-hand shore. Once in the water, she needed help getting through the gap, and she, too, felt the shoreline’s suction. Near the point, Tule got tight to the trees and out of sight. Mark called her back into view, and from there she winded the bird and completed the blind.
“Dog To Line”
The trip from mat to bird is running just over four minutes, followed by a couple more minutes for the swim back in. Dog #64, Ember, handled by Matt Mutcheson, came to the line at 8:16 a.m. to open Series 8 for the competitive field. As the sun gets higher overhead, the glare on the water is a factor for the handlers seeing their dogs.
What Comes Next
Once Series 8 is complete, there will be callbacks to series 9. From there, the Championship moves back to McParland Farm at 4894 Scotch Line, also known as County Road 10, for Series 9: a land quad. The National is entering its decisive stretch, and today’s water blind is the gateway to the final rounds.
Series 8 is generously sponsored by the Ottawa Retriever Club, and breakfast at the Southern Comfort food truck is jointly sponsored by the Manitoba Gun Dog Association, Delta Marsh Retriever Club, and the Winnipeg Field Trial Club. Thank you to all of today’s sponsors for keeping the Championship fuelled, supported, and moving toward an exciting finish.
