Story by Russ Arend;, bracebeagling.com Columnist
The 2007 derby Classic was held November 17th at George Vestal's farm in Yadkinville, North Carolina. This was my second Derby Classic and it was every bit as good as the first. Approximately forty beaglers from the southeastern United States brought their derbies to show their stuff.
Entries were taken by Junior Tilley with the assistance of Wayne Mason. Those in attendance were advised they could run in trios, brace or solo. Each person entering a dog was responsible for finding a bracemate. Several people would ask a fellow competitor if they wanted to be braced together. This worked well as no one appeared to have any problem finding someone to run with.
When all entries were in there were a total of thirty six derbies. All owners wanted to run in brace which resulted in eighteen braces. This first brace featuring Erinie Moxley and Neal Mc Greagor set the pace with a nice pair of males out of Salt Springs Bronson and Po River Augustus. For the next five hours we saw some really outstanding derbies.
I tried to get the names of all the sires of the derbies, but I might have missed one or two and if I did I apologize. Because there are no entry blanks and the dogs are entered under their owners name such as Tilley and Nichols or Arend and Sharpe. The following is a list of the sires of the derbies entered; Fd.Ch. Cana Ridge Sage, Fd. Ch. Top Spot Tobias, Fd. Ch North Star Noah, Fd. Ch. Big Oaks Blaze, Fd. Ch. Carolina Joy Boy, Fd. Ch. Salt Springs Bronson, Fd. Ch. Sunshine Ronnie, Fd. Ch. Po River Augustus, Fd. Ch. Indian Trail Do Dat, Fd. Ch. Mon Valley Dakota B, Fd. Ch. Mon Valley Marker B, Fd. Ch. Canadian Smoke, Fd. Ch. Melton Hill Magic Tut, and Fd. Ch. Top Spot Tory. Again, I apologize if I missed a dog.
In 2006, we saw some great derbies at the Classic. Several finished their championship and one won the Purina Derby Award. 2007 had just as many outstanding prospects. If this had been a licensed trial and the dogs were braced like this, it would have been difficult for the judges to determine which dog would be high. There were at least ten braces that had a high hound run.
George Vestal and his helpers had the grounds in great shape. There was an ample supply of rabbits and scenting appeared to be good. Because the entire class ran in braces each brace had ten minutes to perform. During this time handlers could do whatever they wanted to show off their dog. If the dogs got a split or had a bad rabbit they were given another rabbit. If a handler wanted to switch the dogs, i.e., put the back dog in front, they could do so and many did.
The time clock was operated by Dwight Miller. When the ten minutes were up he would notify the handlers to get their dogs. The field marshalls were Wayne Myers and John Sharpe. Sometimes it appears that Wayne personally knows every rabbit in the enclosure.
Hattie Vestal and her crew fixed a great lunch and plenty of time was allowed for all to visit and swap stories.
This is truly a nice event. There were no winners and losers, just a bunch of beaglers enjoying their dogs and each other. I would encourage other parts of the country to have a derby classic. Perhaps we can get some sponsors.
I am sure that there will be a 2008 Derby Classic in North Carolina. You might want to attend and show off your derby and join in the fun.
