Saturday, October 3, 2009

It was a great day for the Incredible Dog Challenge’s Jack Russell terrier racing at Purina Farms in Gray Summit, MO and when the dust settled the crown passed from the three time winner , Heaven Hill Will Be Quick, from Lady Lake, Florida to a home grown hero, Huntmoor Diamond. Owner Joy Owens (Helms) of Spokane, Missouri, proved that the old adage “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” rang true for she and Diamond after finishing second to Will Be Quick in the previous two IDC finals (2007 and 2008). Second place went to Jacks Be Quick Maverick, owned by Jason and Lorri Jones of Grand Island, Florida. Maverick qualified at our Memorial Day Bash in May, winning the Over racing championship. Due to his owner’s previous engagement (Jason’s graduation ceremony from the University of Florida) Maverick did not compete at the IDC Regional Qualifier in Indianapolis, but confidently moved up through the race heats at the St. Louis IDC into the final. Foxglade Ice, owned by Melissa Rega of Sadieville, Kentucky, was third. Ice was the IDC Eastern Regional winner from Indianapolis. Kimberlite Livingston of Hayward, California returned after several years’ absence as the Western Regional winner. It was great to see owner Allison Cook-Cillers again! A huge thanks to all the MOE terriers who participated and put on an exciting racing display for the overflowing crowd. The terrier racing card is always one of the most spectacular events of the day (but that’s no secret to us).

Thanks to the MOE volunteers who did a marvelous job of handling all the heats and re-runs and especially to our judge, Bonita Knickmeyer, who kept the re-runs in order! Prior to this year only one heat had ever been re-run at the IDC, but the wind whipped the lure around with a vengeance which even the skilled lure operator, Jerry Waelterman, could not settle.

Saturday’s Incredible Dog Challenge finals were filmed for ESPN2 and can be seen on January 3, 2010, 5 p.m EST. The Incredible Dog Challenge offers events for retrievers, agility performers and flying disc teams in addition to the Jack Russell Hurdle Racing. The Jack Russell Hurdle Racing has been a staple of the IDC since its inception and Missouri Earthdogs has been the organizer of the event for Nestle Purina since 1996.

Shirley