2025 NGSPA Open All-Age Invitational
Hell Creek WMA, MS. January 4-6, 2026
By: Keith Richardson
The eighth NGSPA Open All-Age Invitational was held on January 4-6, 2026, at Hell Creek WMA, Mississippi.
These grounds are considered by many to be the best All-Age grounds in the country. The MS Department of
Wildlife, Fish and Parks has been kind enough to slot us into this time slot every year and it has proven to be
very good as far as weather is concerned. We are the only NGSPA event to be held here.
Hell Creek WMA is owned by the state of Mississippi and managed by their Department of Wildlife, Fish and
Parks, which is lead by Lynn Posey, Executive Director, and under the management of Justin Hughes, NE
Regional Biologist. Justin has been very helpful to all of the Clubs who run here and last year he approved the
purchase of a new refrigerator at our request. The grounds were opened in 1999 and include dog kennels, a
horse barn with 38 stalls, outside paddocks, a spacious Club House with cooking facilities, and a nice area for
trailers and staked-out dogs with some electrical hook-ups. The exceptional grounds accommodate three
hour-long courses. They are multi-use grounds and field trialers share them with hunters and others who love
the outdoors, and appreciate God’s creation. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fish and Parks has a
deep commitment to multi-use recreation and we are deeply grateful to them.
Although he retired in 2020, Jack Griffin remains the “face of the Hell Creek WMA”. Recognizing the need to
stay on top of the grounds, Justin Hughes has retained him to keep the grounds in top shape which benefits
the quail, deer and turkey that call these grounds home as well as the field trialers who hold Hell Creek in the
highest regard. Jack shows up at every event and is always a big help in many ways but most of all he ensures
that the facilities and grounds are always in top shape. His work on the grounds is essential and includes
mowing and weed control, which keeps the forest from encroaching onto the grass bottoms and reducing
game habitat. He understands how fields need to flow for our bird dogs-something most folks cannot grasp.
Thanks also to Jeremy Taylor and the Hell Creek Field Trial Clubs who work during the year to keep the area
clean and in good condition.
The grounds are varied and challenging with a number of long bottoms, some piney woods and smaller tree
lined fields. Despite rain before we arrived Hell Creek was at a low level and we were able to use all three
courses. There is plenty of dense cover to hold quail. The grounds demand a powerful All-Age dog that stays to
the front, carries a line to the end, and seeks timely guidance from its handler. Absences of ten minutes and
more are common. The courses flow nicely but penalize dogs that get behind, won’t carry a line, are seen too
often, or won’t respond to their handler.
We were blessed to have Korry Rinehart and Nick Thompson advise us on how to best organize the courses
including our 90 minute call back. They also used their knowledge as they planted quail in strategic places. All
three courses provide their own challenges and opportunities to show and evaluate an All-Age dog. Korry and
Hunter Jacobs also served as marshals.
We were honored to have two outstanding judges: Bill Mason and David Russell. Both are “bird dog men” and
respected judges having been involved in training, handling, and scouting. Most importantly both men
understand what it takes to be an All-Age Invitational Champion, and they have stellar reputations of personal
integrity.
We had a talented crew involved in putting on this quality event. Christy Harris and Tireca (ReRe) Turner
teamed up to provide three wonderful meals each day. Many have said that our meals are the best of any trial
in the country. Joe Frauendienst oversaw many details both in preparation of the event and throughout it,
including dog wagon, purchase and care of our strong flying quail, and many preparation details. Sheri
Tangsrud and Becky Dynkiewicz pitched in to help with the administration responsibilities. We could not have
put the event on without the oversight, attention to details, and hard work of our Executive Assistant, Brittiny
Haberkorn and Bobbi Richardson.
Our incredible sponsors made this trial possible. Greg Blair and Purina supports all three of our NGSPA
Invitationals, which showcase the excellence of their product that is currently being fed to all dogs competing
in this challenging endurance event. They provided important financial assistance, including 12 bags of
product for the Champion handler, 12 bags to auction, and helped with an original oil painting of the
Champion by Leah Brigham gifted to the owner. Garmin provided an Alpha TT25 tracking collar to the
Champion’s owner and SportDog gave us a training collar for auction. The winning handler also received a
$5,000 purse, and the owner also received a $500 Cabellas Gift Certificate.
All attendees received an exceptional package of gifts including a warm and rugged Carhartt vest with dog and
owner’s names and logo, a custom made leather saddle bag by Haggis Saddlery of Ontario, Canada, a dog vest
with logo by Ruff Wear, an embroidered Mud Creek handler’s gear bag, and a nice T-Shirt with logo.
The Guidelines and Philosophy are essentially the same as the NGSPA Shooting Dog Invitationals. We ask the
judges to pay close attention to our NGSPA All-Age Standard. The 12 top winning All-Age dogs from the past
year are invited. This year we only had 10 dogs due to an unusual number of dogs that were unable to
participate. The field of dogs was very competitive. There are three continuous days of running. The first two
are hour stakes and the third day is a 90 minute call-back, which tests the endurance and stamina of the top
dogs like no other trial in the GSP world.
As with all our Invitationals the judges maintain a consistent pace, staying on course and expecting the handler
to “show them their dog”, understanding that it is the handler’s job to show his dog, not the judge’s job to
follow the handler around. Handlers were free to leave the “path” and do what they needed to show their dog
to the judges. Handlers are expected to quickly gain the front after bird work.
THE RUNNING OF THE DOGS
GENERAL COMMENTS ON BIRD WORK
Day 1 was exceptionally difficult. It started out quite cold with a hard frost, and it never got really warm. We don’t know
the reason but there were very few birds found, and a lot of dogs disappeared for most or all of the hour. The second
day was better but not up to standard. On the Call Back morning birds were planted in the dark and we had record finds.
We will alter our bird planting strategy for next year based upon what we learned.
CALL-BACK DOGS
The judges called back four dogs: Chicoree’s Riden High Trixie (Trixie), Uodibar’s Robbi Jo (Robbi), Twin Creeks Running
Rocky (Rocky), Slate Rock’s Mountain Heart (Rommel).
THE CHAMPION
Uodibar’s Robbi Jo (Robbi), owned by Sherri Tangsrud, handled by Kirk Loftin.
Day 1- Robbi had one divided find and a good race.
Day 2- Robbi had three finds, one was divided and a strong race.
Day 3- 90 minute Call Back- Robbi had a back at 8, and six finds at 12, 50, 63, 68, 72 and 80. She looked great on all her
birds pointing with intensity and no movement. She showed a good balance of independence and “handle”. Her handler
showed her well and he was able to stay in the “money hole” without much verbal guidance and just watched Robbi
work. Robbi took all lines to the front with speed and power, disappearing out of sight without breaking off. She had a
strong finish on “one mile bottom” where she ran out of sight with her speed undiminished. She ran all age but was also
a bird dog being one of the few dogs with a find on the first day and she had the most finds on the second day with six
finds on the last day that were nicely spaced out but providing periods between them where she blew out the front,
disappeared, and was eventually found standing on point. Robbi had the whole package and put on the performance of
a true All-Age Invitational Champion. It also needs to be mentioned that she was 11 years old, which only adds to the
impressive nature of her win.
CHAMPION’S BRACEMATE
Chicoree’s Riden High Trixie (Trixie), owned by Rondal Alexander and handled by Dan DiMambro.
Day 1- Trixie was gone from the cast off.
Day 2-Trixie had two finds (one was divided) and a strong race.
Day 3- Trixie was braced with the Champion and together they complemented each other and had a race that was
exciting to watch. Trixie had 7 finds and 3 backs. She exhibited beautiful, classy style, took all the lines to completion
and ran with exhilarating speed. Her finish in “one mile bottom” was big and powerful. She was hurt by her absence on
Day 1.
Twin Creeks Running Rocky (Rocky), owned and handled by Kirk Loftin.
Day 1- Rocky had no finds, came from behind twice, and was gone from 30.
Day 2- Rocky made up for Day 1 and was the strongest dog of that day. He had four finds, and a fast powerful race. All
his finds were independent of his bracemate and were quality finds.
Day 3- Rocky had another good race for the entire 90 minutes with no let down. He had 8 finds at 3, 8, 30, 34, 45, 64, 75,
86 (three were divided). His bird work was not as solid as Day 2 and he was together with his bracemate a lot.
Slate Rock’s Mountain Heart (Rommel), owned by Andy and Becky Dynkiewicz, handled by Dan DiMambro.
Day 1-Rommel had a find at 28 but came from behind twice. He had a decent race.
Day 2- Rommel had three finds (one was divided) and one NP. He had a good race and a strong finish.
Day 3- Rommel had 6 finds at 8, 14, 24, 30, 45 and 54 (three were divided), and one NP. He had a strong, powerful race
but he disappeared and after an exhaustive search by scout and handler, Dan called for his tracker.
THE REST OF THE DOGS
Monkeyshine’s Call Me The Breeze (Breezy), owned by Helmut Schoen, handled by Dan DiMambro
Day 1- Breezy had one NP and came off her lines; although she had nice ground speed.
Day 2- Breezy had a divided find at 29. Her run was again marred by not completing her lines.
PW Bert’s Joke On Us (Bart), owned by Keith and Bobbi Richardson, handled by Rich Robertson.
Day 1- Bart was lost from his cast off.
Day 2- Bart was scratched.
Stoney Hill’s Pinnacle Dee (Dee), owned and handled by Kirk Loftin.
Day 1- Dee had one find at 29 and then was gone for 30 minutes before returning to the course. She had a good, strong
All-Age race while she was seen.
Day 2- Dee had two finds (one was divided), and one NP. She had a solid race but not as strong as the Call Back dogs.
PW Race To The Front (Raycee), owned by Keith and Bobbi Richardson, handled by Rich Robertson.
Day 1- Raycee had a nice 15 minutes with a NP before the road. She disappeared to the front in the piney woods and
evidently took the bridge to course 3 and was gone. Tracker was pulled at 30.
Day 2- Raycee got into a head race with her bracemate on the cast off and was not seen again.
Hi-N’s Allison Miranda (Allie), owned and handled by Kirk Loftin.
Day 1- Allie was clearly sick and was picked up
Day 2- Allie was scratched.
High Standin Cuttin Edge (Woody), owned by Anthony and Dayna Rusciano, handled by Dan DiMambro.
Day 1- Woody was gone after the cast off.
Day 2- Woody had a find at 19 in the piney woods and a NP. He came from behind once and had a decent race.
GENERAL COMMENTS BY THE JUDGES
The judges recognized the difficulty of Day one and discounted it a lot. The second day was warmer and sunny and the
bird finding improved as did the dog’s races. The third day the races improved even more and of course the bird finding
was spectacular due to the planting of the birds that morning. They were impressed with the excellent sportsmanship
and camaraderie during the running and at our meals. The judges commented that our GSPs could compete anywhere in
the country against their “long tail” dogs. They along with everyone else enjoyed the many youngsters from 3 to 7 that
were riding horses or being carried or ponied and all loving their experience. All in all it was a great time and a really
strong Invitational Champion showed herself.
