My husband and I have been involved with goldens since 1991.  We live in Central Illinois on 24 acres.  We have a 7 acre pond that the dogs believe was put here just for them.  In fact, in 1993 we purchased the land just to have a place to swim and run the dogs.  In 1999, we broke ground for our new home and have been here ever since.  Terry and I are active with the Golden Retriever Club of Illinois and are members of the Golden Retriever Club of America.  We coordinate the GRCI hunt test in May of each year.  I began the journey into the world of hunt test training in 2001 and was instantly hooked. 

 

My first two Master Hunters were Redmark's Red Autumn Rose at the tender age of four (the dog that is) and Kuventre's Cowboy In Me.   Additional Master Hunters are Kelakye's Tin Lizzie MH, CDX, WCX at just 38 months old, Kelakye's Consider Me Gone, Brassfire's Cowboy In Me MH, CDX, WCX (Master Hunter at the age of 26 months), Kelakye's Cowgirls Don't Cry CD MH, and Sure Fire Kelakye's Kiss This MH.  I have since obtained several Senior and Junior titles and continue on the journey to add more Master Hunters to our home.  We also compete in AKC and UKC obedience.

 

My husband and I both work full-time outside of the home but schedule our hours to allow for someone to be here with the dogs for the majority of the day and night.  

 For anyone who has not previously competed and/or titled a dog, a word of warning, it's addicting, especially with a golden retriever.