The Buckeye Retriever Club’s first demonstration at The Great Geauga County Fair started and ended with a splash this year.
Members of the club and their four-footed partners posed at the end of the Natural Resources Area Aug. 31, waiting for the starter on the deck to toss the white, cylindrical bumpers into the water.
Darby, club member Jim Buckley’s golden retriever, waited quietly by his side and, when the bumper was launched into the lake, he eased into the water, swam unerringly to it and brought it back.
But when Remy came to Buckley’s side, the younger golden’s attention focused firmly on his owner. When the bumper flew and Buckley gave the command, Remy leapt into the water with a huge splash and paddled ferociously to the bumper.
After that display, Buckley asked Remy to complete a blind retrieve. Two bumpers were hidden on the far bank behind a post where Remy couldn’t see them from the water.
Using signals, Buckley guided Remy to the exact spot where the retriever collected one bumper and returned across the lake. After climbing out, he liberally soaked Buckley, shaking water out of his long red coat.
Except for an explanation read over the microphone, the only sounds during the demo were made by Buckley directing his dog to the bumper.
According to the script, Darby is 12, suffers from a bad hip and is officially retired from training, but still wants to be part of the team.
Remy, 5, is the product of one of the leading field trial golden retriever breeders in the county and has a senior hunter title. He will soon begin running master hunt tests.
Two other club members, Sue Davis and Ellen Manes, worked with their curly-coated retrievers during the demonstration Wednesday, with other members scheduled to show their retrievers’ talents over the next three days.
The Buckeye Retrievers Club has 150 members who train their retrievers on 168 acres of ponds and fields in Hambden Township. It is the site of numerous retriever events a year, including two national clubs that hold tests there, said club President Cyndi Poveda in a phone interview.
Poveda, of Gates Mills, said she got into retriever training about 15 years ago.
“I wanted to do something with my dog who had more energy than I could contain,” she said.
The club was formed in 1948, making it one of the oldest retriever organizations in the U.S., Poveda said. Most of the founders were interested in field trials, not the testing the club focuses on today.
“It grew into something more board-based,” she said, adding some individuals who owned retrievers shifted to hunt tests. Others participate in multiple sports, such as agility training, and the retriever is not restricted by breed, but eligibility is limited to retriever breeds.
“Poodles are natural-born retrievers,” Poveda said.
The hunt field trials are entered at three levels — junior, senior and master — and further divided into amateur or open classes, Poveda said.
“The levels become progressively more difficult,” she said.
While junior entries are only expected to fetch, as they move up to senior level, they are directed to the blind bumpers by whistles and hand signals and memory skills are introduced. Master level dogs can qualify to compete at the national level, she said.
With events held throughout the summer, the Buckeye Retrievers Club has become part of the summer circuit for trainers across the country, Poveda said.
The Curly-Coated Club of America and the American Chesapeake Club hold tests there with an average of 150 entries each weekend.
Professionals may follow the circuits around the country much of the year, she said.
“It’s an interesting life,” Poveda said.
Her black Labrador retriever, Deshka, is only 2 years old and is working on basic training.
Poveda, who has ridden dressage up to third level, said she is happy training and testing retrievers, who travel to their events in her SUV and are less expensive to maintain.
“And I can cuddle up with her at the end of the day,” Poveda said.
