General Information

Registered Name:  HRCH Captain Samantha Pearl SH
Call Name: Sam
Owner:  Mark Van Zee
Sire: HRCH Mapple Creek's Captain Morgan MH QAA
Dam: SHR Willow's Swamp Water Pearl JH
Location:  Lincoln,  NE
Breed:  Labrador Retriever
D.O.B.: December 23, 2008
AKC #: SR23990406
UKC #: R214-616
EIC Clear

Resumé

Sam is the dog that started it all. She was purchased by her owner, Mark Van Zee, in the winter of 2008. Mark’s intentions with this dog were to have nothing more than a pheasant hunting dog. That all changed when Mark got involved with his local Hunting Retriever Club. He began training and campaigning Sam. In 2012 Sam attained her AKC Senior Hunter Title. In the spring of 2013 Sam earned her Hunting Retriever Champion Title, and currently holds 190 UKC Championship Points. Future plans for Sam are to campaign her towards her Upland Hunter Title in the spring of 2014 and work towards her Master Hunter Title in the AKC, as well as continuing to compete in HRC “Finished Level” Hunt Tests.


Skills

Sam’s strengths lie in her drive and desire. Here’s a little more about Sam:
Drive/Desire: Sam’s drive is at a level so high she can almost be a bit hard to handle at times! But it’s that same amount of intensity that brought her to where she is today. I’ve never worked with a dog that has more will and desire to get the job done than Sam. This makes training with her enjoyable. She wants nothing more than to do the work and bring in the bird. Her level of intensity is also what keeps her going after her final duck of the day downed in an icy river.  
Build: Sam is a large muscular female weighing in at 65lbs. Her powerful hind quarters, deep barreled chest and classic rough double coat make her the ideal retriever for a late season goose  hunt.
Marking: There’s a lot of things Sam is. “World’s Greatest Marker” isn’t one of them. While her marking ability has been more than adequate for hunting and good enough to attain her HRCH title, she does not have the high level of marking skill required to compete in the field trial world. 
Handling:  Blinds are another one of Sam’s strong suites. At this point in time she is probably the best blind running dog in the kennel. She is truly a dog that “runs her blinds like her marks”! Her desire to please and preform makes her a joy to run on blinds. Her drive keeps her running blinds hard at well over 300  yards.
Hunting: Here at  Drake Creek, we believe a retriever's hunting skills are the most important trait a retriever can have. Sam is most at home hunting and this is where she truly excels. Sam has hunted pheasant in South Dakota, prairie chickens in the Nebraska Panhandle, quail in Oklahoma, ducks in the flooded timber of Missouri and spends almost every Saturday in the goose pit with her owner.