In 1991 i noticed that Karen Anderson had a litter by Ch Chesdel Chief Of Caroway***. Of the Chesapeakes running at that time there was none i admired more than Chief. Chief's pedigree was exceptional. His sire was the great FC/AFC Chesdel Chipewa Chief, who was linebred to my childhood favorite Cocoa King Tugboat. His dam Dual Champion and AFC Fireweed's Jasmine was not only a great dog in her own right , one of only two Chesapeake bitches in history to complete a National Championship stake, but she was a full sister to the top sire of working Chessys at that time FC Fireweed's Aleutian Widgeon. Chief himself was a dog of great charisma. Incredibly fast and stylish, he was difficult to control in a trial atmosphere. He garnered 8 and 1/2 All Age points in his career but never titled because of control issues. Yet there was more to Chief than barely harnessed energy. I saw him run at an ACC specialty and as he left the line, passing the gallery, he saw or scented his first owner , Alex Spear, and tore through the line to throw himself, grinning and wriggling at his old friend's feet. Drive , determination AND loyalty...that's a real Chesapeake!!

The dam of the litter had no field titles, but she was a bench Champion, OFA excellent full sister to the top show dog , and top show sire, Ch Chestnut Hills StoneE Tug. Her sire was a top field dog Canadian Field Champion and American bench Champion Ironwood StoneECubs ( Stoney). Stoney, a huge dramatic looking dog, was an exceptional sire of both workers and show dogs. Of the dam's female family i had known several as a boy and knew them to be true old fashioned Eastern Shore Chessys who could bring in a hundred ducks and dare anyone to touch 'em. The combination of three strains of super hot field trial blood with the fourth strain of something a little rougher and closser to the original really attracted me. if you follow Thoroughbred horse breeding you will see the same pattern in the breeding of Secretariat, Man O'War and Affirmed.

So you can imagine my disappointment when i called and was told all the puppies had been sold. But i didn't forget and in a few years i began to notice one of the pups turning up in results from California trials. This was Woody, Chestnut Hills Ironwood Oak. Fate then stepped in and out of the blue Woody's owner, Jim Powell, called me about a matter entirely unrelated to Woody himself. But we developed a long distance friendship and i began to follow Woody's progress through him. Jim told me about his adventures at the ACC specialty of 1994. Woody was still young and not finished enough to run Open but Jim felt he had a very strong chance in the Qualifying. So he loaded up and left California for Idaho. While training a couple of days before the trial Woody injured his foreleg badly. After seeking verterinary advice Jim decided to chance running Woody any way. According to Jim Woody would hobble from the car to the line but once the birds were down he ran like a frieght train with never a limp. Woody took second place earning his QAA status. There was no doubt in my mind that Woody was the dog for me. Jim was open to selling Woody because it was obvious that Woody, while very good, was not the Qualify -for-the-Nationals-every-year kind of dog that Jim wanted. Eventually we reached an agreement and Woody came east.

I sent Woody to Alan Pleasant to get his Master Hunter title which he accomplished very quickly, qualifying for his title and for that year's Master Nationals in straight trials. in the Master National itself he was a finalist, one of only two Chesapeake finalists that year. Due to some health problems of mine Woody stayed home in 1998. But we tried again in 1999. Once again he qualified for the Master Nationals and, once again, he was a finalist earning his Master National Hunter (MNH) title. Jack Jagoda and Phyllis Giroux persuaded me to send Woody for his NAHRA Master Hunter title which he completed quickly.

Woody has proved a versatile sire. He has sired two Qualified All Age offspring and numerous hunt test titlists. He has sired 9 bench Champions to date with number ten close to titling. In addition he has pups in agility, obedience, tracking and search and rescue. Nor is the line stopping there. His grandson Crackshot Blackwater BMW is the high point Chesapeake on the national Derby list for 2003.

Woody will be twelve in November and is essentially retired from breeding though i have a little frozen semen stored for later use. His health is excellent and he really looks and acts much younger than his age. Having this remarkable dog in my life has been the thrill of a life time.