More Vivid Test Details...

...for inquiring minds...hope this is helpful. 

Also let me state that Suzanne King is on a quest to find sketch and drawing materials. Once I receive those things I will attempt to construct diagrams for all the test, including previous ones. We've been spoiled the past two Blogs with Pam Ingham drawings and mine won't measure up to those, but I'll attempt to give you an idea of the layout on each test. Although Jean Wu is here doing drawings for the upcoming published Retriever News write-up in the National coverage, her work is very technical and requires much time to complete. Once we get to later series where things are moving quickly, her drawings wouldn't be done. Hence, you'll have to suffer with me. 

The line to this test is situated on the top flat of a hill and faces primarily north. Teams are faced with a picturesque grassy field dotted with trees and mounds. An oblong pond scattered with islands is on the left and more or less mid-way out as handlers view the test, and a ribbon of water winds out of it to the north toward the back of the field. A point comes out from the right hand side of the pond, somewhat en route to the shorter bird, and forms the beginning of the "channel" of water that then winds out into the field, again in a more or less "S" pattern, or at least a boomerang. 

--The left hand station at 165 yards is hidden behind a large fat evergreen and the gun and thrower come out from its right side (from our perspective) and stand in front of it to throw left down the far bank. The line to this bird is down the steep of the hill, through grasses, a line of shrubbery and bushes, into wet bunchy cover, over a road (this road goes through the field on the near side of the pond and continues on and out of the test to the right) and into the corner of water on this side of the aforementioned point, over the point, back in the ribbon of water, and out up the bank a few feet. 

--The middle station is long in the middle of the field and about 40-50 yards from the far wood-line that rims the field. These gun/throwers come out similarly to the left bird from around a bush to the front of it and then they retire within it. This bird is thrown to the left at 260 yards and falls behind the ribbon/channel lined with tules as this channel runs from southeast to northwest at that point. The line to this bird is down the hill, through the same cover changes as the left bird and then out over a rising hill from the point, into the channel of water and then out while shaving the right side of the evergreen where the left bird is retired, across a grassy area, into and out of the ribbon/swale through tules to the bird. 

--Well to the right and much shorter at 130 yards is the flyer station, positioned to the right of a mound and in front the leading edge of a point of trees. They flight and shoot a hen mallard to the right. It falls across the road that traverses the field in light cover dotted with early summer flowers. The line to this bird is down and through the same challenges as the other two birds, then up a hill that slopes left, right, and up.            

Wind is primarily southeast and holding pretty steady compared to our first two days. It sometimes blows from the east and even northeast, however, which helps some dogs that are left of the long middle bird or even the short bird. Thus far it's been holding at around 5 mph. The temperature is now 74 degrees, up from high 40s this morning.