Honor was the dog that picked me to be his owner. Never has a puppy worked so hard to be noticed as Honor. He would retrieve an old pheasant tail and then trot across a field to scan the horizon and look back at me to make sure he was noticed. He repeatedly came to me to engage in play, and divert my eyes from his littermates to focus solely on him. How could I have picked any other pup other than Honor?

Honor grew into a very well structured 80 lb black male. He became a Junior Hunter as a puppy, and seeing his talent, I placed him with a professional field trial trainer to develop his abilities. He had 8 derby points and was a consistent finisher in the derby stake as a young dog, and became Qualified All Age at the age of 2. While it’s tough to become a Field Champion, to gain those points and the elusive win, Honor became an FC in two Blue Ribbons! Watching him pick up those marks, and run those blinds left me in awe over his abilities. What made it more remarkable was the eye injury he suffered as a two year old, but has overcome its limitations. His sire is the famous FC AFC Teddy's Ebonstar James, who had 92 all age points at the age of 6, qualified for 5 nationals, and was the youngest dog at the 2000 National Amateur Field Trial and a two time National Amateur finalist. Honor’s dam, FC AFC Dutchman's Gold Midnite Eve, had 68.5 all age points, and a 2x National qualifier, is also noted to be a consistent and willing worker. Honor’s littermates include 1 FC-AFC and three other Qualified All-Age dogs.

When at home, Honor follows me around while I do my chores, plays with his favorite toys or his kitten, or takes a nap on the couch.

Ruckus is one of the youngest members of the team. He is a well structured male that showed himself to be outgoing and inquisitive since birth! Ruckus was the puppy that would go off and explore his breeder's 40+ acres without fear or hesitation, and then come back to play with the rest of his litter or the neighborhood kids. He was birdy from the start, and was the first to follow me into the pond for his litter's first swim. Ruckus continued his love of water and was making long swims easily as a pup. Ruckus lives up to his name, and he plays as hard as he works, but is also a loving dog who wants to be praised. Ruckus' sire is the famed NFC Clubmead's Road Warrior. Chopper's record as a 3-year-old NFC speaks for itself. Ruckus' dam is Gotta-B-Gin-U-Win, QAA'd FC-AFC Ford x Gotta, MH daughter. Ginna was Qualified All Age at 22 months, and made the derby list in 2 blue ribbons! Ruckus' grand dam, Gotta, was the producer of numerous FCs, QAA, MH, HRCH dogs in very limited breeding. Ruckus is an excellent marker, easily making the derby list with 18 points and no chasing! He became Qualified All Age Spring 2009 on his First attempt, just after returning home from down south - just 18 days after his second birthday. It's no wonder he was a favorite of Jim VanEngen's and Craig Crook's at Right Start Kennels. Ruckus has now become a competitive dog at Autumn Run Retrievers with Andy Attar. He finished the Fall, 2010 trial season off with a Win in the Amateur and a 4th in a 94 dog open at Mobile. Ruckus has made 2011 a wondrous year! He qualified for the National Amateur by taking an Open 2nd with Susan in the Spring, 2011. He went onto qualify for the National Open and obtain his FC, both as a young 4 year old. We are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for FC Ruckus!

Kirby is a stunning 85 pound, fox red male and a littermate to FC Honor. Kirby came to me as a two year old, a sullen, distrustful and unwilling worker. Putting him back through a formal program to build his foundation skills, Kirby began to trust… and became a dog I only could have dreamed of. Kirby is now a happy and enthusiastic worker, with all the style and flare one would expect of a red-head! His stylish manner earns him applause from judges and spectators. He started competing in hunt tests in 2005 at the age of three, demonstrating a consistent pass rate, easily obtaining his HRCH title in the UKC’s HRC program, and his Senior Hunter title in the AKC Hunt Test Program. He became Qualified All-Age at Mid-Illinois Retriever Club’s qualifying test, performing a land-water blind combination that was truly an all-age equivalent. Taking each and every cast, Kirby demonstrated the true meaning of team work. I am proud to be his owner, trainer and handler. Kirby has three other littermates who are Qualified All Age and two littermates who are FCs (one also an AFC). Kirby is becoming a tribute to his famous yellow sire, FC AFC Teddy's Ebonstar James, who had 92 all age points at the age of 6 and was the youngest dog at the 2000 National Amateur Field Trial and a two time National Amateur finalist. Kirby's dam, FC AFC Dutchman's Gold Midnite Eve, who currently has 68.5 all age points and qualified for two nationals. Prior to competing, Kirby was an excellent waterfowl retriever, retrieving 25 green heads and 10 woodies out of the icy Mississippi River for four hunting buddies. When not working, Kirby is a loving house dog, who is content playing with children or toys.

Gavel is a handsome 90 lb black male with a classic lab head. He is currently running AKC field trials. He became Qualified All-Age on April 22, 2006 at the 48 dog Qualifying stake at the Memphis Amateur Retriever Club after having been with his trainer only a few short months. Gavel is well put together structurally and runs effortlessly through the cover to retrieve birds. One veterinarian has described Gavel as the “Quintessential Labrador” and “everything a lab should be”. His trainer has said that he wished the other dogs on his truck had half of Gavel’s heart. Gavel is the son of GMHR Kingston’s Zulu Raider and a grandson of FC-AFC-MHR Westwind’s Bold Tiger, the 1984 Derby Champion. While Gavel is intense while working, at home he loves for his world to be full of fun. He loves to play ball, gather up my shoes so I can put them away (never chewed one!), or sneak up behind you to take the heeling stick out of your pocket when training. He loves kittens, children, a nice snack if he can get it, and to nap on the bed.

Rusty is a very solidly built muscular 75lb chocolate Labrador Retriever with a classic lab head. He is a product of a line breeding on FC AFC MHR Westwind's Bold Tiger the 1984 derby champion and the second chocolate in a 7-generation pedigree. Rusty is a unique combination of a loving, playful and friendly boy in the house who loves to have his ears scratched, and a stylish, retrieving machine in the field. He had a successful Derby Career in limited trialing, obtaining Derby points and JAMs (Judge's Award of Merit). Rusty is an excellent marker as well as being proficient on blind retrieves. He has several Qualifying placements and JAMs. This handsome boy will continue running the Qualifying in addition to running some UKC and AKC Hunt Tests and being groomed for All-Age stakes.

Valor is the baby of the team. He is a well structured handsome male that showed himself to be watery since birth! On his first swim, he refused to come out of the pond, and we swear he was so comfortable in the water he was doing the backstroke! When we went in to get him, he sat at the edge of the water and cried, just wanting more! Valor is a handsome dark yellow (fox red) male that runs effortlessly through the field. He was birdy from the start and loves people as well. Valor is a very special dog, since his sire is Justice Retriever’s own FC Tribute to Justice (Honor). Valor’s grandsire is the famed FC-AFC Teddy’s Ebonstar James, a dog that became a Field Champion at 3 and one of the most successful yellows of our time. Valor is half brother to Ruckus, as they share the same dam: Gotta-B-Gin-U-Win, QAA'd FC-AFC Ford x Gotta, MH daughter. Ginna was Qualified All Age at 22 months, and made the derby list in 2 blue ribbons! Valor’s grand dam, Gotta, was the producer of numerous FCs, QAA, MH, HRCH dogs in very limited breeding. Valor is an excellent marker, although he ran only one derby. We have had the privilege of having Valor’s young dog training done by Andy Attar. Andy does not usually take on young dogs, but did so this time. We are honored to have Andy train Valor as he did the young dog work on some of the greats: Tank and Lottie to name two. Valor became Qualified All Age Fall 2011 on his First attempt – a last minute entry at the Wolverine Retriever Club trial. Valor is continuing his training with Andy Attar at Autumn Run Retrievers. We are looking forward to seeing what the future holds for Valor.