Draco Dominates...Again

Posted on April 03, 2004 by Steve Bowman 

STUTTGART, Ark. _ Donna Ames and Draco are on a tear. In the last two Super Retriever Series presented by Natural Life, the Chesapeake Bay retriever has won the Big Air portion of the event.

That little streak makes them only the second dog in Super Retriever Series history to win consecutive events. The other is Little Morgan, handled by Mike Jackson.

Strangely enough, that team, which holds the world record (26 feet, 6 inches) has finished no better than third in those events. Which is surprising. For the past two years Little Morgan has become figurehead of Big Air competitions. For most of his career, the black Labrador won virtually every event he was entered in.

Then came the 2003 ESPN Great Outdoor Games, an event Little Morgan was supposed to win the gold in. But a misstep at the edge of the running dock forced the Labrador to take off a full five-feet early. Since that time, the early take offs have been the standard, and Little Morgan has quickly slid down the standings.

And while he's been sliding down, Draco has been shooting to the top. In jumps reminiscent of the Little Morgan days, Draco won the event with a 22 feet, 3 inch launch. Just behind is long-time top jumper, Kiki, handled by Christopher Litwin, with a jump of 21 feet, 9 inches.

Brent Ohlson's Raider followed them with 21-2 and Little Morgan rounded out the final four with 19-5.