Utah Sky Trials - Past and Present
Click Here For A List of 1st Place Past Winners And the 2010 Prelimary Winners are...
Falconer's Name Bird's Name Place/Score Dave Ewell Georgie 1st / 82.0 Jeff Broadbent Jethro 2nd / 80.1 Steve Chindgren So Mach 3rd / 79.33 Daryl Peterson Frigjtfvi 4th / 70.74 Steve Chindgren Astar 5th / 66.31 Steve Chindgren Zander 6th / 56.34 Scott Larsen Dakota 7th / 50.42 Kirk Winward Reno 8th / 48.44 Stephen Buffet Virdigo 9th / 48.30 Kirk Winward Jindi 10th / 43.24 Ed Pitcher no name 11th / 35.40 Ed Pitcher Black 12th / 33.43 Daryl Peterson Crystal 13th / 28.42 Stephen Buffet Chloe 14th / 11.07 Scott Larsen Rush 15th / 7.17 Dave Ewell Shae 16th / 0.09 Some Pics of 2010's Birds:
And the 2009 Winners are...
Falconer's Name Bird's Name Place/Award Andy Doran Bruno 1st Steve Chindgren Jomo 2nd Andy Doran Willy 3rd Scott Larsen Yoda 4th Jared Tanner Sugar People's Choice Award John Shifley
Ken Tuttle
Chaney
Josh Cart? Merlin Award Patrick Shane La Vaughn Prairie Falcon Award Steve Chindgren N/A Appreciation Award For Years Of Service Well, another year came and gone buy and while I was excited to attend this year along with several friends, it ended up not being any fun all thanks to one paticular guy, Patrick. Apparently yesterday, Friday, someone had a merlin out on a block on display and it bated which got the attention of the falcon that was waiting on & it came down and took the merlin. Saturday, when I went, a few of the falconers wanted all the display birds hooded or put back in the vehicles. Patrick was being very ignorant, unpolite and very unprofessional about the situation and was going around throwing his weight around and demanding that falconers hooded their birds or put them back in the vehicle. The falconers I was talking too, which was a LOT, were all totally pissed off at this and his attitude. Afterwards many people ended up leaving the Sky Trials and many that I talked too said they wouldn't attend the Sky Trials again or the banquet afterwards which really cuts down on the money and the donations that the club relies on to keep it going and the events. I'm in this same group of people and for now I'm considering not going again or renewing my club membership. We all go to this for a great, fun-filled day, to watch the flights and visit and it got ruined quickly which put everyone is a pissy mood! Pics of 2009's Display Birds:
For info, put your mouse on the photo!
Once again this years flights were amazing and there were a LOT of new faces there to see the flights, many of whom were pre-apprentices or at least interested in possibly becomming a falconer. As usual there were several pro- fessional photographers there with some phenominal camera equipment! If you're interested in their work please ask them for a card and they will be more than happy to give you one or at least give you their name, phone number and many times their web page address. They have absolutely beautiful prints!!! And the 2008 Winners are...
Detailed Results from Friday February 15, 2008 Preliminary Flights
Falconer Bird Name Position Height (Elevation) Mounting Stoop Pursuit Deduct Prelim's Place Scott Larsen Dakota 17.3 21 1159 18.7 11.5 20 0 88.50 1 Jeff Broadbent Neo 16.7 21 1065 20 11.5 12 0 81.17 2 Ken Tuttle Jindi 16.7 18.7 936 20 13.4 7 0 75.77 3 Rob Dewitt Little Guy 17.5 14.3 714 20 17.1 5 0 73.88 4 Steve Chingren Zander 16.2 21 1149 20 10.5 0 0 67.69 5 Mark Johnson Rogue 20.0 6.5 325 7.9 7.2 7 0 48.63 6 Scott Larsen Yoda 4.1 21 1172 9.6 10.5 0 0 45.16 7 Steve Buffet Smoke 11.6 8.4 418 7.8 5.2 0 0 32.87 8 Steve Chingren Tava 7.5 15.8 788 4.6 14.9 0 24 18.76 9 Steve Chingren Jomo 6.9 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.88 10 Jared Tanner Sugar 4.8 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.76 11 Sky Trials 2007 info:
And the 2007 Winners are...
Well, there's a bit to say about the flights for today. Where to begin is the problem so I guess I'll just jump in with both feet. The weather was ab- solutely great for us but not for the birds. It was about 54 degrees, nice, bright blue sky and a slight breeze. Again, great for us but the birds had other things in mind. When you have such nice conditions for the birds to fly in they tend to have a mind of their own. Five out of the 9 birds that flew in the finals decided to fly away, catch the thermals and enjoy themselves. One bird just simply took off on the thermals and had to be retrieved by some of the falconers with the aide of the vehicles and telemetry while the other four were eventually coaxed back down after many, many extra minutes over their allowed time for flying. We had a few great stoops but most were on heavy angles from the falcon raking wide. With the thermals though they quickly got to their pitch. Fortunately for everyone involved, especially the falconer, all the birds were safely retrieved. We even had to deal with some loan eagles that came in which haulted the flights for awhile. As usual, Steve and Jeff were in competition with each other and both were constantly joking around with each other on who was taking first place. It is a funny, never ending battle with these two great falconers who are both full of spunk, laughter and great stories. Throughout the years, these two guys have always given the crowd some of the best flights that can be seen. But, this year Steve's bird wasn't too sure of what to do with the pigeon. His bird is finely tuned to taking Utah's large grouse and once the pigeon was released the falcon seemed to be a bit confused, almost as if it was thinking "that grouse is small and retarded" and pitched back up and started waiting on just waiting for Steve to serve a grouse! As I said, Steve's bird is highly tuned to taking grouse and that is simply what it was waiting for!
Falconer Bird's Name Position Height Mounting Stoop Pursuit Deductions Prelim's Finals Totals Place Steve Chingren Tava 16.35 17.32 20.00 16.66 0.00 3.28 67.66 66.05 133.71 1 Jeff Broadbent Neo 18.84 15.15 15.30 17.57 7.00 0.00 45.77 73.86 119.62 2 Scott Larsen Dakoda 5.90 19.44 20.00 13.72 0.00 0.00 32.80 59.07 91.87 3 Scott Larsen Yoda 4.97 19.53 6.78 13.77 0.00 0.00 10.81 45.06 34.25 4 Rob Dewitt The Little One 7.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.16 7.09 5.93 5 Steve Jensen Bird Not Named 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.73 0.00 1.73 6
And the 2006 Winners are...
Falconer's Name
Bird's Name
Place
Steve Chindgren
Jahana
1
Jeff Broadbent
Neo
2
Ryan Miller
PJ
3
Jason Jones
JR
4
Steve Chindgren
Zammo
5
Jared Tanner
Sugar
6
Pics of 2006's Display Birds:
For info, put your mouse on the photo!
Below you will find some pics of some of our regular falconers who attend the amazing event each year for a spectacular site of Mother Nature and mans' ability to train these powerful hunters of the sky. One thing to keep in mind is these birds are in a sense "wild" as they are not a domesticated species. They learn quickly and retain their knowledge of training and come back to us because of trust, confidence and reward. If they ever feel the need, they can and will fly away from us, sometimes to never be seen again! More pics will be coming as I get them developed. Pics of 2005's Display Birds:
For info, put your mouse on the photo!
The idea of a Sky Trials, which are now held the world over, began in Utah with Gerald Richards. The first Utah Sky Trials, formerly known as the “Pigeon Derby,” was held in 1975. It began as a continuation of the Field Demonstrations concept at the North American Falconers Association (NAFA) Meets held each year in November. Gerald Richards attended these NAFA Meets and watched each year as contest- ants tossed out bagged game such as pen-raised Chukar Partridge or pheasants. These, of course, were easy prey for the falcons stooping in front of the wide- eyed crowds. When these gatherings were discontinued in the 70’s, Gerald envis- ioned a different event. He saw a trial held in February, wherein local falcon- ers could get together and watch some of the highest flying gamehawks when they were at their physical best at the end of the regular falconry season. Gerald shifted the focus from bagged quarry to an event that would encourage falconers to enter only those birds proven during the season to be the very best in mount- ing to high pitches and powerful stoops. And to prove them, he chose a quarry that would rarely, if ever, be caught — the Racing Homer Pigeon. Through the years Gerald’s respect and affection grew for his Racing Homers that were carefully bred, trained and brought to the Sky Trials each year. Even- tually, like those falconers who grow to love watching their dogs work as much as seeing their falcons fly, he became involved in Pigeon Racing as well. In 1994, Gerald suffered a massive heart attack while out on the mountain recovering a Red-Tail Hawk he was training to stoop out of a soar. Utah Falcon- ers lost a one-of-a-kind personality, scientist, innovator and advocate for the long-wings; particularly our native Prairie Falcon. Although the Sky Trials have always been uniquely his creation, the Utah Falconers and Raptor Breeders Assoc- iation (UFARBA) maintained the tradition by sponsoring the event for a number of years and now the tradition continues. In each case the Sky Trials have adhered to Gerald’s rules and wishes. Many of his close friends continue to volunteer help and provide perspective on “how Gerald would have wanted it” each year. The Sky Trials, a field event that started as a simple end-of-season gather- ing by a few falconers in Utah 28 years ago, are now held in several spots around the world. One of the largest events is now held in Spain. And, the California Hawking Club makes it a part of their field meet each year. For many it has be- come a pleasant highlight each year as it becomes possible to watch so many fan- tastic, physically fit falcons flown in two days. Sky Trials have also changed our expectations of what our birds are capable of. Their remarkable physical per- formances continue to amaze us at each year’s trials. All of us here in Utah, and many around the world, are grateful that someone like Gerald Richards came along and single-handedly created the successful Utah Sky Trials so many years ago. A Personal Note: I was fortunate enough to have Gerald as my sponsor after see- ing him do a raptor presentation at my junior high school. While every other student went back to their classes I was down on stage drooling down my chin at his birds. He had Mohamad, his peregrine and also his hen red-tail. He was a very smart man and asked about my interest. I told him I had already been study- ing and he said he would sponsor me when I was ready. He gave me his name and phone number. A few years later, in 1984, I gave him a call and asked him to be my sponsor and he said he clearly remembered me. He invited me to his home and I spent about 4 hours there with him and my father disgusing everything from species, to training and making equipment. He was eager to show me an amazing train of a tiercel kestrel that was blue like that of the wings. It was wonder- ful to see something so rare and he said he'd never seen it since. Then he got a mischievious grin on his face and handed me a hood that he had just took the braces out of and a pair of hemostats and told me to put the hood back together. I tried and tried to me best ability but couldn't do it. I told him I wasn't giving up yet and he said that was all he needed to hear from me! Those words that I spoke put a big smile on his face and a bigger one on mine. Utah Sky Trials History
The judged sequence of each flight is determined from the time the falcon is cast off to the time it catches or gives up on the competition pigeon, and the falconer has reported to the head judge with his or her falcon. Any other flying beyond this is not judged. During this flight, the falcon will be judged in the five categories below: Mounting (20 points) The pitch the bird reaches will be divided by the time segment from cast off to serve. Mounting skill is deter- mined in feet per minute. Position (20 points) Measured at 1-minute intervals, position is determined by the angle the bird is above the horizon by means of an inclinometer. A bird that has a wide-ranging flying style will likely score less on position. However this flying style may be an advantage when considering pitch. (This often happens when a bird seeks a thermal to gain height). Pitch (20 points) This is the height the falcon reaches when served. The higher the pitch the better. The falcon with the highest pitch when served receives the most points. Jim Carroll has written a computer program that uses mathematics and instrumentation to determine pitch. Stoop (20 points) The twenty points for the stoop will be measured in two segments; pitch and the technical aspects of the stoop. 10 points can be earned for each segment. A falcon that stoops from 1000 feet will receive more of the 1 0 points than one that stoops from 200 feet. When considering the technical aspects of the stoop, Gerald felt it was unimp- ortant what style the falcon used to get down, as long as it cuts through the quarry at the bottom of the stoop with some oomph! Gerald's scoring criteria for the tech- nical segment are as follows: Did not stoop = 0 points With considerable force = 7 points With some force = 4 points Barely closed = 1 point Did not close = 0 points Got a foot on the pigeon = 3 points Pursuit (20 points) Pursuit points are earned, as the falcon makes additional threatening passes as the quarry. Five points for each turn of the pigeon. Three points if the pigeon puts in & twenty points if the pigeon is caught! Utah Sky Trials Judging
Past Winners
2005 Winners Were........ 1st Place . . . . Tyler Steins flying Andy 2nd Place . . . . Ryan Miller flying PJ 3rd Place . . . . Andy Doran flying Marvin Prairie Falcon Award. . Scott Larsen 2004 Winners Were........ 1st Place . . . . Tyler Stiens 2nd Place . . . . Steve Smith 3rd Place . . . . Shawn Hayes 4th Place . . . . Shawn Hayes
Here are some pics:
Tyler Steins 1st place winner of 2003!
Tyler Steins launching Andy 1st place winner of 2004!
Shaun Hayes {left} from California 2nd & 3rd place winner in 2003 and 3rd & 4th in 2004!
Patrick Shane
Shayne Clarke
Alan Kirk
All images and materials contained within this site are the property of Eddie B. Horvath, unless otherwise noted, and are not to be used without his express permission. Photo credits can be obtained by placing your mouse over the photo if credits are known.Copyright © 1997-2009 Eddie Horvath
