English Setter ‘Jill’ Wins The NSTRA 2020 UKC Performance Classic

Driving a strong quail finding and retrieving game, a 3 ½-year-old orange-and-white female English Setter named “Jill” won the National Shoot to Retriever Association (NSTRA) 2020 UKC Performance Classic in June in Waverly, Nebraska. Handled by breeder-owner John Resa of Shelbyville, Missouri, 3XCH Resa’s Mohawk’s Jill delivered a nail-biting victory, earning 1009 points to the first runner-up’s 1001.7 points. 

Topping 128 competitors, Jill excelled as she ran three 30-minute braces over three days and then a one-hour final round in the championship sanctioned by NSTRA. “Jill ran in the pretrial and the Rock Creek Triple trial before the Performance Classic, and I could see she was getting progressively better,” Resa says. “She was determined, and she did her bird work right.”

Precocious early on, Jill was named the High-Point Dog for the Midwest Region in 2018 when she was 1 ½ years old. “When Jill was a young dog, I recognized her potential,” says Resa, who has competed in NSTRA for 35 years. NSTRA began in the late 1960s to extend the upland bird hunting season from a few weeks to a longer period via field trials and championships. True to the sport, Resa enjoys hunting wild birds with his dogs, including Jill.

Naturally talented, Jill has an impressive pedigree. Her great-granddam, 6XCH Sue Maggie Sue, was Resa’s foundation bitch. Winner of the 1995 Dog of the Year trial, “Maggie” was inducted into the NSTRA Hall of Fame in 2008. Maggie whelped a male, 17XCH Resa’s Trouble Mace, who received the 2005 Top NSTRA Performance Award and won the 2008 NSTRA Grand National Championship. He was inducted into the NSTRA Hall of Fame in 2017. 

“Mace” sired 12XCH Resa’s Mazie, a female who won the NSTRA 2014 UKC National Championship and the NSTRA 2016 Purina Endurance Classic. “Mazie,” who is the dam of Jill, will be inducted into the NSTRA Hall of Fame later this year. Jill, the NSTRA 2020 UKC Performance Classic winner, is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula dog food.