After three days of the National Championship for Field Trialing Bird Dogs, one thing is certain: There will be no repeat champion.

As you may have read in today’s paper, defending champion Funseeker’s Rebel had kind of a tough run in frigid conditions Wednesday morning at Ames Plantation.

The dog had one quick find, causing some to wonder if another great run might be in the cards. But he followed with two quick unproductives, and was picked up after just 32 minutes.

I kind of feel bad for Rebel’s owners, Frank and Mercy Fonseca. I’ve gotten to know them a little bit lately, and they’re awfully nice people.

When the storms hit the Memphis area last week, Frank was actually nice enough to call and make sure I was OK. It’s a shame they won’t be able to repeat as champion owners. But they own more than 20 dogs, so I’m sure they’ll be back to Ames in the future.

On another note, it would be nice to see Dr. Jack Huffman and Terry Terlep claim this year’s championship - and they’re certainly in the driver’s seat after Monday’s great run by Whippoorwill Wild Agin (10 finds in three hours).

They’re also good people, and Dr. Huffman, an Ohio native, was once good friends with Ohio State football coaching legend Woody Hayes. As you can imagine, he’s got some great stories to tell.

Larry Huffman, who serves as handler for Whippoorwill Wild Agin, is a good, old soft-spoken Southern country boy. He and his wife, Piper, were absolutely glowing after Wild Agin’s performance.

If they hold on to win, they’ll do a great job of representing the field trial community as champions for the next year.