09/21/2026
Kris and I both grew up in families that spent a lot of time together bonding over hunting and enjoying life in the outdoors. Heck, our first anniversary was spent camping with family on a dirt bike riding weekend and our first born is named Hunter. So weekends like this one hold a special place in our hearts.
After we spent the day at the Sappington Pro Outdoor event on Saturday meeting new people, hearing stories about the dog that changed their lives, growing interest in Dark Cypress Hunting Retriever Club, and being able to share about our love for what we do with dogs, we hopped right back in the car with our friend Lydia Stadt and headed north to DuckHorn Outdoors at DuckHorn Lodge to help out with their youth hunt. We didn’t get much sleep, but we got plenty of laughs!
We spent the day yesterday working four of our dogs on DuckHorn’s beautiful property and talking to young hunters and their parents about how dogs can make the hunting experience even more enjoyable. Then we were able to work the dogs behind those same young hunters to retrieve the pheasants they harvested.
We may have been volunteering to teach others more about the sport we love and to help a wonderful organization grow our next generation of outdoorsmen and women, but we walked away learning a lot more about the path God has put us on. Our hearts are happy and our minds are full of all the possibilities that this one weekend has presented!
