Taylor Farm Kennels

10/29/2024

The Super Retriever Series starts today in Shreveport, LA.

You can watch live....

WEBSITE: www.SuperRetrieverSeries.comSOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: : @ Super Retriever Series

05/06/2024

04/11/2024

Yesterday was a great day to take some puppies swimming!

GRHRCH Willie's Amazing Grace Of Grady QA2 MH12 x
GRHRCH(4) My Lady's Blac Jac MH MNH QAA

We have a couple yellow males and one black female left out of this awesome breeding.

This is one of Stephen's select breedings and he can't wait for them to come back in for training.

01/26/2024

Custom beef available next week...
Whole, Half, or Half of a Half avaliable. Let me or Stephen know if you are interested ASAP. Price is $5.00 per pound on the rail.

11/02/2023

Pass all the dogs! That’s the goal, right? Of course, it is a good “goal,” but not a reasonable one when you look at the Grand’s overall pass rate. Nevertheless, we always strive for perfection.

When we sat down to look at the 2023 Fall Calendar, it was daunting to say the least. It would have been easy to look at the 3 National events in the month of October and be defeated before the month began. At the same time, it was hard to not focus on Mason (11.5 years old), knowing that he was sitting on 15 Grand passes and only needing one more to break his tie with Dude.

Well, on our 30th attempt we finally got it right.

I appreciate Mark Atwater capturing this moment, as it is one that represents so much.

This stack of ribbons represents amazing clients.

This stack of ribbons represents an awesome team of employees.

This stack of ribbons represents thousands of miles traveled and hundreds of nights away from home.

This stack of ribbons represents years of dedication to a program.

But also….

Somewhere in that stack is our 50th Grand Hunting Retriever Champion.

Somewhere in that stack is our 200th Grand Pass.

Somewhere in that stack is Mason’s 16th Grand Pass. (Actually, Elaine Mitchell had it … but it’s represented.

That stack of ribbons represents a perfect Grand, 14/14.



Apparently, Stephen told Chuck McCall that if he ever had a perfect Grand, he would retire…. Darcy, Wade, Levi and Addie say, “Not yet Daddy!” Therefore, we will keep on pushing ourselves, our dogs, and our clients and continue to strive for perfection.

Congratulations to all the dogs and their owners.

10/31/2023

10th Annual Lady Handler Seminar
November 17 - 19, 2023
Sylvania, GA

Beginner - Intermediate - Advanced -

We feel that it is important to accomodate those just getting started and those neck deep in hunt test. We also feel that being together and meeting other fellow handlers is benefical to everyone!

We will work out the details of the weekend as the registration forms roll in. We plan to have Stephen Durrence and Sean Hager available for teaching and coaching. We plan to break into groups to run setups based on skill level.

Please get the registration forms in as soon as possible so we can make plans for food, shirts, goodie bags, etc...

We will allow 10 - 12 Handlers, Observers are unlimited. If we have more request for Handlers spots than we have avaliable - refunds will be issued as needed.

04/19/2023

SRS Seminar Opportunity....

11/07/2022

It was a little over 10 years ago when Elaine Mitchell came to drop off 6 month old Mason. She and Stephen had discussed which litter (Bobo/Jorja - David Oglesby) to get a puppy out of and she had made her pick. She spent a few short months with Mason before bringing him to the kennel. The day she dropped him off, Elaine had a list of goals, she and Stephen sat down under our carport and went over the list. She wanted to see him run in derby's, the HRC Grand, AKC and SRS. At the end of the conversation Elaine said "I want us to take him as far as he can go!" Mason's dad (Bobo) won the Huntsville SRS Classic event in November of 2009 (Stephen's first ever SRS event) qualified and ran the Crown for several years, the goals that had been set forth for Mason seemed reasonable.

Stephen and the team at Taylor Farm Kennels began shaping and molding Mason one step at a time. When it came time for him to run he spent his weekends with Mitch and Elaine and his weeks at TFK.

Elaine handled Mason through his Derby career and through earning his HRC Finished title. Stephen's first time stepping to the line with Mason was at Mason's first Grand, a 100 point dog, at the Spring Grand in 2014 in Phoenix City, AL - Mason passed.

Mason and Stephen have been busy over the years placing a check mark by each goal that they set out to achieve.
GRHRCH (2014)
SRSC (2016)
MNH (2018)
HRC HOF (2019)
QAA (2019)
SRSAC (2022)
SRSCC (2022)

Over the years Mason has spent most of his summers and winters at home and his Spring and Fall at the kennel. This past year, however, when the Lady Handler Seminar ended Stephen told Elaine to drop Mason off at his house, that we would take him to the kennel later. Turns out, later never happened. As Mason has progressed in age he and his body didn't need 5 days a week of training, but Stephen struggled with leaving him at the kennel with those sad eyes judging him. Stephen didn't, however, have a problem leaving him on his couch with the kids watching cartoons and Mason didn't seem to mind either. Since February of this year Mason has mostly lived in the house, training and conditioning as needed.

Elaine and Mitch have always supported Stephen and his timing and decisions when it comes to what Mason should or shouldn't do. They have appreciated the successes and accepted the shortfalls.

It gives us great honor to present ...

SRSCC SRSC SRSAC GRHRCH (14) Oak Point's Traveling Man MNH HOF QAA

11/02/2022

As we begin the Super Retriever Series Crown Championship we feel it is necessary to sit back and reflect on the year our team had leading up to this event.

Taylor Farm Kennels was honored to win the Eukanuba Team of the Year for both the Open division and the Amateur division.

Stephen and Onyx (Owned by Todd Schnobrich) ending the year with 28 qualifying points.

John Lamar and Smokie wrapped up 39 qualifying points in the amateur division.

Good luck to the following dogs that Stephen qualified and will be running.
#8 Ace - owned by Shawn and Polly Steverson
#12 Lobo - owned by Martin Mendez
#14 Mason - owned by Mitch and Elaine Mitchell
#23 Cooper - owned by David and Beth Boykin
#28 Abby - owned by Randy and Christy Murdaugh
#49 Nick - owned by Bill and Jan Blackwood
#63 Onyx - owned by Todd and Amy Schnobrich

John Lamar will be running
#47 Smokie and #54 Pine owned by David and Beth Boykin.

Throughout this year we had a few dogs that qualified with multiple handlers and earned their invitations to the Crown.

Elaine Mitchell qualified Mason and completed his SRSAC title. She also qualified Lobo (Tri-state).

Garris Boykin qualified Cooper (Peppers Pond) and Onyx (SRSU).

Bryan Boykin qualified Smokie (SRSU).

We appreciate the support of our clients, friends and family as we begin the 2022 SRS Crown Championship!

08/23/2022

05/08/2022

Mason says Happy Mother's Day to all you bi***es out there ...

02/06/2022

The 9th Annual Lady Handler Seminar is in the books. After a few days of instruction, testing and application these "Advanced" handler's have their assignments to work on. We appreciate the continued support of Purina, Duck Dog, Wetmutt and Avery Sporting Dog. These ladies went home with some great handler's bags and door prizes.


WetMutt Beds

01/12/2022

Advanced Lady Handler Seminar
February 4-6, 2022
Sylvania, GA

Only observer spots remain.

Deadline to register is Sunday, January 16th.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdfdzbiQ8igo7s41kf9QkpMDHaU8iuCO_HLkx935NmDtQZ3Xw/viewform?usp=sf_link

We will allow 10 - 12 Handlers, Observers are unlimited. If we have more request for Handlers spots than we have avaliable - refunds will be issued as needed.

12/27/2021

Registration is open for the 2022 Lady Handler Seminar - Advanced (Finished/Master) Level.

February 4 - 6, 2022
Sylvania, GA

https://forms.gle/XeXeDxsrsbRktuC4A

We will allow 10 - 12 Handlers, Observers are unlimited. If we have more request for Handlers spots than we have avaliable - refunds will be issued as needed.

12/23/2021

2022 Advanced Lady Handler Seminar

February 4 - 6, 2022 in Sylvania, GA.
The price will be $200 for Observers and $450 for Handlers. We will open registration on Sunday, December 26, at 4:00 PM EST.

If you would like more information on this event plese send us a message or comment below.

12/15/2021

A great way to end the 2021 hunt test season!

Congratulations and thank you Sean Hager for taking such a talented group of dogs to Vernon,FL to run In The Labrador Retriever Club 2021 Gulf Coast Double Derby/Qualifying. The results are as follows:

Friday
Lobo (Martin Mendez) 1st place in the Qualifying
Blaze (Mike Gibson) 2nd place in the Qualifying
Cooper (David Boykin) Jam in the Qualifying
Daisy (Sean Hager) 3rd place in the Derby

Saturday
Torch 2nd (Mitch and Margo Brown) place in the Qualifying
Smokey (John Lamar) 3rd place in the Qualifying
Cooper (David Boykin) Jam in the Qualifying
Pine (David Boykin) Jam in the Qualifying

Thank you to the club, land owners, judges, and workers for a great test!

10/24/2021

It has been a long, hot week in Shreveport - Bossier City, LA at the Super Retriever Series Crown Championship. Taylor Farm Kennels showed up with 6 dogs competing in the Open division and 3 in the Amateur division. We didn't get off to the best start, but each series we did our best to make the next cut. When it all shook out in the end Abby and Mason had wiggled their way into the finals. Abby finished 3rd and Mason finished 4th in the Open division. John Lamar and Smokie finished 5th and Karl Blackwell and Kadie finished 6th in the Amateur division.

Congratulations to all the dogs and their owners!

Thank you to Shreveport - Bossier City, LA and all the sponsors that helped make this event possible.

10/20/2021

Here we go...

We have made the trip to Shreveport Bossier City, LA. We are blessed to be here with such a talented field of dogs! Stephen will be running 6 dogs in the open division and John Lamar and Karl Blackwell have 3 in the Amateur division.

The crown will be available to watch on Livestream. https://livestream.com/srs/events/9878120

Good Morning Shreveport Bossier City !!!
we would like to present our 2021 SRS Crown Championship presented by Eukanuba Series 1 Running Order !!


Eukanuba Sporting Dog Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission Apex Ammunition Lucky Duck Premium Decoys THOR Boats Hilton Shreveport Margaritaville Resort Casino Bossier City

Prairie Rock Outfitters YETI RNT Calls, Inc Avery Outdoors MOmarsh Higdon Outdoors WetMutt Beds DUCK DOG Co. The Duck Blind Coffee Company

10/08/2021

2021 Master National
Valley County, Idaho

The road to the 2021 Master National presented itself with many twists and turns (literally and figuratively) and quite a few unexpected bumps. Our Team, Stephen Durrence and Sean Hager, showed up with 30 well qualified dogs and they did their best to showcase each one to the best of their ability. We had a few fall short of their goal, but at the end of the day each dog on our truck was part of the team that made our trip to Idaho successful. We appreciate each owner trusting Taylor Farm Kennels to showcase their dog at this national event. Flight G was judged by Jeff Bundy and John Kinnard with Stake Marshal, Laurice William; these guys kept our flight moving and allowed our guys to get on the road home a few days early, and we are all grateful for that!

Thank you Sean Hager for making the drive and working with all the dogs in Stephen’s absence and stepping up when we needed you. We appreciate Thomas Clanton making the trip, helping feed and air dogs, throw birds, etc. Dell Akin, we appreciate you keeping Sean and Thomas straight and running blocker for us on the road, we also appreciate you throwing birds and running errands.
Thank you also to the guys and girls at home keeping things rolling!

Congratulations to all the owners - especially to the new MNH’s, Cooper (James Fender), Ace (Shawn Steverson), Cruise (George Gainer) and Java (Bonnie Cuddihy).

Safe Travels Home!

09/11/2021

Congratulations John Lamar on your success this year with Sarge and Smokie. We have enjoyed being part of this journey alongside you and wish you the best of luck at the Crown!

SRS along with Eukanuba Sporting Dog would like to congratulate John Lamar and Sarge as the Eukanuba Team of the Year in the Amateur Division and $3000.00
( Donation of $1000.00 will go to SRSUniversity College Fund )
John Lamar and Smokie - 2nd $1000
Ernie D'Antoni and Bang in 3rd $500.00.

Eukanuba Sporting Dog
John Lamar
Ernie D'Antoni

08/22/2021

Update .... Stephen just called to let me know that someone is on his way to get this sweetheart.

Everybody needs a Sunday afternoon nap... including this little guy!

He was the first to retrieve in his litter, he loves to swim and he is absolutely handsome!

This sweet fella will only go to an approved home that agrees to have him trained here, at Taylor Farm Kennels. He is special and we want to be a part of his future, let us know if you would like to be also.

07/26/2021

Congratulations to John Lamar and Smokie on your Amateur win last weekend at the Grand Island, NE Cornhusker State Games SRS. This win earned Smokie his SRSAC Title.

SRSAC SRSUC Razor’s Easy Smoking Gun “Smokie”

John is currently ranked 1st and 2nd in the SRS Amateur Team of the Year!

Good luck this week in Bemidji, MN!

07/01/2021

Litter Announcement -
Gibson x Tabby
Amazing litter of 11 all black Labrador retrievers. You all know the names in this breedings pedigree. See the link below. The accomplishments alone speak volumes as to the potential of these pups. Pups have had first shots, dew claws are removed, very socialized, will soon introduce to water. Written health clearances guarantee. These pups are ready when you are.

Contact: Robert Archer 706-536-5060.

https://www.huntinglabpedigree.com/puppy.asp?id=38748

07/01/2021

Litter Announcement -
The sire of this litter MASON OAKPOINTS TRAVELING MAN just qualified for his 6th SRS CROWN in a row.
Don't miss out on this exceptional litter.
All black litter ready the end of June. 1 female and 4 males available. Stacked pedigree and proven performance. Puppies have first shots, dew claws removed and are well socialized. The puppies will be introduced to water. They will have 26 month hip guarantee.

For more information on this litter contact Lane Blanchett.

06/02/2021

Advanced Seminar - June 25 (evening only) - 27