2020 Inductee – Rangerwoods Tailspin “Tilly”
Owner/Handler: Jeff Lecher
905 Champion Points
Legendary Champion
45X Champion
2 Super Major Championships
7 Major Championships
When this little Black Labrador came into the world on March 15, 2008 everyone passed her over because she was the runt. Jeff began playing and working with her. She quickly took to retrieving bumpers and she was fearless, launching herself into the knee high cover on the edge of the yard never returning without the bumper. Jeff told Stacey we need to keep this one; I think she’s going to be good. Jason and Traci Schroeder agreed to be Tilly’s co-owners; they already owned a Rangerwood pup and only lived a few miles from the Lechers. Tilly was to be their pet and hunting dog and Rangerwood’s newest tournament dog. Tilly quickly moved from bumpers to birds. Her speed, intensity, keen nose were impressive for such a young pup. Tilly’s nickname was “Dega” after the Talladega speedway because she was so fast. In fact her registered named was supposed to be Rangerwoods Talladega Tilly, but Stacey didn’t like it and Rangerwoods Tailspin Tilly was chosen. When Tilly was about 2 years old the Schoeder’s moved 5 hours away due to Jason’s job and they decided that Tilly’s success as a tournament dog was undeniable and it wouldn’t be fair to her if she could no longer compete, so she returned to live fulltime with the Lechers. Tilly quickly took to the Lecher’s son Gage. She spent almost all her time in the house sleeping in his bed, all you would see was a flash running through the house from the back door to Gage’s bedroom.
Tilly began her legacy at just seven months of age when she was entered in the Puppy division at a Pheasant Hunters Unlimited event. Her first run was not very impressive and Jeff thought maybe he had jumped the gun entering such a young pup. On day two Tilly smoked the field and she never looked back. She dominated the Puppy division that season on the PHU circuit and was the 2008 PHU National Puppy of the Year. In 2009 at the NBDCA Top Gun Championships she took first place with Jeff in puppy division and followed that with winning the ladies division with Stacey as her handler. Tilly earned an invitation the2009 NBDCA World Championships. At 19 months old she was one of the youngest to compete and she did not disappoint. She earned her way into the finals in the Top Gun Division by knocking off a couple of Hall of Fame dogs in Ken Neese’s Emi and Richards Sipe’s Uno during match play and she also made the finals in doubles. When the smoke cleared on finals day, little Tilly was the Doubles World Champion and Top Gun Runner Up making her the first third generation flushing World Champion, following in the footsteps of her sire, Drake and grandsire Chance. With all this success she earned the title of 2009 NBDCA National Puppy of the Year. Tilly was always near the top; no matter what circuit she was competing in whether it was PHU, NBDCA, or the Wisconsin Championship Hunting Series. Tilly would always let out a bark as she left the line, she would run about five yards into the field do a 360 spin to make sure the handler was coming and then the hunt was on. Tilly was the 2010 NBDC National Doubles Champion. In the highly competitive Wisconsin Championship Hunting Series Tilly and Tikka fiercely battled for the Top Gun Dog of the Year title and usually an entire season came down to mere fractions of a second to determine a winner. In back to back seasons, 2010/2011 and 2011/2012 Tilly, handled by Jeff and teammate Kevin Kimmes, defeated one of the best to ever play the game, Tikka. This was one of Tilly’s greatest accomplishments. Tilly was the2015 Runner up Top Gun National Champion and little did the Lecher Family know at the time Tilly was dying of cancer, two months after Nationals Tilly collapsed at home in the yard. Stacey rushed her to the local vet. The vet found a large inoperable tumor and sent her home with instructions to limit her activity because strenuous activity could cause the tumor to rupture. The Lechers tried that, but Tilly wasn’t happy so they decided to let her hunt and compete, figuring if it was going to kill her at least she would die doing what she loved. Interestingly during this time Tilly, who spent most of her life hiding out in Gage’s bedroom, became more involved with the family spending her evenings snuggling on the couch and watching TV. She knew her time with them was limited. Tilly battled courageously and the cancer almost got the best of her a few more times but she wouldn’t give in. With her health failing Tilly still made the finals in doubles at the 2016 BDC National Championships. Tilly made her last run at the 2018 BDC Labor Day Challenge and passed away September 28, 2017.
Today, March 12, 2020, Tilly enters the BDC Hall of Fame as a Legendary Status Dog with 45 Championships, 905 career Champion Points, 2 Super Major wins and 10 Major wins. She was a BDC National and World Champion along with being the 2008 PHU and 2009 BDC National Puppy of the Year. Tilly is ranked 16th overall in Flushing Dog Lifetime achievement: Tilly had the heart of a champion twice her size. Little Tilly-Dega is dearly missed by the Lechers, the Schroeders, and everyone that had the chance to hunt behind her.