2015 Inductee – Rangerwood Kennels “Drake”
Drake
Owner/Handler: Jeff and Stacey Lecher
1327 Champion Points
Legendary Status Champion
66x Champion
8 Super Major Championships
12 Major Championships
In 2004, Jeff and Stacey Lecher were looking for a new dog for the family. Like most dog owners, Jeff and Stacey had owned other dogs but had never competed in any type of circuit or done any tournament hunts. As circumstances came to be, Jeff and Stacey found a yellow male lab from a local breeder, the Preston’s. Even though they were not looking for a male, they picked out the most energetic male, Rangerwood’s Fast Flying “Drake”.
Drake’s sire had won the first Bird Dog Challenge World Champions which peaked the Lecher’s interest in the game. Jeff decided to learn more about the tournament game with Drake. Immediately Drake’s long nose and energy for upland hunting stood out. At the suggestion of others, Jeff decided to start entering Drake into upcoming tournaments. Jeff worked with Drake whenever he had a spare moment. Drake was a natural and loved every minute of it. In his first season he qualified for the Pheasant Hunters Unlimited Nationals and placed third in the puppy division. Jeff and Drake were hooked on tournament hunting and the Lecher’s life was never going to be the same.
Drake was a bird finding machine with a keen nose, speed, an ability to survey a field from the gate and a desire to win the likes of which are rarely seen. Anyone that was lucky enough to compete with Drake was always amazed at his long nose, hunting desire, and most incredibly his memory. If Drake was able to be in a field more than once, he knew the exact grass patch the birds where in previously. He would flush through each of the old plants, fully charging expecting a bird there. If he didn’t produce a bird by memory, he paused, stunned for a brief second and rapidly produced a bird close by. It was an amazing thing to witness.
Drake dominated PHU and also started successfully competed in the Wisconsin Championship Hunting Series. With this success, Jeff took Drake to the next level and started competing on the NBDCA circuit and Drake did not disappoint and continued to make winning look easy. He not only claimed first place at events, but usually had multiple placements in multiple divisions. Drake became the foundation dog for Rangerwood Kennels siring pups such as BDC National Champions Marley (Dan Cathcart), Kid Rock (Jacob Neese), as well as BDC National and World Champion Tilly (Gage Lecher), along with numerous excellent companion and hunting dogs.
Today Drake enters the BDC Hall of Fame #8 lifetime with 1327 Champion Points. Drake was the 2010 BDC National Dog of the Year. He won 8 BDC Super Majors and 12 BDC Major Championships including 2 BDC World Championships (2008 & 2012) and 2 BDC National Championships (2009 & 2013). He also won 3 PHU National Championships and 4 PHU National Dog of the Year titles in his career. Drake was a Champion in every sense of the word and Jeff’s Best Friend. Drake will always be remembered and missed.