Ike Todd Story
By Brad Harter
The road to becoming a professional bird dog trainer can have many different routes. For some of the most fortunate, that road may be graveled into a way of life that they have known from birth. For others that road may even be paved; a route so well defined that it may have been part of their family for generations. While their parents, possibly even their grandparents may encourage exploring other venues for making a living, for a great majority of those born into this sport of dog training and field trialing, there really is no other choice. Maybe it is the chance to be their own boss, maybe it is the thrill and experience of winning with an animal which they have trained and developed and sometimes even sometimes bred; whatever that driving force seems to be, it almost always seems to outweigh any of the negatives.
For a young Ike Todd from Bozeman, Montana, this road to becoming a professional bird dog trainer was not even a path but it was certainly a direction, a route he knew he wanted to go from early childhood. His grandfather had foxhounds. Animals had always been part of the family but the real fascination with what a bird dog could do in the field probably began with the gift of a springer spaniel which Ike’s Mother made to Ike’s dad, John. That dog went everywhere the family went. Countless hours in the field hunting became a passion that infected young Ike to the core. It didn’t matter whether it was duck hunting or chasing pheasants, sharptails or Huns over the prairies, if a dog was part of the picture. Ike wanted to be part of the game.
Ike’s Mom remembers the early focus and competitive spirit that was part of Ike’s DNA. Whether it was Taekwondo or soccer, Ike was always determined to be the best he could be.
Ike and his dad had been to field trials in the Bozeman area and they especially enjoyed the NSTRA events that most resembled the actual hunting which they both enjoyed.
By the time Ike turned 15 he knew he wanted a dog of his own that he could train from a puppy. His father John had a German Shorthair and Ike knew that a pointing breed was what he wanted. When Ike learned of a litter of German Wirehairs that were to be born nearby he began to save his money from mowing lawns. Ike had seen the mother of this litter (Reba) perform in the field. That alone was enough to convince Ike he wanted a puppy from this breeding. Wirehairs were also considered a versatile breed. To Ike, that meant that if the game were legal to hunt, these dogs could be used for anything. Day after day Ike would visit the litter and there was one special female that caught his eye. He named this special little pup Rosie. From the day Ike carried Rosie home, the two of them would became inseparable. Rose turned out to be everything Ike knew she could be. Soon they were winning trials throughout the local region. Ike’s mother Mandy remembers this period in Ike’s life very well. “ Ike was kind of going to high school, but his heart was into spending as much time as he could in the field with Rosie.” During that time frame Ike worked after school for a local bird dog trainer named Butch Nelson. He spent two summers going to Butch’s summer camp in Montana where Ike began to hone the skills that would propel both he and Rosie to the top of their game. It was during that same time period that the very large NSTRA Northwest Region broke into two groups forming a new Big Sky Region in the Montana area. With this separation, the newly formed group made plans to host their own regional championship. Ike had won a number of local trials around his hometown and that qualified Rosie for this new championship. Chris Eckhoff remembers Ike that time period very well: “ I can still remember the standard line going around camp. “Isn’t it great to have a new young handler in our region, it’s just what the Big Sky needs right now,” or similar sentiments. When Ike made it into the finals, which had 4 dogs, people really started to take notice, although I don’t believe anyone other than Ike or perhaps Butch Nelson, saw him as a possible winner. After all, he was just a kid with only a couple of trials under his belt. Well, he did win that trial. Then to prove it wasn’t a fluke Ike came back and won the second Regional Championship as well.”
Ike was well on the road to becoming hooked on dogs and the sport of field trialing. Graduating from high school meant that Ike could devote full time to his passion of training bird dogs. With a $200 truck and 14 local dogs to pay the bills, Ike headed north to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation to establish his own training camp. Charlie Hjerpe remembers his first meeting of Ike like it was just yesterday:
“In 2002, Bob Willmon and I were wandering around ND, SD and MT in search of training grounds, and not having much luck finding any. So we decided to go over to Malta, MT, and attend the first field trial ever conducted in that area of the state. We arrived in Malta a couple of days early, and were unable to find the grounds from the directions given in the American Field ad. So we drove back into town and found a large, rather isolated public park along the Milk River. As we entered this park, we noticed an ancient, battered pickup and horse trailer parked there, and a string of 10 to 15 unruly pointers and setters that were staked out nearby. After unloading and corralling our horses and staking out our dogs, we wandered over and introduced ourselves to a young man whom we had never known or heard about before. His name was Ike Todd.
In 2002, Ike was about 19 years old, about 6 feet tall, weighed about 160 lbs., and had a big, easy smile and engaging personality. About the only thing that has changed since then is that he is now 8 or 9 years older. As we spoke with him and learned more out more about him, he instantly gained my admiration and respect. At that time, Ike was an animal science and pre-veterinary student at Montana State University in Bozeman, and had been spending that summer camped out on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, where he was training hunting dogs for the public . No partying, no girls, no days off, no vacation, nobody to talk to. It was readily apparent to us that Ike was not your typical teenager.”
Ike was having the same kind of influence on everyone he met. It was just not his work ethic or the amount of focus he seemed to have on getting the job done, it was also a special connection that Ike seemed to have with his animals.
The next two summers alone in that primitive camp with his 14 dogs proved to be another turning point in Ike’s life. He subscribed to the American Field, reading it from cover to cover. He devoured every book about dogs and training that he could get his hands on. It was during that second summer of 2002 that a chance contact by his old friend and employer Butch Nelson would open doors that would change the path of Ike’s life forever.
Butch was judging a regional amateur championship at Mortlach, Sask. Ike’s camp was only a few hours away and Butch invited Ike to come up and ride a couple days and see what the all-age prairie game was all about. Ike arrived one evening in time for dinner at the local café in town. Seated across from Ferrell Miller, Ike was introduced to a man he had been reading about for years. The very next day Ike had the great fortune to witness two performances that would forever be burned into his brain.
It was hot and dry, often characteristic of Mortlach in late Aug. The temperature was well over 80 degrees when Ferrell Miller turned loose a classy little female that he called Kentucky Belle. In her hour she pointed six times, perfectly handling chickens with style and class that Ike had never seen before. She seemed oblivious to the heat and her manners around game were impeccable. Ike had not seen the other dogs perform but he was certain nothing could beat her. Then Ferrell put Miller’s White Powder on the ground and a prairie fire was underway. Powder would own the prairies on that day. He ran faster, ran bigger and pointed birds farther to the front than Ike had ever seen before. At pickup Powder was that aspirin tablet they all talk about as he faded far to the front on a prairie that seemed to never end. Powder would later be named the winner of the stake. Ike would return to his camp a day later but he would remembered every move that these two dogs had made. He knew from that day on, these were the kind of dogs he someday needed to train and handle.
That fall (2002) Ike answered an ad in the American Field. It was for a private training position in the State of New York. The man who hired Ike had a lease in Texas so it appeared that one more big adventure was ahead for this young man from Montana. Although this was great learning experience it wasn’t the road leading to the all-age game that Ike was dreaming of. By this point in time Ike had also developed a setter of his own that was doing some winning. While working in New York Ike had also purchased a puppy from Calico Kennels. That pup Ike registered as Duck Creek Abe. With the same work ethic and the same program that had worked before, Abe began to win trials and in 2003 became the first Montana dog of the year.
By the spring of 2003 Ike had made the decision to enter Montana State and pursue a degree in animal science. While his grades were a straight 4 point average, Ike’s heart was still in the field with his dogs. That vision of Ferrell and those two dogs on the prairie still burned in his brain. During Christmas break Ike called Ferrell and asked if he could come to Kentucky to learn from what many have considered to be the master. Those three weeks were the beginning of what would become three summers on the prairies with Mr. Miller. Ike’s path into the all-age ranks was becoming firmly established.
The following year would begin the DNA controversy that would mark an end to the competitive field trial career of Mr. Miller. 2005 was the last summer Ike went north with Ferrell. Those three summers spent working dogs alongside his friend Ricky Chism and under the tutelage of Ferrell Miller built the foundation for Ike to learn how to work with so many different types of dogs.
By the fall of 2005 Ike knew that the road he was on needed another course. He accepted a job at Southern Heritage Plantation in south GA where he had worked dogs with Ferrell the winter before. The untimely and tragic death of Ricky Chism in a truck accident in February 2006 set another course in motion for the 23 year old pro from Montana. Shortly after that accident Joe Don House and Gary Lester approached Ike with an offer for employment. When that opportunity arose to become involved with the same type of dogs Ike had worked with under Ferrell, Ike jumped at the chance.
The “Company” was formed in the spring of 2006. This trio would prove to be one of the most formidable teams on the field trial circuit in recent years. Ike soon began to handle some of the dogs winning his first major all-age Championship when he handled House’s Memphis May in the Georgia Derby Championship.
When Lester’s Snowatch rose to the top of his game winning both the National Championship and the Purina Award in 2009, Ike was a very important part of that picture. Not only did Ike scout this incredible young dog to his string of victories, Ike had been involved with much of his development. Ike also believed that Snowatch was destined to become a great producer. By the 2010/2011 season that belief proved to be true. To date Snowatch has produced 13 different dogs from 11 different females that have accumulated a total 16 championship placements.
Doors open and doors close, often for the very best of reasons. Since childhood Keith Wright had always had a love for farming, hunting and the outdoors. By the age of 15 Keith had acquired his first pointing dog and bird hunting became an instant passion. In 1995 Keith met Paul Wright, a dog trainer and field trialer from West Point, Indiana. It was the beginning of a lifelong friendship for both men.
About the same year (2005) that Ike went to work for the Company, Keith became interested in the sport of field trialing. Keith began to raise some puppies and also campaign dogs on the local circuit but he was already setting his sights on the top, winning the National Championship in Grand Junction, TN.
Putting a string of dogs together that could win on the open all-age circuit is nothing short of a daunting task, but that was exactly what Keith had in mind. By the spring of 2010 much of Keith’s plan was coming together. All that was missing was to find a talented, driven young man with the work ethic to make this plan become reality.
Keith had watched Ike during his employment with the “Company”. Keith appreciated the important role that Ike had played in the development of many of the fine dogs coming from the Lester/Joe Don House breeding program. Keith’s game plan called for creating a unique type of partnership, one that is not all that common in the world of bird dogs. Many of the important decisions would be made jointly. Ike’s knowledge and experience with the dogs would carry equal weight with Keith’s ability to run the business. The offer apparently was appealing to Ike. By the spring of 2010 Wright Kennels had a full time trainer.
Many different forms of operations have existed over the years in the bird dog world, to my knowledge; none of them have ever reached the top of their game as quickly as Ike Todd and Wright Kennels. There will be people that will tell you, this was all just luck; others will point out that fact that some of these dogs that have done so well for Keith and Ike were purchased, that they were already proven dogs, bred and developed by others. It is true that the dog that took them to the top this year has had multiple owners. His name is Touch’s Whiteout, once he was known as Lester’s Whiteout although he knows his name as simply Sam. Fran and Jack Miller, Rick Furney and of course Gary Lester and Ike all played a part in his development. Like so many of the great dogs that have come from the House/Lester breeding program, Ike knew the Sam had potential. In fact, Ike handled Sam to his first qualifying win for the National Championship in the All-American Derby Championship. The description of that victory appeared in the American Field:
“Lester’s White Out, handled in the second brace by Ike Todd, had owner Gary Lester scouting. White Out had three picture perfect finds which were spread nicely during the hour. The first was at 24 when birds were flushed from briars that were growing around a fallen tree. The second was at 35 in a thicket of honeysuckle. At 56 Todd raised his cap the third time and soon flushed quail that White Out pointed to the left side of a mowed field. The strong pointer hunted aggressively and consistently for the entire 60 minutes covering a lot of ground. His carriage was beautiful and he was a pleasure to watch.”
Gary sold Sam at the end of his derby season. When he became available for sale again in November of 2010, Ike & Keith jumped at the chance to own him. By the end of December Ike felt Sam was ready. Sam was entered in the Tootsie Hurdle All-Age which he won. At less than three years of age Sam was qualified for the National.
Some will tell you there is a secret to training the White Dogs. If there is any truth to that, then Ike probably knows the key as well as Ferrell Miller. Others will tell you there really is no secret other than hard work and consistency. Those are the lessons that Ike learned at a young age and they have been the foundation for everything Ike has ever attempted to do.
Keith Wright may also have his secrets. Find the right kind of dogs, put the right kind of team together by hiring the right people and don’t let egos or kennel blindness cloud your mission.
If there is ever any question that this 28 year old trainer from Montana is having an impact on the sport, you only have to look at his record. Being a somewhat private and very humble person, Ike may not willingly share these facts with you, but the records speak for themselves. Three dogs that have won the National Championship since 2006 have been in Ike’s camp. Nine different dogs that competed in this year’s National were under Ike’s influence at some point in their lives. To date Ike has won seven open championships and the Ricky Chism Memorial Derby, a one hour stake, three years in a row. Even though Ike and Keith may have reached the top by winning both the National and the 2011 Purina Dog of The Year, the story of this unique partnership is only in chapter one. Ike, Keith and Wright Kennels are a breath of fresh air in a sport that some will tell you is dying. Their contributions are already being felt and the best is yet to come.
[Back to Blog] | [Contact Us]