2021 National Open Shooting Dog Champion Is A Pointer Named ‘Nate’

The 2021 National Open Shooting Dog Champion is a 4-year-old white-and-orange Pointer named “Nate,” who took top honors only three years after his sire won the prestigious event. It is only the second time in the 60-year history of the National Open that a father and son have won. Running in the first 90-minute brace — No. 17 of the seven-day trial — on a cold, windy morning, Senah’s Back In Business delivered a powerful, stylish performance with seven covey finds. Joel Norman, manager and head trainer at Senah Plantation in Leesburg, Georgia, handled the homebred champion for owner Benjy Griffith, and Jamie Daniels of Bronwood, Georgia, scouted. “Nate is a natural. He runs a far-reaching forward ground race and always knows where I am,” Norman says. “He was a late bloomer, but his desire to hunt birds was evident right away.” Nate was sired by Miller Unfinished Business, whom Norman handled to his win at the 2018 National Open, out of Miller’s Dialing for Dollars, the 2016 Southeastern Open Shooting Dog Champion. Griffith bought both dogs from breeders Jack and Fran Miller of Barwick, Georgia, and Nate was whelped and raised at Senath Plantation out of that mating. Among his other wins, Nate won the 2020 Southeastern Open Shooting Dog Championship. His power and ability make him a contender in all-age stakes, as reflected in his winning Runner-Up Champion at the 2021 Florida Open All-Age Championship. The talented bird dog is fed Purina Pro Plan SPORT Performance 30/20 Chicken & Rice Formula.