Prior
Lake American
July 27, 2001
Tucker and his handler, Tom Dropik of Prior Lake, recently took part in ESPN's Great Outdoor Games and came away with a third place victory in the Big Air Competition. Winning the competition cemented Tucker's enthusiasm for dock jumping and may mean that Dropik will be forever known as the "guy with the jumping dog." Tucker, a purebred black Labrador Retriever, and Dropik traveled to Lake Placid, New York for the competition July 12-15.
In the first round, Tucker competed with 11 other dogs and came in tied for fifth place with a yellow lab named Tank.
Just thrilled to have made it with the top six into the second round, Dropik said Tucker was so excited, he jumped his personal best of 19 feet, 7 inches.
"I was really excited and that got him really excited," Dropik said about Tucker. Tucker's performance in the second round was good enough to place him third, bumping out last year's champion jumper (a black lab named Heidi) and two other dogs.
In the final round of jumps, Tucker placed third of three with a top jump of 16 feet, 9 inches.
"He struggled at the end of the dock," Dropik said. The second place contestant also fumbled at the jumping off point, but managed to jump about one foot farther than Tucker.
The winning dog, a mixed-breed named Jerry, broke ESPN's all-time record of 22 feet, 4 inches by topping out at 23 feet, 1 inch.
"All the hard work paid off," Dropik said. He attributed daily early morning runs and late evening dock jumping to Tucker's success. And he's grateful to Pat Hayes and Linda Hayes for giving him access to their dock on Prior Lake for practice.
All three champion dogs (and their handlers) were presented their medals by New York Governor George Pataki.
Dropik's success at the Great Outdoor Games means he and Tucker are invited to return for the Big Air Competition in 2002 at an undetermined location.
Janeil Shambour, who shares Dropik's love for sporting dogs, was there for the big event. She left as Dropik's girlfriend and returned as Dropik's fiancé. During the competition, their engagement was announced and the couple got congratulated with applause from a crowd of several thousand. According to Dropik, the $2,000 prize will go toward Shambour's engagement ring.
Dropik and Shambour plan to continue training with Tucker for future competitions, including a competitive dock jump at the Anoka Game Fair in August. They also plan to find a new home where they can somehow accommodate Tucker's jumping needs, "with access to a pond, or maybe my own training facility," according to Dropik.
And of course, Dropik and his dog look forward every year to a favorite pastime: hunting.