The Great American Sport of Bird Dog Field Trials
by Chris Mathan
90 years ago, the American Field Publishing Company produced, managing editor William F. Brown’s 80-page book entitled “The Field Trial Primer”. Its purpose was to provide field trialers with some written guidance on topics including the organization of field trial clubs, requirements concerning grounds, types of stakes to offer and qualities by which dogs should be judged. Thirteen years later, in 1947, Brown updated and expanded on his book producing the first of several editions of “Field Trials: History, Management and Judging Standards”. By that time the sport of field trials for English setters and pointers had enjoyed phenomenal growth throughout the country with over 300 sportsman’s clubs conducting over 400 trials recognized by the American Field with wins recorded in the Field Dog Stud Book, the first volume of which was published in 1900. What was it that captivated outdoors men and women to be so thoroughly engaged in a sport centered on bird dogs?
The Introductory pages of the “The Field Trial Primer” elicit valuable insight as to how the sport of pointing dog field trials in America evolved from its very first contest held on October 8, 1874 near Memphis, TN. A solid black unregistered setter “Knight” bested the field of nine starters: five “native” setters, one English setter, a dropper (a dog of mixed breeding) and one pointer. A points system derived from field trials in England was used by judges to determine the winners with points given for various pieces of good work (nose, pace, style, etc.). The birth of field trials for setters and pointers in England preceded American trials by a decade with the first recorded trial held in 1866. The sport on the American continent took its own distinct path and soon overshadowed British trials in popularity and growth. The point system was found lacking and replaced with the spotting system, still in use today, which evaluates the totality of each dog’s performance. Though slow to start in those early years of limited means of transportation, field trials took hold of the imagination of its followers, largely through the sporting press — the weekly American Field and other publications. Both setters and pointers were imported from the best kennels in England and established the first American breeding programs. Over time, travel in America expanded to automobiles and was no longer limited to rail, allowing trainers to compete in trials further from home. The setters, mostly of Llewellin and Laverack lines, prevailed through the first two decades of the 1900s. In 1889 pointer enthusiasts C.E. McMurdo and Edward Dexter came to the trials with a young dog bred at their kennel named Rip Rap. It would take another 20 years before his legacy paid off big when the first pointer, Manitoba Rap, won the coveted crown of National Champion in 1909 and began the ascendance of the pointer in horseback field trials.
Finding their way in the early years of field trials, pioneering sportsman kept the flame alive and persevered to lay down a strong foundation by the time the sport entered the 20th century. The extraordinary and colorful history of bird dog field trials — both its human and canine characters — has been documented in thousands of field trial reports published in “The American Field” for over a 125 years. Books written by legendary trainers, breeders, judges, reporters and other participants detail the sport’s progress through hardship and eras of great opportunity. Many of these volumes were penned by or about the many pillars of our sport who ensured that its foundation was solid and not swayed by fashionable ideas. Their wisdom bestowed upon us an enduring Standard of Bird Dog Performance as relevant today as was a hundred years ago.
One of the most important early influencer was Albert Frederick Hockwalt. Born in Dayton, Ohio in 1869, Hockwalt attended his first field trial at 19 years of age. He became the greatest bird dog and field trial historian of his era. His dedication and endless study and analysis of bird dog performance shaped the development of both field trial setters and pointers by way of the respect and weight his opinion held with breeders, trainers/handlers, and judges alike. William F. Brown’s 1939 biography of Hochwalt, published the year following his death, contains countless gems that reveal just how prominent Hochwalt’s opinion was in shaping the sport. His concurrence with one of the sport’s earliest celebrated professional handlers, Dave Rose on the topic of “class” no doubt influenced the opinion of judges at a time where speed and range were all the rage, outweighing every other attribute sought for in a bird dog, to the detriment of the dog’s very purpose. The highly respected Rose had this to say to a small group of admirers with Hochwalt present, gathered at a well-known hostelry at Barber Junction, N.C. in December of 1907:
“‘Uncle Dave,’ someone asked, ‘you defined a class dog as “one that runs away, but not quite.” Does that one short, simple phrase cover the subject to your satisfaction?’
Uncle Dave sat up a little straighter in his chair. ‘Yes, my young friend, I did say that, but it was more in jest than in seriousness, for it about covers the idea that many have of class in a dog, but let me tell you, sah, that’s not my full idea of class, sah.’
‘Well,’ retorted the inquisitor, ‘what do you call class then, in earnest?’ ‘What do I call class?’ This was uttered as a prelude as he looked his interrogator in the eye and a deeper glint came into his own. ‘My idea of class is a dog that does it all, not the kind that some of these judges have been placing; the kind that run and does nothing else. Just because he can run fast and go wide, he means very little to me if he won’t handle his ground properly, if he can’t find bevies as well as singles, if he won’t back if called upon to do so. But you can find dogs that will do it all and when you do, you have a class dog, but you haven’t got one that can only run wide and fast and find a bevy once in a great while by accident, and then perhaps away off somewhere and you only discover him by good luck.’” 1
Al Hochwalt considered that the best unstudied definition of “class” that he ever heard.
The influential early titans of our sport — of which there were countless — laid down the underlying foundation from which the standards of judging field trial bird dogs are derived. They kept the sport on an even keel, never allowing mere popular ideas to dictate its course. Though we accept that the opinions of judges vary, to this day, we expect performances to be elevated based on which dogs best display the entirety of what makes up “class”.
From Brown’s 1934 Field Trial Primer:
“Present day standards glorify the intelligent, stylish bird dog, the “classy” performer. Bird finding is still the exalted desideratum, but the manner and quality of performance eclipse the simple finding of game. The field trial conception of the ideal bird dog is well defined, rational, sound. To measure up to field trial standards a bird dog must possess speed, range and style. He must be endowed with stamina and a good nose. He must display initiative, he must manifest method in his negotiation of the terrain. He must exhibit character, animation, independence, intelligence. His work must be incisive, merry. He must show intensity and steadiness on game. He must handle. The ideal bird dog, in short, is the finished product, a high class, thoroughly broken performer which excites constant admiration by the excellence of his work.” 2
With the emergence and popularity of the “Shooting Dog” class of field trials beginning in the early 1950s, a corresponding standard was delineated. It called for a dog’s performance to be more subservient to the handler and gun than the primary display of genetic characteristics and to show proper handling response and refinement without the benefit of scouting and excessive handling. With the exception of extreme range, today’s standard for a Shooting Dog demands all the other aspects of “class” as that of the All-Age division.
The sport of bird dog field trialing is distinguished from other sporting dog activities in that the dog’s work is independent of their handler and at great range. The dog’s primary purpose of searching for, properly handling and accurately pointing gamebirds are genetic characteristics developed by knowledgeable breeders and talented trainers. All of the characteristics that distinguish a future winning field trial bird dog are innate… nose, intelligence, desire to search for birds, intensity and character on point, speed and style running, endurance and the ability to hunt to the front at great distances from the handler. The pointing of upland birds is genetic; to retain their steadiness through the flush and shot as required for a finished broke dog is trained with more or less difficulty based on the skills of the trainer, proper exposure to game, and genetic factors.
Breed improvement has always been the fundamental purpose of field trials. The high standard of performance has provided an essential benchmark for breeders. Of course, field trial wins are not the only consideration in the selection of animals to mate, but knowledgeable breeders utilize the opinion of experienced field trial judges and their own peers to prevent “kennel blindness”. The highest demands on genetic ability in our sport, All-Age championships held on wild bird venues, serve to highlight the dogs that win under the most authentic and often, grueling conditions. Field trials are a sport where “luck of the draw” determines some of the conditions under which the dog must perform. Weather, temperature, time of day, birds are all significant factors in the outcome of a trial. Great dogs do not always win, particularly because the caliber of competition is high, but they prove themselves over their careers, winning and, more often than not, being closest to the winners. These are sure indicators of genetic talent…developed by gifted trainers. Field trial reports have been published in the American Field for decades, recording details of all the contenders’ performances along with all relevant conditions. These reports serve to enlighten the owners of dogs and other interested parties — many who could not attend — of the details of each brace.
Through the selection of sires and dams of proven ability, today’s field trial English setters and pointers would astound and delight the men of long ago whose dedication to the fledgling sport of field trials never wavered. Sprinkled throughout the sport’s history are legendary performers whose extraordinary accomplishments in the field motivated the next generation of field trialers to reach for more illustrious heights. Despite advances in diet, medicine, conditioning, training tools and animal stewardship in general, it is and always has been the competition, the enduring captivation of the Great American Sport of Bird Dog Field Trials that not only sustains but advances the challenging arc of genetic performance.
William F. Brown (1905 -1990)
From the early 1920’s through his long career at the American Field Publishing Company, Bill Brown brought his many talents and steadfast devotion to the sport of field trials. As a reporter for the Field for a half century, Bill witnessed and recorded some of the greatest performances of the sport until his last reporting assignment in 1982. He was a gifted writer and with his remarkable memory, chronicled some of the most important field trials of his day with impartiality and accuracy. He became Editor of the Field in 1943 and President in 1956. He founded the Field Trial Hall of Fame honoring dogs and people who excelled in the sport reaching back to the late 30s. With careful consideration, Bill compiled the rules and regulations governing the elections that bestow the honor of excellence on dogs, owners, trainers and handlers. The June 19, 1954 issue of the American Field announced and opened for nomination the first Field Trial Hall of Fame. William F. Brown was inducted into the sport’s hallowed hall in 1982.
The 1990 Christmas edition of the Field contained an essay entitled “The Best in the Business”:
“…when it came to recalling nuances of bird dog performance and penning an insightful and understanding account of a trial’s conduct or the judges’ decisions, Bill Brown was without peer and probably never will be equaled”. “He loved field trials, the men and women, dogs and horses that are a part of the sporting activity to which he was singularly devoted.” 3
Footnotes:
Everett M. Skehan, “Fields of Glory: Volume One — 1874-1930” (American Field Publishing Company, 2001)
William F. Brown, “The Field Trial Primer” (American Field Publishing Company, 1934)
David Michael Duffy, The American Field Christmas Edition (American Field Publishing Company, 1990)
First published in the Spring 2025 (premier) issue of the United Kennel Club’s American Field Sportsman’s Journal. These are the images selected by the editor, Chris Ingram, for the story. The last section on William Brown was omitted for lack of space. Historic images are from the Strideaway library. All other photos are: ©Chris Mathan.
