The Sunflower Open All Age Championship

Batesville, little more than the railroad crossing still spans the highway, was the center of a thriving area field trial history

SOME THOUGHTS ON FIELD TRIALING IN KANSAS

I remember when Freddie Oxford stepped in front of his Brittany Spaniel pointing in the heavy grass and weeds along the creek bank. My pointer, Jericho Mountain Jr., and setter, Eagle Country Pollyanna, were backing staunchly.

The covey of quail burst upon the skyline, heading in three different directions. Freddie dropped one bird, a cock, to reward the dogs. All had stood steady to wing and shot. “Which dog should we let retrieve it?” Freddie asked. “Let's send Jerry,” I answered, “he's just a first year dog and needs the practice.” Jerry retrieved the downed bird in quick order, and I tossed it to Freddie to admire.

“Jerry did a nice job on that covey and retrieve,” Freddie said. “Didn't he just compete in the Sunflower Open All Age Championship?” “Yes,” I said, “and did us a nice job on the ground, just went birdless.”

“Well, who did win?” Freddie asked. “Bear Creek Bess, owned by Brad Calkins of Colorado, and handled by Andy Daugherty of Grove Springs Missouri,” I replied. “Well, tell me about it,” Freddie said. “We have had a good morning, several coveys properly located, and pointed, all three dogs have done a good job, all have pointed or backed, no flushed birds, all in all a good morning. I'm ready for that hot soup at Lizard Lip's (our favorite watering hole).”

Since I know Freddie breeds for big running, hard hunting, classy bird dogs, but just can't go to many trials, I started with the first brace, describing that first brisk October morning of the Championship.

Picture this. Dawn was breaking, bridles were being adjusted and girths checked. The sounds of panting and snorting are punctuated by puffs of steamy breath. Dogs on stake out chains barking, dogs in the dog wagon answering back. A low voice says "Gentlemen, you're on your own time.” Two sharp whistle blasts and the dogs were off, and the Championship had begun.

The first brace had drawn two pointers, Bear Creek Bess, and Las Animas Patches. They broke away quickly for the horizon. as the riders, two handlers, two judges, marshal, scouts, and spectators ride up the hill. The valley shimmers in the mist. The call of point is heard at two minutes. Topping the hill, the gallery is greeted by the sight of Bess pointing the first of her three coveys of quail. The hour passes quickly with the two dogs pointing five coveys of birds between them. They would later be named Champion and Runner-up Champion.

As we were loading the truck, we reminisced about trials we had judged together, and great performances we had witnessed. We talked about Brittany trials we had ridden together, pointer and setter trials we had judged or won, and we talked about the German Shorthair Nationals coming up near Eureka, Kansas.

I asked Freddie if he had ever judged a Shoot-to-retrieve trial? No, he said, but he liked the format for birdhunters and people who lived in town and could only have one dog. We talked about the National Birdhunters trials and the other walking trials and how they filled a niche needed by those who didn't want a big running field trial dog.

Then the conversation turned back to my Jericho dog and how he could run in front of a Tennessee Walking Horse one week, busting the horizon, and then hunt for us all morning without being lost or running so big we couldn't really hunt over him. “ I guess,” Freddie said, “its all in the breeding.” “Yes,” I said, “the reason we have field trials, and spend so much time breaking the dogs "steady to wing and shot”, is to prove their training, and to try to improve the various breeds of pointing dogs."

"And if all we had were foot hunting dogs to breed, the "drag of the race", would prevail, and our hunting dogs would be more inferior with every generation. “ “What’s that phrase you used,” Freddie asked, “and what does it mean exactly?” “You mean "drag of the race"?” “Yes, that's the one.” “Well,” I say, “the "drag of the race " theory is one all breeders and geneticists use to explain why every breeding doesn't produce better offspring."

"Most breeders pick and choose the parents very carefully, and field trials are one way you know if the parents have the desirable traits of hunting hard, pointing staunchly, backing, and taking training. And even then the chances of producing a winner are very small.”

As I reminisced about the trials in the early fifties and sixties, we talked about how most all local trials were walking trials. They were weekend trials where the average person took his hunting dog because the trial was one course, usually horseshoe shaped, with a ten acre bird field with planted birds. Everyone had an equal opportunity to point birds. In the early sixties our families were grown, and we were finally making enough money to afford to buy a horse and horse trailer, we branched out into horseback trials. But, remember horseback trials have been a part of Kansas History for a long, long time.

Back in the twenties, the trials near Batesville (8 miles west of Yates Center) were a stop on the major circuit for all the big name trainers. They came by train and rented stock to ride to handle the dogs. People in the area remember everything was $5. Horses or mules were $5. Meals were $5. and a place to sleep was also $5 a day. Many homes had a very merry Christmas because the field trials brought a lot of spending money into the local economy. And it hasn't changed alot today.

The Sunflower Open All Age Championship brings about 10 or 11 thousand dollars into the Yates Center economy every fall. Trainers come from Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Mississippi, and other places with large numbers of dogs, horses, and owners to stay a week and run the Championship. All that translates into big bucks for the local merchants.

Knowing that I had at one time bred and raised Brittanies, Freddie asked how long I had been trialing all age dogs? “Well,” I said, “you have to remember that I ran all age Brittanies, and ran them as shooting dogs against the pointers and setters.” “Well,” he asked, “just what is the difference between a shooting dog and an all age dog?”

Most people classify a dog a shooting dog if he or she doesn't run out of the country. But there is more to it than that. Shooting dogs generally do not run as big as all age dogs, and are expected to be easier to handle, and because they don't run as hard and fast, they usually find more birds.

Class always comes into the picture somewhere, but I don't put as much emphasis on high heads and tails as I do accuracy of location when pointing birds, and staunchness on point. “You mean like when Jerry turned his head and front end ever so slowly on the covey out in the short grass?” Freddie asked. “Yes,” I said. “He wanted to tell us the birds were running, but had been trained not to move once he had established point. So he just turned his upper body ever so slowly and indicated where the birds had run off to.

You remember we got them up about 40 yards from where the dogs had pointed?” “Yes,” he said, “and I want to add,” he went on, “we have had more than our share of wonderful hunts because we had well bred, well trained dogs from field trial stock. “Yes,” I said,” we have, and I think that’s why we get asked back to judge trials. We realize how dogs react to different situations depending on different conditions, and we don't expect the dogs to act the same under all conditions. I sure hope we have a many more hunts and trials to enjoy.”

“You've been at this game along time, haven't you?” Freddie asked. “Yes,” I replied, “there are several of us that go back 35 years or more. Tom Fife, Evert Davis Jr., Lyle Johnson, and Francis Classen and I ran Brittanies back when we had trials at Lake Wellington in the early 60's. I remember Don Gerstner, of near Medicine Lodge, that far back, also. Later, Don Beauchamp of Cheney and Don Powell of Wichita ran setters in trials. I don't remember exactly when, but Marvin Mcdowell has been at it a long time. I attended my first trial in l959 in southern Illinois , but those grounds are long gone, taken over by geese and deer.”

“How about grounds?” Freddie asks. “What makes good grounds?” “Birds,” I say, “lots of wild birds, and we all know what it takes to have lots of wild birds. We like several thousand acres to run the horseback trials, and we like the grounds to have objectives that are natural for a front running dog to go to, or hit as we say. Creeks and draws with game holding cover, that connect with one another in some way so a dog can run and hunt to the front and be going to where game should be. Yet not to much cover, or the dogs cannot run and hunt with style.

We have been blessed here in southeast Kansas with several good ranches to run on. The Oliver family of Wichita have made their ranch south of Eureka available, as have the Kimbell family of Yates Center. Top of the World Club has marvelous grounds near Madison, Kansas. Without good owners and good grounds, good field trials would not be possible.”