It seems I started in this sport of field trialing I have heard tell of its impending doom. I have many times heard how the participants are all old and there are no newcomers. I remember looking around and thinking they may be right as most of the participants are older than me. Now I look around at most trials and there are some older (most of those were there when I started) but there are surely some younger and those that are about my same age. So some new people surely have come and some stayed since I first started.
I started pondering this while listing the upcoming Field Trial Championships for the upcoming season on this site. There appears to be plenty of opportunities for people to run in trials all over this country whether it be walking shooting dog, cover dog, shooting dog or all age and either open or amateur stakes.
It is my belief that the reasons that most of our participants are older have more to do with the fact that the older we get the mosre time and money we have to spend on such endeavors.
It looks to me as though this great sport is alive and well and fixing to thrive for another great season.
That's all from here on the farm today!
Bill
Bill: I thought I'd leave a comment as a relative 'youngster' in the sport of field trialing. (I'm in my early 40s and am looking forward to my second season of trialing.) I'm not sure if trialing is dieing any faster than any of the other sporting dog events -- like performance testing (AKC or NAVHDA, for example). It might be that the spirit of competition actually exceeds some of our need for putting titles on our dogs. But I know that I was quickly enlisted by my local FT club as a likely volunteer because of the shortage of newcomers. As you mentioned though, even if you're lucky to have a dog that can be a contender each time he runs, any competitor still needs time + $$$ especially if they want to compete in HB stakes.
ReplyDeleteObviously very few people get to do everything they want -- but the part that worries me is that amateurs will get priced out of their own stakes because some folks can afford to start 12 puppies to wash out 10, can afford a 4-horse trailer and the horses to put in it, and can take the time to run their dogs. It's a numbers game.
Life isn't always fair, for sure, but HB trialing especially is both sufficiently addictive and relatively 'stuff'-intensive that the playing field feels even less predictable. But I'll be there come Labor Day weekend for the first trial of our fall season... on a borrowed horse, camping on the grounds, and praying for the delight of a clean run.
All best
Andrew
Thanks for your thoughts Andrew, I hope you a great fall season.
ReplyDeleteBill
I just ran across your post about FT dying. I am certainly in the minority being a woman. I have been around dogs all my life and am no stranger to the costs associated with field trialing. I've had world champion horses and grand champion cattle, not to mention some very prestigious cutting awards. I want so badly to fit in this sport but I found a couple of things that make me want to just stay home with the dog on the couch.
ReplyDeleteFirst, all the folks say come on out we need fresh new blood. They want you to come, they want your money, but the judges won't give tell you anything about your run when you're done so someone NEW like myself can try to learn what is really expected. Second, all the guys will give you advice if you're willing to send your dog for training and let them handle it forgetting that I WANT TO HANDLE my own dog! I sent 3 dogs this year and the trainer was too busy to even show me how my dogs handle, what he did when he ran them, or anything else.
I have good dogs that love to hunt and a desire to learn. Unfortunately, this game is not one that you can just go and learn on your own, you have to almost be mentored by someone willing to at least tell you what you did right or wrong. Maybe because I am a woman??
One thing I do see for sure is dwindling entry numbers. In fact one field trial that closes in a couple of days say they are considering cancelling due to the lack of entries. So sad......
Happy hunting,
Rhonda