May, 1919 
FOREST AND STREAM 
221 
FIELD TRIALS AT PINEHURST 
THE SPORTSMAN WHO FOLLOWS A WELL CONDUCTED FIELD TRIAL 
WILL BECOME MORE SKILLFUL IN THE HANDLING OF HIS OWN DOGS 
By RODNEY RANDOM 
S OMETHING 
like a quarter 
of a century 
ago the Tufts fam- 
ily of Boston 
(father and son) 
started out to make 
Pinehurst, N. C., 
the greatest winter 
rendezvous for out- 
of-doors people in 
the world, and it 
may be truly rec- 
orded that marvel- 
ous progress has 
been made in that 
direction, for today 
Pinehurst is the 
winter mecca of 
the golfing world. 
The trap-shooting 
fraternity have al- 
so seized upon the 
place and made it 
their home, the 
winter tournament 
of the clay bird 
smashers being the star event of the 
season, and as a further attraction for 
the devotees of the shotgun and the 
bird dog Field Trials have been intro- 
duced and celebrated Field Trial stars 
raced there last month under ideal con- 
ditions. To the man who shoots over a 
pointer or setter on the wooded hillsides 
of New England, the prairies of the west, 
or in the quail fields of the south, a race 
between bird dogs is an event of constant 
interest for there he can observe and 
study the finer points of bird dog work 
as brought out and emphasized by compe- 
tition between highly developed dogs with 
skillful handlers. 
The average dog owner believes that 
he knows all about a bird dog that is 
worth while and feels sure he can tell a 
good one from a bad one. The estimate 
of a dog that a man forms in the hunt- 
ing field however, is based largely upon 
whether he is registered a successful shot 
at the birds, and the appreciation of ■ 
dog is frequently measured by the num- 
ber of birds which are killed. 
In a Field Trial all is different. The 
mere killing of birds is not taken into 
consideration and dogs are shot over 
only to determine whether or not they 
are steady at the report of the guns, or 
gun shy, and many trials are run without 
a bird being killed. The judges, men of 
long experience, follow the dogs in the 
most dispassionate manner and keep them 
under constant surveillance. The speed 
and energy that a dog throws into his 
work, the intelligence that he displays 
in working a country and going from one 
birdy spot to another, the manner in 
which he approaches a likely place so 
as to get full advantage of the wind, the 
unerring confidence and accuracy with 
which he locates his birds, are the things 
that the judges are constantly weighing 
4 -: 
H. A. J. Wilken’s “Coveycot Jessica” 
in making up their decision, and any 
sportsman who follows a well-conducted 
Field Trial for a day or two leaves a 
much wiser man, and in the field there- 
after, he will be far more skillful in the 
handling of his own dogs and will have 
learned many things that should be in 
the curriculum of an accomplished and 
Frank Butler with 
Norwood Johnson’s Champion “Griffon” 
worthy sportsman. 
In the trials this 
year a number of 
amateurs com- 
p e t e d. Crocker’s 
Ben Sport was 
handled by his 
owner who had 
never seen a Field 
Trial before, but 
who quickly picked 
up the finer points 
of the game and in 
the final heat, 
which he ran with 
Jay Hall, also an 
amateur, these 
two men handled 
their dogs with a 
keen, decisive pre- 
cision that would 
have done credit to 
any professional. 
A Mr. Wilkens, 
who owns a beauti- 
ful little descend- 
ant of the old Field 
Trial star, Caesar, was a very umprom- 
ising handler in the first series, but he 
followed the trials through the rest of 
the day, got a line on the game, and came 
back two days later and placed his beau- 
tiful little setter at the top of the list. 
P INEHURST has many things to 
recommend it as a Field Trial center. 
To begin with there are sufficient 
birds and unlimited country, and there 
is a stimulating snap in the atmosphere 
of this Carolina pineland country that 
brings out the best in both men and dogs. 
It is a land of sunshine and sandy soil 
which readily absorbs the rains that in 
some countries made the fields impass- 
able, and there are also the other com- 
forts in the way of splendid hotel accomo- 
dations, which have deterred so many 
men from putting up with discomforts to 
be found at the places where Field Trials 
are usually held. 
Mr. Tufts, the owner of Pinehurst, is 
an old Field Trial man and always has 
a hearty welcome for the man who loves 
a bird dog or a foxhound. He is also 
fortunate in having as two all-winter 
residents Dr. Brown, who is well-known 
in the Field Trial world and a skillful 
hand in directing these matters and Jay 
Hall, another well-known Field Trial en- 
thusiast, keenly 'interested in bird dogs 
and the success of the Pinehurst trials. 
The senior judge of the trials was 
Harry Hullman of Terre Haute, Indiana. 
A quarter of a centry ago Mr. Hullman 
owned the greatest kennel of Field Trial 
stars that was ever brought together and 
his name is permanently identified with 
all that is best in Field Trials. He dropped 
into Pinehurst quite unannounced, but 
was immediately pressed into service and 
handled the stake admirably, bracing 
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 255 ) 
