June, 1918 
FOREST AND STREAM 
375 
FIELD TRIALS OF THE SETTER CLUB 
(continued from page 333 ) 
with the dogs more than is necessary to 
keep them within bounds and allow them 
to display their natural qualities to the 
best advantage. The judges, either on 
foot or on horseback, follow behind the 
handlers. They watch carefully everything 
the dogs do and thereby form an estimate 
of their various qualities. The first series 
is not a race of dog against dog. It is 
simply a systematic procedure that will 
enable the judge to see each dog in action, 
so that they can form an intelligent esti¬ 
mate of the capabilities and relative stand¬ 
ing of every dog entered. The time each 
brace of the first series is run, is usually 
fixed arbitrarily to thirty minutes; this 
gives all contestants an equal opportunity. 
The judges, after all of the dogs in the 
first series have been run, are allowed to 
exercise their own discretion as to which 
dogs they desire to carry along in the stake 
for further competition. At the same time 
they eliminate those that they do not con¬ 
sider worthy. In no other sport is so much 
confidence placed in a judge, and it may 
also be said that this system has worked 
satisfactorily. 
This method of judging Trials is what is 
known as the “Spotting System,” that is, 
the judges spot the best dogs. 
H OW to hold a Field Trial close to 
home over a limited area of ground, 
thereby avoiding tedious and expen¬ 
sive journeys and the keeping up of large 
preserves, has been the subject of endless 
theories, discussions and repeated attempts 
and failures for many years. Among the 
organizations that made attempts at solv¬ 
ing one of the great problems in field 
trials was the English Setter Club of Phil¬ 
adelphia. This Club has long been 
active in bench show affairs and has 
among its members one Frank Reily, of 
Medford, N. J. Mr. Reily is one of the 
best known and popular men in the field 
trial world. He is one of the few men who 
have been fortunate enough to win the 
National Championship at Grand Junction, 
Tennessee, and dogs of his breeding have 
been successful contestants at practically 
every field trial ground in America. Mr. 
Reily appreciated the possibilities of the 
English Setter Club Field Day and went 
to work quietly. His standing among field 
trial men was such as to secure first their 
toleration and later a certain degree of en¬ 
couragement. He gradually developed va¬ 
rious plans until his club today has arrived 
at a complete system of competition that 
has elevated the organization’s trials to a 
premier position and they are destined to 
a far reaching influence on the game in 
every section of the country, 
b This year members of the English Setter 
Club purchased a farm of two hundred 
acres on which to run their field trials. In 
the center of the preserve there is a hill; 
here the clubhouse and buildings are located 
and from this point of vantage it is pos¬ 
sible to follow up the work on each brace 
of dogs throughout a complete field trial 
heat. In handling the trials the dogs are 
cast off across the open country. Here it 
is possible to measure their speed and 
range as accurately as if they were run¬ 
ning on one of the great preserves. Then 
they can be worked through the timber or 
out on to the rolling country where they 
can display their bird sense and back again 
to the heavier cover where most of the 
birds are found. It is needless to say 
that thirty miles from Philadelphia, where 
these grounds are located, it was neces¬ 
sary to plant birds in considerable num¬ 
bers, but it is possible that they may be 
bred there in sufficient numbers so that the 
club’s grounds will become a refuge and 
breeding sanctuary. 
The trials this year have demonstrated 
that it is possible to run each brace of dogs 
under practically equal conditions and af¬ 
ford the judges an opportunity for study¬ 
ing the speed, style, range and the search 
qualities of every entry, as well as an op¬ 
portunity to test them on game. By these 
procedures an accurate definition can be 
arrived at and the true value of every 
dog in the stake determined. After 
watching the trials this year we are ready 
to concede that they are being run under 
conditions closely simulating old field trials. 
The English Setter Club today is more 
than a progressive field trial institution. 
Its unique method of conducting trials and 
the system that has been worked out will 
bear the closest scrutiny and the dog that 
has the honor of winning one of these 
stakes must be accepted in the field trial 
world. 
The officers of the English Setter Club 
are: John Harris, President; Charles M. 
Bruce, Vice-President; George G. Bergen, 
2nd Vice-President; Frank Reily, 3rd Vice- 
President ; Elmer M. Simpkins, Secretary, 
and Dr. J. E. Dunwoodie, Assistant Sec¬ 
retary. All these gentlemen are enthusi¬ 
astic sportsmen. It is the schooled judg¬ 
ment and wide experience in field trial 
matters of Mr. Reily, however, that is re¬ 
sponsible for details of arrangement which 
have contributed so materially to the suc¬ 
cess of the club. 
The Judges of the trials this year were 
Dr. T. W. Shore, of Boonville, N. C., and 
T. C. Comstock, of East Hartford, Con¬ 
necticut. They followed the heats closely 
and arrived at an accurate conclusion in 
the most decisive and clean cut manner. 
The members’ Derby was won by Great 
Island Live-Wire, owned and handled by 
Lieut. Ziegler. C. B. Huff’s white and 
orange dog Zeb was second, and River 
Lawn Colonel, owned by R. H. Sidway, 
was third. In the age stake Mr. Reily’s 
Jersey Prince was first, Dr. Wagner’s De- 
lanco Don was second, while equal third 
was divided between Aumond Pat and 
O-Don Smathers. In the open Derby 
Jumping Jack, handled by W. F. Weeks, 
was first, Great Island Live-Wire was sec¬ 
ond, and Smather’s Phils Speed Ben was 
third. Naponechee, a well-known perform¬ 
er on the big circuit, won the Open All 
Age, while the “Free for All” was won 
by R. M. Heckscher’s Shore’s Ben. 
In conclusion it may be said that every 
dog placed in these trials was of Grand 
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