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June 25, 2005

Dogs of the Year Policy

Dear Region 9 Field Trialers:

Larry McConnell phoned me on Monday asking if I had a copy of the region minutes of, I believe, 1988 when we started the region 9 dogs of the year program. I must confess that I spent about three hours going back over regional materials looking for the minutes but couldn't find them.

I did read many things of the past which brought back some fond memories, such as the first running of the Idaho Open Shooting Dog Championship in 1976, and a letter I wrote to Bill Brown of The American Field in 1975 urging his approving of the championship. I also read in the booklet, Idaho Field Trial News, published by the Boise Valley Pointing Dog Club in 1977, with Duane Lind, president, and George Roberts, Secretary-Treasurer, and Tom Doherty, Field Trial Chairman, the first running of the Northwest Chukar Open Shooting Dog Championship, which originally was the Winnemucca Open Shooting Dog Championship. I reported both of those championships and kept copies of the reports, although they were later printed in The American Field. I also found a semi-history of The Utah Field Trial Association, which ran its first trial in 1937 and continuously, I think, to now. The Utah Field Trial Association joined the AFTCA in 1952 and ran a recognized Region 9 championship that year or 1953. So much for the past which has been interesting and significant. One of my real problems is that I remember everything whether it happened or not! (I am paraphrasing Mark Twain who said something like that at one time).

Now back to the dogs of the year policy. I talked to both Larry McConnell and Denny Sturman, who were at the 1988 regional meeting. All three of us recall the policy the same, and we have followed it each year since. Harold Chadwick asked me in March of 1999 what the policy was and how we determined the point system. At that time I wrote Harold and explained the point system and referred him to region minutes of June 17, 1995 held in Burley. I made a copy of those minutes and attached it to my letter to Harold. At that time we voted upon and approved a change in the policy for determining dogs of the year. We also approved at that meeting the Continental Dog of the Year Award.

As I recalled then to Harold that he was at the meeting and that the policy was as follows:

For the region dogs of the year awards, only Region 9 trialers can win and points can be won only in sanctioned Amateur Field Trial Clubs of America or American Field sanctioned trials run in the Region.

The recent discussions among Larry, Denny, and me developed from what Harold reported in the minutes of last year's regional meeting at Burley. Rich Heaton had asked if wins outside the region would count toward yearly awards. This was discussed and decided that only wins WITHIN the region would be counted. Then Harold stated in the report that exception would be the National Amateur Chukar Championships that are rotated. That is what triggered the discussions among the three of us. In the Idaho Field Trial News of April 16, 1988, Duane Lind reported that the Boise Valley Pointing Dog Club was hosting the National Amateur Chukar All Age Championship and the National Amateur Chukar Shooting Dog Classic at Mile Post 7. My point is that at our regional meeting when we established the policy for the Region 9 Dogs of the Year we discussed this very issue because Stephen Asher (owner of Tekoa Mountain Sunrise, campaigned by Rich Robertson) and Gene Goold, who was region vice-president (and owner of Strike's Silver Ben, campaigned by Dave LaChance) wanted to count points for their dogs when they won placements handled by amateur handlers of other regions. As I recall both Benny and Sunrise won amateur championships in other regions handled by amateurs in those regions: Asher and Goold did not even attend the trials. At the meeting the majority voting did not think we should go outside the region to determine our region dogs of the year.

One of the arguments besides the obvious one of owners with money campaigning their dogs outside the region was that we established the policy to encourage our amateur handlers and owners to support region club trials as much as they could afford to do so and win a dog of the year award (or more). The point is that we were trying to encourage region 9 trialing and help our member clubs. So we set the policy and reaffirmed it in the 1995 meeting and have followed it to this date. The three of us talking by phone agreed that was the policy and do not think we ought to change it and have the exception Harold listed in the minutes. I, personally, do not remember that being said last year at the Burley meeting. I could be wrong: I remember every thing whether it happened or not! Neither do Larry nor Denny recall it. I have tried my best to explain the history of the policy and some of our reasoning about it. I believe it has worked quite well and has helped Region 9 field trialing. I hope we can continue it. Wiese