I am intersested in knowing the difference in field trials. Some tips would be great, like what do the judges look for in the different trials, and what does it take to make field champions? I am very new to this, but have hunted rabbits for many years and raised many beagles.
First off, what type of dog do you run? How do they run a line, what speed do they run and are they registered? Describe the type of dog you run and that will help us lead you in the right direction!
I have two pups appx. five months old. They are AKC and from in-line blackjack linage. Will be appx. 13 inches.
Those are spo type dogs. You would run them in akc spo/ubgf trials. If you were gonna run arha trials you would run in progressive pack. Spo and progressive pack are pretty much the same style of dog. That's a great bloodline of dogs you have. Hounds and hunting is an akc magazine with all the field trial dates. espomagazine.com has some good info on akc bloodlines and trial dates too. It's been a long time since I've run arha. Check with Freddie Beavers. He runs this site and goes by fb on here. He could help you with the arha trials. Jarred
Im responding late because I just saw this thread but several of my dogs have Blackjack in their pedigree. I agree with Jarrod. Generally speaking theyre bred for SPO and maybe some PP trials but my favorite is ARHA Gundog Pack. My dogs just seem to "fit" a little better there.
Go to www.akc.org and order a rule book to read - or read it on-line. http://www.akc.org/pdfs/rulebooks/RF2404.pdf Enjoy the reading - plenty of info there.
www.arha.com has the different formats, rules, etc. for their trials. Gundog Pack which is the division that I like is similar to SPO. It takes 2 wins and 150 points to Champion a dog in that format. Points are 50 for 1st, 40 for 2nd, etc. They look for a dog that runs pretty close to the line and works a check from the point of loss. Gundog Brace is the same running style except the dogs are braced against each other instead of running them in a pack. Im not sure what the criteria is for Champion in that format. Progressive Pack takes 2 wins if I remember right then you have to certify the dog which means it has to circle a rabbit on its own and be shot over to earn the title. I dont have a clue about Little Pack or Large Pack trials. In SPO it takes 3 wins and if I remember right 120 points. I think points are given for each dog entered in the trial so that if you win a trial with 30 dogs you get 30 points. There are lots of SPO guys on here that can straighten me out if Im wrong on that. SPO is alot harder to Champion a dog in imo. I dont get to do it very often but I enjoy going to field trials. Itll never replace hunting for me but its a good reason to run dogs year round and it gives you something to do with your dogs when rabbit season is closed and you cant go huntin'.
