A Long Tradition...
Begun in the early 1900's, the trials have drawn
the attention of club owners and hunters from across the country
and around the world. Each February, the fields surrounding
Sedgefields Plantation come to life as owners and their dogs
prove their worth.
In 1951, the National Amateur Free-for-All
was sanctioned and was held on the hunting preserve known as
Sedgefields Plantation, an area of land that consists of
approximately 14,000 acres. The acreage was combined in the
latter years of the 1920s by the late L. B. Maytag who is known
as the originator of the Maytag line of appliances. In 1931,
Maytag, an avid quail hunter, gave the Field Trials a permanent
home. There are several other game preserves in the county,
ranging in size from a few hundred acres to the thousands.
Bird Dog Statue, Prairie St. |
During the competition, when a dog points, the
judges verify the point and the handler dismounts, walk over to
the dog and flushes the bird or birds and shoots blanks into the
air. The winners are awarded their place according to their
range, speed, class, style and handling as well as their bird
finding ability.
The actual length of any trial depends on the
number of dogs entered. The night before the competition begins
a drawing is held to pair the dogs, two to a brace. Eight braces
are run each day-five braces in the morning and three after
lunch.
Of the many field trials in Bullock County
from November through March, there are three championships, two
professional and one amateur. The February amateur championship,
namely The National Amateur Free-for-All, might be termed the
main event as it attracts visitors from all over the United
States, even occasional visitors from a foreign country; also a
large gallery of riders, sometimes more than 500 people.
The city of Union Springs, the Field Trial
Capitol of the World, welcomes hundreds of tourists during the
annual event. Downtown stores have window displays decorated by
local organizations using a field trial theme.
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Field
Trials
