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For two weeks every February, Ames Plantation in Grand Junction goes to the dogs.

Ames Plantation has hosted the National Bird Dog Field Trial Championship continuously since 1915, and the event draws some 40 competing English Pointers and Setters and 3,500 people annually.

Each dog’s objective in the competition is to find and point Bobwhite Quail along a designated 11-mile course.

“The dog uses his nose to smell game, and he will stop at 10 to 15 feet from a group of birds and point to them using his nose,” explains Rick Carlisle, director of Ames Plantation. “He looks like a motionless statue.” Judges follow the dogs on horseback, and spectators ride behind them to observe. The handler of the winning dog receives $16,000 in prize money.

“It’s like the Super Bowl of dog field trials,” Carlisle says. “We’ve had dog owners from as far away as Japan, and usually two-thirds of the states are represented.”

The 2010 event began Feb. 9 and continues for the next two weeks. Check out the brace-by-brace synopsis at Ames Plantation’s website. For more information about the Bird Dog Foundation, visit www.birddogfoundation.com, or call (731) 764-2058.

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Magazine:
Tennessee Home & Farm, Summer 2010 Edition Edition

Headline:
Bird Dogs Get Point Across at National Competition

Summary:
For two weeks every February, Ames Plantation in Grand Junction goes to the dogs.

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