The National Championship for Bird Dogs

The National Championship was first organized and run near West Point, Mississippi in 1896. Later, the competition was conducted on field trial grounds south of Grand Junction, Tennessee; near Rogers Springs, Tennessee; and finally, the Ames Plantation, north of Grand Junction and LaGrange, Tennessee. The National found a permanent home on the Ames Plantation in 1915 and each running since has been on the "hallowed" field trial grounds set in place by Hobart Ames, long time President and Judge of the National Championship. Details of the history of this prestigious event have been chronicled in a book by William F. Brown and Nash Buckingham entitled, National Field Trial Champions (copyrighted, 1955, The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, PA), updated by William F. Brown's book, National Field Trial Champions 1956-66 (copyrighted, 1966, by A. S. Barnes and Co., Inc., South Brunswick, NJ). Another reference is Fields of Glory, Volume One 1874-1930, by Everett Skehan (copyright 2001, by The American Field Publishing Company, Chicago, IL) Click here for a list of past National Champions.

Running on some 6,000 acres of Ames Plantation is now conducted each year beginning on the second or third Monday in February with a usual entry of about 36 English Pointers and /or English Setters, winners or placers in 70 qualifying trials throughout the U.S. and Canada, competing. To be ideally executed, this event requires good populations of bobwhite quail in an all-age field trial habitat. Several thousand field trial enthusiasts from all over the world attend the event each year. Brace by brace synopses of this event are available at this web site a few hours after each individual brace is completed.