— 2012 AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship Attracts Best in Bird Dogs —
Later this month, the 2012 AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship will take place at the Ames Plantation near Grand Junction, Tennessee. The event has drawn an entry of 124 dogs, which includes 105 Field Champions. This is the largest number of AKC Pointing Breed Field Champions ever assembled for a single event. Field Champions from all nine of the major pointing breeds will be competing including many that placed in their breeds National Championship in 2011.
Grand Junction is rich in bird dog history. The town is home to the National Bird Dog Museum, which houses exhibits depicting the history of field trials as well as portraits and sculptures of some of the most famous bird dogs over the last 100 years. The first organized field trial in the United States was held near Memphis (just 60 miles from Grand Junction) in 1874 and the American Field National Championship has been held on theAmes Plantation since 1915. The AKC’s 2012 Championship will run from February 27th through March 10th over the Plantation’s 18,400 beautiful acres.
The trial will be one non-retrieving Championship stake consisting of two series and will run on wild quail. Each series will be one hour in length and six braces will run per day – three in the morning and three in the afternoon.
I encourage you to join the 2012 AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship Facebook group for the latest on the event. “Dogs of the Day” will be posted there once the event starts. We’ll also keep you up to date on event coverage and photos at www.akc.org/events/field_trials/pointing_breeds/gun_dog_championships/. We hope you enjoy the Championship!
Sincerely,
Ron Menaker
Chairman
February Chairman’s Report