Marshall County Field Trials At Hendrix Feed Mill farm One horse and dog sport that gets into full swing during the fall and winter months is field trialing. The Marshall County Amateur Field Trial Club held their annual field trial event November 13-15 at Hendrix Feed Mill farm near Red Banks, MS. The field trials started with the shooting dogs on Friday, followed by the all-age category, and finished with the Derby on Sunday. Gary Lester’s Snowatch, 2009 National Champion, placed second in the all-age, with first place going to Happy Jack. Dr. Fred Corder’s Dillinger placed third. Burke Hendrix won the Derby with Game Plan. Guy Hendrix, field trial host, said, “The event was well attended and everyone had a great time n guaranteed! We furnished lunch and had a cook out Saturday night.” Field trials are competitive events at which hunting dogs compete against one another. Legend has it that field trials started when two people got into a discussion about who had the best bird dog. This led to the question of who would judge the dogs and how a competition would be carried out. For bird dogs, field trials test the well-trained dogs’ ability to locate quail and point to them without flushing them. Each test is called a “brace” and spectators form the “gallery” following behind the dogs on horseback. The dogs are worked by the “handler,” while the “scout” rides ahead to keep up with the dog and, hopefully, get a good view of the dog “on point.” Most field trailers ride some kind of gaited horse and the fairly fast pace is non-stop. The American Field is the premier publication covering field trial dogs and events, covering the sport in America since 1874. You can read it at http://www.americanfield.com/. You can read more about field trialing at Strideaway, http://www.strideaway.com/. Look for the Field Trial Review in February 2010.