30 NEBRASKAland • MAY 2018
T
wo wiry bird dogs sprint
crisscross patterns through frosted
brown Nebraska grasslands. Two
dog handlers follow distantly, double-
barreled shotguns cracked open over
their shoulders. Close behind them,
two judges bundled for the cold ride
horseback and observe.
Back at the starting point, dozens
of restless dogs sniff the air, their
olfactory systems flooded with a
magnitude of information we cannot
imagine. Their eagerness is palpable;
soon they will run and hunt, too, which
is their deepest desire.
The pointing breeds are here.
German shorthaired and wirehaired
pointers, setters, Brittanys, vizslas,
Weimaraners and a few others trained
to lock up at the smell of certain birds.
Far afield, one zigzagging dog
freezes in place. "Buster has one,"
proclaims the dog's handler. Fifty
yards out, the speckled brown and
white German shorthaired pointer
stands unmoving on point, eyes locked
on an area of tall grass. The second
dog notices Buster and snaps to a stop.
She is far from Buster's patch of grass
and cannot smell the hunkered-down
quail within, but she is trained not to
interfere. These dogs are masters.
Buster's handler pulls a starting
gun from his pocket and slowly walks
the grass in front of Buster. The dull
staccato of a fleeing quail's wings
breaks the silence and is followed by a
harmless pop from the starting gun. As
the bird flies free, Buster must not flinch
or move until commanded to heel at
his handler's side. Later in the live-fire
area, quail will be shot and retrieved but
Buster never knows what will happen
next, intensifying the challenge of
perfect behavior. This is a hunting test
and the judges are taking notes.
Organized by local hunting dog clubs
and sanctioned by several national
organizations, the most prevalent being
the American Kennel Club, hunting
Field Trial
Dogs
Masters of the Hunt
Story and photos by Mark Harris
Tilly, a master-level German wirehaired pointer, waits her turn to hunt. In a hunting test
she will either pass or fail. In field trials her skills are judged against those of other dogs.