pointing breed field trial rules · whether or not a member of the american kennel club, by...

Field Trial Rulesand StandardProcedure forPointing Breeds

Amended to November 2007Published by The American Kennel Club

57307_RFTPNT_Cover_11_08.qxd 11/7/08 10:16 AM Page FC1

RLY

Text Box

NOTE: This Rulebook contains the following insert(s): *Yellow Insert - Effective August 1, 2009 Insert(s) located after inside front cover

AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB’S MISSION STATEMENT

The American Kennel Club is dedicated to upholding theintegrity of its Registry, promoting the sport of purebred dogsand breeding for type and function. Founded in 1884, the AKCand its affiliated organizations advocate for the purebred dog asa family companion, advance canine health and well-being, workto protect the rights of all dog owners and promote responsibledog ownership.

THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB:

Records the parentage of over one million dogs annually,but is not itself involved in the sale of dogs and cannot there-fore guarantee the health and quality of dogs in its registry.

Sponsors more than 15,000 dog competitions each yearheld by licensed and member clubs. Only dog clubs may beAKC members.

Supports and promotes the sport of purebred dogs.

American Kennel Club8051 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 100

Raleigh, NC 27617-3390

Customer Service 919-816-3904

Fax 919-816-3905

E-mail [email protected]

www.akc.org

57307_RFTPNT_Cover_11_08.qxd 11/7/08 10:16 AM Page IFC1

Revisions to the Field Trial Rules and Standard

Procedure for Pointing Breeds and the Regulations for AKC Hunting Tests for Pointing

Breeds Effective August 1, 2009

This insert is issued as a supplement to the Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedure for Pointing Breeds and Regulations for AKC Hunting Tests

for Pointing Breeds as approved by the AKC Board of Directors July 2009

REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE USE OF TRACKING DEVICES IN AKC POINTING DOG EVENTS The use of tracking devices is solely for locating the dog once the dog is no longer under judgment. Information obtained through the use of a tracking device must not be used to aid the handler, scout or judges. If the host club allows tracking devices, the following regulations on their use will apply.

1. AKC Approved – Only tracking devices approved by the AKC Performance Events Department will be permitted. The collar and receiver must be used as received from the manufacturer. No modifications may be made other than name tags may be added. The collar surface against the dog’s neck shall be flat. Approval will include both the collar and the receiver.

2. Carrying Receivers – The scout may not carry a receiver. The handler may carry a receiver with the permission of the Judges. The receiver must be turned off while the dog is under judgment.

3. Receivers in the Gallery Must Be Turned Off – No one in the gallery shall track the dogs while the dogs are under judgment.

4. No “Outside” Communications - No one shall communicate in any manner with the handler, scout, judges or gallery any information obtained through the use of a tracking device while the dogs are under judgment. This includes the use of cell phones.

5. Receivers May Only Be Used Once the Dog is No Longer Under Judgment – Receivers shall only be activated once judgment has concluded. If a dog is gone at time, the dog is still under judgment until the judges indicate otherwise.

6. Dogs Lost From Previous Braces – If a dog is lost from a previous brace, the handler and scout may use their receivers during the next brace solely for the purpose of locating their dog. Once the dog is located, they must immediately turn off their receivers. They must not communicate any information they obtain through

the use of their receivers concerning the dogs currently under judgment.

7. Judges May Not Consider Information Obtained Through Tracking Devices – Judges are not to consider any information obtained through the use of a tracking device. No one shall use information from a tracking device to attempt to influence a judge or to discredit the judge’s decision.

8. The use of a tracking collar is an elective and it is the handler’s responsibility to furnish the device. The running of a stake shall not be held up due to the lack of a tracking device.

9. Two-Collar Rule – A dog may wear no more than two collars. All collars shall be worn on the dog’s neck. If the handler elects to use a tracking collar, it shall remain on the dog during the entire time the dog is under judgment. If the handler removes the tracking collar, the dog shall be considered out of judgment.

10. The use of tracking devices is at the discretion of the host club. For Field Trials, the premium list must state that tracking devices are not allowed, otherwise they will be allowed. For Hunt Tests, the premium list must state they are allowed, otherwise they will not be allowed.

11. Rescinding Use - Use of specific tracking devices may be rescinded at any time by the AKC Performance Events Department if the regulations pertaining to their use become overly difficult to enforce or in the case of repeated misuse.

Note – Electronic flashing collars are not allowed in AKC Pointing Breed field events. Penalty for Misuse of Tracking Devices If an Event Committee determines a violation of these Regulations may have occurred, the accused (which includes anyone involved in the misuse of the tacking device including the act of communicating improperly obtained information) shall be charged with misconduct. An Event Committee hearing must be held. If the Event Committee determines through the hearing process that a violation did occur, the accused shall be immediately suspended from all forms of participation in AKC Pointing Breed field events. The dog shall be disqualified from the stake. Yellow Issued January 2010 RFTPNT (01/09) RHTPNT (02/09)

FOREWORD

The American Kennel Club was formed princi-pally for the protection and advancement of pure-bred dogs.

The State o f New York by Specia l Act o f i tsLegislature incorporated The American KennelC l u b and g ran ted i t a cha r te r i n Sec t i on 2 o f w h i c h t h e o b j e c t s o f t h e c o r p o r a t i o n a re descr ibed to be “to adopt and enforce uni formrules regulat ing and governing dog shows and f ie ld tr ia ls , to regulate the conduct of personsinterested in exhibiting, running, breeding, reg-istering, purchasing and selling dogs, to detect,prevent, and punish frauds in connection there-with, to protect the interests of its members, tomaintain and publish an official stud book and anofficial kennel gazette, and generally to do every-thing to advance the study, breeding, exhibiting,running and maintenance of the purity of thor-oughbred dogs.”

Section 2 of this charter further states that “forthese purposes it,” The American Kennel Club,“shall have power to adopt a constitution, bylaws,rules and regulations, and enforce the same byfines and penalties, which it shall have the right tocollect and enforce by suit, or by suspension orexpulsion from membership, or by a suspension ordenial of any or all of the privileges of said cor-poration.”

Competition in conformation and performanceevents can best demonstrate the progress that has been made in breeding for type and quality,and/or for practical use, stamina and obedience.The American Kennel Club has therefore adoptedbylaws, rules and regulations by which to governand administrate these events; the clubs that wishto hold them; and the individuals who exhibit ,compete or take part in them. This book containssuch bylaws, rules and regulations as affect theabove.

1

57307_RFTPNT_Text_11_08.qxd 11/7/08 10:16 AM Page 1

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1General Explanations ......................................Page 4

CHAPTER 2Field Trials Defined .........................................Page 4

CHAPTER 3Making Application To Hold A Field Trial .....................................................................Page 4

CHAPTER 4Ribbons And Prizes..........................................Page 7

CHAPTER 5Judges..................................................................Page 7

CHAPTER 6Appointment Of Field Trial Secretary,Appointment, Responsibilities And Authorities Of Field Trial Committee .......Page 10

CHAPTER 7Premium Lists, Entry Forms, Closing Of Entries, Drawing Of Entries ..................Page 10

CHAPTER 8Eligibility Of Dogs For Entry, Full Completion Of Entry Forms ........................Page 12

CHAPTER 9Cancellations Of Awards ..............................Page 16

CHAPTER 10Protests Against Dogs ..................................Page 16

CHAPTER 11Field Champions And Amateur FieldChampions .......................................................Page 17

CHAPTER 12Judges’ Award Of Merit ................................Page 18

CHAPTER 13What Has To Be Sent To The AmericanKennel Club After A Field Trial ..................Page 18

CHAPTER 14Rules For Pointing Breed Trials .................Page 19

2


Standard Procedure For Pointing Breed Field Trials ..........................................Page 34

Schematic Course Diagrams ForPointing Breed Trials ....................................Page 49

Glossary Of Terms .........................................Page 54

Pointing Breed Field Trial Judges Guidelines ..........................................Page 56

Pointing Breed Field Trial Gallery Etiquette ...........................................Page 58

Tracking Collars .............................................Page 58

3


CHAPTER lGENERAL EXPLANATIONS

SECTION 1. The word “dog” wherever used inthese Field Trial Rules and Regulations includesboth sexes.

S E C T I O N 2 . The words “Un i ted S t a tes o fAmer i ca” wherever used in these Fie ld Tr i a l Ru l e s and Regu l a t i ons sha l l be cons t r ued toinc lude a l l ter r i tor ies and possess ions o f theUnited States of America and all vessels sailingunder the American flag.

CHAPTER 2FIELD TRIALS DEFINED

A MEMBER FIELD TRIAL is a f ie ld tr ia l atw h i c h c h a m p i o n s h i p p o i n t s m a y b e a w a rd e d ; given by a club or association which is a memberof The American Kennel Club.

A LICENSED FIELD TRIAL is a field trial atwhich championship points may be awarded, givenby a club or association which is not a member ofThe American Kennel Club, but which has beenspecially licensed by The American Kennel Clubto give the specific f ield trial designated in thelicense.

A SANCTIONED FIELD TRIAL is an informalfield trial at which dogs may compete but not forchampionship points, held by a club or association,whether or not a member of The American KennelClub, by obtaining the sanction of The AmericanKennel Club.

CHAPTER 3MAKING APPLICATION TO HOLD A FIELD

TRIAL

SECTION 1. Each member club or association isentitled to hold one show and/or one field trial ayear without payment of a fee to The AmericanKennel Club, but must pay a fee of fifteen ($15.00)dollars for each other show and/or field trial whichit may hold during the same calendar year.

SE C T I O N 2. Each member club or associat ionwhich has held a field trial or field trials in any oneyear shall have first right to claim the correspon-ding dates for its trial or trials to be held in thenext succeeding year.

4


SECTION 3. A member club or association mustapply to The American Kennel Club for leave tohold a field trial, stating in the application the dayor days upon which and the place where it desiresto hold such f ield tr ia l . This appl icat ion wil l bereferred to the Board of Directors of The AmericanKennel Club which will consider the same and noti-fy the member club or association of its approval ordisapproval of the dates and place selected.

SECTION 4. The use of a club’s name for f ieldtrial purposes cannot be transferred.

SECTION 5. Local clubs are limited to a maximum ofthree licensed field trials within a calendar year. Nomore than two of these trials may be “horseback” trials.Holding horseback trials is not mandatory. A club mayhold up to three “all-walking” trials per calendar year.

SECTION 6. If a non-member club or associationwishes to hold a f ie ld tr ia l i t must apply to TheAmerican Kennel Club, on a form which will be sup-plied by The American Kennel Club upon request, forleave to hold such field trial stating in the applicationthe day or days upon which and the place where itdesires to hold such f ield trial and giving to TheAmerican Kennel Club such information with regardto the Constitution and Bylaws, and the names of theofficers and members and the financial responsibilityof the applying non-member club or association asThe American Kennel Club may demand and shallpay a license fee for the privilege of holding suchfield trial, the amount of which fee shall be fixed anddeter mined by the Board o f Directors o f TheAmerican Kennel Club. This appl icat ion wi l l bereferred to the Board of Directors of The AmericanKennel Club which will consider the same and notifythe non-member club or association of its approval ordisapproval of the dates and place selected.

If the Board of Directors shall disapprove theapplication, the license fee will be returned to saidnon-member club or association.

SE C T I O N 7. Parent Club Permission. A non-member specialty club may be licensed to hold afield trial, if the consent in writing that it may begiven first shall be obtained from the member spe-cialty club formed for the improvement of the breedsought to be run which first was admitted to be amember of The American Kennel Club. Such a mem-ber club is commonly known as the Parent Club.

5


If a Parent Club unreasonably shall withhold itsconsent in writing to the holding of such field trialthe non-member specialty club may appeal to theBoard of Directors of The American Kennel Club atany time after one month from the time when saidconsent was requested and a committee of sa idBoard appointed by said Board or between sittingsof said Board appointed by the President of TheAmerican Kennel Club or in his absence by theExecutive Vice President of The American KennelClub shall hear the parties who may present theirrespective contentions either orally or in writingand in its discretion may issue a license to the non-member specialty club to hold such field trial.

SECTION 8. If a member or nonmember club orassociation wishes to hold a sanctioned field trial, itmust apply to The American Kennel Club for leaveto hold such field trial, stating in the application thedate or dates upon which and the place where itdes i res to ho ld such f ie ld t r i a l , the names andaddresses of the officers of the club or association,and the names and addresses of the Judges. Theapplication will be referred to the Board of Directorsof The American Kennel Club, which will considerthe same and notify the club or association of itsapprova l or d isapprova l o f the dates , p lace andJudges selected. No fee is charged by The AmericanKennel Club for holding a sanctioned field trial.

Sanctioned field trials shall be governed by suchsimple rules and regulations as from time to timeshall be determined by the Board of Directors.

SECTION 9. The Board of Directors of The AmericanKennel Club will not approve applications for field tri-als where dates conflict unless it be shown that thegranting of such application will not work to the detri-ment of either field trial club which has applied.

SECTION 10. Advertising. Clubs may only adver-tise corresponding dates, locations and stakes, plusclub contact information, prior to an event receivingAKC® approval. Clubs may not advertise an eventprior to AKC approval if the dates or location differf rom the prev ious year ’s cor responding event .Premium l ists cannot be made avai lable nor canentries be accepted until the event and judges panelhas been approved by the AKC.

SECTION 11. If circumstances prior to the first dayof a trial require a club to change the approved loca-tion or to cancel an approved licensed or member field

6


trial, the club must notify the Field Trial Departmentof The American Kennel Club as expeditiously as pos-sible, giving good and sufficient reasons for the pro-posed location change or cancellation.

Should circumstances during a trial preclude priorAKC notification of a change in location or the can-cellation of the trial, a full report on such action(s)must be made to the AKC within seven days.

CHAPTER 4RIBBONS AND PRIZES

SECTION 1. A club holding a licensed or memberfield trial shall offer prize ribbons or rosettes ofthe following colors in the regular stakes:

First Prize—Blue.Second prize—Red. Fourth prize—White.Third prize—Yellow. Special prize—Dark Green.

SECTION 2. Each ribbon or rosette at a licensedor member f ield tr ial shal l be at least 2 incheswide and approximately 8 inches long and shallbear on i ts f ace a f acs imi le o f the sea l o f TheAmerican Kennel Club, the words Field Trial, thename of the prize, the name of the club holding thefield trial, and the date of the trial.

SECTION 3. If ribbons or rosettes are given atSanctioned Field Trials, or in nonregular stakes atlicensed or member field trials, they shall be ofthe following colors:

First prize—Rose.Second prize—Brown.Third prize—Light Green.Fourth prize—Gray.Special prize—A combination of any of these colors.

SECTION 4. If money prizes are offered, a fixedamount or a percentage of the entry fee for eachprize shall be stated.

SECTION 5. All prizes not money which may beoffered shall be accurately described or the valuestated. Stud services shall not be accepted as prizes.

CHAPTER 5JUDGES

SECTION 1. Eligibility. Persons judging field tri-als are not required to obtain licenses and a field

7


trial club may submit the name of any reputableperson who is in good standing with The AmericanKennel Club for approval to judge at its field trial.Such approved Judges may run dogs in any stakesin which they are not judging, except as otherwiseprovided for in these Rules.

As a matter of policy, judges must be a minimumof 18 years of age.

As a condition of approval, all Judges must havea record of having handled a dog or dogs to five (5)placements in adult stakes in any Pointing Breedfield trials, exception being made for persons thathave judged ten (10) or more assignments at AKCfield trials.

In order to be approved to be published in thepremium list, the two Judges of each stake musthave a combined record of having judged at leastfive (5) adult stakes in AKC or American Field fieldtrials. For example, if one Judge has judged twoadult stakes, the second Judge must have judged atleast three adult stakes at AKC-licensed and mem-ber club trials.

Persons that have never judged an AKC f ieldtrial must take a self-administered test prepared byAKC and successfu l ly apprent ice twice at AKCLicensed or Member Club field trial(s) at the stakelevel to be judged or higher. The two apprentice-ships must be done under different judges. ApprovedA m e r i c a n Fi e l d J u d g e s a re e x e m p t f ro m t h eapprentice requirement.

The AKC strongly recommends that all prospec-t ive Judges attend an AKC-sponsored f ield tr ialseminar. Persons who have judged at ten (10) ormore field trials are exempt from the five place-ment requirement, the self-admininstered test andapprenticeship requirement.

SECTION 1A. Apprentice Judges. Just as withjudges, it is strongly recommended that clubs selectas Apprentice Judges individuals with broad andextensive background experience in handling andworking with Pointing Breeds in the field. All suchindividuals are encouraged to educate themselvesby read ing the Fie ld Tr i a l Ru les and S tandardProcedures for Pointing Breeds. In addition, theymust have placed a dog at the level that they intendto apprentice. Apprentice Judges shal l evaluatedogs while under the supervision of the Judges,however their opinions as to the dogs’ abilities shallnot be considered in any way by the Judges as partof their official evaluation. The Judges shall from

8


time to time invite the Apprentice Judge to discusshow and/or why the Apprentice evaluated a dog theway he or she did. Apprenticeships will not count asa judging assignment.

When a club invites persons to judge, the clubshall at that time advise the prospective judges ofthe club’s intent to have a person apprenticing at thelevel that they are being requested to judge. Clubsshall obtain the consent of the Judges accepting theassignment at that level before authoriz ing anApprentice to judge. The event-giving club will notbe responsible for any Apprentice Judges’ expenses,including but not limited to: travel, rooms, meals,providing a horse, etc.

SE C T I O N 2. Subst i tute Judges . A subst i tuteJudge may be appointed by the Field Trial Committeeholding the trial if it is impossible for an advertisedJudge to fulfill or complete his assignment. Such sub-stitute or additional Judges shall be persons who arein good standing with The American Kennel Club.Prompt noti f icat ion shal l be sent to the AKC, inadvance of the trial if possible, of any substitute oradditional Judges officiating at a licensed or membertrial, and of the reasons for the change.

If a substitute judge is used in a stake where thepremium states the number of entries in the trial arelimited in any way, anyone that has entered that stakeis entitled to withdraw their entry and receive a fullrefund of their entry fee. Out of courtesy, the trial sec-retary shall be notified of this action as soon as possi-ble. No entries may be withdrawn for this reason oncethe stake has started.

SECTION 2A. Additional Judges. In a trial inwhich the entry is not limited, either numericallyor by the number of available daylight hours, addi-tional Judges can be appointed by the Field TrialCommittee if the number of entries would other-wise prevent completion of the trial during thedays listed in the premium list, or if unforeseencircumstances arising after the scheduled time forstarting the trial would prevent such completion.

SECTION 3. Judge Affirmation Form. Before anyadvertised Judge shall be eligible to judge a licensed ormember field trial, he shall first sign an agreement cer-tifying that he has a thorough knowledge of the Rules,Regulations and Procedures, and will judge in strictaccord with them.

9


SECTION 4. The decisions of the Judges shall befinal in all matters relating to the field trial per-formance of the dogs. Full discretionary power isgiven to the Judges to withhold any or all awards forwant of merit.

CHAPTER 6APPOINTMENT OF FIELD TRIAL SECRETARY

APPOINTMENT, RESPONSIBILITIESAND AUTHORITIES

OF FIELD TRIAL COMMITTEESECTION 1. A club that has been granted permis-

s ion by The Amer ican Kennel C lub to ho ld alicensed or member field trial must appoint a FieldTrial Secretary and submit his or her name to TheAmerican Kennel Club for its records on a form thatwill be supplied by the AKC. Any qualified personwho is in good standing with The American KennelClub may act as Field Trial Secretary.

SECTION 2. A club that has been granted permis-s i o n by The Amer i can Kenne l C lub to ho ld alicensed or member field trial must appoint a FieldTrial Committee which will have complete respon-sibility for the planning and conducting of the trial.This committee shall be comprised of at least fivemembers of the club and may include the FieldTrial Secretary.

A judge of an event must not be a member of theField Trial Committee.

SECTION 3. The Field Trial Committee and FieldTrial Secretary shall be held responsible for compli-ance with all of the Field Trial Rules and Proceduresexcept those coming under the sole jurisdiction ofthe Judges, and must provide themselves withcopies of the latest edition of this book.

SECTION 4. The Field Trial Committee of a clubholding a licensed or member trial shall have theauthority to decide upon any matter arising duringthe running of the trial, except a matter comingwithin the jurisdiction of the Judges, but such com-mittee decisions must be made in accord with theseField Trial Rules and Standard Procedures.

CHAPTER 7PREMIUM LISTS, ENTRY FORMS,

CLOSING OF ENTRIES, DRAWING OFENTRIES

10


SECTION 1. After a club has been granted per-mission by The American Kennel Club to hold alicensed or member field trial and before its pre-mium list is printed, it must send to The AmericanKe n n e l C l u b , f o r a p p ro v a l , t w o c o p i e s o f aQuestionnaire Form (supplied by the AKC) whichwill give the exact location of the trial, the dateson which it will be held, and set forth in detail thestakes to be run and their conditions; a completelist of the money, ribbon prizes and other prizeswhich it wishes to offer; a list of the names andaddresses of the Judges and the stakes they are tojudge; the names and addresses of the officers ofthe club, including the Field Trial Secretary; thename and address of the Chairman and the nameso f t h e o ther members o f the Fie ld Tr i a lCommittee; the date, hour and place of the closingof entr ies; and the date, hour and place of thedrawing of entries.

The place where entries are to be drawn neednot be identical with the place where entries arereceived. Each premium list shall specify that theField Trial Secretary is to receive entries.

Premium lists, when printed, shall contain allthe information set for th on the QuestionnaireForm as approved by The American Kennel Cluband shall be the official size, from 51 ⁄ 2 by 81 ⁄ 2 inch-es to 6 by 9 inches. The Field Trial Secretary shallbe responsible for ensuring that the conduct of thedraw is public and the place assigned to each com-peting dog is determined by random chance insofaras possible.

SECTION 2. Every premium list shall contain oneor more copies of the official American Kennel Club®

entry form as approved by the Board of Directors ofthe AKC. Any club may obtain a sample of the officialentry form applicable to the particular type of trial tobe held. Requests should be in writing, addressed toThe American Kennel Club. (Also available on theAKC Web site: www.akc.org/pdfs/masterform.cfm).

SECTION 3. Two copies of the premium list andentr y for m must be mai led or emai led to TheAmerican Kennel Club at time of distribution toprospective entrants ([email protected]).

SECTION 4. Field Trial Committees may makesuch regulations or additional rules for the gov-ernment of their field trials as shall be considerednecessary, provided such regulations or additional

11


rules do not conflict with any rule of The AmericanKennel Club. Such regulations or additional rulesshall be printed in the premium list and violationsthereof shall be considered the same as violations ofthe Rules and Regulations of The American KennelClub.

CHAPTER 8ELIGIBILITY OF DOGS FOR ENTRY,

FULL COMPLETION OF ENTRY FORMS

SECTION 1. No dog shall be eligible to be enteredin a l icensed or member f ie ld tr ia l unless i t iseither individual ly registered in the AKC StudBook or is part of an AKC-registered litter, or oth-erwise, i f whelped outside the United States ofAmerica and owned by a resident of the USA or ofa country with a fore ign registry organizat ionwhose pedigrees are acceptable for AKC registra-tion and is registered with that registry. A dogwith an AKC Limited Registration shall be eligibleto be entered in licensed or member Field Trialsand/or Hunting Tests.

An unregistered dog that is part of an AKC-reg-i s te red l i t t e r o r an unreg i s te red dog w i th anacceptable foreign registration that was whelpedoutside the USA and that is owned by a resident ofthe USA or of a country with a foreign registryorganization whose pedigrees are acceptable forAKC reg i s t r a t i on may, w i thou t spec i a l AKCapproval, be entered in licensed or member fieldtrials that are held not later than 30 days after thedate of the first licensed or member field trial inwhich the dog was entered, but only provided thatthe AKC litter registration number of the individualforeign registration number and the name of thecountry of birth are shown on the entry form, andprovided further that the same name, which in thecase of an imported dog must be the name on the for-eign registration, is used for the dog each time.

SECTION 2. No dog that has not been individuallyregistered with The American Kennel Club whenfirst entered in a licensed or member field trialshall be eligible to be entered in any licensed ormember field trial that is held more than 30 daysafter the date of the first licensed or member fieldtrial in which it was entered, unless the dog’s indi-vidual AKC registration number is shown on theentry form, or unless the owner has received fromThe American Kennel Club an extension notice in

12


writing authorizing further entries of the dog for aspecified time with its AKC litter number or individ-ual foreign registration number. No such extensionwill be granted unless the owner can clearly demon-strate , in a le t ter addressed to the Fie ld Tr ia lDepartment of The American Kennel Club request-ing such extension, that the delay in registration isdue to circumstances for which he is not responsible.

Such extension notice will be void upon regis-tration of the dog or upon expiration of the periodfor which the extension has been granted if thatoccurs earlier, but upon application further exten-sions may be granted.

SECTION 3. If a dog is later individually registeredwith a name that is not identical to the name underwhich it has been entered in field trials prior to indi-vidual registration, each entry form entering thedog in a licensed or member field trial af ter theowner has received the individual registration cer-tificate must show the registered name followed by“formerly entered as” and the name under whichthe dog was previously entered, until the dog hasbeen awarded one of the four places in a regularstake at a licensed or member field trial.

SECTION 4. Every dog must be entered in the nameof the person who actually owned the dog at the timeentries closed. The right to enter and run a dog can-not be transferred. A registered dog which has beenacquired by some person other than the owner asrecorded with The American Kennel Club must beentered in the name of its new owner at any fieldtrial for which entries close after the date on whichthe dog was acquired, and application for transfer ofownership must be sent to The American KennelClub by the new owner within seven days after thelast day of the trial. The new owner should state onthe entry form that transfer application has beenmai led to The American Kennel Club or wi l l bemailed shortly. If there is any unavoidable delay inobtaining the completed appl icat ion required torecord the transfer, The American Kennel Club maygrant a reasonable extension of time provided thenew owner notifies the Field Trial Department ofThe American Kennel Club by mail within sevendays after the trial, of the reason for the delay. If anentry is made by a duly authorized agent of theowner, the name of the actual owner must be shownon the entry form.

13


SECTION 5. Each entry form must be completed infull and the information given on the form must bethat which applies to the entered dog. Each entryform must be signed by the owner or his agent dulyauthorized to make the entry. For the orderly run-ning of the trial, every effort should be made to list thetrue handler. However, a different handler may be usedif conditions warrant.

SECTION 6. No entry shall be knowingly accept-ed from any person who is not in good standingwith The American Kennel Club on the day of theclosing of the entries.

SECTION 7. No entry shall be made under a ken-nel name unless that name has been registeredwith The American Kennel Club. All entries madeunder a kennel name must be signed with the ken-nel name followed by the word “registered.” An“entrant” is the individual, or, if a partnership, allthe members of the partnership entering in a fieldtrial. In the case of such entry by a partnershipevery member of the partnership shall be in goodstanding with The American Kennel Club beforethe entr y wi l l be accepted; and in case o f anyinfraction of these rules, all the partners shall beheld equally responsible.

SECTION 8. Owners are responsible for errorsmade in entry forms, regardless of who may havemade such errors.

SECTION 9. Communicable Diseases. No dogshall be eligible to compete at any field trial, nodog shall be brought into the grounds or premisesof any field trial, and any dog which may have beenbrought into the grounds or premises of a f ieldtrial shall immediately be removed, if it

(a) shows clinical symptoms of distemper, infec-tious hepatitis, leptospirosis or other communica-ble disease, or

(b) is known to have been in contact with dis-temper, infectious hepatitis, leptospirosis or othercommunicable disease within 30 days prior to theopening of the trial, or

(c) has been kenneled within 30 days prior tothe opening o f the tr ia l on premises on whichthere existed distemper, infectious hepatitis, lep-tospirosis or other communicable disease.

SECTION 10. Any f ield trial-giving club whichaccepts an entry fee other than that published in its

14


premium list or entry form, or in any way discrimi-nates between entrants, shall be disciplined. Noclub or member of any club shall give or offer togive any owner or handler any special inducements,such as reduced entry fees, allowances for board ortransportation or other incentive of value for a cer-tain number of entries or shall give or offer to givein consideration of entering a certain number ofdogs, any prizes or prize money, except the official-ly advertised prizes or prize money, which prizemoney shall be for a stated sum or a portion of theentry fees. Any club found guilty of violating thisrule shall be barred from holding licensed or sanc-tioned trials, and i f a member of The AmericanKennel Club, may be expelled from membershipthere in . A l l persons found gu i l ty o f pay ing orreceiv ing any monies , spec ia l inducements orallowances in violation of the foregoing shall be dis-ciplined, even to the extent of being deprived of allprivileges of The American Kennel Club for a stat-ed time or indefinitely.

S E C T I O N 11 . A Fie ld Tr i a l Commi t tee maydecline any entries or may remove any dog fromits trial for cause, but in each such instance shallfile good and sufficient reasons for so doing withThe American Kennel Club.

SECTION 12. Any dog entered and present at afield trial must compete in all stakes in which it ise n t e red , un less excused by the Fie ld Tr i a lCommittee at that trial after consultation with theJudges . Entr y fees pa id for a b i tch wi thdrawnbecause of coming in season, for a dog withdrawnbecause of an injury or illness, or for a dog thatdies, shall be refunded in full by the event givingclub. Prior to paying such refund, the club mayrequire an appropriate veterinary certificate.

SECTION 13. The entry fees of bitches withdrawnat any time because of coming in season shall berefunded, except in those trials where bitches inseason are allowed to run. This section intends thatentry fees paid for a bitch withdrawn because of comingin season at any time after payment of the entry fee andat any point prior to running in the stake in which it isentered shall be refunded in full by the trial-giving clubunless the premium list specifies that bitches in seasonmay compete

SECTION 14. DQ by Event Committee. Any dogthat in the opinion of the Event Committee or The

15


American Kennel Club, attacks a person or a dog atan AKC event, resulting in injury, and is believedb y t h a t E v e n t C o m m i t t e e o r T h e A m e r i c a nKennel Club to present a hazard to persons orother dogs shall be disqualified. When the dog isdisqualified by the Event Committee pursuant tothis section, a report shall be filed immediatelywith the Executive Secretary of The AmericanKennel Club. The disqualified dog may not againcompete at any AKC event nor be on the groundsof an AKC event unless and until, following appli-cat ion for re instatement by the owner to TheAmerican Kennel Club, the owner receives offi-cial notification in writing from the AKC that thedog’s eligibility has been reinstated.

CHAPTER 9CANCELLATIONS OF AWARDS

SECTION 1. If an ineligible dog has been enteredand run in any stake at a licensed or member fieldtrial, or if the person or persons named as owneror owners on the entry form are not the person orpersons who actually owned the dog at the timeentries closed, or i f a dog is run in a stake forwhich it has not been entered, or if its entry formis deemed invalid by The American Kennel Clubunder these rules, all resulting awards shall becancelled by The American Kennel Club, and suchdog shall not be counted as having been in compe-tition in determining championship ratings.

SECTION 2. If the win of a dog shall be cancelled,the dog next in order of merit shall be moved up,and the win of the dog moved up shall be countedthe same as if it had been the original award.

SECTION 3. If the win of a dog shall be cancelledby The American Kennel Club, the entrant of thedog shal l return a l l pr izes for such win to theSecretary of the field trial-giving club within ten(10) days of receipt of notice from The AmericanKennel Club of said cancellation.

CHAPTER 10PROTESTS AGAINST DOGS

SECTION 1. Any person who is a member of amember club of The American Kennel Club, orwho owns a dog entered in the field trial, or whohandles a dog competing in the trial, may make a

16


protest to the Field Trial Committee against anydog competing in the trial, either before or afterthe dog has been judged, alleging that it is ineli-gible to compete in the trial or in the stake inwhich i t is entered. Such a protest shal l be inwriting, shall identify the dog protested and spec-ify the basis for the protest, shall bear the signa-ture and address of the person who makes it, andshall describe his qualif ications for making thepro tes t . I t sha l l be f i l ed w i th the Fie ld Tr i a lSecretary or with the Chairman of the Field TrialCommittee before the closing of the tr ia l , andshall be accompanied by a deposit of $10.00 whichshall be returned if the protest is sustained, orwhich will be retained by the club if the protest isnot sustained.

SE C T I O N 2. I f such a protest is received, theField Trial Committee shall hold a meeting as soonas possible. The person who has made the protestmust be present, and the Committee shall give allparties concerned an opportunity to be heard andt o p re s e n t w i t n e s s e s a n d e v i d e n c e . T h eCommittee may call for additional evidence fromother qualified persons present at the trial. Afterh e a r i ng a l l o f the ev idence , the Fie ld Tr i a lCommittee shall consider the matter and shall, ifpossible, reach an immediate decision and informthe persons involved.

A report of the meeting, giving all of the essen-t i a l e v idence and the Commi t tee ’ s dec i s i on ,together with the original written protest, must bemailed to The American Kennel Club within 7 daysof the trial.

SECTION 3. An appeal to The American KennelClub from a decision of a Field Trial Committee onany such protest, may be made by either the ownerof the dog protested or the person who made theprotest . The appea l must be rece ived by TheAmerican Kennel Club within 30 days after the dateof the Field Trial Committee’s decision, and must beaccompanied by a deposit of $25.00 which shall beforfeited if the decision is sustained.

CHAPTER 11FIELD CHAMPIONS

AND AMATEUR FIELD CHAMPIONS

A dog that has completed the requirements for aField Championship or Amateur Field Championship

17


as described in the various Chapters of these Rules,when registered in the AKC Stud Book , wi l l berecorded a Field Champion or an Amateur FieldChampion by The American Kennel Club, and achampionship certificate will be issued to the owner.

A Field Champion may be designated as “DualChampion” if it has also been recorded as a showChampion.

Any dog which has been awarded the titles ofChampion of Record, Obedience Trial Championand Field Champion may be designated as a “TripleChampion.”

CHAPTER 12JUDGES’ AWARD OF MERIT

At any licensed or member field trial the Judgesmay make a “Judges’ Award of Merit” in any stake toany unplaced dog for particularly excellent work.The name and registration number of each dog towhich such an award is made shall be noted on theback of the page in the judges’ book for the stake inwhich the award was made.

CHAPTER 13WHAT HAS TO BE SENT TO

THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUBAFTER A FIELD TRIAL

At the conclusion of the judging of each stake, aclub holding a licensed or member field trial shallprovide, for the Judges’ signatures, a results formshowing all placements in each stake, includingfull particulars of all dogs placed. An official cata-log may be submitted in lieu of the results form.The Of f i c i a l ca ta log must be marked wi th theplacement awarded to the dog, beside the dog’sname, signed and certified by the Judges and FieldTrial Secretary. If all placements are withheld in astake, so indicate on the judge’s certification page.Mail one copy to the American Kennel Club, keepone copy for your records. At the conclusion of thetrial, the Field Trial Secretary shall certify to theJudges’ signatures on each results form and shallcertif y to the number of entries and starters ineach stake.

The results form, inserted in the covers of thejudging book, signed judges’ affirmations, and a fullreport of the trial, shall be sent to The AmericanKennel Club no later than seven days after the clos-ing date of the trial. The club must retain all entry

18


forms for a minimum of one year after the conclu-sion of the trial. An official catalog must be signedand cer t i f ied by the Judges and Fie ld Tr ia lSecretary and marked with the placement awardedto the dog, beside the dog’s name. Penalty for non-compliance will be twenty-five ($25.00) dollars, andfive ($5.00) dollars for each day’s delay beyond thedead l ine , and o ther such pena l t ies as may beimposed by the Board of Directors of the AmericanKennel Club.

The trial report shall contain a list of the names ofall members of the Field Trial Committee who werepresent a t the t r i a l , the names and completeaddresses o f a l l the Judges , and the name andaddress of the Field Trial Secretary.

Recording/Event Service FeeAt every licensed or member club field trial held

under the Rules of The American Kennel Club, are c o rd i n g f e e n o t t o e x c e e d 5 0 c e n t s m a y b erequired for every dog entered. The recording feeis to help defray expenses involved in maintainingthe records, and appl ies to a l l dogs entered.Effective January 1, 2009 AKC will collect a $3.00AKC Event Service Fee for every entry in all AKClicensed and member Pointing Breed Field Trials. Thecurrent $.50 recording fee will continue to be collect-ed. If a dog is entered in more than one class or stakeat a field trial, the recording fee applies only to thefirst entry. The Board of Directors shall determine,from time to time, whether a recording fee shall berequired and the amount of it.

CHAPTER 14RULES FOR POINTING BREED TRIALS

SE C T I O N 1. Held by Spec ia l ty Clubs for the following Breeds:

BRITTANYSPOINTERSGERMAN SHORTHAlRED POINTERS GERMAN WIREHAIRED POINTERS ENGLISH SETTERSGORDON SETTERSIRISH SETTERSSPINONE ITALIANOVIZSLASWEIMARANERSWIREHAIRED POINTING GRIFFONS

A specialty club formed for the improvement ofBrittanys, Pointers, German Shorthaired Pointers,German Wirehaired Pointers , Engl ish Setters ,

19


Gordon Setters, Irish Setters, Spinone Italiano,Vizs las , Weimaraners , o f Wirehaired Point ingGriffons may be approved to hold field trials for itsbreed or its breed plus any or all of the above namedbreeds. The premium list shall name the breeds thatmay be entered. Unless all the breeds so specifiedmay be entered in any of the stakes offered, the con-ditions of each stake for the breeds eligible for entryshall be named.

SECTION 1A. All Pointing Breed Field TrialClubs. A club that has been formed for the improve-ment of all eligible pointing breeds may be approvedto hold field trials open to all eligible pointing breeds.

SECTION 1B. Conflicting Trials. AKC will notapprove a trial held by an All-Breed Pointing Club thatconflicts with another pointing breed field trial within100 miles unless the club has obtained written per-mission from the club that historically holds the date.

SECTION 2. Regular stakes that may be offered:A club may not offer more than one of these stakes at

any g iven t r ia l . Puppy S take (Open and /o rAmateur Walking) for dogs 6 months of age andunder 15 months of age on the first advertised dayof the trial (e.g. , a dog whelped on January 30,1989, would not be eligible for entry in a Puppystake at a trial which starts on April 30, 1990).Horseback handling is not permitted in AmateurWalking Puppy stakes.

Derby Stake (Open and/or Amateur Walking)for dogs 6 months of age and under 2 years of age onthe f irst advertised day of the trial (e.g. , a dogwhelped on January 30, 1989, would not be eligiblefor entry in a Derby stake at a trial which starts onJanuary 30, 1991). Horseback handling is not per-mitted in Amateur Walking Derby stakes.

Gun Dog Stake (Open and/or Amateur) fordogs 6 months of age and over on the first adver-tised day of the trial.

All-Age Stake (Open and/or Amateur) for dogs6 months of age and over on the first advertisedday of the trial.

Limi ted Gun Dog S take (Open and /orAmateur) for dogs 6 months of age and over on thefirst advertised day of the trial which have placedfirst, second, third or fourth in any Gun Dog Stake,or a first place in an Open Derby stake. A field trial-giving club may give an Amateur Limited Gun DogStake in which places that qualify a dog have beenacquired in Amateur Stakes only. The stake must

20


be advertised as such in the premium list and anyadditional advertising that may be done.

First place in an Amateur Walking Derby Stakequalifies the dog to enter an Amateur Limited GunDog Stake only.

Limited All-Age Stake (Open and/or Amateur)for dogs 6 months of age and over on the f irstadvertised day of the trial which have placed first,second, third or fourth in any All-Age Stake, or afirst place in an Open Derby stake. A field trial-giving club may give an Amateur Limited All-AgeStake in which places that qualify a dog have beenacquired in Amateur Stakes only. When a c lubelects the latter option, the stake must be adver-tised as such in the premium list and any addition-al advertising that may be done.

First place in an Amateur Walking Derby Stakequalifies the dog to enter an Amateur Limited All-Age Stake only.

In an Amateur Stake at a licensed or memberf ield tr ia l a l l dogs must be handled by personswho, in the judgment of the Field Trial Committee,are qualified as Amateurs.

Definition of an Amateur

for Pointing Breed Trials

An Amateur is a person who, during the period oftwo years preceding the trial has not accepted remuner-ation in any form for the training of a hunting dog orthe handling of a dog in a field trial.

For purposes of this definition the word remunera-tion means payment in money, goods or services.

No member of the household of a person who doesnot qualify as an Amateur under this definition canqualify as an Amateur.

For purposes of the foregoing definition, the wordhousehold means those persons that comprise a unitliving together in the same shared dwelling.

An Amateur (as defined above) may run any num-ber of dogs wholly owned by him or her, or members ofhis or her immediate family (as defined in Chapter 14,Section 5) but shall not run more than three dogs thatare not so owned in any amateur stake.

N o n re g u l a r s t a ke s : A c l u b t h a t h a s b e e napproved to hold a licensed or member field trialmay, sub ject to the approva l o f The Amer icanKennel Club, offer additional nonregular stakes fordogs not less than 6 months of age, provided aclear and complete description of the eligibility

21


requirements and performance requirements foreach such s take appears in the premium l i s t .Nonregular stakes may not be used as trainingsess ions pr ior to a dog be ing r un in a regularstake. Nonregular stakes must not interfere withthe running or regular stakes.

Any or all of such regular and nonregular stakes,except Open Puppy, may be offered as RetrievingStakes.

SECTION 3. The premium list for a licensed ormember trial shall specify date, time and place forthe closing of entries, and time and place for thedrawing of all stakes. The specified closing hourmay be no later than the published hour for thedrawing which must be held not later than thenight preceding the running of the f irst stake.However, at a trial at which a Limited Gun Dog orL imi ted A l l -Age S take i s o f f e red , add i t i ona lentries of particular dogs which f irst quali f y atthat trial for such a stake may be accepted and thedrawing of the stake may occur immediately beforethe running of the stake, provided that such stipula-tion has been printed in the premium list.

SECTION 4. Bitches in Season. Bitches that arein season or which, in the opinion of the Field TrialCommittee, appear to be in season, are ineligibleto compete in l i censed or member f ie ld t r ia lsunless the premium l ist speci f ies the stake orstakes in which bitches in season may compete.Males shall not be run until the following day onany course or part of any course where bitches inseason have been run.

SE C T I O N 4A. The Field Tria l Committee mayremove any dog from the field trial grounds if itconsiders that such removal is necessary for thesmooth running of the field trial.

SECTION 4B. DQ by Judges. A dog is not eligi-ble to be entered or to compete in any licensed ormember trial in any stake if the dog has on twooccasions been made the subject of the followingreport: I f a dog, while under judgment, attacksanother dog, and if the Judges are unanimously ofthe opinion that such attack was without reason-able cause, the Judges shall identify the offendingdog on the judg ing sheet and the name o f theoffending dog shall be listed in the report of thetrial sent to The American Kennel Club.

22


An attack does not require an injury for the judgesto disqualify the dog.

SECTION 5. Dog’s Eligibility to Enter Under aJudge. A dog is not eligible to be entered or tocompete in any field trial in any stake in whichchampionship points are given, if a judge of thats take or any member o f h i s or her f ami ly hasowned, sold, held under lease, boarded, trained orhandled the dog, within one year prior to the dateof the field trial.

For purposes o f th i s Sec t ion , the words “anymember of his family” shall include a spouse, a sib-ling, a parent or a child, whether natural or adopt-ed, of the Judge in question, but shall not extend toother blood or legal relationships A dog is ineligibleto be entered under a judge who is an immediatefamily member or a person living within the samehousehold. Children or parents of a co-habitant areconsidered immediate family members for purposesof this definition.

SECTION 6. A Judge who has started to judge astake may not handle a dog in another stake untilthe stake that he or she is judging has been fullycompleted.

SECTION 7. The requirements for a dog of one ofthe pointing breeds competing in field trials underthese Rules to be recorded a Field Champion orAmateur Field Champion shall be established by theBoard of Directors of The American Kennel Club.

FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP

At present a dog of one of the Pointing Breeds willbe recorded a Field Champion after having won 10points under the point rating schedule below in regu-lar stakes in at least three licensed or member fieldtrials, provided that 3 points have been won in one 3point or better Open All-Age, Open Gun Dog, OpenLimited All-Age, or Open Limited Gun Dog Stake,that no more than 2 points each have been won byplacing first in Open or Amateur Walking Puppyand Open or Amateur Walking Derby Stakes, andthat no more than 4 of the 10 points have been wonby placing first in Amateur Stakes;

EXCEPT THAT a Brittany shall not be recorded aField Champion unless it has won a 3 point or betterOpen Gun Dog, Open All-Age, Open Limited GunDog, or Open Limited All-Age Stake in a licensed ormember field trial held by a Brittany Club;

23


EXCEPT THAT a German Shorthaired Pointer,German Wirehaired Pointer, Vizsla, or Weimaraner,shall not be recorded a Field Champion unless it haswon at least 4 points in Retrieving Stakes at licensed ormember club field trials;

AND EXCEPT THAT a German Wir eha i r edPointer, or Weimaraner, shall not be recorded a FieldChampion unless it has also been certified by two ofthe approved judges to have passed a Water Test at alicensed or member field trial or hunting test held bya pointing breed club. In the case of a Weimaraner, ifi t has been cer t i f i ed by the Weimaraner Club o fA m er i ca t o hav e pa s s ed an A l l -Age Wa t e rCertification Test, or to have been given a rating ofNovice Retrieving Dog, Retrieving Dog or RetrievingDog Excellent, it shall be considered to have met theWater Test requirement.

The number of points shall be based on the actualnumber of eligible starters in each stake according tothe following schedule:

1st place 2nd place4 to 7 starters....................1 point 8 to 12 starters .................2 points13 to 17 starters ...............3 points18 to 24 starters ...............4 points25 or more starters ..........5 points 2 points

Only points won by placing first in junior stakes( P u ppy /Derby ) a r e c r ed i t ed t oward a Fi e l dChampionship title.

AMATEUR FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP

At present, a dog of one of the Pointing Breeds willbe recorded an Amateur Field Champion after hav-ing won 10 points under the point rating schedulebe l ow in r egu lar Amateur S takes in a t l ea s t 3licensed or member f ie ld trials , provided that nomore than 2 points each have been won by placingf i r s t in Amateur Walk ing Puppy and AmateurWalking Derby stakes and that it has been awarded 2first placements, one of which must be a first place-men t in a 3 po in t o r b e t t e r Amateur A l l -Age ,Amateur Gun Dog, Amateur Limited All-Age, orAmateur Limited Gun Dog Stake;

EXCEPT THAT a Brittany shall not be recordedan Amateur Field Champion unless it has won a 3point or better Amateur All-Age, Amateur Gun Dog,Amateur Limited All-Age, or Amateur Limited GunDog Stake, in a licensed or member field trial held bya Brittany Club;

24


EXCEPT THAT a German Shorthaired Pointer,German Wirehaired Pointer, Vizsla, or Weimaraner, shallnot be recorded an Amateur Field Champion unless ithas won at least 4 points in Amateur Retrieving Stakesat licensed or member club field trials;

AND EXCEPT THAT a German Wireha i r edPointer, or Weimaraner, shal l not be recorded anAmateur Field Champion unless it has also been cer-tified by two of the approved judges to have passed,with an amateur handler (as determined by the FieldTrial or Hunting Test Committee in accord with theDef ini t ion o f an Amateur found in Chapter 14 ,Section 2), a Water Test at a licensed or member fieldtrial or hunting test held by a pointing breed club. Inthe case of a Weimaraner, if it has been certified bythe Weimaraner Club of America to have passed anAll-Age Water Certification Test , or to have beengiven the rating of Novice Retrieving Dog RetrievingDog or Retrieving Dog Excellent, with an amateurhandler, it shall be considered to have met the WaterTest requirement.

Amateur Championship points shall be credited tod o g s p l a c ed f i r s t , s e c ond , o r t h i rd , in r e gu la rAmateur stakes in accordance with the fol lowingschedule , based on the actual number of e l igib lestarters in each stake:

Placement

1st 2nd 3rd4 to 7 starters 1 point8 to 12 starters 2 points13 to 17 starters 3 points 1 point18 to 24 starters 4 points 2 points25 or more starters 5 points 3 points 1 point

Championship points from first p lacements inAmateur Stakes that are credited towards a FieldChampionship , wi l l a lso be credi ted towards anAmateur Field Championship.

Only po in ts won by p lac ing f i r s t in AmateurWalking Puppy or Amateur Walking Derby are cred-ited toward an Amateur Field Championship title.

WATER TEST

If a club wished to hold a Water Test in conjunc-tion with its licensed or member field trial, huntingt e s t o r a s a “ s t a n d - a l o n e ” e v e n t , r e q u e s t f o rapproval of the Water Test must be included on thedate application for the event. If approved, the WaterTest must be specified on the questionnaire formand announced in the premium list. It shall be open

25


to all pointing breeds six months of age or over onthe first day of the event. The Water Test shall bejudged by two approved field trial or hunting testjudges. The dog shall retrieve a dead game bird fromthe water after a swim of about 20 yards to the bird.The handler shall stand (6) six feet from the water,and the dog must demonstrate i ts wi l l ingness toenter the water, to swim, and to re t r ieve , a t thedirection of i ts handler without being touched orintimidated. Style shall not be considered. The dogsshall not be placed, but shall either pass or fail. Thejudges shall certify on the judging sheets the partic-ulars of each dog tha passed the test. The “stand-alone” tes t wi l l not count atainst the number o fannua l f i e ld t r ia l s /hunt ing t e s t s tha t a c lub i sallowed to hold.

National Championship Events

SE C T I O N 8. A National Open Al l-Age Champ-ionship Stake for German Shorthaired Pointersshall be for dogs over 6 months of age, which byreason of wins previously made in All-Age Stakesqualify under special rules approved by the Boardof Directors. This stake shall be run not more thanonce in any calendar year by the Parent Club of thebreed. The winner of such stake shall become aField Champion of Record i f registered in TheAmerican Kennel Club Stud Book , and shal l bee n t i t l e d t o b e d e s i g n a t e d “ N a t i o n a l G e r m a nShorthaired Pointer Open All-Age Field Championof 20__.”

SECTION 9. A National Open Gun Dog Champ-ionship Stake for German Shorthaired Pointersshall be for dogs over 6 months of age, which byreason of wins previously made in Gun Dog stakesqualify under special rules approved by the Boardof Directors. This stake shall be run not more thanonce in any calendar year by the Parent Club of theBreed. The winner of such stake shall become aField Champion of Record i f registered in TheAmerican Kennel Club Stud Book , and shal l bee n t i t l e d t o b e d e s i g n a t e d “ N a t i o n a l G e r m a nShor tha i red Po in te r Open Gun Dog Fie ldChampion of 20__.”

SECTION 10. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for German Shorthaired Pointers shall beheld not more than once in any calendar year, andshall be for dogs which by reason of wins previous-ly made qualify under regulations submitted by the

26


Parent C lub and approved by the Board o fDirectors of The American Kennel Club. The stakeshall be held by the Parent Club which shall file anapplication for permission to run it under proce-dures approved in advance by The Amer icanKennel Club. The winner of this stake, if regis-tered in The American Kennel Club Stud Book ,shall be recorded an Amateur Field Champion byThe American Kennel Club and shall be entitled tobe designated “National Amateur German Short-haired Pointer Field Champion of 20__.”

S E C T I O N 10A. A Nat iona l Amateur Gun DogChampionsh ip S take fo r Ger man Shor tha i redPointers shall be for dogs over 6 months of age,which by reason of wins previously made in GunDog stakes qualify under special rules approved bythe Board of Directors. This stake shall be run notmore than once in any calendar year by the ParentClub of the Breed. The winner of such stake shallbecome an Amateur Field Champion of Record ifregistered in the American Kennel Club Stud Book,and shall be entitled to be designated “NationalGerman Shorthaired Pointer Amateur Gun DogChampion of 20__ .”

SECTION 11. A National Open All-Age Champion-ship Stake for Brittanys may be run not more thanonce in any calendar year, by the Parent Club for thebreed. The stake shall be for dogs 6 months of age orover, which by reason of wins previously made in All-Age Stakes qualify under regulations made by theParent Club, all of which regulations shall be subjectto the approval of the Board of Directors of TheAmerican Kennel Club. The winner of this stake, ifregistered in The American Kennel Club StudBook, shall be recorded a Field Champion by TheAmerican Kennel Club, and shall be entitled to bedesignated “National Brittany Open All-Age FieldChampion of 20__.”

S E C T I O N 12 . A Nat iona l Open Gun DogChampionship stake for Brittanys shall be for dogsover 6 months of age, which by reason of wins pre-viously made in Gun Dog stakes qualify under spe-cial rules approved by the Board of Directors. Thisstake shall be run not more than once in any calen-dar year by the Parent Club of the Breed. The win-ner of such stake shall become a Field Champion ofRecord if registered in The American Kennel ClubStud Book, and shall be entitled to be designated

27


“National Brittany Open Gun Dog Field Championof 20__.”

S E C T I O N 12A. A Nat iona l Amateur Gun DogChampionship Stake for Brittanys shall be for dogsover 6 months of age, which by reason of wins pre-viously made in Gun Dog stakes qualify under spe-cial rules approved by the Board of Directors. Thisstake shall be run not more than once in any calen-der year by the Parent Club of the Breed. The win-ner of such stake shall become an Amateur FieldChampion of Record if registered in The AmericanKennel Club Stud Book, and shall be entitled to bedesignated “National Amateur Brittany Gun DogChampion of 20__.”

SECTION 13. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for Brittanys shall be held not more thanonce in any calendar year, and shall be for dogswhich by reason of wins previously made qualifyunder regulations submitted by the Parent Cluband approved by the Board of Directors of TheAmerican Kennel Club. The stake shall be held bythe Parent Club which shall file an application forpermission to run it under procedures approved inadvance by The American Kennel Club. The win-ner of this stake, if registered in The AmericanKenne l C lub Stud Book , sha l l be recorded anAmateur Field Champion by The American KennelC l u b a n d s h a l l b e e n t i t l e d t o b e d e s i g n a t e d“National Amateur Brittany Field Champion of20__.”

SECTION 14. A National Championship Stake forWeimaraners may be held not more than once inany calendar year, and shal l be for dogs over 6months of age, which by reason of wins previouslymade qualify under regulations submitted by theParent Club for the breed and approved by theBoard of Directors of The American Kennel Club.The stake shall be held by the Parent Club whichshall f i le an application for permission to run itunder procedures approved in advance by TheAmerican Kennel Club. The winner of this stakesha l l be cred i ted wi th championship po ints inaccord with the schedule for Field Championships,and, if registered in The American Kennel ClubStud Book , sha l l be ent i t led to be des igna ted“National Weimaraner Field Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 15. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for Weimaraners may be held not more than

28


once in any calendar year, and shall be for dogs over6 months of age, which by reason of wins previouslymade qualify under regulations submitted by theParent Club for the breed and approved by theBoard of Directors of The American Kennel Club.The stake shall be held by the Parent Club whichshall f i le an application for permission to run itunder procedures approved in advance by TheAmerican Kennel Club. Dogs placing in this stakesha l l be c red i ted w i th championsh ip po in ts ina c c ord w i t h th e s c h e d u le f o r A m a te u r Fie ldChampionships, and, if registered in The AmericanKennel Club Stud Book, the winner shall be entitledto be designated “National Amateur WeimaranerField Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 16. A National Championship Stake forVizslas may be held not more than once in any cal-endar year, and shall be for dogs over 6 months ofage, which by reason of wins previously madequalify under regulations submitted by the ParentClub for the breed and approved by the Board ofDirectors of The American Kennel Club. The stakeshall be held by the Parent Club which shall file anapplication for permission to run it under proce-d u re s approved in advance by The Amer i canKennel Club. The winner of this stake shall becredited with championship points in accord withthe schedule for Field Championships, and, if reg-istered in The American Kennel Club Stud Book,shall be entitled to be designated “National VizslaField Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 17. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for Vizslas may be held not more than oncein any calendar year, and shall be for dogs over 6months of age, which by reason of wins previouslymade qualify under regulations submitted by theParent Club for the breed and approved by theBoard of Directors of The American Kennel Club.The stake shall be held by the Parent Club whichshall f i le an application for permission to run itunder procedures approved in advance by TheAmerican Kennel Club. Dogs placing in this stakesha l l be cred i ted wi th championship po ints ina c c o rd w i th the schedu le f o r Amateur Fie ldCh a mp ionsh ips , and , i f reg i s te red in TheAmerican Kennel Club Stud Book, the winner shallbe entitled to be designated “National AmateurVizsla Field Champion of 20__.”

29


S E C T I O N 17A . A Na t i ona l Gun DogChampionship for Vizslas may be held not morethan once in any calendar year, and shall be fordogs over 6 months of age, which by reason ofwins previously made qualif y under regulationssubmitted by the Parent Club for the breed anda pproved by the Board o f D i rec to rs o f TheAmerican Kennel Club. The stake shall be held bythe Parent Club which shall file an application forpermission to run it under procedures approved inadvance by The American Kennel Club. Dogs plac-ing in this stake shall be credited with champi-onship points in accord with the schedule for FieldChampionships, and, if registered in The AmericanKennel Club Stud Book, the winner shall be entitledto be designated “Nat ional Vizs la Gun DogChampion of 20__.”

SECTION 18. A National Championship Stake forIrish Setters may be held not more than once inany calendar year, and shal l be for dogs over 6months of age, which by reason of wins previouslymade qualify under regulations submitted by theParent Club for the breed and approved by theBoard of Directors of The American Kennel Club.The stake shall be held by the Parent Club whichshall f i le an application for permission to run itunder procedures approved in advance by TheAmerican Kennel Club. The winner of this stakesha l l be cred i ted wi th championship po ints inaccord with the schedule for Field Championships,and, if registered in The American Kennel Club StudBook, shall be entitled to be designated “NationalIrish Setter Field Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 19. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for Irish Setters may be held not more thanonce in any calendar year, and shall be for dogsover 6 months of age, which by reason of winspreviously made qualify under regulations sub-m i t t e d b y t h e Pa re n t C l u b f o r t h e b re e d a n da p p ro v e d b y t h e B o a rd o f D i re c t o r s o f T h eAmerican Kennel Club. The stake shall be heldby the Parent Club which shall file an applicationf o r p e r m i s s i o n t o r u n i t u n d e r p ro c e d u re sapproved in advance by The American KennelClub. Dogs placing in this stake shall be creditedwi th championsh ip po in ts in accord w i th theschedule for Amateur Field Championships, and,if registered in The American Kennel Club Stud

30


Book, the winner shall be entitled to be designated“National Amateur Irish Setter Field Championof 20__.”

SECTION 20. A National Championship Stake forGerman Wirehaired Pointers may be held not morethan once in any calendar year, and shall be fordogs over 6 months of age, which by reason ofwins previously made qualif y under regulationssubmitted by the Parent Club for the breed anda pproved by the Board o f D i rec to rs o f TheAmerican Kennel Club. The stake shall be held bythe Parent Club which shall file an application forpermission to run it under procedures approved inadvance by the The American Kennel Club. Thewinner of this stake shall be credited with champi-onship points in accord with the schedule for FieldChampionships, and, if registered in The AmericanKennel Club Stud Book, shall be entitled to be desig-nated “National German Wirehaired Pointer FieldChampion of 20__.”

SECTION 21. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for German Wirehaired Pointers may be heldnot more than once in any calendar year, and shallbe for dogs over 6 months of age, which by reasonof wins previously made qualify under regulationssubmitted by the Parent Club for the breed anda pproved by the Board o f D i rec to rs o f TheAmerican Kennel Club. The stake shall be held bythe Parent Club which shall file an application forpermission to run it under procedures approved inadvance by The American Kennel Club. Dogs plac-ing in this stake shall be credited with champi-onsh ip po ints in accord wi th the schedule forAmateur Field Championships, and, if registeredin The American Kennel Club Stud Book, the win-ner shall be entitled to be designated “NationalAm a t eur Ger man Wireha i red Po in te r Fie ldChampion of 20__.”

SECTION 22. A National Championship Stake forGordon Setters may be held not more than once inany calendar year, and shal l be for dogs over 6months of age and registered with the AKC, whichby reason of wins previously made qualify underregu la t ions and procedures submi t ted by theParent Club for the breed and approved by theAKC Board of Directors. The stake shall be heldby the Parent Club, which shall file an applicationfor permission to run it under the regulations and

31


procedures approved in advance by The AmericanKennel Club. Such qualifications, regulations andprocedures which app ly to the r unn ing o f theChampionship shall be published in the premiumlist . The winner of this stake shal l be creditedw i t h champ ionsh ip po in t s i n a ccord w i th theschedule for Field Championships, and shall beentitled to be designated “National Gordon SetterField Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 23. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for Gordon Setters may be held not morethan once in any calendar year and shall be fordogs over 6 months of age and registered with theAKC, which by reason of wins previously madequalify under regulations and procedures submit-ted by the Parent Club for the breed and approvedby the AKC Board of Directors. The stake shall beheld by the parent Club, which shall file an appli-cation for permission to run it under the regula-tions and procedures approved in advance by TheAmerican Kennel Club. Such qualifications, regu-lations and procedures which apply to the runningof the Championship shall be published in the pre-mium list. Dogs placing in this stake shall be cred-ited with Championship points in accord with theschedule for Amateur Field Championships ands h a l l b e e n t i t l e d t o b e d e s i g n a t e d “ N a t i o n a lAmateur Gordon Setter Field Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 24. A National Championship Stake forPointers may be held not more than once in anycalendar year, and shall be for dogs over 6 monthsof age and registered with the AKC, which by rea-son of wins previously made qualify under regula-tions and procedures submitted by the Parent Clubfor the breed and approved by the AKC Board ofDirectors. The stake shall be held by the ParentClub, which shall file an application for permissionto run it under the regulat ions and proceduresapproved in advance by The American KennelClub. Such qualifications, regulations and proce-dures which apply to the running of the champi-onship shall be published in the premium list. Thewinner of this stake shall be credited with champi-onship points in accord with the schedule for FieldChampionships, and shall be entitled to be desig-nated “National Pointer Field Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 25. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for Pointers may be held not more than once

32


in any calendar year and shall be for dogs over 6months of age and registered with the AKC, whichby reason of wins previously made qualify underregu la t ions and procedures submi t ted by theParent Club for the breed and approved by theAKC Board of Directors. The stake shall be heldby the Parent Club which shall file an applicationfor permission to run it under the regulations andprocedures approved in advance by The AmericanKennel Club. Such qualifications, regulations andprocedures which app ly to the r unn ing o f thechampionship shall be published in the premiumlist. Dogs placing in this stake shall be creditedw i t h champ ionsh ip po in t s i n a ccord w i th theschedule for Amateur Field Championships, andthe winner sha l l be ent i t led to be des ignated“Nat iona l Amateur Pointer Fie ld Champion o f20__.”

S E C T I O N 2 6 . Po i n t i n g B re e d G u n D o gChampionship stakes consisting of a retrievingstake and a non-retrieving stake may be held notmore than once in any calendar year. The stakesshall be for dogs over 6 months of age and regis-tered with the AKC, which by reason of previousw i n s ( a n d o t h e r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s a s m i g h t b eapproved) qualif y under regulations and proce-dures approved by the AKC Board of Directors.The stakes may be held by the AKC, a club orassociation formed for that purpose, or a combi-nat ion of the AKC, a c lub or sa id associat ion,which shall file an application for permission torun them under the regulations and proceduresapproved in advance by The American KennelClub. Such qualifications, regulations and proce-d u re s w h i c h a p p l y t o t h e r u n n i n g o f t h eChampionship stakes shall be published in thepremium list. The winners of these stakes shallbe credited with championship points in accordwith the schedule for Field Championships andshall be entitled to be designated “AKC Gun DogStake Champion o f 20__” or “AKC Retr ievingGun Dog Stake Champion of 20__.”

SECTION 27. A National Championship Stake forEnglish Setters may be held not more than once inany calendar year, and shal l be for dogs over 6months of age and registered with the AKC, whichby reason of wins previously made qualify underregu la t ions and procedures submi t ted by theParent Club for the breed and approved by the

33


AKC Board of Directors. The stake shall be heldby the Parent Club, which shall file an applicationfor permission to run it under the regulations andprocedures approved in advance by The AmericanKennel Club. Such qualifications, regulations andprocedures, which apply to the running of thechampionship, shall be published in the premiumlist . The winner of this stake shal l be creditedw i t h champ ionsh ip po in t s i n a ccord w i th theschedule for Field Championships, and shall bee n t i t l ed to the des igna ted “Na t i ona l Eng l i shSetter Field Champion of 20_ _.”

SECTION 28. A National Amateur ChampionshipStake for English Setters may be held not morethan once in any calendar year, and shall be fordogs over 6 months of age and registered with theAKC, which by reason of wins previously madequalify under regulations and procedures submit-ted by the Parent Club for the breed and approvedby the Board of Directors of the American KennelClub. The stake shall be held by the Parent Club,which shall file an application for permission to runit under the regulations and procedures approvedin advance by The American Kennel Club. Suchqualifications, regulations and procedures, whichapply to the running of the championship, shall bepublished in the premium list. Dogs placing in thisstake shall be credited with championship points inaccord w i th the schedu le fo r Amateur Fie ldChampionships, and the winner shall be entitled tobe designated “National English Setter AmateurField Champion of 20__.”

STANDARD PROCEDURE FORPOINTING BREED FIELD TRIALS

Held By Specialty Clubs For The Following Breeds:BRITTANYSPOINTERSGERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTERSGERMAN WIREHAIRED POINTERSENGLISH SETTERSGORDON SETTERSIRISH SETTERSSPINONE ITALIANOVIZSLASWEIMARANERSWIREHAIRED POINTING GRIFFONS

Held by Pointing Breed Field Trial Clubs that havebeen formed for the improvement of all eligible

34


pointing breeds. A club that has been formed forthe improvement of al l el igible pointing breedsmay be approved to hold field trials open to all eli-gible pointing breeds.

PROCEDURE 1. STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE

1-A Puppy Stakes. Puppies must show desiret o h u n t , bo ldness , and in i t i a t i ve i n cover ingground and in searching likely cover. They shouldindicate the presence of game if the opportunity ispresented. Puppies should show reasonable obedi-ence to their handlers’ commands, but should notbe given additional credit for pointing staunchly.Each dog shall be judged on its actual performanceas indicating its future as a high class bird dog.Every premium list for a licensed or member trialshall state whether or not blanks are to be fired ina Puppy Stake. I f the premium l ist states thatblanks will be fired, every dog that makes gamecontact shall be fired over if the handler is withinreasonable gun range. At least 15 minutes and notmore than 30 minutes shall be allowed for eachheat. Championship points will be withheld if a doghas not run for the required time.

1-B Derby Stakes. Derbies must show a keendesire to hunt, be bold and independent, have afast, yet attractive, style of running, and demon-strate not only intelligence in seeking objectivesbut also the abil ity to f ind game. Derbies mustestablish point but no additional credit shall begiven for steadiness to wing and shot. If the han-dler is within reasonable gun range of a bird whichhas been f lushed a f ter a point , a shot must befired. A lack of opportunity for firing over a Derbydog on point shall not constitute reason for non-placement when it has had game contact in accept-able Derby manner. Derbies must show reasonableobedience to their handlers’ commands. Each dogis to be judged on its actual performance as indi-cating its future promise as a high class bird dogfor Gun Dog or All-Age stakes. Preference shouldn o t b e g iven to one po ten t i a l over ano ther.Appl icat ion is more impor tant than range in aDerby. At least 20 minutes and not more than 30minutes shall be allowed for each heat.

Championship points will be withheld if a doghas not run for the required time.

All placed dogs must have established a point.

35


1-C Gun Dog and Limited Gun Dog Stakes. AGun Dog must give a f inished per formance andmust be under its handler’s control at all times. Itmust handle kindly, with a minimum of noise andhacking by the handler. A Gun Dog must show akeen desire to hunt, must have a bold and attrac-tive style of running, and must demonstrate notonly inte l l igence in quar ter ing and in seekingobjectives but also the ability to find game. Thedog must hunt for its handler at all times at a suit-able Gun Dog range, and should show or check infront of its handler frequently. It must cover ade-quate ground but never range out of sight for alength of time that would detract from its useful-ness as a pract ica l hunt ing dog. The dog mustlocate game, must point staunchly, and must besteady to wing and shot. Intel l igent use of thewind and terrain in locating game, accurate nose,and style and intensity on point, are essential.

*Walking Handler Gun Dog range—In WalkingGun Dog Stakes, the dog’s range should be suit-able for the walking handler. Horseback HandlerGun Dog range—In Horseback Handling Gun DogStakes, the dog’s range should be suitable for ahorseback-mounted handler taking into considera-tion the cover and terrain.

A dog that does not point cannot be placed. Adog should not be called back to point af ter ther u n n i n g o f i t s b r a c e e x c e p t u n d e r t h e m o s textreme and unusual circumstances.

At least 30 minutes shall be allowed for eachheat.

Championship points will be withheld if a doghas not run for the required time.

1-D All-Age and Limited All-Age Stakes. AnAll-Age Dog must give a finished performance andmust be under reasonable control of its handler. Itmust show a keen desire to hunt, must have a boldand attractive style of running, and must showindependence in hunting. It must range well out ina forward moving pattern, seeking the most prom-ising objectives, so as to locate any game on thecourse. Excessive line-casting and avoiding covermust be penalized. The dog must demonstrate itsindependent judgment in hunting the course, butmust show a wil l ingness to handle when cal ledu po n . The dog mus t f i nd game , mus t po in tstaunchly, and must be steady to wing and shot.Intelligent use of the wind and terrain in locatinggame, accurate nose, and style and intensity onpoint, are essential.

36


A dog that does not point cannot be placed. Adog should not be called back to point af ter ther u n n i n g o f i t s b r a c e e x c e p t u n d e r t h e m o s textreme and unusual circumstances.

At least 30 minutes shall be allowed for each heat.Championship points will be withheld if a dog has

not run for the required time.1-E Honoring in gun dog, all-age, limited gun

dog, and limited all-age stakes. A dog encounter-ing its bracemate on point must honor. Failure of adog to honor when it sees its bracemate on pointmust be severely penalized, and the intentionalavoidance by a dog or a handler of an honoring sit-uation must also be severely penalized. A dog thatsteals its bracemate’s point must be ordered up bythe Judges.

1-F No gun dog, all-age, limited gun dog, or limit-ed all-age stake shall be run in heats of more than 30minutes at a licensed or member trial unless therunning time is given in the premium list.

1-G F ir ing Blank . In any s take , except inpuppy or derby Stakes as specified in Procedures1-A and 1-B, a blank cartridge must be fired by thehandler over any dog on point after the game hasbeen flushed. .22 caliber crimps shall not be used,and if shotguns with blank shells are to be permit-ted , the premium l i s t must so spec i f y. (Note :Shotguns with blank shells may be used in anyretrieving stakes but only if the premium list spec-ifies that blank shotguns may be used.) The han-dler must shoot within the t ime that would berequired to kill a bird at natural shotgun range.Any deliberate delay in shooting must be severelypenalized.

1-H A reasonable move of a dog to mark a birdflushed after a point is acceptable, but this shallnot excuse a break or a delayed chase.

1-I Limiting Entries. Any club that anticipatesan entry in a l icensed or member f ield trial thatmight exceed the number of dogs that could bejudged on the available running grounds during theavailable judging hours, should specify in its premi-um list that entries in any or all stakes will be limit-ed and that entries will close when the limit or lim-its have been reached if this occurs before the spec-if ied closing time for entries. The l imit shall begiven in the premium list either as a specific num-ber of dogs for the trial, or for each or any stake, oras the number of dogs that can be judged within thedaylight hours that will be available on the date ordates of the trial.

37


PROCEDURE 2. JUDGES2-A Each Stake must be judged by at least two

Judges.2-B The Judges may place the dogs 1st, 2nd,

3rd, and 4th in each stake.Judges should wi thhold 2nd p lace in an Open

Stake if the performance of that dog would not meritchampionship points should the dog placed 1st befound to be ineligible.

Based on the number of starters in an AmateurStake, Judges should withhold either 2nd, 3rd, or 4thplacements i f the performance of a dog would notmerit championship points should one of the dog’splacing either 1st, 2nd or 3rd be found to be ineligible.

The decisions of the Judges shall be final withrespect to the running and placement of the dogs,and in all questions concerning the merits of thedogs. They shall have full power to turn out of anystake any dog that does not reasonably obey its han-dler or that interferes with the work of its brace-mate, and any handler who, in their opinion, willfullyinterferes with another handler or his dog.

2-C Misconduct. Any person who, during therunning of a stake, strikes or otherwise abuses ormistreats a dog, or conducts himself in a mannerprejudicial to the best interests of the sport, mustbe expel led from that stake by the Judges whos h a l l a lso repor t the matter to the Fie ld Tr ia lCommittee for ac t ion under the gu ide for theEvent Committees Dealing with Misconduct . Areport of the incident and the action taken shall besent promptly to The American Kennel Club bythe Field Trial Secretary.

Failure to act on and report such incidents mayresult in AKC disciplinary action.

2-D Any additional running of the dogs after thefirst series of heats has been completed, or aftercompletion of any further series specified in thepremium list, shall be entirely at the discretion ofthe Judges. The Judges shall determine the lengthand scope of any subsequent series, as well as thebracing of the dogs, conforming with any specificrequirements for subsequent series that may bedescribed in the premium list.

2-E If the two handlers with their dogs becomeseparated whi le both are on course and underjudgment, one Judge shall accompany each han-dler; except that a Judge should not follow a dogthat cuts the specified course in order to reach thebird field.

Judges should not follow a handler that roams off

38


the designated route of the course. Judges must notgallop to keep pace with handlers that move fasterthan at a flat walk (refer also to Procedure 6-L).

2-F Apprentice Judge. Each stake may alsoinclude one apprentice judge who is a member ofthe Judging panel for the stake but is considered asa judge-in-training. The selection of individualsshall rest with the host club prior to the start of theassigned stake(s). Apprentice judges shall conductthemselves in the manner customary for judges,shall be identified to all participants and shall bebound by a l l Rules and Procedures applying tojudges. Apprentice judges may not serve in otherworking capacities (marshals, bird planters, officialgunners, etc.) during their judging assignmentsand any costs incurred by a club for permittingapprentice judges may be passed along to the indi-viduals serving as apprentice judges. ApprenticeJudges shall score dogs while under the supervi-sion of the Judges, but their scores and opinions asto the dogs’ abilities shall not be considered in anyway by the judges as part of their official evalua-tion in determining placement of the dogs. TheJudges sha l l , f rom t ime to t ime , inv i te theApprentice Judge to become involved in conversa-tion with them such as the Judges discussing howand/or why the Apprentice scored a dog the waythat he or she did. Persons acting as ApprenticeJudges will not receive judging assignment creditsand clubs shall obtain the consent of the Judgesaccepting the assignment before authorizing anApprentice Judge.

PROCEDURE 3. FIELD TRIAL MARSHALS

3-A The Field Trial Committee shall appoint oneor more field trial Marshals. It shall be the duty ofone Marshal to assist the Judges and to carry outtheir instructions, including regulating and con-trolling the gallery, and seeing to it that the galleryis kept separate from and behind the Judges, and thatno one in the gallery talks to the Judges while thedogs are down, and shall advise the handlers andJudges as to the direction and limits of the course.Other Marshals shall see to it that braces are readywhen called, and assist the Field Trial Committee inall other matters necessary for the smooth and expe-ditious running of the trial.

3-B No person shall serve as Marshal assistingthe Judges in any stake in which he has entered orwill handle a dog.

39


PROCEDURE 4. DRAWING AND BRACING4-A The dogs shall generally be run in braces,

and each dog in a brace must have a separate han-dler. The dogs in each brace must be easily identi-fiable by the judges. The judges may require thedogs to wear different colored collars. If required,the top dog will wear either an orange or red col-lar. The bottom dog will wear either a yellow orl i m e co l l a r. D i f f e ren t co lo red co l l a r s may beallowed at the discretion of the judges.

4-B If every dog entered in a stake at a licensedor member field trial has a different handler, thebracing of the dogs in that stake shall be estab-lished by a straight drawing and the braces shallthen be run in the order drawn.

4-C If two or more dogs with the same handlerare entered in a stake at a l icensed or memberfield trial, such entries shall be segregated for thedrawing for bracing so that no two dogs handled bythe same person can be drawn for the same brace.The running order for all complete braces shallthen be determined by a separate drawing af terthe bracing has been established. If , during thedrawing for running order, any handler is drawn tohandle in more than two consecutive braces in thesame stake, and i f there is a la ter brace to bedrawn in which he has no entry, the next bracedrawn in which that handler has no dog may bemoved up to run following the second consecutivebrace, so that the handler would not be required tor u n i n more than two consecu t i ve b races .However, this shall not apply if an alternate han-dler has been named.

4-D The bracing and running order establishedby either method shall not be changed under anycircumstances; except that

(1) In the case of a scratch or absentee, thebracemate of the absent dog shall be moved downand run with the dog in the next known incompletebrace. If there is no known incomplete brace, itmay be run alone, but it must be run in the orderdrawn for its brace.

(2) If the foregoing procedure would result inthe bracing together of two dogs handled by thesame person, the two odd dogs shall be rebracedconsecutively with the two dogs in the last bracein the stake in which that handler has no dog.

(3) Any new brace or braces so created must berun in the running order drawn for one of the twodogs in the brace, as the Field Trial Committeemay decide.

40


4-E If a bye-dog remains af ter al l the braceshave been run, its bracemate shall be selected bythe Judges at their sole discretion from among thedogs that have run in that stake; or the Judges mayr un such a bye-dog wi thout a bracemate . TheJudges a lone sha l l dec ide whether or not anybracemate they select for such a bye-dog shall beunder judgment, and if under judgment, for whatportion or portions of the heat, and their decisionshall be publicly announced before the brace isstarted.

4-F In a stake in which bitches in season arepermitted to compete under Chapter 14, Section 4,they shall run immediately after all other entriesin the stake have run, and the bracing and runningorder of such bitches shall be established by a sec-ond drawing to be he ld immedia te ly a f ter thedrawing of all other entries.

Al l of the above Procedures for drawing andbracing shall apply, except that:

(1) any bitch that comes in season af ter thedrawing shall be moved down to run at the end ofthe day, or at the end of the stake, to run last, asor with the bye-dog if a bitch;

(2) when an incomplete brace occurs for anyreason, i f the bracemate of the absent dog is amale and the dog in the next known incompletebrace is a bitch in season, the male may be runalone, but must be run in the order drawn for itsbrace.

4-G A l ist ing showing the running order foreach stake, giving the full AKC-registered nameof each starting dog and the name of its handlermust either be available for each contestant ordisplayed throughout the running of the stake.

PROCEDURE 5. COURSES AND BIRDS5-A Stakes at l icensed or member field trials

m a y b e r u n o n a n y o f t h e f o l l o w i n g t y p e s o fc o u r s e , a l l o f w h i c h m u s t i n c l u d e s u f f i c i e n tacreage, adequate cover for birds, and suitableobjectives.

(1) Single Course With Bird Field consistingof a back course and a bird field which has sufficientcover to hold birds and which is of adequate size topermit a dog to hunt naturally without excessivehacking. A bird field must not be less than 5 acres,and 10 acres is recommended. At a l icensed ormember trial no less than two birds must be liberat-ed in the bird field for each brace in first series inall stakes except the Puppy Stake. Additional birds

41


must be liberated either in the bird field or on theback course for each brace. Prior to star t ing astake, the back course must have sufficient birdsliberated to provide good opportunity for dogs todemonstrate their pointing ability while on course.It is recommended that no less than five (5) birdsbe l iberated. Birds should be replaced for eachbrace as required to present equal opportunity foreach brace.

(2) Single Course Without Bird Field con-sisting entirely of a course without any specificbird field, on which birds are liberated in suitableplaces around the course. At a licensed or membertrial a minimum of two birds must be l iberatedbetween each brace at a su i tab le p lace on thecourse in all stakes except the Puppy Stake.

It is recommended that no less than ten (10)birds be liberated. Birds should be replaced foreach brace as required to present equal opportuni-ty for each brace.

(3) Single Course Without Bird FieldAlternating breakaway and pick-up points con-

sisting entirely of a course without any specificbird field. Braces shall be run in alternating direc-tions from each breakaway and pick-up point. At alicensed or member field trial on less than two (2)birds must be liberated for each brace at suitableplaces on the course in all stakes except the PuppyStake(s).

It is recommended that no less than ten (10)b irds be l iberated in i t ia l ly. Replacement b irdsshould be liberated behind each running brace forsubsequent braces as required to present an equalopportunity for each brace.

(4) Multiple Courses With Bird Field(s) con-sisting of more than one back course, each with adesignated breakaway and each with either its ownor a common bird f ie ld , with the back coursesbeing used in systematic rotation. At a licensed ormember trial, a minimum of two birds must be lib-erated in the utilized bird field between each bracein first series except the Puppy Stake. Additionalbirds may be liberated either in the bird field or onthe back course.

(5) Multiple Courses Without Bird Field(s)consisting of more than one back course, each with adesignated breakaway, which are used in systematicrotation. At a licensed or member trial, a minimum oftwo birds must be liberated between each brace atsuitable places on the utilized course in all stakesexcept the Puppy Stake.

42


(6) A Continuous Course consisting of a seriesof courses on which each brace starts where thelast brace was picked up. On such a course it isa s s u m e d t h a t t h e re i s a d e q u a t e n a t u r a l o r liberated game.

5-B A stake may be run without a bird field forthe first series with additional series consisting ofnothing but bird field work for the dogs, providedthis is speci f ied in the premium l ist . Birds foradditional series shall be liberated as directed bythe Judges.

5-C The same requirements for liberated birdsthat apply to other stakes at a licensed or membertrial shall also apply to the Puppy Stake unless thepremium list specifies that no birds will be liberat-ed in the Puppy Stake.

5-D No liberated bird shall be removed from thecourse or from the bird field unless dead or crip-pled in which case it should be picked up.

5-E Regular stakes at a licensed or member trialshall be run only on recognized game birds, andthe birds should be strong, healthy, full-featheredand clean; except that in Puppy Stakes non-gamebirds may be used if specified in the premium list.

5-F Birds should, if possible, be liberated in natu-ral cover rather than in artificially created cover.They should not be placed in holes nor in such coveras will impede their ability to fly or run. Birds maybe rocked or dizzied but not to such an extent as toaffect their ability to fly. Game Stewards should weargloves and should not hold birds against their bod-ies. Successive birds should not be liberated in ornear the same spot.

5-G The premium list for a licensed or membertrial shall specify the type of course and species ofgame to be liberated in each stake.

5-H ATVs may be used in Field Trials for thepurpose o f p lant ing b i rds on ly, prov ided loca lordinances/laws allow such vehicles, and insur-ance coverage is provided. (Use in bird-field isprohibited.)

PROCEDURE 6. RUNNING AND HANDLING6-A Five Minute Rule . The duty of having a

dog ready in place when required for judging restssolely with its handler or owner. All dogs shouldbe ready on the grounds well in advance of thescheduled times for their braces so that the Judgeswill not be held up in case of an absent brace. If adog is not present at the place where it is to startwithin 5 minutes after it is called for by the Judges

43


to run in any series, it must be disqualified. TheJudges are responsible for keeping the time.

6-B No more than one brace shall be run on acourse or on any part of a course at the same time,irrespective of whether the dogs are in the samestake or in different stakes.

6-C Time in Bird Field. In a stake on a singlecourse with bird field the time of each heat shallinclude no more than 8 minutes in the bird field,except that in Puppy Stakes the time in the birdfield shall not exceed 6 minutes. The time shalls tar t when the f i rs t dog enters the b i rd f ie ld ,except that a dog may be disqualified if it has cutthe speci f ied course in order to reach the birdfield, in which case time starts when the seconddog enters. Otherwise the Judges, or the Marshal ifinstructed by the Judges, shall see to it that bothdogs in each brace are directed to the bird field at asnearly the same time as possible. If one dog hasstrayed or is otherwise held up on the course, thebracemate and its handler may ordinarily proceed onthe course and enter the bird field unless otherwisedirected by a Judge.

6-D Time out shall not be called when a dog is onpoint in the bird field unless so specified in the premi-um list. If time out is called when a dog is on point inthe bird field, its bracemate shall be stopped.

6-E In a Derby Stake, if the second dog is not onpoint or backing, its handler may, without penalty,hold or otherwise control the dog if there is anylikelihood that it would interfere with the dog onpoint.

6-F A dog that is on point, roading, or obviouslyon game, when time is up, shall be allowed a rea-sonable time to complete its work.

6-G Judges must discourage and may penalizefor continuous or excessive noise or loud vocaliz-ing by handlers in any stake, and particularly inG u n Dog S takes . Fa i l u re to heed the Judges ’instructions may result in disqualification.

6-H Any intimidation or blocking to restrain adog from breaking to wing or shot shall be severe-ly penalized.

6-I A dog that works with a minimum of han-dling or commands must be given credit in a GunDog, All-Age, Limited Gun Dog or Limited All-AgeStake, whether Amateur or Open Stakes.

6-J Out of Judgment. A dog that is out of judg-ment for a continuous period of more than 5 minutes,or for more than 1/6 of the time specified for the heatif over 30 minutes, shall not be placed unless seenon point by a Judge or unless, in the opinion of the

44


Judges , the dog ’s absence was due to unusua l conditions.

6-K No person shall in any manner assist a han-dler in controlling his dog. The Judges may dis-qualify any dog if its handler receives assistance incontrolling the dog or if the dog receives directionof any kind from anyone except its handler.

After a riding handler has dismounted and collaredhis dog on course, the handler may give the dog to ascout while the handler mounts his horse. The scoutmay move the dog to a location which affords a cleanbreakaway.

6-L Scouting. Any scouting for a dog shall bedone by a scout appointed by the handler of thatdog. The scout shall be named prior to the start ofthe brace and shall act solely with permission ofone or more of the Judges. A scout must not han-dle a dog in any manner, except at the direction ofa Judge, and except as provided for in the secondparagraph of Procedure 6-K, above. Such violationw i l l b e c a u s e f o r t h e d o g t o b e i m m e d i a t e l yordered up by the Judges. When not scouting, thescout shall ride behind the Judges, but in front ofthe gal lery, so as to be readi ly avai lable to theJudges and handler.

Scouts who disregard or disobey the instruc-tions of the Judges must be excused from furtherscouting by the Judges. Judges may also order adog picked up for abuse of any of these provisionsby the scout (refer also to Procedure 2-E).

In amateur stakes, only an amateur shall be uti-lized as a scout.

6-M Any handler wishing to pick up his dog dur-ing the running of a brace must, out of courtesy,inform the judge and receive acknowledgementfrom the judge prior to picking up the dog.

6-N No one shall be permitted in the bird field atany time during the running of a stake; except forthe Judges, the Official Guns, and the handlers ofthe competing dogs while the dogs are in the birdfield; and except for the Game Stewards to theextent necessary to release game.

6-O Promiscuous firing of guns or blank pistolson the field trial grounds is prohibited. The han-dler of a dog shall fire one blank and no more foreach flush of one or more birds.

6-P There shall be no training of dogs anywhereon the course until the trial has been concluded.

For the purposes of this Procedure, roading a dogbehind the gallery is considered to be training.

This Procedure also intends that a check cordcannot be used while a dog is under judgment in anystake at an AKC-licensed or member club trial.

45

57802_RFTPNT_Text_1_09.qxd 1/14/09 1:36 PM Page 45

6-Q Tracking Collars. AKC approved electronictracking col lars wi l l be permitted in a l l stakesunless prohibited in the Premium List. Use of thereceivers will be permitted only after the dog/dogshave been eliminated from contention. Judges shallhave complete contro l o f the t ransmit ters ,receivers and their use. The handheld receivershall be kept in the possession of the judges, mar-shall, or someone designated by the judges. Judgesmay inspect the collars prior to placement on dogs.When the handlers are given the receiver, dogs willbe out of contention. Tracking collars are not to beused in call back for retrieve situations. Any misuseby handlers, scouts or gallery members wil l beseverely dealt with by suspension and/or fines.

6-R Misconduct. The Field Trial Committeeand the Judges shall not permit severe training,correcting or disciplining of dogs on any part ofthe field trial grounds. The Committee shall inves-tigate any reports of such conduct or of any otherconduct prejudicial to the best interests of pure-bred dogs, f ield trials, or The American KennelClub. Any person who conducts himself in a man-ner prejudicial to the best interests of the sportshall be dealt with promptly, during the trial if pos-sible, af ter the offender has been notified of thespecific charges against him, and has been given anoppor tunity to be heard in his own defense, inaccordance with the Dealing with Misconduct Guide.

6-S Horseback Handling. The premium list forany l icensed or member f ield tr ia l must speci f ywhether or not handling from horseback will be per-mitted in any or all stakes. If handling from horse-back is permitted in any stake, the c lub shouldattempt to provide horses. Mounted and foot han-dlers are not to be segregated in the drawing.

The Judges shal l see to i t that any mountedhandler uses his horse only as a means of con-veyance on the course and never as an active aidin handl ing. The handlers shal l remain on thespecified course in front of the Judges and in theJudges’ line of travel, except as necessary to han-dle a dog that is seen on point. The Judges shallcontrol the pace, whether both handlers are onf o o t o r b o t h a re m o u n t e d . I f o n e h a n d l e r i smounted and the other is on foot, the Judges shallset a reasonable pace to accommodate the foothandler. Mounted handlers must keep their hors-es at a f lat walk at a l l t imes unless otherwiseauthorized by a Judge.

A handler must always dismount before handlinghis dog on game and before f ir ing. No handler ’s

46


horse may be brought into the bird field.6-T The Judges may appoint a second handler to

take over during the running if the original han-dler becomes injured or otherwise incapacitatedand is unable to finish the brace.

PROCEDURE 7. RETRIEVING STAKES7-A The premium list for any licensed or member

field trial must identify any Retrieving Stake, andmust specify each stake in which birds are to be shot.

It is mandatory that the Judges, gunners,handlers of the working dogs and Marshalswear a blaze orange outer garment (vest orj acket a s a min imum) in any Ret r i ev ingStake. When gunning is on course, gal lerymust also wear a blaze orange outer garment(vest or jacket as a minimum).

7-B All shooting in any l icensed, member orsanct ioned f ie ld tr ia l shal l be done by Off ic ia lGuns only, and the Judges shall have completea u t h o r i t y o v e r a l l s u c h s h o o t i n g . T h e y m a yrequire a change of Official Guns at any time, andmay bar from further shooting in that trial anyOfficial Gun who does not abide strictly by safegunning rules.

Only breaking-type shotguns of open choke of atleast 20 gauge shall be used by the Official Guns.

7-C Two Of f ic ia l Guns are required for eachbrace, one to accompany each handler. Provisionmust also be made for alternate or stand-by Gunsin case they should be required.

7-D Official Guns must be familiar with all of therequirements of this Procedure.

7-E One Official Gun must join each handler ashe enters the bird f ield, or i f a bird f ield is notused, at a designated place on the course. TheOfficial Gun must always keep himself in the cor-rect position for safety of dogs and persons.

7-F Game should be shot cleanly, in a sports-manlike manner, in full fl ight, at a distance thatwill give the dog a reasonable retrieve. An OfficialGun represents the handler up to the time thatgame is shot, but must not interfere or assist inany manner with his work nor direct the work ofthe dog.

7-G Game flushed by a free running dog or birdsthat flush wild shall not be shot except on instruc-tions from a Judge. If a bird does not fly after anattempt to flush by a handler, it shall not be shoton the ground except on instructions from a Judge.

7-H Official Guns should wear game bags.7 - I Retr iev ing i s requ i red in a l l Retr iev ing

47


Stakes and counts as an important part of a dog’sperformance. After the shot, the handler shall notcommand or signal the dog to retrieve until thedog’s steadiness to wing and shot has been posi-t i v e l y demons t ra ted . The dog mus t re t r i evepromptly, tenderly and absolutely to hand in allretrieving stakes.

A dog that demonstrates a less than satisfactoryretrieve shall not be placed. A reasonable retrievesatisfies the purpose of conserving game.

If any dog that is being considered for placementin a Retrieving Stake has not had an opportunity toretrieve, the Judges must set up a retrieve for thedog. A live game bird shall be planted and the dogallowed to establish point. The handler shall flushthe bird, and the shooting shall be done by no morethan two Official Guns.

7-J Once a dog has demonstrated steadiness towing and shot, and has been sent for the retrieve,if it encounters a second bird, the dog may, with-out pena l ty, po int , s top to f lush or a t tempt toretrieve the bird. If the retrieve is completed, thedog shall be credited with a complete retrieve withno penalties.

PROCEDURE 8. MOTORIZED VEHICLESMotorized vehicles are prohibited in all PointingBreed Field Trials except for All-Terrain Vehicles(ATV), which may be used solely for the purposeof liberating birds on course. ATVs must meet allapplicable government, state, and federal require-ments.

ATVs are not allowed in birdfields.

48


49

CH

AR

T I—

SIN

GL

E C

OU

RS

E W

ITH

BIR

DF

IEL

D—

Pro

ced

ure

5-A

(1)

SC

HE

MA

TIC

CO

UR

SE

DIA

GR

AM

S F

OR

PO

INT

ING

BR

EE

D T

RIA

LS

(se

e P

roce

du

re 5

)

Bac

k C

ou

rse

Bre

akaw

ay

Tim

e o

n b

ack

cour

se (

excl

udin

g B

ird

field

)

Pup

py

stak

e:9-

24 m

inut

esD

erb

y st

ake:

12-2

2 m

inut

esA

ll o

ther

sta

kes:

At

leas

t 22

min

utes

Tim

e in

bir

dfie

ld:

Pup

py

stak

e:6

min

utes

max

imum

All

oth

er s

take

s:8

min

utes

max

imum

Bir

dfi

eld

(Min

. 5 a

cres

-10

acre

s re

com

men

ded

)


50

Tim

e o

n co

urse

:P

upp

y st

ake:

15-3

0 m

inut

esD

erb

y st

ake:

20-3

0 m

inut

esA

ll o

ther

sta

kes:

At

leas

t 30

min

utes

CH

AR

T II

—S

ING

LE

CO

UR

SE

S W

ITH

OU

T B

IRD

FIE

LD

—P

roce

du

re 5

-A (

2)

Bac

k C

ou

rse

A

Op

tio

nal

Co

mm

on

Bir

dfi

eld

Bac

k C

ou

rse

B

Bre

akaw

ay

Pic

k-up


51

Pic

k-up

Bre

akaw

ayP

ick-

up

Bre

akaw

ay

CH

AR

T IV

—S

ING

LE

CO

UR

SE

AS

AN

AL

TE

RN

AT

ING

CO

UR

SE

OU

T &

BA

CK


52

See

Cha

rts

I and

II

Fo

r B

ack

Co

urse

/Bir

dfie

ld T

imes

CH

AR

T II

I—M

UL

TIP

LE

CO

UR

SE

S W

ITH

/WIT

HO

UT

BIR

DF

IEL

D—

Pro

ced

ure

5-A

(3)

& (

4)

Bac

k C

ou

rse

A

Op

tio

nal

Co

mm

on

Bir

dfi

eld

Bac

k C

ou

rse

B

Bre

akaw

ayB

reak

away

Pic

k-up

Pic

k-up


53

See

Cha

rt II

fo

r tim

es o

n ea

ch c

our

se

Pic

k-up

Co

urs

e 3

Pic

k-up

Co

urs

e 1

Pic

k-up

Co

urs

e 2

Bre

akaw

ayC

ou

rse

1

Bre

akaw

ayC

ou

rse

2

Bre

akaw

ayC

ou

rse

3

CH

AR

T IV

—C

ON

TIN

UO

US

CO

UR

SE

S—

Pro

ced

ure

5-A

(5)


GLOSSARY OF TERMSActing Birdy—Demonstrating the presence of

game.Alternate Handler—A second person desig-

nated on the official entry to handle a dog in a fieldtrial.

Attacking Dog—A dog willfully attempting todo physical harm to another dog.

Backing—See Honoring.Birdless—A dog completing its brace without

finding game. Except in Open Puppy stakes, bird-less dogs are generally eliminated from considera-tion for placement.

Blinking Birds—Scent ing but de l iberate lyavoiding game.

Brace—A pair of dogs (2 dogs).Break Away—The po int a t which a course

begins.Breaking—Leaving before, or without having

been sent.Bumping Birds—Scenting and then causing

game to fly without establishing point.Bye-Dog—A dog drawn as the last dog in a

stake without a bracemate.Call Back—An opportunity afforded a dog by

the Judges after completion of its initial run. Thisis done to give a dog an opportunity to competefurther, or to allow a dog to demonstrate a stakerequirement, such as retrieving or honoring.

Cast—The direction and range demonstrated bya dog while seeking game.

Collaring—The act of grasping a dog’s collar tocontrol it or cast it in another direction.

Course—The designated route on which thedogs will perform.

Course Objectives—Variations in the terrainand/or vegetative cover which could hold game.

Cover—The vegetation on course.Delayed Chase—Running in the direction of

flushed game af ter either pointing, honoring orstopping to flush instead of obeying the handler’scommand to cast off in a different direction.

Fetch—One of a number of commands that canbe given to a dog to release it to demonstrate aretrieve.

Find—Game located when a dog is hunting.Flash Point—momentary pause, not acceptable

for a Derby placement.Gallery—Observers of a field trial.Game—Upland birds, except in Open Puppy

were pigeons can be used.

54


Gunshy—Afraid of gunfire.Hacking—Verbal intimidation of a dog.Handler—The person handling a dog in a trial. Heeling Off—The act of verbally causing a dog

to walk at a handler’s side.Honoring—When a dog stops immediately or

within a few steps, usually in a pointing stance,upon observing a bracemate on point.

Interference—When a dog willfully hinders orimpedes the performance of a bracemate.

Line Running—Running in a stra ight awaymanner without quartering or seeking objectives.

Mark—The characteristic of a dog to watch, ormark, the flight and/or fall of a bird.

Order Up a Dog—The Judges’ command to ahandler to remove his dog from the course uponcompletion of judging or for an infraction that dis-qualifies the dog.

Pick Up a Dog—When a dog is removed fromfurther judgement.

Pointing—When a dog indicates the presenceand posit ion of game by standing immobile anddirecting its muzzle toward it.

Pointing Intensity—Same as above but withexceptional concentration, power or force.

Pointing Style—The degree of intensity, lofti-ness or elegance a dog demonstrates while point-ing.

Quartering—To laterally traverse (back andforth) an area of ground while advancing forward.

Range/run—The distance at which a dog worksfrom the handler.

Release a Dog—To send a dog on.Relocate a Dog—To release a dog from a point

or honor and move the dog on, usually to relocatemoving game.

Retrieve—To find and bring back shot game.Roading a Bird—The repeated pointing and

relocating demonstrated by a dog while followingthe ground scent trail of a bird.

Running Order—A listing of the bracing andrunning order of dogs entered in all stakes in afield trial.

Running Style—The manner in which a dogtraverses a course, including speed and efficiencyin movement.

Scout —A person , genera l l y mounted , d i s -patched by a handler, with the approval of a judge,to seek out and report the presence and behaviorof a dog under judgement.

55


Scratch a Dog—To withdraw a dog from com-petition after the drawing but before competing.

Severely Penalize—To impose a punishmentor handicap upon a dog for a breach of manners orsome other serious fault. Generally, a dog that hasbeen severely penalized once during judgementshould not receive championship points. A dogthat has been severely penalized more than onceshould not receive a placement.

Shotgun Range—The effective range of a shot-gun, generally about 20-50 yards.

Stake—A competitive category in a field trial.See Chapter 17, Section 2.

Steady-to-Shot—Maintaining a point duringthe flight of, and the shot(s) for a flushed bird.

Steady-to-Wing—Maintaining a point duringthe flight of a flushed bird.

Stea l ing Po in t — A d o g t h a t s t e a l s a p o i n tmakes continued movement into the area wherethe game is present after observing another dogon point, rather than honoring.

Stop-to-Flush—When a dog stops after observ-ing the flush of a bird.

Tracking—To follow using scent.Whoa a Dog—A command used to cause a dog

to stop and stand.

POINTING BREED FIELD TRIAL JUDGESGUIDELINES

1. Mounted handlers must keep horses at a flatwalk. Judges control the pace.

2. I ns t r uc t your hand le rs t o rema in on thecourse.

3. Do not allow handlers to ride off with theirdogs or push their dogs into birdy areas.

4. Instruct your Marshal to control the gallery atall times.A. Stay together.B. Do not gallop to a dog on point.C. Do not handle a dog.

5. A scout cannot handle a dog in any mannerexcept at the direction of the Judges. Only anAmateur can act as a scout in Amateur stakes.

6. In retrieving stakes, handlers must never pickup the bird and throw it, unless unusualcircumstances exist, and the Judge instructsthe handler to do so.

7. Handlers should never block the dog’s view torestrain it from breaking to wing or shot. Thisis severely penalized.

56


8. Judges should make every effort to allow thedog to demonstrate its steadiness to wing andshot. Dogs should be sent to retrieve only afterdemonstrating steadiness with the bird on theground.

9. Dogs must re t r ieve abso lute ly to hand inretrieving stakes.

10. In retrieving stakes, one of the official gunsmust join each handler as the handler entersthe bird field or at a designated place on thecourse when following on horseback.

11. Judges must discourage and may penalize han-dlers for continuous or excessive loud vocaliz-ing when handling dogs, particularly in a gundog stake.

12. No electronic or dummy electronic devicesmay be worn by a dog while competing, exceptfor an approved electronic tracking collar.

13. Severe training or correction is not permittedon the field trial grounds.

14. Remember, dogs must find and point birds inthe Derby stake.

15. Dogs must f ind and point birds and demon-strate steadiness in all adult stakes.

16. Dogs in Gun Dog and Al l -Age stakes musthonor when encountering their bracemate onpoint. In order to execute a proper honor, a dogmust see the pointing dog before being com-manded to stop, and must clearly demonstratethat it is honoring and not merely held by com-mand. A dog that honors naturally, requiring nocommand to stop, must be given more creditfor bird work than a dog requiring a command.

17. A dog that is out of judgement for a continuousperiod of more than five minutes (or for morethan 1/6 of the running time if over 30 min-utes) cannot be placed unless seen on point bya Judge, or unless in the Judge’s opinion theabsence was due to unusual conditions.

57


POINTING BREED FIELD TRIAL GALLERY ETIQUETTE

Members of the field trial gallery must remem-ber that they are spectators and should do nothingthat would distract dogs in competition, handlers,or judges. The following Gallery Etiquette shouldhelp make everyone’s experience a good one.

• The gallery must not fan out across the field orstraggle too far behind.

• It is important to be courteous to the othermembers of the gallery.

• Do ride quietly and do not volunteer informa-tion unless it has been requested.

• The marshal is in control of the gallery at alltimes. The gallery may not move in front ofthe marshal, judges or handlers. Do not ridepast a handler who is mounting a horse aftercasting off, or after bird work. If the dogs in abrace become separated, only the appointedscout may move for ward ( in the case o f aNational, the scribe and judge’s marshal mayalso move up) with the handler and judge;unless given permission by the judge to moveon, other members of the gallery must remainbehind the marshal.

• If a dog or handler is trying to come up througha mounted gallery, move aside and let themthrough. When a dog is called on point, do notgallop to the dog, but ride quietly behind themarshal to a place where the bird work may beobserved. (Can you imagine what thunderinghooves must feel and sound like to the birds, orthe dog?)

• AKC regu la t ions proh ib i t members o f thegallery from talking to the judges. Please keepthis in mind and do not distract the judges. Itonly takes a split second to miss an opportunityto evaluate a dog working.

Be sure to practice good sportsmanship and safehorsemanship; riding in the gallery should be funfor all.

TRACKING COLLARSThe use of the tracking collar at a recognized field trialis at the sole discretion of the host club. Only AKC-approved models may be used. Information regardingAKC -approved models may be found onl ine at :www.akc.org/events/field_trials/pointing_breeds/tracking_collars.cfm. The owner/handler is respon-

58


sible for providing the tracking collar if he or shewishes to use a tracking device.

The regulations for the use of a tracking collar in allrecognized stakes are as follows:

• Excluding the weight of the collar itself, the unitshall weigh no more than five (5) ounces. Thetransmitter shall be mounted on a one-inch (orless ) wide co l l a r. A regu lar ID p la te may beaffixed to the collar. The collar surface adjacent tothe dog shall have no protrusions.

• If a handler elects to use the transmitting collaron his or her dog, only one other identification-type collar is permitted to be on the dog. Thetracking collar shall remain on the dog during theentire heat; i f a handler elects to remove thetracking collar, that dog shall be considered out ofjudgement.

• The handheld receiver shall be kept in the pos-session of the judges, the marshall, or someonedesignated by the judges.

• The handheld locating receiver can only be usedafter the dog is determined to be out of judgement.

• The use of the tracking collar is elective and forno reason should the running of a stake be held updue to the lack of available equipment.

• Any person using a locating receiver to locate adog currently in judgement and prior to officialauthorization of its use by one of the judges, shalldisqualify the dog in that stake and the offenderssha l l be d isqua l i f ied f rom that f ie ld t r i a l .Misconduct charges must be filed against the per-son illegally using the receiver.

• Special Training Collars used to control and traindogs including but not l imited to collars withprongs, electronic collars used with transmitters,muzzles and head collars may not be used on dogsat AKC events, except as al lowed in the AKCRules, Regulations, and Policies.

• Tracking collars are not allowed in call back forretrieve situations.

59

57802_RFTPNT_Text_1_09.qxd 1/14/09 1:36 PM Page 59

REFERENCE

Applications ....................................................Page 4, 5Premium Lists ......Chapter 5; Section 2, Chapter 7

Procedure ................................1-I through 6-R, 6-P

Judges ..............................Pages 7, 8-9, 23, 36, 37, 56,................................................Chapter 14; Section 6

Entries ..........Chapter 8, Chapter 14; Section 4 & 5

Running Order ..........................Chapter 5, Section 2Procedure ......................................Page 38; #4, 1-F

60


AKC Code of Sportsmanship PREFACE: The sport of purebred dog competitive eventsdates prior to 1884, the year of AKC’s birth. Shared valuesof those involved in the sport include principles of sports-manship. They are practiced in all sectors of our sport:conformation, performance and companion. Many believethat these principles of sportsmanship are the prime reasonwhy our sport has thrived for over one hundred years. With the belief that it is useful to periodically articulate the fundamentals of our sport, this code is presented.

• Sportsmen respect the history, traditions and integrity of the sport of purebred dogs.

• Sportsmen commit themselves to values of fair play,honesty, courtesy, and vigorous competition, as well aswinning and losing with grace.

• Sportsmen refuse to compromise their commitment andobligation to the sport of purebred dogs by injectingpersonal advantage or consideration into their decisionsor behavior.

• The sportsman judge judges only on the merits of thedogs and considers no other factors.

• The sportsman judge or exhibitor accepts constructivecriticism.

• The sportsman exhibitor declines to enter or exhibitunder a judge where it might reasonably appear that thejudge’s placements could be based on something otherthan the merits of the dogs.

• The sportsman exhibitor refuses to compromise theimpartiality of a judge.

• The sportsman respects the AKC bylaws, rules, regula-tions and policies governing the sport of purebred dogs.

• Sportsmen find that vigorous competition and civilityare not inconsistent and are able to appreciate the meritof their competition and the effort of competitors.

• Sportsmen welcome, encourage and support newcomersto the sport.

• Sportsmen will deal fairly with all those who trade withthem.

• Sportsmen are willing to share honest and openappraisals of both the strengths and weaknesses of theirbreeding stock.

• Sportsmen spurn any opportunity to take personaladvantage of positions offered or bestowed upon them.

• Sportsmen always consider as paramount the welfare of their dog.

• Sportsmen refuse to embarrass the sport, the AmericanKennel Club, or themselves while taking part in the sport.

57307_RFTPNT_Cover_11_08.qxd 11/7/08 10:16 AM Page IBC1

NOTICE

The italicized portions of this book are not rules butare either regulations, explanations or Board policy.

Complete text of booklet available at: www.akc.org

To order booklet(s), contact the AKC at:The American Kennel Club Order Desk8051 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 100

Raleigh, NC 27617Tel: (919) 233-9767

E-mail: [email protected]

© 2005, The American Kennel Club, Inc.

57307_RFTPNT_Cover_11_08.qxd 11/7/08 10:16 AM Page BC1

RFTPNT (1/09)

pointing breed field trial rules · whether or not a member of the american kennel club, by...

Documents