2025 Masters Youth Trial Report
Maria Bassham, Reporter
The second annual Masters Youth Field Trial was held on the glorious grounds of Nilo Plantation on March 15th, 2025. A total of 19 dogs with their 13 youth handlers were entered to run that beautiful Saturday morning in Albany, Georgia. Some of these young trialers experienced their first ever trial with tons of help and support from family, friends, and everyone in the gallery. Birds were in abundance that day making it an exciting trial for all who came.
A huge thank you to Southern Field Trial Club for hosting this successful event. We are looking forward to many more years of watching these youth learn and grow in the sport they love. Thank you to our judges, Claudia McNamee of Chattahoochee Hills, GA and Jamie Daniels of Dawson, GA for their time in the saddle. Claudia is also a director of Youth Field Trial Alliance, one of the trial sponsors along with Purina Pro Plan. The kids were lucky enough to get two of the best who gave pointers and coached each and every one of them during their braces. It did not go unnoticed how much Jamie and Claudia enjoyed themselves and enjoyed helping the kids. After all, that’s what a youth trial is all about — teaching these kids the ins and outs of this gentleman sport.
Thank you to Hannah Marchbanks, owner of Grace Meals Made from the Heart Catering, for a fabulous lunch that was served in the shade of a big oak tree at the completion of the running. Youth Field Trial Alliance’s Chris Mathan awarded the winners with rosettes. “Handler” ribbons were given to all the youth who took part. Chris was on hand again to photograph the event. We are very grateful to Polly and Tim Moore for all their hard work organizing and planning the day. It takes a village and we certainly have a great one.
The Running
Besides our 4 winners, we had 9 other youth contenders run their dogs and showcase their skills that Saturday morning. Remington Davis ran in her very first trial with the help of her dad, Hall of Famer Tommy Davis. She was outfitted with precious pink boots and a pink whistle and handled her dog Rooster like a pro. Emaria Parker ran 2 dogs, Sam and Rex, with assistance from her dad, Bernard Parker. She did a fabulous job and was highly complimented by the judges. Kaidence Cumbie ran her setter “Lady” with her dad, Riley, scouting. Everyone got a kick out of how Kaidence handled her, singing her name “Lay Lay”. Paired together in brace 5 were Blaine Beane and Owen Burson. Both of their dogs, Dan and Diane, stopped at 12 minutes resulting in a divided. Blaine excitedly shot his little cap gun one more time when Dan stopped at 16 minutes with birds up. Sawyer King ran in brace 6 and is no stranger to the sport. Her pointer, Stan, had 2 finds during his 20 minutes. Pearce Garland’s pointer Joe also had 2 finds and had help from granddad, Ray Pearce. Zander Paul’s Princess had a nice race but unfortunately had no bird work. And lastly, Evelyn Taff and her pointer, Pig, had one find resulting in granddad, Tim Moore, shooting his shotgun for her.
The Winners
Our Top Dog in the Junior Handler division was “Mike” handled by Loretta Cook. Mike had 2 nice finds and did a great job staying on course. Granddaddy, Tracy Swearingen, helped Loretta along the way, but it was clear this wasn’t her first rodeo.
First place winner “Pat” was handled by Payson Jones. This was Payson’s third trial and the growth he made over the past year impressed the judges and gallery. Pat had 2 sharp, classy finds and held steady to wing and shot. She handled well and was with Payson when time was called. Payson did a fantastic job and was able to take home a few tips from judges Jamie and Claudia.
Second place was “Pete” handled by Harper King. Pete had 2 good finds that both produced big covies of wild quail. Harper is no stranger to the youth trial world and improves her handling skills at every trial.
Third place winner “Jade” was handler Griffyn Long. Jade ran a clean, forward race and had one impressive find at the end of her 20 minutes on the ground.
