2026 Annual Round Pond Youth Classic Report
The fourth annual Round Pond Youth Classic was held on Saturday and Sunday, January 17–18, 2026. With unseasonable winter storm warnings forecast for Sunday—the originally scheduled day for the trial—and an early finish of the Amateur Shooting Dog stake, club officials made the decision to run half of the youth stakes on Saturday.
Sunday morning brought temperatures cold enough for the precipitation to leave a solid layer of snow on the ground. The young handlers took full advantage, enjoying the rare opportunity to make and throw snowballs—a novelty in Southwest Georgia.
At noon, everyone gathered in the clubhouse for a hearty lunch. By the afternoon, the sun had worked its magic. Though the air remained chilly, conditions improved enough for the trial to resume, and the final five braces were completed.
The trial is run over three beautiful courses that meander over the beautiful grounds of Round Pond Plantation.
A special thanks to everyone who put in time, dedication, and energy into making this youth trial possible. We would also like to thank everyone who sponsored this trial. Dustin Kirby made a contribution. Youth Field Trial Alliance provided the rosettes, ribbons, winner prints and judges’ gifts. Greg Blair with Purina provided a bag full of goodies for each handler. Thank you, Christy Swearingen and Claudia McNamee for launching this classic in 2023 though the inaugural running had to be cancelled due to all day thunderstorms. Thank you, Walker family, for providing lunch and the exceptional grounds and fast flying birds that make this such a highly contested and popular youth trial. Phil Bowden and Sergio Velez handled the difficult task of judging this highly contested trial.
The first of 11 braces broke on Saturday afternoon. Each handler over the entire running showed excitement and determination. The judges expressed how this was a very hard trial to judge due to all the handlers and dogs doing such a wonderful job.
The Winners:
First place was awarded to Dan, handled by Grace Sanchez. Dan, laid down an impressive ground race highlighted by two finds at 7 and 10. At the end of his performance the bar had been set and a true winner was on top. Second place was awarded to Bo, handled by Addison McDuffie. Bo, displayed high class with a strong forward ground race with a back at 20. Third place was awarded to John, handled by Madi Lee. John handled nicely with a find at 17. The Junior Division was awarded to Mike, handled by Grayson Nobles. Milk chalked up two good finds at 1 and 14, with a strong forward race.
Cayla Key
Postscript:
Aside from the snow, Sunday provided another highly unusual site. YFTA hired Thomasville professional videographer Drew Balfour to film several youth trials and produce a video about youth field trials which is currently in the making. It was arranged that Drew and his equipment would follow behind the judges on a UTV but after the very first find, Drew ran alongside the handlers and dogs for the entire remaining braces capturing all the action!
For photos from the 2026 Round Pond Classic, please visit and subscribe (with any Google, ie gmail account) the YFTA YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@YouthFieldTrialAlliance