Mentorship
Unless your start in field trials came via an active field trial family, where the path forward seeped into you from childhood, your entrance to the sport was via a different journey.
Like many girls and women in the sport my first love from childhood was horses. Competing in 4-H, Pony Club, and later in regular horse shows laid a solid foundation of presenting an animal to an audience. Kids are generally less inhibited than adults—or at least that’s been my observation. I quickly became accustomed to being “on stage,” competing with horses. And although the butterflies were always there prior to each event, the fun and excitement always surpassed the nervousness.
I didn’t experience that same excitement with dogs until many years later. I started in AKC obedience, moved on to bench shows, hunt tests, and NAVHDA which opened the door to upland bird hunting and, eventually, to American Field trials.
My first pointer arrived in 2000 after spending a week bird hunting in Texas. By then, I had already attended several walking trials and joined a local field trial club. I knew little more about handling than what I had observed at trials, but still my puppy won and I was starry-eyed, imagining the illustrious career that surely lay ahead for us.
Mike’s illustrious career is another story. 🙂
It wasn’t long after those first puppy wins that my new field trial friends invited me to train with them. I had a lot to learn, and of course, the more I learned, the more I realized there was to learn. I provided my new friends with plenty of chuckles along the way, but little by little, I improved my handling skills, and the dog responded.
Do an internet search for “how to handle a dog in a field trial” or gather some of the few books on the subject still available, and you’ll soon discover that neither is a pathway to becoming a competent handler. You have to do it to learn, and much of that learning comes from making mistakes. Everyone—even the most accomplished professionals—makes handling errors. Sometimes those mistakes cost a dog an important win. As they say…that’s field trials.
My most rewarding path to becoming a reasonably proficient handler came through the mentorship of experienced, accomplished trainer/handlers whose methods resonated with my own ideals. I was fortunate to find them, and even more fortunate that they were willing to help me. For most of our sport’s history, handlers learned from those who came before them—not from manuals or today from YouTube videos.
Watching young people handle dogs in youth trials brings a smile to anyone who loves this sport. Watching them improve from year to year is nothing short of remarkable. Letting them know how much their progress means to us—because they are the future of our great sport—is essential. Passing on the traditions, including mentorship and sportsmanship is imperative.
If there’s a young person who shows an interest in bird dogs and field trials—even if there aren’t any youth trials in your area yet —include them when you work your dogs. If possible, involve them in a club, bring them to a field trial and give them some responsibility. If they’re running a dog in a youth trial or in an adult stake, offer to help or even scout for them. Offer to judge a youth trial. Youth Field trial Alliance is grateful to the many individuals who have judged youth trials and stakes these past several years, giving their time and expertise to youth handlers. Mentorship can take many forms.
Hopefully, one day, today’s youth handlers will be mentoring the next generation of field trialers.
Chris Mathan
Field trailer Debbie Ozner scouting for 15-year-old Madi Lee in the 2026 Elwin Smith Amateur Shooting Dog Classic
Addison McDuffie mentoring Grace Sanchez at the 2026 Round Pond Youth Classic