Small but Mighty. Youth Field Trial Alliance is led by three Board of Directors and supported by more than 50 volunteer Ambassadors around the country. Chris Mathan (BA in Communications Design & Photography, Nova Scotia College of Art & Design)  Born in Stuttgart, Germany, Chris grew up in Montreal and immigrated to the United States in 1980. For over 40 years, she worked as a designer and art director, most prominently at New York City’s […]

YFTA presents a Horse Auction to be held at the Pinewoods Bird Dog Club meeting in October. Youth handlers are welcome to come to the meeting and bid on their favorite horses! Exact date and time to be announce. All proceeds will be donated to the Pinewoods Bird Dog Club, whose first youth trial, the Nancy Pearce Memorial YTF is held in November. The public is also welcome to bid on horses prior to the […]

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 […]

One of the true highlights of the 2026 Lee Bird Classic was the Youth Stakes, which featured eleven youth participants handling over fifteen dogs throughout the weekend. The future of our sport was proudly on display, and it was a true crowd pleaser for everyone in attendance. Temperatures for the Member Youth Stakes were favorable at breakaway, and the large gallery following on horseback and dog wagons was excited to cheer on and support all […]

1st:  Jett, Quay Duke 2nd: Cowboy, Preacher Thornton 3rd:  Cactus Jack, Meadow Thornton 4th: Lil Bit, Elliott Smith Best Flusher: Eli Adams Best Rattle Snake Charmer: Townes Seymore Pistol Pete Award: Cal Lindsey Most Enthusiastic Handler: Hazel Thornton Winner of the Charles Daly Shotgun Donated by North Fork Chapter Quail Forever: Meadow Thornton Congratulations to Everyone! A huge thanks to Gary Hill and Lisa Gordon for taking time out of their day to judge. Thanks […]

And the winners were: Liam with Patch Emilia with Sky Paisley with River Brooklyn with Woodie Congrats to all!!

2026 John Abbott Youth Field Trial held on March 15th and hosted by the Pinewoods Bird Dog Club was again a great success. Like the Masters Youth Trial held the previous day, the first brace broke away at 8:00 am in order to get as many dogs run before the forecasted afternoon heat set in. The trial, run on the beautiful Pinion Point Plantation outside of Quitman, GA, drew 11 braces, with 14 different youth […]

On Saturday, March 14th Sean Derrig, aided by his son Sean Patrick, conducted a one-time-only Bird Dog Clinic & Demonstration at Erin’s Covey Pointe Plantation in Sale City, GA with ticket sales donated to YFTA. Approximately 60 bird dog enthusiasts attended to learn about young dog development and Sean’s unique breaking steady to wing and shot process. People traveled from around Georgia but also from Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and as far as Texas. The […]

The third annual Masters Youth Field Trial, held Saturday, March 14, on the beautiful grounds of Nilo Plantation in Albany, Georgia, was again a tremendous success. Drawing 14 braces, 28 dogs were run by 14 different youth handlers. An 8:00 am start allowed  for as much of the stake as possible to run before the afternoon heat set in. Nilo Plantation could not have been more picturesque, with sunlight filtering through the morning fog. No […]

ABHA TENNESSEE STATE CLASSIC CUMBERLAND FIELD TRIAL CLUB Spring Trials – Open, Amateur, & Youth Stakes By Ben Weddington | La Vergne, TN | February 25 – March 1, 2026 The Cumberland Field Trial Club ended the month of February hosting two back-to-back horseback trials at the Percy Priest W.M.A. Field Trial Grounds in La Vergne, Tennessee.  The event kicked off with the 2-day American Bird Hunters Association Tennessee State Classic, which ran all Open […]