Owners have access to 3,500 acres of hunt land, so you can imagine there’s no shortage of hunting dogs at Brays Island. Beyond your everyday hunt, we like to organize a fun event for the pointers and retrievers alike. Each year we host a friendly competition for our four legged friends, our annual Flushing and Pointing Dog Trials. Held in February, owners enter their talented canines in the events to compete for the title, while spectators get to watch the dogs work the field.
FLUSHING DOG TRIALS
Yellow labs excelled in the Flushing Dog Trials this year taking first, second and third place. With 14 entries, there was some tough competition in the field. The dogs are tasked with flushing five pheasants in a 20-minute period and are scored by judges not only on flushing and retrieving, but also obedience and style. Rosie took home first place while her sister, Indie, placed second. Owner Perry Harvey is no stranger to taking home trophies earned by his talented pups. These returning champs placed in the Flushing Dog Trials in 2017 and 2016.
POINTING DOG TRIALS
Held the weekend following the Flushing Dog Trials, our pointers get to compete in their own trials. With 20 entries, two teams, each consisting of a handler and a pointer, face off in a 30-minute competition. Five quail are planted for each competition. The dog points the bird, the handler flushes and shoots the bird and the dog then retrieves. Points are awarded for finds, retrieves, obedience, style and field coverage. This year we had wind and rain which made scenting a challenge for the talented dogs, but owner Tom Smith and his French Brittany Spaniel, Ruby, took first place.
There’s no mistake that these Brays Island hunting dogs are full of talent. Owners have access to an on-site resource for dog training – hall of famer, Scott Miller. Scott is what we call a field training legend with more than 90 National Bird Hunters Association (NBHA) championships and more than a thousand placements in field trials. While many dogs are hunting-trained before calling Brays home, Scott is here to train not only the canines, but owners, too. Many of this year’s competitors were in fact trained by Scott and show their talents each time they are out in the field.
Dogs are considered royalty at Brays and with that, we always include them in events when we can. The trials put their field skills to the test and winners of each competition receive a commemorative plaque that they can don in their Brays Island home for years to come.