Bits of Advice for New Trialers By Tom Ward

[bigsugar]

This appeared in the Jan 7th Issue of the Field. For those of you who don't get trialing or who are interested in trialing that currently don't trial read on....


What advice would you give a newcomer to field trials if you wanted to help him or her succeed in and enjoy our sport a longtime? You could spend days thinking about that question without running out of kernels of wisdom. But here are a few that came to me in one early morning of incomnia.

1. Don't take youself or your competitors too seriously. This advice is counter intuitive and contradictory. Remember, I said "succeed in and enjoy." Those who succeed greatly often take themselves (and competition) quite seriously, and in the process make themselbes (and us) miserable. We can all name examples of deadly serious successful competitors whose after-decision antics can be counted on to ruin the mood of any trial they don't win.

2. Remember, like fishing and bird hunting, it's a game of averages. "You're going to win some you didn't think you'd won, and lose some you thought for sure that you'd won--if you let it bother you, it will drive you crazy," said a pro who enjoys the game and his job. Insightful wisdom.

3. Be aware of the eternal lies, and expect them. If being lied to bothers you, field trials will disappoint you. The biggest disappointment will come when a fellow judge you trust tells you a fib about what happened with a dog he's following out of your presence, You find out about the fib from a disinterested, truthful observer who was there. But remember the fib may be unintentional--the judges may simply have missed the dog's misconduct. See point No. 1.

4. Don't hang on too long to your losers. Many are called, few are chosen. You'll go through a lot of prospects to find a real trial dog. Don't be kennel blind is another version of the same advice. Of course, all men (and some women) are kennel blind to some degree, just as we can't (or won't) see clearly the faults in our descendents.

5. Bite your tongue when a judgment doesn't suit you. See point No. 1.

6. "If they ask you to judge and it's too far to take your horses, maybe you shouldn't go." This kernel is attributed to Mr. George Moreland. Another version might be, "If they're supplying your mounts, expect and be prepared for anything." If you're young and a good rider, you can sometimes survive. If not, look out.

7. Remember the 10% rule. Ten percent of the performances you see will be worthy jobs. The rest will not. We ride to see the 10%. That 10% makes riding the rest worth it. And back to point No. 1, remember the 90-10 rule applies to your own entries too. Remember point No. 4.

8. Go prepared to laugh, especially at yourself. If you want to enjoy field trials, you must have a sense of humor. It won't help you win, but it will let you tolerate your inevitable losses. Losses you're sure you don't deserve, but perhaps you do. See points No. 1 and No. 2.

9. Don't expect perfection. All dogs and all men (and some women) are less then perfect. especially in all-age endurance stakes, a dog doing a great job may have a bobble, Be slow to throw the dog out for that bobble unless you're sure it's an unforgivable infraction. If you're handling, don't be too quick to pick up; the judge may not have seen what you saw. if he wants you to pick up for a booboo, he'll tell you.

10. If your dog is clearly not getting the job done, pick up. This will endear you to judges and reduce your hours of inevitable misery.


By Tom Word

[Sharon]

Good stuff.

What helped me was an old timer telling me that " just because your dog did very well in derby, doesn't mean he'll be getting shooting dog placements , Year 1. " Remembering this kept me from getting discouraged. The jump from Derby to Shooting Dog is a huge one, in MANY ways.

[Birddog3412]

Good article. I read it the other day.