Gun Dog Forum

I went to an NSTRA trial in Bellfield, ND yesterday just to check it out and maybe meet some like minded individuals. I had no idea what to expect, if it would be like a carnival with funnel cakes vendors or two dudes sitting on a tailgate. It was AWESOME!!! I rolled up and told some people who looked official why I was there and they couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful. I was immediately lent some orange and loaded into a side-by-side with a judge who did a great job of explaining what was going on. So freaking cool seeing dogs of that caliber do their thing. I shadowed a handler later which was equally fun.

I ended up staying the whole day visiting with folks from the area I work as well as some Montana folks from where I live. I saw some really impressive dogs. As far as I understood it a guy from Williston took first and second by a pretty good margin. Talked to him about the dog club in town that I’m excited to check out this summer. Saw several dogs that are relatives of mine. Picked some peoples brains. At the end of the day I ran my dog to see if we could mop up any birds. Didn’t find any but that’s alright.

I’ll definitely be back. It was a blast!


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I've been wanting to check one of these out but haven't found/made the time yet. Seems they definitely treated you well.

Rat Dog -

BE CAREFUL!! Field trials, test, whatever are INFECTIOUS! The good news is that the desire to participate will drive you to work with your dog far more than you would otherwise. The bad news is that they become as much fun as hunting and there are only so many weekends to one or the other.

You are right on about not being able to see so many different dogs do so much nice work in a single day, except at events like these.

RayG

I loved trials for all the reasons Ray mentioned. Made some great friends, won some trials, and saw some amazing dog work. Miss it big time.

Glad I was able to steer you to that trial and so happy you had a great time. In the future you can check the NSTRA web site for trials in both the Big Sky Region and the Mid-North Region. That's probably the last trial for this year in either region, they will start up again in the spring.