Bird Hunters United sanctioned field trial to be held in Higginsville, Mo. on Saturday, February 4, 2012Calling all bird dogs and their owners! Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever will be hosting the National Bird Dog Classic for Habitat on Saturday, February 4 at K & L Kennels in Higginsville, Missouri. The goal of this trial is to raise awareness for National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic, taking place this February 17, 18 & 19, 2012 in Kansas City, and to raise funds for Pheasants Forever’s wildlife habitat mission.
“We are very excited for this event to be taking place in concurrence with National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic,” says Ed Holland, Pheasants Forever & Quail Forever National Board Member and event organizer, “Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever do more for upland conservation than any other organization, and I am thrilled to lead an event that combines my love of bird dogs with the organization’s habitat efforts.” Proceeds from the National Bird Dog Classic for Habitat will be donated to Pheasants Forever in an effort to improve wildlife habitat and carry on the nation’s upland hunting tradition.
The Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever National Bird Dog Classic for Habitat is a Bird Hunters United sanctioned event, and will include Open Pointing, Open Flushing, Doubles, Hunter, and Youth divisions. Each dog and their handler will have a chance to test their skills in the Bird Hunters United trialing format; a timed course in which a 3 bird set, consisting of quail, are placed prior to the competitors entering the field. Once released, the dog and its handler compete against the other competitors’ times. Trials will begin promptly at 8am and last until 5pm.
Winners of the Youth, Hunter, Open Pointing and Open Flushing divisions will win a new shotgun and dinner admission to the National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic Banquet taking place Friday, February 17, where the shotguns and trophies will be presented in front of a crowd of guests. Winners of the Doubles division will win admission to attend the banquet as well as other exceptional prizes.
The event is expected to draw over 140 participants. Entry fee is $125 for the Open and Hunter division, $150 for Doubles, and $75 for Youth. The entry fee will include one three-bird run, one Quail Forever Annual Membership, a weekend pass to National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic in Kansas City on February 17, 18, & 19, 2012, along with one banquet ticket for the Friday night awards banquet. Registration applications are available online here.
Also involved are the Warrensburg Missouri Boy Scouts, whom will be selling lunches to the public for six dollars in an effort to raise funds for their troop. Volunteers will also receive a weekend pass to National Pheasant Fest & Quail Classic, plus lunch provided by the Boy Scouts.
If you would like to volunteer, there will be a meeting held in the Kansas City area at 6pm on Thursday, January 12, 2012. Visit K&L Kennels for directions to the trialing grounds. For more information regarding sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jordan Martincich, Pheasants Forever's Eastern Kansas Regional Representative, at (785) 242-3175 / Email Jordan. For information regarding event details, please contact Elsa Gallagher, Quail Forever's Regional Wildlife Biologist for Missouri, at (573) 680-7115 / Email Elsa.
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation's largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 130,000 members and 700 local chapters across the United States and Canada. Chapters are empowered to determine how 100 percent of their locally raised conservation funds are spent - the only national conservation organization that operates through this truly grassroots structure.
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Quail Forever is dedicated to the conservation of quail, pheasants and other wildlife through habitat improvements, public awareness, education and land management policies and programs.
