Event: John Abbott Youth Field Trial
Result: Pinewoods Bird Dog Club

Location: Quitman, Georgia

Post Date: May 14, 2024

Submitted By: Maria Basham

2024 Pinewoods Bird Dog Club John Abbott Youth Trial Horseback Stake Winners (r-l): Foshalee Lou with Wyatt Rehburg, Lady with Kaidence Cumbie, Rose with Harper King, and Foshalee Jess with McKenzie White. (Behind): Bubba White, Matt King, Michael Hill (judge), Riley Cumbie, Roger King, Chris Rehburg, and Parker Weeks (judge).

The Pinewoods Bird Dog Club held the 1st John Abbott Youth Field Trial at the glorious Pinion Point Plantation in Quitman, Georgia, on March 17. Thirteen kids were braced together for the horseback portion of the trial and were eager to compete on that beautiful St. Patrick's Day. Of the 15 dogs entered to run, we had eight females and seven males, all Pointers. Eight horseback braces were scheduled that day, concluding the stake with a bye-dog named "May." The walking stake immediately followed with a large gallery still spectating from our saddles. It was a new and exciting experience for most of us there.

We want to thank our horseback judges, Michael Hill and Parker Weeks of Thomasville, Georgia, for watching these young handlers and their canine athletes. It is not easy to place the winners, especially when all the dogs hunt with style and class. Former co-workers of Pinion Point, J. W. Williams Jr., and Chip Jenkins, were marshaling the event. The course directors were J. W. Williams Sr. and Bernard Parker, both of Four Oaks Plantation. Bernard, along with his wife Erica, also cooked a delicious lunch for everyone to enjoy under the shade of the picturesque lakeside oak trees. Beautiful trophies were presented to the top three winners, as well as an honorable mention. The Youth Field Trial Alliance paid for the entries for all the kids, provided rosettes for the winners, gave ribbons to all the participants, and gifted all the judges Strideaway-published books. Thank you to Greg Blair and Purina for providing dog food, lanyards, and hats to all the participants. Youth Field Trial Alliance's Chris Mathan photographed the day and sent winners' prints to the top three winners, the honorable mention winner of the horseback stake, and the three winners of the walking stake. A large 10x20 print of the gallery, the youth handlers, their dogs, the judges, and the Four Oaks crew was given as a gift to Pinion Point/Four Oaks Plantation for hosting this wonderful trial. Jeff Arnold also received an enlarged print to hang at Pinewoods Plantation as a huge thank you for the time and effort he put into organizing this special event. It was thrilling to watch Jeff's vision of hosting youth trials come to life this year, with this being his second youth trial of the season. It took a couple of years of planning and the support of so many to see this dream of his come to fruition. We are all so proud of him and happy for the kids who learn and thrive in the sport because of mentors like Jeff. Thank you to Dixie Trace Field Trial Club for starting his dream of the Pinewoods Bird Dog Club and to Youth Field Trial Alliance for guiding him along this journey.

The first brace of the morning was "Stan," handled by Sawyer King, and "Joey," handled by Grant McCall. The pair of Pointers started the youth trial off strong. Both stopped to point, with Joey honoring Stan. Stan held steady to wing and shot. They stopped again with separate points, but both continued their hunt. One last divided find for the two resulted in birds up for both canines! Grant, along with the help of his field trial grandfather, John Milton, shot his pistol excitedly in the air.

In the second brace was Four Oaks Bill, handled by first-time youth field trialer Emaria Parker, and Foshalee Jess, handled by honorable mention winner McKenzie White, also new to the sport. Both dogs handled well for the girls and stopped to point with Bill out front. Emaria flushed with the help of her dad, Bernard Parker, and birds took flight. Jess then had a find with nice covey up, and Bill stopped to honor. Both dogs continued their time on the ground, with Jess stopping with a last classy point, but she moved on until time was called.

Coming out of the third brace was our second-place winner, "Lady," handled by Kaidence Cumbie, and our first-place winner, Foshalee Lou, handled by Wyatt Rehburg. It was an exciting brace with plenty of birdwork for both contenders. Lou had five clean, stylish finds, with one producing a very large covey rise. The dogs were well-braced, and Lady had four nice finds for her young handler. Of those four, two were a stop to flush, and one was a divided find. She also honored Lou on one of his finds. Both dogs impressed the judges with their classy hunting styles.

In the fourth brace was "Tom," handled by Skylar Riley, and "Patch," handled by Ellis McCall.
Tom had two impressive finds for Skylar, which made her second youth trial very exciting. Patch ran a good race for Ellis and his grandfather, John Milton, who, by his side, could not have been more proud.

The fifth brace was "Jake," handled by Harper Wiseman, and Pinewoods Sam, handled by Kira Jenkins. Jake ran a great race for Harper with one back, one point with birds getting up behind him, and a relocation right as time was called. Sam had one clean find for Kira in his 20 minutes on the ground.

In the sixth brace were "Ike," handled by Harper Wiseman, and "Rose," our third-place winner, handled by Harper King. The Harper vs. Harper brace started strong, with both dogs stopping to point with Rose out front. Rose had one more point with birds up and stopped to back Ike at one of his finds. Ike had two more finds, and birds also flushed when he stopped for a water break.

The seventh brace saw Pinewoods Bess, handled by Kira Jenkins, and "Eva," handled by Warren King. Bess had two nice finds for her handler. Eva pointed a nice find for first-timer Warren. His dad, Matt King, helped him shoot his pistol after the birds took flight.

The eighth and final brace of the horseback stake was a bye-dog, "May," handled by Griffin Long. May concluded the horseback stake with one steady find, two relocations that resulted in a flight of birds, and one stop to flush. It was an exciting way to bring the youth horseback stake to a close.

The Walking Stake
We were excited to have six kids compete in the walking stake. This was a first-time experience for all these kids to handle a bird dog. Our judges, who graciously gave of their time to watch the dogs and young handlers, were Chris Mathan of Pavo, Georgia, and Carli McFalls of Quitman, Georgia. Manager of Pinewoods Plantation and president of Pinewoods Bird Dog Club, Jeff Arnold, also walked along, giving tips and guiding the kids. Thank you to Bernard Parker of Four Oaks Plantation and Chip Jenkins for helping on foot. It was thrilling to watch the dogs work so close by and to see the excitement and encouragement of all the kids.

We had three braces immediately following the horseback stake. The first brace was Kayson Thompson with "Jag," our first-place winner, and Rolin Royce with "Peggy," who took home second place. Jag had three beautiful finds for his young handler in his 15 minutes on the ground. Peggy ran a clean race and placed second with two backs.

Our second brace was Matthew Holden with "Ike" and Mackenzie Bach with "Ben." Ike and Ben exchanged, honoring each other at the two finds they stopped for. They handled well and gave the first-timers some valuable knowledge about bird dogs.

Our third and final brace of the day was our third-place winner, Madison Vinzant with "Chase" and Jalon Stover with "Boyd." Chase had one classy find with birds up. Boyd had a nice race and stayed close to his young handler.

It was a great afternoon for these young kids; hopefully, it made a lasting impression. We hope to see them again at our next youth trial in the Fall.

2024 Pinewoods Bird Dog Club John Abbott Youth Trial Walking Stake Winners (r-l): Pinewoods Jag with Kayson Thompson, Pinewoods Peggy with Rolin Royce, and Four Oaks Chase with Madison Vincent. (Behind): Bernard Parker, Carli McFalls (judge), and Jeffrey Arnold. [Photos by Chris Mathan]