Marty Gordon
NRVsports@ourvalley.org
Lea Wall and Jeff Bandel have three competitive retrievers, Buster, Wyatt and Charlie. Wyatt, 10, is the oldest.
Wyatt, a 10-year-old golden retriever, is a normal dog with some special talents. He loves to roam the farm and swim across the family pond. Both are part of his skills as a member of the Golden Retriever Club of America (GRCA) Field Trial Hall of Fame.
Wyatt and his brother, Buster (another six-year-old chocolate Labrador), have also acquired their Amateur Field Trial Champion (AFC) titles. Both dogs have qualified for multiple National Amateur Field Trial Championships, which only the best dogs in the country qualify.
The third family member, Charlie (a four-year-old chocolate Labrador), compete almost every weekend at events around the country. Lea Wall and Jeff Bandel of Radford own the trio.
A field trial has hunting dogs compete against each other in several categories—retrievers, pointing dogs and flushing dogs. The sport dates to the late 20s and early 30s when a group of avid hunters devised a sport to evaluate the performance of hunting dogs.
According to information from the American Kennel Club, field trials measure how well the dogs can at longer distances.
The AKC website says that judges look at a dog’s natural abilities such as marking a fall, memory, intelligence, attention, style, courage and perseverance. They will also examine the dog’s proficiency in learned abilities like steadiness, control, response to direction and delivery of the bird. The handler and dog must work together to have a successful outcome.
The pinnacle accomplishment for any dog running in field trials is to earn a Field Champion (FC) title designation or an Amateur Field Champion (AFC) designation — or for some, it might be both.
The group says over 250 retriever field trials are held every year with thousands of competitors involved.
Wall said her dogs compete in an average of 10 events every year with the ultimate goal of winning the National Amateur Field Trial Championship.
The couple began doing field trials in 2005, because they love spending time with their dogs and hunting in the fall.
“Field trials are year around, which gives you more quality time with your dogs in the field and you can compete with them,” Wall said.
Their training is both fun and stringent, maintaining the dogs’ good attitude and momentum while sharpening their blind running skills.
The Radford couple and their dogs will compete at this weekend’s Tar Heel Retriever Club Field Trail in Bland. Events begin Friday and continue through Sunday.