A history of field trialling

Modern breeds are either champion in field trials or on the show bench. But that hasn’t always been the case

- Jeremy Hobson

In the days of walked-up game shooting with muzzle-loaders, pointers and setters were the nation’s favourite gundogs. In his A History of English Country Sports (Robert Hale Ltd, 1994), Michael Billett says: “The pointers were especially noted for their obedience and good nature, the setters equally so for their intelligence and stamina.”

As the breechloading shotgun developed, so did the popularity of driven shooting and the author observes: “Springer and cocker spaniels played the dual role of flushing game and retrieving… The specialist retrievers… later came into their own for bringing back wounded and dead game birds.”

With pointers and setters being long on the scene as far as game shooting is concerned, it’s perhaps appropriate that working field trials for those particular breeds were among the first to start. The inaugural event for pointers was held in 1865 at Southill, Bedfordshire.

G. S. Lowe, in his The New Book of the Dog (1907), says “…the pointers were divided into large and small sizes, the former including Mr. W. R. Brockton’s ‘Bounce’… and the latter, Mr. J. H. Whitehouse’s ‘Hamlet’. In a maximum of 40 [points] for nose, ‘Bounce’ and ‘Hamlet’ were accredited full marks, ‘Bounce’ taking the highest compliment too in pace and range and for temperament. He was therefore estimated by the judges… to have been absolutely perfect…” According to Lowe: “Brockton’s ‘Bounce’ was a magnificent dog, a winner on the show bench and of the first field trial in England.”