Photos by BACHMAN BAY PHOTOGRAPHY

The Bachman Bay Kennels team poses with Big B after his Derby Classic win.

A pointing dog field trial is a competitive event that measures how well bird dogs can find game. Dogs are judged relative to one another, resulting in placements. These are traditional events that often emulate the origins of the sport (dating back to the late 1800s in Great Britain), running dogs off horseback in fine style.

In this competition, two dogs are run simultaneously in a brace, and they are judged on search, pointing, handling, and how well they cover the land in front of the handler. Each handler has a scout who can go out and find the dog on point or if it goes off course. Two judges and an entire gallery of interested spectators follow behind them.

Dogs can be entered in several different divisions — including puppy, derby, futurity, amateur, and open events. Each division has different standards, and the top-four placements are recognized in each division.

The 2022 German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America (GWPCA) AKC National Field Trial was held at the Prairie Wind Ranch in Payette, Idaho September
21-26. These grounds are classic chukar and Hungarian partridge hills with steep/grassy slopes, lava rock rims, and occasional sagebrush patches. This location is home to one of the most challenging horseback field trial grounds. Held every fall, the national trial has rotated across the country to different locations since 1963.

Dominic Bachman and his father, Val Bachman, got their first German Wirehaired Pointer in 1992 from Boise, Idaho. They loved the breed so much that they purchased a few more and founded Bachman Bay Kennels in 1996 to start breeding wirehairs as hunting dogs. Wirehairs are considered versatile dogs that are bred to hunt and point upland game, retrieve waterfowl, and track furbearing animals.

In Harney County, these dogs are used for waterfowl and upland game hunting — such as chukar, quail, and pheasants.

Dominic and Jill Bachman now live and work in Harney County where they breed, train, and hunt with their string of wirehairs. They recently entered and competed with some of their young dogs in the GWPCA National Field Trial and brought home several wins.

The first event was the Derby Classic, which includes dogs under two years old. One of the Bachmans’ promising young males — Big B (registered name: Canyon Creek Big Bruneau) — won first place to become the 2022 National Derby Classic Champion. Another young male that the Bachmans co-own took fourth place. The fourth-place win was exciting because the co-owner — Vivienne Edminster of Liberty Lake, Wash. — is only 11 years old and handled the dog, Ichabod, herself.

The Bachmans also entered the futurity event. This is a competition between the top wirehair breeders who must pick their best litter each year. To be eligible, the litter must be nominated when the puppies are born. When they are around 2 years old, the nominated dogs compete in a derby-style field trial with a retrieving callback. The goal is to promote the breeding of better bird dogs and recognize those breeders. In this case, a Calcutta-style fundraiser is also established, and each dog’s potential win is auctioned. If you pick the winning dog, you get half the pot of money.

“It’s a lot of fun and makes some money for the club,” Dominic said.

Dominic ran two dogs, and the one he successfully bid on — his young female named Carp — won first place, becoming the 2022 national futurity champion. Bachman’s male, Big B, also took third place.

The final event entered was the Puppy Classic. Vivienne took first place in the event with Ichabod (registered name: Bachman Bay Nirvana) who is the 2022 Puppy Classic champion. This was a huge national win, and the dog was handled by a junior handler.

The Bachmans also took third place with their dog, Notus, and fourth place with Moose, who is co-owned by Mandy Gilmore of Princeton.

The Bachmans said they were excited to see so many dogs that were born, bred, or trained in Harney County do well in a national competition.

Dominic added that he couldn’t be happier with his dog, Carp, who won the futurity contest.

He said, “Carp saved up the best run of her life for the nationals and really showcased what our breeding program is working toward.”

Carp’s registered name is Bachman Bay Vom Top Shelf’s Malheur, after the lake where Bachman works to eradicate invasive carp to create better bird habitat in Harney County.

The Bachmans attribute some of their success to the hard work of their apprentice trainer and kennel helper, Tresa Baker, a young Harney County native. For the last couple years, Tresa has been assisting them with dog training, kennel chores, feeding birds, and raising puppies.

The Bachmans also noted that they absolutely could not have done this without the help of Jump Creek Kennels in Harper. They said the owners, Derek and Shannon Olsen, are top-notch horse and bird dog trainers who helped so much in their journey to the national field trial.

If you are interested in field trials, several AKC events are held in Madras and near Boise, Idaho every year. This includes “walking trials” that don’t require a horse.

“Come check one out,” Dominic said. “They can be a lot of fun!”