Brittany Champions          
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Origins of the Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame

In 1954, many years of thought and discussion with some of the best field trial people culminated with Bill Brown, editor of the American Field, publishing the first description of the Field trial Hall of Fame (FTHF).  Its intent was to recognize those dogs and people who had made significant contribution to the sport of field trialing.  Bill Brown envisioned that some day there would be a building to hold pictures of these people and dogs as well as various field trial and dog memorabilia.  He also envisioned that this facility would honor the field trial greats of all sporting breeds.  With the addition of Gary Lockee, these thoughts and ideas have resulted in the facilities plus the organizations that we see in Grand Junction today.

In 1965, the ABC inaugurated the ABC Hall of Fame and it was only for dogs. (A separate entity to recognize people who had made contributions to the Brittany and the ABC has existed ever since the ABC was started.)  However the ABC had the concern that the Brittany breed would split into a show breed and a separate field trial breed.  Consequently the ideal Brittany has come to be one that is an AKC show championship and an AKC field trial championship i.e., a Dual Champion.  Today, candidates for the ABC Hall of Fame must demonstrate that they are 'dual dogs'.

 In 1997, the Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame (BFTHF) was started with the primary purpose to recognize people and dogs for their contributions to the sport of field trialing.  Its secondary purpose was to provide the opportunity to display pictures of worthy Brittanys and Brittany people in the BFTHF in Grand Junction alongside all the other famous field trial dogs and people of all the sporting breeds.  These pictures and memorabilia need a permanent home otherwise they will get lost.  For example, there are few pictures of Kaer as well as few of Bean's Blaze.  The BFTHF rules are based on those that bill Brown originated.  (Please note, candidacy is based on a dogs contribution to the sport of field trialing and any show attributes, etc., are not relevant.)  The BFTHF is independent of the ABC and the American Field.

"A 'Field Trial Hall of Fame' was a pet idea of this author's (i.e., Bill Brown) for many years.  Baseball's 'Hall of Fame' at Cooperstown, New York sparked an intense interest in the establishment of a somewhat similar setup for bird dog trials - something extra special, an institution conducted on the very highest plane, for in field trials there is never any compromise with quality, the aim is always to improve, to lift, to elevate standards not only in the way of actual field performance, but in all phases of the sport."  Field Trials - Bill Brown  1987