Events
AKC retriever field trials
A practical demonstration of the work retrievers were bred to do — and here, the dogs are competing against each other.
Retriever field trials offer practical demonstrations of a dog’s ability to perform, in the field, the functions for which it was bred. Dogs compete against each other for placements and for points toward their championships.
Successful dogs earn an FC (Field Champion) title in front of their names on AKC records. Dogs can also earn an AFC (Amateur Field Champion) title in the Amateur stakes.
Retrievers are tested on their ability to remember — to “mark” — the location of downed birds and to return those birds to their handlers. Both hunting tests and field trials have different levels of difficulty, with the higher levels requiring dogs to mark multiple birds and to find unmarked birds, known as blind retrieves.
From the grounds
From past trial weekends
From the club archive. We run two trials a year on back-to-back weekends at Chena Lakes, and members travel to trials across the state.
Eligible breeds
Chesapeake Bay, Curly-Coated, Flat-Coated, Golden and Labrador Retrievers, and Irish Water Spaniels.
Local trials
The Fairbanks Retriever Club hosts two field trials each year, held on back-to-back weekends at the Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project. Information on current and past trials, and entries, go through Entry Express.
Training restrictions during trial weekends
No training is allowed on the grounds after 8:00 am on Thursdays, through the conclusion of the Amateur All-Age stake on Sundays.
Honor roll
Title winners
Members and their dogs and the places they earned. These are from the archive — send us your recent ones.