The Coldwater Nationals is a fox dog field trial designed to introduce more young people to hunting and conservation by providing safe, educational, mentored youth hunts. The youth accompanied by a parent or guardian can learn outdoor skills from a mentor during organized hunts. We hold our annual fox dog field trial event at the Coldwater Creek Recreation Area. What is a Fox Dog Field Trial? It is a 3-day hunt for 5 hours each day, where dogs are cast into the field to pursue game animals and their skills are assessed by judges. There are two classes of dogs in most field trials: Derby Dogs and All Age Dogs. Derby Dogs are 2 years old and younger while, All Age Dogs are over two years of age. Derby Dogs and All Age Dogs run together but are scored separately. Hunters and their dogs are issued numbers to help with identifying dogs in the field. The judges score each dog in the field on four categories of skills: Hunting, Trailing, Speed /Drive, and Endurance. Hunting is a dog looking for the scent of the game they are pursuing. Trailing is a dog barking on a scent trail. Speed/Drive is scored by where the dog is at within the pack running the game. Based on these scores, Endurance is given in the judge’s room after the hunt for each day on how the dog progresses each day. For the Derby Dogs, after two days, the scores are added up and averaged out to determine which dogs are the top 10 dogs of the class. The first-place Derby Dog is the winner for that class and your National Derby Field Champion. By the third day, the final scores are calculated for the All Age Dogs. The first-place All Age Dog is the winner of the hunt and is a National Field All Age Champion. The 2nd thru 10th place winners of the All Age Dogs are recognized and given awards and points for the overall Nationals Association. At the end of the year, The Nationals association recognizes the top 20 dogs in the country.
