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LETTERS & ME= MOS RECEIVED FROM MARIO S. PALUMBO

 

on

 

PROPOSAL OF PHAS= ING OUT BRACE BEAGLE FIELD TRIALS

 

Listed below is a se= ries of memos, letters, and fax messages that Mario S. Palumbo has received on the subject of a Mr. Marshall “Pete” Simonds, Chairman of the AKC F= ield Trial Clubs Committee in his quest to phase out Brace Beagle Field Trials on September 1, 2010.

 

November 11, 2006=  

 

We received a fax fr= om ABBA member Richard Baumann.  He se= nt us a memo from Marshall “Pete” Simonds, Chairman of the AKC Field Trial Clubs Committee, to Delegates of the FTC, dated September 6, 2006.  Mr. Simonds proposes phasing out B= race Beagle Field Trials effective September 1, 2010.  Mr. Simonds owns Labrador Retrieve= rs.

 

Mario S. Palumbo att= ended the FTC Committee meeting on September 11, 2006 as a Delegate of New England Beagle Club.  Mario responded = with a memo to the FTC Committee dated October 16, 2006.  His memo was also sent to the AKC = Board of Governors.

 

We are posting this correspondence to our website in hopes that all Brace Beaglers will read it= and discuss ASAP with their fellow members and with AKC.

 

Russ Arend has draft= ed a letter to Mr. Speck at the AKC on behalf of ABBA and all brace beagl= ers.

 

 

November 7, 2006

 

Dear Mr. Richard Bau= mann

 

Attached is a copy o= f a letter from the Chairman of the AKC Field Trial Clubs Committee sent to the members of that committee, and my reply, which I am also mailing to AKC Boa= rd of Governors.

 

I believe the Federa= tions should be made aware of what is happening at the AKC in regards to brace beagling.  I would suggest tha= t a copy be sent to the Associations so that they can disperse the info to their clubs, and the beaglers will be aware of what is happening at the American Kennel Club.

 

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          Sincerely,

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          Mario S. Palumbo

 

Copies to:

Regina Clay-Eastern Fed., Eddie Canter-International = Fed., Mary Propst-Northeastern Fed., James Garard-Midwewtern Fed., Shirley J. Smith-Mid-Dixie Fed., Ron Burrnett-Southern Fed., Richard Baumann-Heartland Fed.

 

 

(Date on Fax is September 6, 2006)

 

To:       Delegates FTC Committee=

From:  Pete Simonds

 

Beagle Field Events= &#= 8211; Some thoughts for committee discussion

 

Background  

 

For the past six mon= ths this Committee has been examining some questions about the nature of beagle performance events, in particular the so-called Brace “trials.”  The particular issue presented is whether the Brace trials, as licensed by the = AKC, properly test the sporting function of the beagle.  This breed was developed to track = and run game, primarily rabbits, alone or in packs.  There are a variety of performance events for beagles which test and demonstrate the abilities of the beagles = to track and run rabbits.  One be= agle event, the so called Brace trial, takes a quite different approach.  A brace trial tests the ability of= the competing beagles to track precisely – step by step – trail lef= t by a rabbit.  Following the exact= track is the sole focus and basis for the judgment of this event.  The competing beagles perform at a= walk – often a slow walk.  Ru= nning game simply doesn’t happen and the competing beagles do not signal excitement or intensity by their actions; the handler of the brace beagle proceeds at a walk, often a slow walk; in short the brace beagle’s performance bears no relationship to the beagles bred to track and run game.  Indeed breeding to enco= urage slow, deliberate and meticulous tracking of game has now progressed to the point where the beagle who competes in Brace trials has for all intents and purposes forgotten how to run game.

 

These circumstances = raise the question of whether it is appropriate and in the best interest of our p= ure bred dogs for the AKC to license and support Brace beagle trials which test= and reward performance inconsistent with the performance for which the beagle w= as developed?  Why, in a word, sh= ould the AKC award field championship to beagles that will not –indeed can= not – run game?

 

It would seem that t= his kind of issue is properly the business of this Committee.  At least part of our mandate is to encourage and improve the AKC performance events with the goal of strengthe= ning the commitment of the sporting breeds to the performance skills for which t= hey were bred.  If I’m corre= ct it would seem appropriate to recommend some corrective action to deal with the issue.

 

Recognizing that man= y long time beaglers have been involved with Brace beagle trials for many years and remain involved today, it seems only appropriate to approach a change in the current practice with a reasonable time table.  This Committee might consider a ch= ange in practice to take place at a reasonable future date, for example we might urge the AKC Board – with the support of the performance department to announce that effective 9/1/2010 the AKC will terminate its practice of licensing Brace trials.  As of= that date the AKC would no longer grant the prefix title of field champion to the beagle who succeeded in posting a winning record in Brace trials.  Previously granted field champions= hips for brace trials would continue to be preserved. 

 

Any club could conti= nue to run Brace trials but only some appropriate suffix recognition would be gran= ted to the successful competitor.

 

A second concern tha= t has been discussed is the number of licensed beagle clubs who do not have AKC approved bylaws, who do not accept any new members, and who, in at least so= me instances own their own training and trial grounds, frequently fully fenced= .  These clubs are often older clubs controlled by beaglers who are devoted to brace trials.  The policy of refusing membership = to younger beaglers seems to violate AKC standards for club bylaws and has the practical effect of shutting off access to training grounds for beaglers who are not admitted to membership.  While details are still unclear, it appears that at least some of these clubs are resisting the admission of new members in order to preserve the value of the club owned training grounds for existing members.  There appears to be a serious ques= tion as to whether such grounds can be sold or transferred for the benefit of existing members, rather than maintained by the club for continued use by n= ew members under an open membership policy.&n= bsp;

 

The committee is con= cerned by the AKC should enforce its standing policies regarding member or licensed club bylaws and policies for the admission of new members, and is further c= oncerned that club training grounds should be preserved for continuing future use ra= ther than disposed of to the profit of existing members.  Appropriate AKC action to secure t= hese objectives would be desirable.

 

           

October 16, 2006

 

To:       Delegates of the FTC Committ= ee

From:  Mario S. Palumbo, Delegate of New England Beagle Club=

 

On September 11, 200= 6 I attended the Field Trial Clubs Committee meeting, arriving a little late an= d in the middle of a discussion on Beagling, specifically Brace Beagling.

 

First, I would like = to address the proposed amendment to Article Vl, Section 5 of the AKC Charter = and Bylaws as recorded in the minutes.  The amendment was proposed by the Board of Directors.  The amendment would prohibit those delegates with significant interest in as organization that is in competiti= on with AKC from becoming or remaining part of the AKC governing body.  This proposal was passed by the delegates in attendance, and rightly so, because of the conflict of interest between AKC and other registries and would not be in the best interest of t= he American Kennel Club.  I belie= ve the same thought applies to Beagle Clubs.  Ninety five percent of the beagle clubs were established as Brace Cl= ubs and I believe we have the right to accept the type of beagler that has the = same interest as the club regarding performance of the hounds.  When a different concept is propos= ed, there is conflict within the organization.=   Since the American Kennel Club can see the problem, then I’m s= ure they are capable of understanding our problem.  Having said that, I belong to four Beagle Clubs in three states, and every one of these clubs has taken in mem= bers that run a different type of hound.  I must say that three of these clubs have been taken over by the movement and pushed the Brace beaglers aside.

 

The matter of beagle= clubs dissolving their clubs and dispersing the money among the members:

 

I was one of the peo= ple many years ago that got together and wanted to organize a beagle club.  The first thing we did was purchas= e an old farm with our money.  We t= hen contacted the AKC to get permission to run license trials.  They in turn sent out applications= that we filed with them.  We had to= run two sanction trials before we were approved to hold a license trial.  The only concern we had, was that = we follow all rules pertaining to running a license trial as prescribed by the AKC.  We were not interested as a club i= n the operation of the American Kennel Club, so we never, at the read the Charter= and Bylaws of the American Kennel Club.

 

Our performance even= ts are such that we had to purchase large parcel of land, build club houses, kenne= ls, provide water, kitchen, fence in large acreage to control the rabbit popula= tion.  The beaglers then maintain the gro= unds by mowing strips, and keeping the brush growth at the right level and brush piles for the rabbit habitat.  We also have feeding stations to maintain a good supply of game.  We pay taxes on our property, and = are registered with the Secretary of the State.  I have a difficult time understanding how another entity can dictate what a beagle club can do with the property when the AKC has not invested any fina= nces of the purchase or maintenance of the property. 

 

Brace Beagling Field= Trials were conceived in the late eighteen hundreds and it was a test to obtain the best for hunting.  At the time= in the northeast there were large farms and open land, and hunting was a way of putting meat on the table.  Ti= mes have changed, especially in the northeast, where property is no longer available.  People that own be= agles don’s have the luxury of purchasing rabbits for stocking and then spe= nd the day hunting these creatures. 

 

In Conn., the State stocks birds during t= he hunting season and the folks with bird dog and retrievers get the benefit of the license fees.

 

The American Kennel = Club put together, a few years ago, a test for gun dogs for hunting purposes.  It was tried at a couple of clubs,= the gun dog people didn’t care for the concept so it was shelved.  I would like to see it tried again= as the rest of the performance events are not really an evaluation of a good hunting dog.

 

Brace Beagling is in= terested in quality, accuracy, patience, and the ability to stay on the scent line a= nd not get distracted.  Speed has= no function when pursuing game if the end result does not get accomplished.  Its been a few years since I have = hunted snowshoe hare and cottontail rabbits with my hounds, but in the past I have been successful with the type of hounds I also competed with in brace trial= s.

 

In the Beagle Adviso= ry Committee Minutes they have the following information for the year 2005:

 

Brace trials held 30= 6 trials with a total of 21820 entries.  Small Pack /same as brace/ trials held 34 trials with total entries = of 1621.  Giving a total of 340 b= race trials with a total entry for the year of 23441.

 

Gun dog brace held 5= 8 trials with a total 7801.  Small Pack Option trials held 222 trials with a total entry of 22882.  The total for all these events was= 54124 entries, in 584 license and member trials awarding championship points.  A total of 517 beagles earned Field Championship titles in 2005.  = The numbers would indicate that very few have the qualification to earn the tit= le of Field Champion no matter what type of event the hound participates in.

 

I did not include th= e 66 trials and 6172 entries that participate Large Pack Option trials because t= hey are not involved in the discussion of the other beagle performance events.<= o:p>

 

The AKC is concerned= about the drop in registration and revenue, and it’s because of the differe= nt registries that are competing with the AKC.  Attached is a copy of an advertise= ment that was placed in Hounds and Hunting in the October issue, which indicates that the beaglers are becoming disenchanted with the AKC interfering into t= heir private property business and the judgment of their hounds, specifically br= ace trials.  The Beagle Advisory Committee  has the authority t= o make changes in our running rules and the types of hounds that are awarded championship titles, with the approval of the Board of Directors, voted on = by the Delegates.

 

Finally, since IR= 17;m paying for the feed, paying taxes on my kennel, the Vet bills, entry fees, traveling expenses and so on, I should be able to compete with the type of hound I prefer, and am happy with.  The reason I compete with beagles is I love the hounds for what they= are capable of accomplishing.  Als= o for the exercise, camaraderie, a form of relaxation, competition, and for the f= un of it.

 

Thank your for takin= g time to read this.

 

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          Mario S. Palumbo

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          PO Box 11

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          Tolland, CT   06084

            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =             &nb= sp;            =          860-872-0074