(This is part one of a two-part series. Part two can be reviewed here.)
The purpose of this opinion piece is to support the position that the Weimaraner Club of America (WCA)’s Futurity and Maturity Program is in dire need of an update in order to recognize, protect and nurture our breed’s future as a field trial dog. The intended audience is anyone who has an interest in the Field portion of the Program.
Decline. Field Futurity participation has been declining for over a decade. This is indicative of a larger problem; the sport of field trialing itself, is dwindling. Those breeders who once executed sophisticated and large-scale operations (a la Ferrel Miller), are long gone (deceased or retired) without many people coming up through the ranks in succession, severely cutting down the pool of field trial dogs. Real estate is expensive; what was once horse property is now graded subdivisions. Families who once upon a time would have had horse property and a handful of dogs now live in condos by the beach; volleyball is more attractive than field trialing.
The sport will never be what it once was. Change, however, is necessary to keep going what’s left of it.
The Field Futurity. The touchstone of field trialing lies with the Field Futurity, a program that seeks to identify the best of what’s coming down the pike in the field trial community. Ideally, the winner of a Field Futurity is highly sought-after and championed. There is money behind that dog to continue training and campaigning. The breeding community pays close attention because the genetics of the dog could be useful in their own breeding programs.
Scooby, for example, was whelped in 1998. Those who bred him, owned him, trained him, bred to him, and own get from him understand the impact he had on the Weimaraner breed. Fun fact: Scooby is the only Weimaraner to have won the Western Field Futurity, the Eastern Field Futurity, the Mid America Field Futurity, and the National Field Futurity. He later produced multiple Field Futurity winners. And then THOSE dogs went on to produce even more Field Futurity winners. Decades later, we still talk about him, and dogs like him, because of how they influenced the dogs we run today. And it was those Futurity wins that accurately predicted his success.
Scooby Doo’s Treeline Storm (FC AFC Stormcrow’s Deaugh Blitzen SH x Treeline’s Lyza Jayne), Owned by Chuck Cooper
Winner of the 2000 Western Field Futurity, Eastern Field Futurity, Mid-America Field Futurity, and National Field Futurity
Scooby’s son, Leatherneck’s Uncle Sam, won the Mid-America Futurity in 2008.
Another Scooby son, Erbenhof SNS Boogie Woogie Bo, won the National Field Futurity in 2008.
And Bo’s littermate sister, Erbenhof SNS Jezz E Bell, won the Mid-America Field Futurity AND the Eastern Field Futurity the same year (2008).
Continuing into the next generation, Bo’s son, Waybac’s Jewel Up Up and Away, won the National Field Futurity in 2012.
Five years later, Clark’s half brother, Touchstone n’ Barrett’s Autobot Smokescreen, won the Western Field Futurity in 2017. Turbo also placed in the National Field Futurity.
Another Bo son, Westweim’s Cut to the Chase Jase, won the Eastern Field Futurity the same year (2017).
Extinction. In absence of change, the Futurity program will become extinct, and for those of us who have spent decades and generations of intentionally breeding competitive field trial Weimaraners, this would be a shame and a tragedy. Should the Futurity cease to exist, so will the tradition and history that has gotten us this far.
Concerns with the current field portion of the Futurity Program
The Futurity Program lacks an advocate. The WCA has a position called the Futurity Administrator. Cindy does a fantastic job administrating this program, but she has no duty to advocate for, defend, or champion the history, purpose, and goals of the program. Further, the monthly Weimaraner Magazine has a page called the “Futurity Corner” that simply reminds those who are currently participating how to stay eligible. There’s also a blurb on upcoming Futurity and Maturity events, and recent litter nominations. The WCA is missing an opportunity every month to share with the membership what the Futurity is, the purpose and history behind it, or what it means to breed or own a winner. Instead of being upset with newer Futurity participants for not understanding the value of a pewter trophy, the WCA should be taking steps to ensure that those who wish to participate in the Futurity, understand it’s history and purpose. (All Barrett Weimaraner owners of Futurity-nominated and forfeit-paid puppies are provided with this article, so we can help spread the message of what the Futurity program is, to people who own our dogs.) Advocacy will help revive the Futurity program. The best person to be that advocate could be through the appointment of a Field Futurity Manager.
The WCA needs Futurity cheerleaders!
The Futurity performance standard doesn’t promote the field trial Weimaraner. The purpose of the Futurity is not only to identify the future potential of our breed, but also send a message to the field trial community at-large what we have coming up. Our placements need to accurately reflect the status of the future of our breed.
Placing dogs just because they pointed game even though they lacked application and intensity is just as egregious as withholding placements for dogs that did everything right, except point a bird due to unforeseen and unusually unfavorable conditions. For those in the know, the judges got it right in 2021, but not in 2022. It wasn’t their fault; they weren’t provided with any tools to do so.
Language in other breeds’ Field Futurity standards includes phrases like:
Judged for consistency and future potential as either an all age or gun dog… the winning dog must demonstrate intense desire to find game… show determination… show a consistent pattern… demonstrate class… it is at the judges’ discretion if a second series or callbacks are needed… placements should be awarded to the best dogs in the stake… a placement without bird work on the course is permissible.. the decisions of the judges shall be final…
In summary, every other pointing breed that has a Futurity program makes this nexus via specific language that defines the Futurity stake. (A comparison table of Pointing Breed Futurity Programs can be viewed here.) To be specific:
- The German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America (GSPCA) specifies that “the Futurity field event is a thirty minute stake judged for consistency and future potential as either an All Age or Gun Dog. Dogs must find and point birds on course. A blank cartridge is fired but steadiness to wing and shot is not required. The Futurity field event is not a retrieving stake.”
- The American Brittany Club (ABC) indicates that “braces should be 30 minutes, and it is at the judges’ discretion if a second series or callbacks are needed. Placements should be awarded to the “Best Dogs” in the stake. Finding birds on the course should be a primary objective, however as these field events are conducted under rules of the ABC Futurity, a placement without bird work on the course is permissible. The five minute out of judgment rule does not, and the judges are so advised. The decisions of the judges shall be final in all matters relating to the field trial performance of all the dogs.”
- The National German Shorthaired Pointer Association (NGSPA) stipulates that the winning dog must:
- Demonstrate intense desire to find game.
- Show determination, which is demonstrated by its application under adverse conditions, such as unusually heavy cover, unpleasant weather, bad footing, and terrain.
- Voluntarily run an aggressive forward course performing to its potential.
- Show a consistent pattern, intelligently hunting and adjusting to the terrain and cover.
- Hunt independently of its brace-mate and not show a tendency to seek easy footing.
- Demonstrate Class. The term “Class” in this instance has reference to the manner of the going of the dog as to speed, loftiness, gait, and general appearance, such as you would expect to find in a superlative bird dog.
- Handle game with intelligence, although not necessarily with complete manners. If game is encountered, he should point staunchly and with style, but not necessarily steady to wing and shot.
Unfortunately, the WCA Field Futurity performance standard states in one simple sentence:
Judges are to use the current AKC standard for judging a Derby stake as the basis for Field Futurity judging; however, each brace or bye will run for one half hour.
The WCA is the only club that defaults Futurity performance standards to the AKC Derby stake. All other clubs have their own breed-specific standards.
Page 10 of the 2022 NFT catalog states that the Futurity performance standard was adopted by the WCA Board of Directors in July 1983. Folks, if that’s true, that was 40 years ago, BEFORE we had pagers and Reagan was the POTUS. To be honest, this may have worked for a few decades because no one thought to challenge it, but as demonstrated after the running of the 2022 National Field Futurity stake (and there’s a write-up about that here), a clarification of the rules is long overdue.
Recent Field Futurity results do not reliably predict future success of a field trial Weimaraner. For funsies, here are some fun facts about the Field Futurity:
- 1956 – The Field Futurity debuted. It wasn’t until the 10th year, 1965, that the Winner went on to produce another winner 3 years later, in 1968. That line died.
- 1977 – The Weiner Schnitzel kennel name appears for the first time. This line is still going over 40 years later.
- 1981 – Outdoors Shallico wins the Field Futurity. The Outdoors kennel name would appear an additional 14 times in the registered names of Field Futurity Winners. The last was Outdoors Hans Solo, who won the Western Field Futurity in 2007. Outdoors is still visible in the pedigree of the dogs running today.
- 1988 – Outdoors Starfire became the first dog to place in three Field Futurities. Her sire, Outdoors Boots, never won a Futurity, but did produce Outdoors Tony Lama, who was later inducted into the Hall of Fame.
- 1990 – Outdoors Urban Terrorist won three out of four Field Futurities.
- 1991 – The Grau Geist kennel name appears for the first time. There are currently 10 Field Futurity Winners with the Grau Geist name. Grau Geist is still visible in the pedigree of the dogs running today. And Dick Wilbur himself is still active in field trial Weimaraners.
- 1992 – Outdoors Tony Lama produced her 8th Field Futurity Winner.
- 1995 – Littermates out of Outdoors Rising Sun x Windchyme swept all four Field Futurities.
- 2000 – One dog, Scooby Doo’s Treeline Storm, swept all four Field Futurities. There are currently 2 generations of Field Futurity Winners behind him.
- 2005 – Buck’s Blue Boy won 3 of the 4 Field Futurities, and produced Westweims California Lady Jane, who won the Futurity twice in 2009.
After 2005, the thread unravels a bit. From 2014 to 2022, only 7 Futurity winners (out of 21) have gone on to compete in Field Trials at a gun dog level. And only TWO of those have produced another generation of Futurity winners. Jim won the National Field Futurity in 2014 and produced Slim, who won the Eastern Field Futurity in 2018 and Rufus, who won the National Field Futurity in 2019. BB won the Eastern Field Futurity in 2014 and produced Cage, who won the Eastern Field Futurity in 2019. Every effort should be made to keep this program alive and better the statistics so that a Futurity win is meaningful and a reliable indicator of our breed’s continued success.
The eligibility window is too narrow to accurately promote the Field Trial Weimaraner. Those of us who breed, own, and develop Weimaraners also understand that Weimaraners mature at different rates. [The larger issue is the inconsistency and unreliable level of inheritance traits in the dogs we breed, but that’s another article.] Dogs from one line may mature much sooner than dogs from another line. The average age of a successful gun dog appears to be about 5.
A growing number of breeders are also developing field trial dogs with the ideology that young dogs should never be given the opportunity to catch birds. Expanding the window of eligible Futurity dates and parameters allows an owner to train and develop his dog at his own pace and developmental level, not the dog’s genetic age. Giving the owner a choice of one of three different years to put in his best young prospect increases the likelihood that when the judges see that dog on course, there’s no question the team behind that dog thinks he’s a worthy candidate to represent the next generation of Field Trial Weimaraners.
I haven’t put much thought into the prospect of a Field Maturity Program. For starters, I don’t think this program would be sustainable until we bring up our Field Futurity participation. Secondly, a mature Field Trial Weimaraner would be crowned later in the week once the judges select him or her as the best Futurity/Maturity nominated dog running in the National Open Championship. Following the position that the Weimaraner’s developmental maturity is dependent on his genetics and training progress, I haven’t a clue how to identify what constitutes a dog’s Maturity year.
The majority of Futurity fees collected do not go back to the breeders and owners. I feel very, very strongly that 100% of fees collected for a Futurity Program (less nominal administrative expenses) should be allocated to the Winners (including 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Place, if that’s what is decided).
In 2022, the WCA collected approximately $10,000 in Futurity and Maturity nomination and forfeit fees from 76 litters; 55 with the intent to participate on the Show side, 9 with the intent to participate in both Show and Field, and the remaining 12 with the intent to participate on the Field side. The cost to purchase and distribute $100 checks to the owners of the sires and dams, trophies, plaques, rosettes and ribbons is roughly 50% of the funds collected. What happens to the remaining $5,000?
Current Futurity nomination and forfeit fees are not enough to appropriately sustain the number of Futurity events hosted. The WCA collected $10,000 in 2022. Assuming 50% of that stays with the WCA, and only 25% of the remaining 50% are dedicated to the field side (the show Futurities and Maturities yield 24 pewter trophies in a year while the field Futurities only yield 6), that’s 12.5% of the funds that are then dispersed to the three field Futurities. Divide that by 3, and we’re now down to 4% of the funds being allocated for the winner of the Western, Eastern, and National Field Futurity. That’s $417. After the $100 checks and pewter trophies and plaques are accounted for, there’s just about nothing left.
Fees collected = $10,000 (an analysis of 2022 fees collected and awards given reveals that approximately 50% stays with the WCA and 50% gets distributed in funds for trophies and rewards)
Remaining fees for awards = $5,000 (of this, 75% of the monies go to purchasing trophies and awards for the show side, leaving 25% for the field side)
Remaining fees for field = $1,250 (this amount is then divided by the 3 Futurity events)
Remaining fees for each Field Futurity = $417
Without a substantial increase in Field Futurity nomination and forfeit fees, and also a commitment to keep the Futurity dollars in the Futurity General Fund, it will be impossible to change the current award structure. I personally would like to keep the tradition of trophies, plaques, rosettes and ribbons alive, but it would also be great if the rest of the Futurity funds were given back to the participants.
For comparison, these are payouts for the following pointing breed Field Futurities :
-
- The WCA uses 4% of fees collected to purchase pewter trophies and disperse $100 checks to the owners of the sire and dam of the winning Western, Eastern, and National Field Futurity winners, and also purchase plaques for the owners of the winning Western, Eastern, and National Field Futurity dogs.
- The German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America (GSPCA) awards 40/30/20/10 of fees collected to four placements, with 60% to the owner and 40% to the breeder.
- The American Brittany Club (ABC) awards 2/3 of fees collected to the owner of the winner and 1/3 to the breeder of the winner.
- The National German Shorthaired Pointer Association (NGSPA) awards 50% of the fees collected to First Place, 30% to Second Place, and 20% to to Third Place (with 60% of those awards going to the owner and 40% to the breeder.
The WCA awards the majority of 12.5% of the Futurity fees collected in the form of trophies. Payouts are weighted to the breeder(s).
The GSPCA, ABC, and NGSPA awards 100% of the Futurity fees collected in the form of cash. In all cases, payouts are weighted to the owner(s), not the breeder(s).
This segues into the next topic:
The Futurity program doesn’t acknowledge the owners to the same extent that the breeders are recognized. While breeders are responsible for breeding decisions, raising puppies, and sending them to homes where they would have a chance to shine, it is the owners (and/or their delegates) who work with their young dogs day in and day out to prepare them for success. Other organizations have recognized that both the breeder(s) and the owner(s) are integral to the success of a young prospect and have made awards accordingly. As indicated above, Futurity payouts are weighted to the owner(s), not the breeder(s).
Eligibility Requirements. Going back to the comparison of pointing breed Futurity programs, additional observations reveal that the WCA has the highest fees and most stringent nomination parameters:
- Litter nominations
- WCA – $40, within 30 days
- NGSPA – $25-$40, within 6 months
- Nomination late fee
- WCA – $250
- ABC – $60-$100
- Puppy forfeits
- WCA – $30
- GSPCA – $15
Housekeeping. On the topic of changes, the WCA Futurity rules need to be cleaned up a bit.
Page 5 of the Handbook indicates that a dog’s Field Futurity participation year is based on the dog’s whelp date. For example, a dog whelped on June 1, 2020 will be designated with a 2022 Futurity participation year. If the dog participates in his/her National Field Futurity in the first week of December, that dog will be approximately 30 months of age.
Page 22 of the AKC Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedure for Pointing Breeds Booklet (and by proxy, the WCA Field Futurity performance standards) defines the Derby Stake, however, as follows:
(Open and/or Amateur Walking) for dogs six (6) months of age and under two (2) years of age on the first advertised day of the trial (e.g., a dog whelped on January 30, 1989, would not be eligible for entry in a Derby stake at a trial which starts on January 30, 1991). Horseback handling is not permitted in Amateur Walking Derby stakes.
As written, a dog running in the Field Futurity must be under two (2) years of age, despite the fact that his/her “Futurity participation year” may lead him/her to be older than that.
…
Closing Thoughts
From the standpoint of someone who is actively involved in field trialing with two different breeds of pointing dogs (Weimaraners and German Shorthaired Pointers), there’s no question that there’s room for improvement within the Weimaraner Futurity program. For starters, it’s imperative that we define or clarify what the Futurity program is, what it means, and why’s it’s important. Then, we need to take action to a) keep the participants we have while b) recruiting more. This is the only way I see this program sustaining itself.
A draft set of recommended Futurity revisions, along with some Barrett-authored commentary, can be viewed here.
– Kim/Barrett Weimaraners
Last updated: 12:00 AM PDT March 22, 2023
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