Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 1 · column 2 of 9 · from the scan, no model involved
with the other half of the citations won by the dogs kept in upstairs rooms. The honors brought home to Woodville by Red Oak kennels aren’t from bench shows where animals are judged by conformation standards alone. The Clark Walker hounds are tops in doing, not physical appearance. They’re field trial champions, born and bred to hunt. On weekends throughout the year, Clifton loads his dogs into the back of his old pick-up truck and carries them to field shows all along the East Coast. Once at a show, they’re on their own. “I take ’um and cast ’um and they belong to the judges,” Clifton explained.
Then for five to nine hours, depending on the length of the trial, Clifton’s Walkers hunt foxes with anywhere from 100 to 300 other hounds. They aren’t on leashes or controlled by their handlers in any way. T®: dogs have to do it on theW own. They have to hunt—ana nothing else out hunt—fo| the length of the trial under the watchful eyes of judges who follow on foot, on, horseback and in Jeeps pr pick-ups.
This endurance hunt generally goes on for three days in most field trials. Dogs with identifying numbers dyed or painted on their sides are graded in four categories: hunting, trailing, speed and drive and endurance. Any of the dozen or so judges officiating at the trial can eliminate a dog for a fault. “Then they don’t get to come back the next day,” Clifton explained. “Usually, SO per cent go the first day and 20 per cent the next. Sometimes, we’re lucky if we have any
(Continued on Page 3)
83.4%