National French Brittany club hosts field trials, specialty show in Shields Valley
Peter Ward walks with his French Brittanys Shug, center, and Biz at the foot of the Crazy Mountains east of Wilsall on Aug. 31, 2010. The Club de l'Epagneul Breton of the United States is holding field trials and a specialty show in the Shields Valley this week. Photo by Ben Pierce.
By BEN PIERCE Chronicle Outdoors
“Un maximum of qualities pour un volume minimum.”
That’s how Frenchman Gaston Pouchain once described the Epagneul Breton, or French Brittany. And if you’ve ever seen one of these energetic dogs seeking birds in the field, you know just what Pouchain was talking about.
This week, around 150 French Brittanys and their owners have gathered in Wilsall and Clyde Park for the annual meeting of the Club de l’Epagneul Breton of the United States. The gathering will feature field trials and a special conformation event to be held Saturday at the Clyde Park Community Center.
“French Brittanys are very versatile and have performed very well in Montana,” said event organizer Fred Overby of Bozeman. “There is a strong but loyal following here in Gallatin Valley and the Shields and Paradise valleys.”
Beginning Wednesday and concluding Friday, the field trials – both in pursuit of wild and liberated birds – will test the skill of hunter, handler and dog. Overby said the trials will be conducted on foot near Wilsall in a format identical to field trials held in Brittany, France.
The trials will be scored by six professional judges, including two French judges who have made the trip to Montana from France for the event.
“These gentlemen are experts in the Epagneul Breton,” club president Wallace Huey of Columbus, Ga., said on Monday. “They have had to go through training and have had to meet a lot of stiff qualifications to become a judge in France. We are getting the cream of the crop and are learning what to look for when field trialing with them.”
The trials will be divided into three classes. The first class is a natural ability test for dogs under the age of three. The dogs must demonstrate the ability to search for game, establish a point and not be gun shy. The second class, the Gun Class, tests a dog not broke steady to wing and shot in various aspects of hunting. The final Open Class is equivalent to field trials in Europe. Dogs must be steady to wing and shot and also must fall and retrieve liberated birds.
In the wild bird trials blank shots are fired, but no live ammunition is used. In the liberated trials live ammunition is used and the dog must retrieve fallen birds.
“The purpose of the trials is to identify the best representatives of the breed for breeding purposes,” Overby said. “In our breed and in European field trials there is a heavy emphasis on not only the dog’s performance in the field, but also its conformation – to look and perform as an Epagneul Breton should.”
The origin of the French Brittany dates to the late 1800s. During that time period many British bird hunters crossed the English Chanel to the Province of Bretagne (Brittany), France in pursuit of the abundant woodcock that populated the countryside.
The British sportsmen often brought along their Gordon, Irish and English setters to accompany them on hunts, and occasionally their springer spaniels. In 1901, a quarantine on canines was imposed, forcing British dog owners to leave their animals behind with their French counterparts before returning to Great Britain.
Many of the English gun dogs left behind in Brittany crossbred with French spaniels – small, liver- or black-coated dogs with short tails native to the region. Their progeny continued to breed casually over the years until their superb hunting characteristics were recognized. Eventually, hunters began breeding the dogs as a distinct bloodline.
According to folklore, some of the earliest French Brittanys were used by French peasants to poach game from the estates of large landowners. The dogs exhibited a strong determination, natural hunting instinct and hardy disposition necessary to hunt the often rugged environment of the Brittany countryside.
French Brittanys were initially recognized as an excellent breed to hunt woodcock. Today, the breed is also employed in Europe in the pursuit of pheasant, snipe, forest grouse and red-legged partridge.
Peter Ward, one of the landowners playing host to this year’s field trials, said French Brittanys are primarily used in Montana to hunt pheasant, sharp-tailed grouse and Hungarian partridge with a lesser emphasis on blue grouse and ruffed grouse.
“They do very well on the Montana terrain,” Ward said on Monday. “I hunt them out there up to about 200 yards. Words don’t explain it; they are hard-charging dogs.”
The French Brittany’s path to recognition as a distinct breed began in 1907 when a French lawyer named Arthur Enaud, along with other supporters of the breed, established the first organization dedicated to their development.
In the years between World War I and World War II, a small number of French Brittanys were brought to the U.S. by sportsmen that had observed their hunting acumen in Europe. These dogs were selectively bred, eventually resulting in a distinct phenotype recognized today as the American Brittany.
It wasn’t until 2002 that the United Kennel Club recognized the distinction between the French Brittany and the American Brittany. Among the physiological distinctions most apparent are the French Brittany’s dark skin pigmentation on the eyelids, lips and pads of the feet and frequent black coloration in the coat. Other variations exist in the breed’s relative smaller size, more prominent sloped forehead and shorter muzzle and nose.
The French Brittany also exhibits distinction in the field.
“They have a very distinct gate,” Overby said. “They should roll easily across the terrain with their head up into the wind scenting birds.”
On Saturday, field trials give way to the 2010 CEB-US National Specialty to be held at the Clyde Park Community Center. The specialty show – held from 1:30-5 p.m. and open to the public – will feature 15-20 different classes that test the dog’s conformation as determined by judge Jean Carpentey of Villandraught, France.
“For someone interested in getting a French Brittany, the show would be a good place to see (the breed),” Ward said. “You can come and pet the dogs and ask questions.”
The specialty show will feature a seminar on field trials, how French Brittanys are judged and an educational program for participants.
Before the end of the day, one French Brittany from the 143 entries will be deemed the crème de la crème.
“It is a great honor to win your class,” Overby said, “or perhaps be named the best dog of the year.”
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