2012 AKC Gun Dog Championship

2012 AKC POINTING BREED GUN DOG CHAMPIONSHIP TO RUN AT 

HISTORIC AMES PLANTATION IN TENNESSEE 

– Area Rich in Bird Dog History – 

New York, NY — The American Kennel Club® is pleased to announce the 2012 AKC 

Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship will take place at the Ames Plantation near 

Grand Junction, TN, beginning Monday, February 27, 2012. The area has been long 

associated with bird dogs: the first organized field trial in the U.S. was held near 

Memphis, TN in 1874 and the American Field National Championship has been held on 

the Ames Plantation since 1915.  Grand Junction is also home of the Bird Dog Museum, 

which preserves the history of the sport.  

“We are very pleased to be running at Ames and feel this event provides a unique 

opportunity to appreciate the sport’s rich history,” said Doug Ljungren, AKC’s AVP of 

Performance Events. “Pointing breed enthusiasts will be able to watch great bird dogs 

and also visit both the Ames Plantation and the Bird Dog Museum to learn more about 

the history of their sport.” 

The Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship is the largest National Championship open 

to all pointing breeds.  The traditional format of the event will be modified in 2012 to fit 

the historic courses at Ames, with only one Championship stake run. The one hour, 

non-retrieving, two series event will run for a total of 12 days, on birds native to the 

Plantation.  The entry will be capped at 132 dogs.  

Qualifiers for the 2012 event will include dogs that have earned their AKC Field 

Championship or Amateur Field Championship title or dogs that have placed in large 

stakes in 2011.  In order to ensure representation of all breeds, dogs that win their 

breed’s 2011 AKC National Gun Dog Championship stake (Open or Amateur) will have 

a spot automatically reserved. The winners of the 2011 AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog 

Championship held in Idaho will also have a spot reserved.  

Event Chairman Ken Blackman, a resident of western Tennessee, has already been 

impressed with the local support shown for the trial. “The community has been 

extremely welcoming.  Due to the region’s long involvement with bird dogs, sporting dog 

events are appreciated, and this area understands and is grateful for the business these 

events bring to the community,” he said. “The local Chambers of Commerce, community 

groups and businesses are pitching in to ensure the success of the Gun Dog 

Championship. Our thanks also go to Dr. Rick Carlisle and his staff at the Ames 

Plantation for their assistance!” 

Major sponsors of the 2012 AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championship include Purina 

(the official dog food sponsor of the AKC Gun Dog Championship), Tri-Tronics, Eukanuba Pet 

Food, Garmin International, SportDOG, Hardeman and Fayette County Chambers of 

Commerce, Bank of Fayette County and the Hobart Ames Foundation.   

For more information, visit: 

www.akc.org/events/field_trials/pointing_breeds/gun_dog_championships/. The page 

will be updated throughout 2011.