Starting/Rekindling a retriever club....

[gdgnyc]

I would:
1. Contact any local retriever breed club
2. Contact any local rod and gun club-Offer to help them get started in dog training. At least you will have people throwing bumpers for you.
3. Don't be afraid to travel. I recently traveled 125 miles to get a training day with flyers.
4. Put up flyers in the local bait/tackle/hunting stores.
5. Ask people working in above stores.
6. Learn to do some training by yourself. I do some training myself in NYC.
7. Contact any retriever club within a 200 mile radius. They might have some contacts in your area.
8. Advertise on here. I know that some people are making contacts on here and I have offered help to more than a few on here.

[EdA]

Use to run their NAHRA HT....if they ever get going again, I'd more than likely run a FT, but if my memory serves me correctly, they were mostly HTs...only a handful of FTs? Best of luck...

Actually TPRC was an AKC field trial club for years, I judged their first sanctioned field trial in about 1980. Terry Cooke and Billy and Janey Morgan (good friends) dutifully put on 2 field trials each year. When Billy and Janey retired to raise their two daughters Terrell Cooke (Terry's son) and his wife Sissy and Charles Kitten took over and put on the field trial for several years. As Ted stated Texas Panhandle Retriever Club field trial was always one of my favorite field trials to run and I miss seeing my friends twice each year. Also have lots of good memories of friends no longer here and where I won my Double Header with Percy (FC-AFC Trumarc's Hot Pursuit) 26 years ago.

[Ken Bora]

Actually TPRC was an AKC field trial club for years, .

wonder if it is this group?
they have a facebook page.
reads they were out training just last month on the 8th
click - http://www.facebook.com/TexasPanhand...gRetrieverClub

[jb504079]

wonder if it is this group?
they have a facebook page.
reads they were out training just last month on the 8th
click - http://www.facebook.com/TexasPanhand...gRetrieverClub

The club encompasses Amarillo and Lubbock. The training day on the 8th was in Lubbock, 130 miles away from where I live. The club has a couple of people active down there in LBK, but before, it was mainly Amarillo people. I'm not going to travel 130 miles one way to get a training session in when I know there has to be people here that wanna revitalize this club and from here in Amarillo.

[DKR]

Actually TPRC was an AKC field trial club for years, I judged their first sanctioned field trial in about 1980. Terry Cooke and Billy and Janey Morgan (good friends) dutifully put on 2 field trials each year. When Billy and Janey retired to raise their two daughters Terrell Cooke (Terry's son) and his wife Sissy and Charles Kitten took over and put on the field trial for several years. As Ted stated Texas Panhandle Retriever Club field trial was always one of my favorite field trials to run and I miss seeing my friends twice each year. Also have lots of good memories of friends no longer here and where I won my Double Header with Percy (FC-AFC Trumarc's Hot Pursuit) 26 years ago.

Ed,

There were/are actually 2 panhandle clubs with almost the same name;

1. Texas Panhandle Retriever Club AKC FT Club

2. Texas Panhandle Hunting Retriever Club NARHA then HRC HT Club


TPRC hasn't held a trial in several years and I do not know if Terrell is active in the game anymore. It was my introduction to trials and some absolutely amazing dog work.

TPHRC is in a down cycle now, most clubs cycle up and down on 2 things active leadership and new people. Kids and life play a great role in that and the leadership has had both. As we get into training and running most are looking for a hunting dog so when they title their dog some cycle out.

JB,

Leading a club is a lot of effort but you sound like you might be up for it, start having training days promote the heck out of it some oldies will come but you need to get new members. Duplicate yourself with a few good people and it will be a good club.

[Jim Thompson]

Our club has grown over the last three years a few years before that we were struggling to keep it alive. The single thing that I believe improved our numbers the most is we increased our club training days to once a week. We have a couple of dedicated members who over see it and spend a lot of time with people that are new to the sport. Having a core membership of genuine good good people that care about dogs and the sport is our best asset.

Also beer afterwards helps.

[FOM]

Actually TPRC was an AKC field trial club for years, I judged their first sanctioned field trial in about 1980. Terry Cooke and Billy and Janey Morgan (good friends) dutifully put on 2 field trials each year. When Billy and Janey retired to raise their two daughters Terrell Cooke (Terry's son) and his wife Sissy and Charles Kitten took over and put on the field trial for several years. As Ted stated Texas Panhandle Retriever Club field trial was always one of my favorite field trials to run and I miss seeing my friends twice each year. Also have lots of good memories of friends no longer here and where I won my Double Header with Percy (FC-AFC Trumarc's Hot Pursuit) 26 years ago.

Ed,

There were/are actually 2 panhandle clubs with almost the same name;

1. Texas Panhandle Retriever Club AKC FT Club

2. Texas Panhandle Hunting Retriever Club NARHA then HRC HT Club


TPRC hasn't held a trial in several years and I do not know if Terrell is active in the game anymore. It was my introduction to trials and some absolutely amazing dog work.

TPHRC is in a down cycle now, most clubs cycle up and down on 2 things active leadership and new people. Kids and life play a great role in that and the leadership has had both. As we get into training and running most are looking for a hunting dog so when they title their dog some cycle out.

JB,

Leading a club is a lot of effort but you sound like you might be up for it, start having training days promote the heck out of it some oldies will come but you need to get new members. Duplicate yourself with a few good people and it will be a good club.

There ya go - hence my confusion - and I'll refrain from the "carbon dating" comment I was gonna make I don't have nearly the doggie game experience as you Dr. Ed...I only knew the "TPHRC" version Please give Butthead a kick in the rear when ya see him...

[Hunt'EmUp]

Basically you need 3-5 really active members who are willing to put in the time and effort to get the club off the ground then build from there. Keep in mind people get burned out after ~2-3 yrs. so you'll need your back up to take over the club by then. Now whether you revive an old club or start a new, basically has to do with convenience if you can't find the document holding members of the old club, or that old club wasn't approved to run the events you want to run, it might be easier to start a new one. Still If there's one on the books for the Area, AKC, HRC ect. that's already approved to run tests, much easier to revive the old one. AKC can be hard to get approval to run test if you don't have enough members, if the old club was already approve, revive the old club . HRC you can grandfather in judges with a new club, if the old club hasn't been in business for 2-3 years, it's off the books, might want to start a new club. NAHRA I don't know of any advantage for doing it either way.

[Bob Samios]

Good advice from Hunt'EmUp. We basically did the same thing with the Presque Isle Retriever Club of Erie PA. The AKC club folded because the same people did all of the work. We got together twenty people (many from a nearby club) to help revive this organization. It was approved by the AKC but we needed to mentored to hold a hunt test. We also rented its grounds and equipment. Two years later, we have held three successful hunt tests and will have two more this year. I have had volunteers "step-up" to chair the two hunt tests in 2013, and we have expanded the membership participation in the jobs that need to be completed for our club. It is much easier to get a committment for a specific position or for a specific assignment. The biggest problem is to assign jobs that you know that YOU can do easier and faster and allow others to learn the new positions; with your minimal oversight. Members from other clubs have been very helpful since they would like to have more and different hunt tests to run. Ask me in a couple of years how it worked out!

[polmaise]

We have a retriever club in my town, of which I'm a member. I used to get emails and notices about training days, and I went several times. I was the only one for a while. Thing is, the club has all but dried up and disappeared it seems. I have recently reached out via Facebook (cause to be honest, I only know a few members), but it just isn't working that well.

I may be well out of my league here, but what are some good ideas to rekindle a once active club? I live in a part of the country that is full of retriever owners, goose and pheasant hunters, and people who love hunting dogs.

I would love to hear what some of you have done to rekindle your local clubs. I'm sure it's happened in other places.

Thanks everyone.....just would like to see our club get back to what it used to be.

Used to be?..What was that like?
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