It had happened in 1965. Forty-Five were entered, forty-one pointers and four setters. After eight had run the first two days, the National Bird Dog Championship was called off for too few birds. This despite the fact Highway Man for Bill Rayl had scored three finds and hunted to the Amesian Standard. The judges’ decision had many followers of the sport furious.
Something else shocking happened at the 1965 National Championship that had caused a stir then but had since passed into obscurity. An entry had disappeared from its kennel at the farm near the Ames Plantation where its handler and owner were staying. After the running was called off following the second day of running, the dog mysteriously reappeared in its kennel run.
For a time rumors swirled about what had happened. Had the dog just escaped its kennel, run off and then returned, been put back by a farmhand who kept silent, afraid of becoming involved? Or been stolen and the thief got cold feet and returned it? These were just two of the many rumors. In time most forgot, and the dog went on to a long, successful career on the circuit.
Ben Reach got the call on the opening day of the National Championship in 1980, fifteen years after the year of the mysterious disappearance. It was from Billy Hill, a recently retired African-American field trial scout. He asked to meet with Ben, to “tell you something somebody besides me needs to know.” Ben invited Billy to come meet in his office next day.
Ben took Billy to his library-conference room, had Joanne bring him a cup of coffee, then said, “Billy, it’s good to see you looking so well.”
Billy said, “Thank you, Mr. Ben. You are looking good too. I appreciates your seeing me. What I got to say there’s few alive will care about or remember about. But I got to tell somebody who understands, who someday can explain what happened to Elegant at the 1965 National.”
It all came back to Ben in an instant. The pointer bitch Elegant’s mysterious disappearance and reappearance, the calling off of the stake.
“What you got to tell me, Billy?”
“You may remember I was working for Fred Ford then. We had a entry got braced with Elegant. Our dog’s owner was new to the game and he had a plantation over in Alabama, managed for him by a fellow nobody in Georgia knew. But I knew plenty about him. Learned it from my brother, he had worked on a place he’d managed before. He was crooked, stole off the place he managed where my brother worked. When I heard he was coming to the National to ride with his boss I was suspicious, so I listened from where they couldn’t hear me, learned they planned to shanghai our brace-mate. So I took Elegant and was going to return her to her handler the day before the brace so our owner’s plantation manager would not have time to set up the shanghai.”
“What do you want me to do with this information, Billy,” Ben asked.
Billy thought a minute, then said, “ I guess nothing yet, Mr. Ben. There’s probably nobody left but you and me that would care. But someday you can spread the word about what happened to Elegant at the 1965 National Championship.”
Ben opened a cabinet and brought out Crown Royal for Billy and The Macallan for himself and poured them each three fingers. Billy poured his into his coffee, Ben sipped his neat.
“Here’s to Elegant, a good bitch and well named,” Ben said.
“Yes, sir, Mr. Ben,” Billy replied.