This week marks the third anniversary of the last Florida Open All-Age Championship, conducted the second week of January at Chinquapin Farm through 2022. Started as the Suwannee River Open All-Age in 1969, becoming a Championship ten years later in 1979, the trial stood for excellence, attracting the top all-age handlers and owners throughout its history. Key to its success was the dedication and generosity of its sponsor, Edward L. (“Ted”) Baker.
Ted loved all-age dogs and the fraternity that backed them, handlers, owners and fans. He made available, in the middle of hunting season, ten thousand acres of wild bird territory with terrain and cover ideal for showing an all-age dog, on equal opportunity continuous courses laden with birds year after year. No one ever paid a cent for a meal, for person or horse.
A few well-to-do people like Ted have provided the necessary land for piney woods trials since the beginning. Few of the owners of places like Chinquapin have an interest in trials, especially all-age. Yet they love and need the offspring only all-age dogs produce to keep up the quality of their brag-dog shooting strings. They salute this truth annually with the Owners Trial of the Georgia-Florida Field Trial Club.
The fraternity is fortunate that Livingston Place, grounds for the Continental Open All-Age and Derby Championships, is owned by Tall Timbers, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit dedicated to scientific conservation of the Longleaf Pine’s (and quail’s) lands through prescribed fire ecology. Field trailers need to partner with Tall Timbers and private landowners dedicated to this conservation of which all-age bird dogs are a natural component.