Hawfield was the birthplace of the National Open Shooting Dog Championship and Parke C. Brinkley was the author of its standard for performance. After Hawfield was sold to pay Guy Lewis’s estate taxes it moved to Di-Lane Plantation, then to Sedgefields Plantation (Union Springs) where it runs today.
The Virginia Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries paid $90, 000 for Hawfield. Guy Lewis bought it from them for $110,000 and transformed it into a field trialer’s paradise.
Hawfield by Parke C. Brinkley, December 1, 1966
No history of field trials in Virginia would be complete without a chapter on Hawfield.
For several years following the loss of the Camp Lee grounds in 1940, The Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries and The Virginia Amateur Field Trial Association spent a great deal of time and effort in attempting to find suitable grounds. This search culminated in 1948 in the purchase of Hawfield, a 2,760 acre farm in Orange County. The manor house had burned in 1936 and the farm became run down, much of it had grown up and the drainage system had ceased to function adequately and very little farming was being carried on.
The Commission began to improve the grounds but soon found it to be a much too expensive project for them to handle.
Guy Lewis bought it from the Commission in the early spring of 1952 and immediately began to develop it into what became outstanding field trial grounds. He, being in the highway construction business, had equipment such as bulldozers, graders and drag pans that could be used when they were not being employed on the construction job.
He planned the development in a sound and prudent manner. The drainage system was cleared and many of the fields that had grown up in bushes were cleared and put into crops or pasture. Hedgerows and creek banks were left intact and four ponds of several acres each were built. A clubhouse was built and furnished and given to The Hawfield Grange under the provision that the ladies of the Grange would serve lunches during each of the trials. Clearing was done in such a manner as to leave, or develop, wooded areas in strategic places. Feed and cover was made abundant and gaps and creek crossings were strategically placed. Additional kennels and stables were constructed to accommodate large crowds.
With the thought in mind that six hours a day was long enough for amateurs to ride, three one hour courses were arranged starting and ending near the barns and kennel. Under a program of strictly controlled killing and good predator control, the wild bird population grew rapidly and quite evenly.
The town of Orange as well as the people of Orange County were delighted with the development of Hawfield and with the field trials bringing people into the area. The President Madison Inn, located in the center of town, became the headquarters for the trials and everyone stayed there. The Montpelier Club, a private club located in the Inn, gave special consideration to the field trial guests. The Virginia Amateur always gave a cocktail party prior to the drawing and invited a number of the local leaders. Later, when the National Open Shooting Dog Championship was formed, the Orange Chamber of Commerce always gave a big cocktail party before the drawing. A number of prominent people in the area would, from time to time, invite the field trialers to stop by their farms, on the way into town, for a drink. All of these things together with the bountiful lunches served by the ladies of the Grange made field trials at Hawfield something special.
The Virginia Amateur invited the AFTCA to run its National Amateur Quail Championship at Hawfield in the spring of 1957. Gerry Achenbach, the AFTCA president, came to the Virginia Amateur spring trials in March of 1956 to see the grounds
and facilities. The puppy stake was to run on Monday morning and the all-age stake was to commence after lunch. Gerry could be there only for the Monday’s running so we were greatly disappointed when we awoke that morning to find that four inches of snow had fallen after we had gone to bed. The sky was clear and the sun was shining so a quick huddle of the officers resulted in the decision to run the puppies in the snow. By lunchtime, the puppy stake was over and the snow had melted. It seemed that the birds knew what was going to happen, so they stayed in hiding until after lunch and then they all came out to feed. Gerry left under the impression that these were among the best grounds that he had ever seen and he was anxious to hold the championship there in 1957. It turned out to be a very good stake with a large entry and many very good performances. Home Again Mike, with five finds, was the winner and Dymack, with three, was declaredthe runner-up.
The period from 1954 to 1968 was the peak of both Hawfield and Virginia Amateur. Many great trials were run there and many great performances witnessed. Guy’s death at fifty-nine in 1967 was a great loss to Virginia Amateur in particular and to field trials in general. His two sons, Stuart and Guy III, struggled to carry on but both being quite young and working to become established in the law and business had to sell Hawfield in order to keep “Quail Haven,” a large commercial dairy farm some twenty-five miles away.
Hawfield today is covered with fine crops, fat cattle and very few birds. I ride through it now and then and spend a few minutes reliving, in my mind, some great days.
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1966 National Amateur Shooting Dog Championship held at Hawfield
The Winner and Runner-Up
Front, left, My Sallee, the winner, with Parke C. Brinkley; Morgana Speckles, runner-up, with Henry A. Latimer. Rear: Dr. Alvin Nitchman, judge; Mrs. Guy H. Lewis Jr., Guy H. Lewis Jr., Miss Leslie Anderson, secretary (AFTCA), Leslie R. Tichenor Jr., president (AFTCA), and Dr. C.E. Stokely, judge.
Presentation of Scroll
Left, Guy H. Lewis., the beloved “Squire of Hawfield,” receives the Field Trial Hall of Fame Scroll commemorating his election last summer (1966), from Leslie R. Tichenor Jr., president, Amateur Field trial Clubs of America, who recited eloquently some of Guy Lewis’ great contributions.
Virginia Amateur 50th Anniversary Trials (1969): Officers, Judges and Reporter
From left: Parke C. Brinkley, president; Dr. H.A. Gray, judge; George M. Rogers, reporter; Joe H. Hurdle, judge; W.P. Blackwell, marshal, and Verle Farrow, secretary.