Fred Dileo

October 21, 2018 | Fred Dileo | Comments

Since his tragic death At 46 in 2007 I have been working To tell his story I have bare facts From the written records Memories too of what I witnessed Many stories others told me Now I hope to gain your help Those who knew him watched him work To climb the ladder to the top Dog by dog trial by trial Please share your memories As I post the Read more

Handler: The Life of Fred Dileo ~ Chapter Four

December 29, 2017 | Fred Dileo | Comments

How did Fred Dileo become a handler? From the bottom up, starting with nothing, fueled by determination and a desire to learn. He traveled to Texas after high school, worked in construction a while, then on a dude ranch. His mother had given him a Setter pup during high school. He trained it to hunt on pheasants on a state wildlife management area near his home and skipped school to Read more

Handler: The Life of Fred Dileo ~ Chapter Three

December 28, 2017 | Fred Dileo | Comments

Three essential ingredients make a handler: Mentors, owners, dogs. These ingredients plus talent and work, tempered by dedication, or determination. On these Fred Dileo built his career. Then on the personal side, there was Patricia, the love of his life, and Taylor, his daughter, much like him in personality and equestrian skills and like her mother, a beauty. Riding at Chinquapin in 1995 to watch his Double Rebel Buck was Read more

Handler: The Life of Fred Dileo ~ Chapter Two

December 27, 2017 | Fred Dileo | Comments

I met Fred in January 1995 at the Florida Open All-Age Championship. He was there to run his string, including Double Rebel Buck, who emerged the Champion. I was there to report my first field trial, as excited as a six year old on Christmas Eve. Fred was thirty-four, I was fifty-seven. Fred and Buck would repeat the win in 1996, and I would repeat as reporter (2018 will be Read more

Handler: The Life of Fred Dileo ~ Chapter One

December 26, 2017 | Fred Dileo | Comments

This is the story of a man who began with nothing and reached the pinnacle of his profession at age forty-six, only to be struck down in a senseless vehicle accident. His profession was all-age pointing dog trainer-handler, an obscure calling unknown to all but a few. Yet, among the small cadre of field trialers scattered across North America, the profession carries a mystique, and its top practitioners are deeply Read more