United Blood Trackers Trackfest 2011 - part 1

This year the 2,600 acre Buck Hollow Ranch owned by Tom and Ronda Baker was the site of United Blood Trackers’ annual “Trackfest”, a training workshop for dogs of all breeds and their handlers. We had an attendance of 38 people and 25 dogs.

The site was ideal for the purpose, and hospitality extended by Tom, Ronda and their Ranch Manager Keith Futrell was unmatched. We are so grateful for everything that they have done for us!

Tom and Ronda Baker are owners of the Buck Hollow Ranch in Pocahontas, Arkansas. They were incredibly gracious and generous hosts.

Mongo (Keith Futrell) is a ranch manager. He is also a member of the Pocahontas City Council. Keith was a great help and he contributed a great deal to Trackfest's success.

We had a very good representation of Bavarian Mountain Bloodhounds due in part to a presentation on May 20 by Jim Smyth, a “Germanized” retired military man who handled and judged Bavarians in Germany for many years. He described the German club’s system for testing tracking ability on artificial and natural lines. The Germans have developed this to a very high level!

Jim Smyth

The Bavarian Mountain Bloodhound is a breed developed specifically for blood tracking, and the German breed club’s regulations for testing and breeding are very strict. The demand for Bavarians as tracking dogs over here is very strong, but there is a waiting period to acquire one through “official” channels. Some Bavarians are being imported from sources outside the breed club (Klub für Bayerische Gebirgsschweißhunde), and this has created a certain tension between owners in the two camps.

A classroom session on the Bavarians.

A three-year-old Triton is owned by AJ and Debbie Minns from Hunt, TX

Mirko is owned by Ken Parker from Georgia. He is a young German import.



From the left: Larry Shepard (MI), Ken Parker (GA), AJ Minns (TX), Wesley McConnell (IL) and Randy Vick (GA)



Randy Vick with Little Brown