The National Kennel Club (NKC) was formed in 1969 as a registry for people with purebred dogs. The NKC licenses all-breed dog shows, events for Coon dogs, Beagles, Squirrel dogs, Bird dogs, Fox dogs, licensed dog kennels, show judges, and other dog related events. The Beagle program expanded greatly with their purchase of the long-established American Rabbit Hound Association in 2001. The ARHA-NKC is the fastest growing registry and field trial association for rabbit hounds in America, and sanctions field trials for Beagles for 170 clubs nationwide.
All beagles are eligible for registry with the ARHA-NKC. The ARHA field trials are divided into divisions which feature all the different running styles of rabbit hounds. Fast tracking hounds compete in the Little Pack and Big Pack Divisions. Medium speed hounds compete in Progressive Pack, and the tighter line-control hounds compete in Gundog Pack and Gundog Brace. They also offer bench competitions at our hunts which are judged on the hound’s conformation to the breed standard.
The ARHA Little Pack World Hunt held in April has been dubbed the “Woodstock of Beagling” drawing over 700 entries of Open, Champion, and Grand Champion classes, and taking several days to complete. Rolling the entries into 5-dog casts, the trial is conducted in elimination style competition until the final cast of 5 decides the winner.
To learn more about ARHA and find field trials near you, visit their site at http://www.arha.com.
Beagling Today 