Future of beagle club is in youth

One way to continue a tradition is to make sure that succeeding generations become interested in the activity.
The Trumbull County ARHA Beagle Club is well on its way to doing that.
The club held its annual youth day Saturday on the grounds of the Steel City Sportsmans Club on John White Road in Hubbard. The event attracted 44 children between age 4 and 16 and paired them with beagles for both bench and field trial activities.
Club officers and members were both pleased with the number of children who attended.
Good turnout
"This is a good turnout," said club member Lee Hoyack of Twinsburg. Hoyack said that beagle events such as the youth day, using beagles to hunt rabbit, and just regular club activities are popular in Ohio.
Gary Lewis of Girard, president of the club, was also pleased with the turnout and what it meant for the future of the club as well as for the children involved.
"This is something that goes on every weekend," Lewis said of beagle club activity. "It's something that will keep kids off the streets and out of trouble."
Lewis said the youth event is also something that shows people what a beagle club is all about. "We're trying to get a little interest," he said. "We're showing them that here's something where there's no guns, drugs or alcohol."
The children who took part Saturday first were given instruction on showing beagles. Experienced bench handlers instructed the children on the proper positioning and techniques on how to get the dogs to stay still.
Field trial instruction brought the children together with dogs in groups of five or six. The dogs were taken to specific locations and then released by the kids in hopes that the dogs would "jump" or discover a rabbit and then the chase would be on.
The smaller group of beagles run by the Trumbull club is known as a little pack. There are some clubs who use the large-pack method in which every dog that shows up is added to a single group and they all run together.
Scoring the trial
Scoring depended on which dog jumped a rabbit first, how long the dogs could track the animal and a number of other factors. One important aspect is that the dogs track only rabbits. Points are subtracted if the dog chased any other animals, deer or fox, for example.
Every child who participated was paired with a trained beagle owned by one of the Trumbull club's members.
Alley and Gunner Wunderlich, the children of Mr. and Mrs. Brett Wunderlich of Cleveland, followed a beagle named Peeler owned by their uncle Todd Wunderlich.
Alley said she loves to fish but was reserving judgment on beagle field trial. "I want to see what happens today first," she said.
XFor more information on the club and its activities, contact Gary Lewis at (330) 545-9641, Jeff Williams at (330) 638-2514 or Mark Limestoll at (440) 293-5618.
braun@vindy.com