the Classic format. From 1961 to 1970 the Grouse Classic was an AKC licensed trial.
Declining entries and the lack of suitable grouse eld trial grounds caused this Classic
to cease, following the 1970 running.
In 1985 the Board of Directors approved the request of the Minnesota Brittany
Club to reinstate the Grouse Classic as a Grouse/Woodcock Classic and the rst
running of this “new” Classic was held in September, 1986, near Moro, MN, as an Open
Limited Gun Dog Stake. Interestingly enough, after a lapse of fteen years, the Central
Maine Brittany Club had prepared a similar request so it seemed to bode well for the
future of this stake. The 1987 running of this Classic was at the Brown eld Bog Wildlife
Management Area, Brown eld, ME, with the Central Maine Club as host. The 1988
running was hosted by the Badger Brittany Club and run at Eau Claire, WI. Subsequent
host states have included Michigan, New Hampshire, and New York.
When the ABC was nalizing the move from Carbondale to Ardmore for the 1968
Nationals, they “looked over” the grounds by running the 1967 Futurity there in February,
1968. As a companion stake, designed to encourage maximum participation by amateurs
and pros alike, the ABC ran a National Gun Dog Stake with an entry of 62. However, it
wasn’t until 1974 that the rst Gun Dog Classic was run under the established Classic
format with the Ohio Brittany Club as host. As mentioned earlier, this is the only Classic
that may be run