Spaniel Field Trials at Burwash

"The grounds selected were at Burwash, just south of Sudbury, Ontario.  This is the site of an old, abandon[ned], prison farm that provides over 5,000 acres of open fields and lush terrain.  It is public property and is ideal for Spaniel Field Trials - giving many choices of varied cover and terrain.  If you attended the 1999 Canadian National Spaniel Field Trial Championship or spoke to others who have (117 of them), you know that we have lots of room and choices.  A field trialers dream!" - Gerald Babin Spaniel Journal http://www.spanieljournal.com/gbabin.html

Spaniels at Burwash - 2003 The Sudbury and District Kennel Club has enjoyed the use of the Burwash site for the past 25 years. Our club hosts spaniel field trials on the property where competitors from all parts of North America have come to compete with their Spaniels. In 1999 the Sudbury and District Kennel Club hosted the Canadian National Spaniel Field Trial Championship. We required a number of very large fields that had suitable cover and presented a challenge to what we anticipated would be a large entry...perhaps 65 dogs, somewhat the same number of entrants that attended the Calgary National the year before. Our distant location from the US border presented some logistical problems so we decided to launch a web site in order to promote the event and entice competitors to come to Sudbury, this was a first for this event. Photographs were placed on the website showing the beautiful rolling natural fields and depicting the immense size of the area. The lake on the Burwash site made the whole area a field trialers dream and I tried to convey to all via our web site. As entries started to come in it soon became apparent that we would surpass the anticipated number and we ended up with a total entry of 117 dogs, the largest entry at any Spaniel Field Trial in the history of North America, at that time. Some of the western Spaniel Clubs began to voice their concern, wondering how we could hold such a large event on Sudbury's "Moon Scape". I told the boy's from Winnipeg  "Just come to Sudbury and you'll be pleasantly surprised with what we have to offer." Upon there arrival, all competitors were filled with awe over the lay of the land and comments like "This is incredible!" and "Boy, are you guy's ever lucky to have access to such a beautiful peace of land!" It became the general conscience that the Burwash site is one of the best field Trial grounds in North America. Spaniel Field Trials are events where a Spaniel's natural ability is tested. Qualities such as desire to hunt, keen sense of smell, willingness and capability of making long and sometimes difficult retrieves and ability to take commands but also sort things out on there own is what champions are made of. It is these dogs that produce the hunting and companion dogs that we all know. Also, it is these qualities that are sought by law enforcement agencies throughout the country for drug sniffer and bomb detecting dogs. Spaniel Field Trials benefit all people and the next time you hear of a drug bust or a bomb threat at some High School, chances are an English Springer Spaniel is part of that detecting team and his parents were Field Trial Champions and may have competed at Burwash. - Gerald Babin Field Trial Chairman Sudbury and District Kennel Club

Military training exercises for Reservists with the Department of National Defense.

Bird Watching Groups keep an eye on the birds at Burwash.

Police use Burwash as a training area.