On Saturday, August 4, a group of traditional brace beaglers visited the UBGF club grounds in Kentucky. These men who all have held major offices for numerous traditional brace federations collectively represent vast experience and respect in our sport. At the last Southern Federation trial, after the Federation was not invited back to Lookout Beagle Club, the officers of the federation agreed that if another club invited us to their club for future events, we would visit the facility and evaluate whether our trial could be held there effectively.
After visiting the facility in Kentucky, the visiting group agreed that the UBGF beaglers have an impressive facility with a new clubhouse complex, many new kennels, and large fenced in running grounds; however, the group found that the running grounds would not be conducive to holding a trial in the manner to which we have become accustomed. We need many more carefully mowed areas than the group found, more rabbbits than they found, and cart access to and from the field. The UBGF facility meets the needs of the beaglers who currently use it, but it would not meet the needs of a Southern Federation trial.
I want to thank the UBGF representative, Todd Odle, for offering their facility to us. I also want to thank the brace beaglers who visited the facility, the officers of the Southern Federation for your help in making a decision about the future of the federation, the Larry Lee website for posting the on-line
survey relative to the UBGF offer, and Brace Beagle News for printing on short notice a questionnaire for beagler use.
After analyzing all of the input from various sources since our last federation trial at Lookout, I as President of the Southern Federation, am sorry to say that effective today, August 4, 2012, the Southern Federation will no longer exist or hold federation trials. I thank everyone for the wonderful
memories and help associated with the Southern from 1958 to 2012.
As a footnote, I was upset to learn that a beagler, who represents a national company whose products are purchased and used by many brace beaglers, found it necessary to approach our visiting group at the UBGF grounds and tell them that he did not like the performance of our dogs, when our group did not offer any opinions concerning the dogs that he ran in trials.
So we now have six federations. Ron Burdett and I will inform you of the dispersal of the Southern's remaining assets.
Art Boger