What is a trial?

What is a trial?

Terrier trials are nothing like dog shows you see on TV. Spayed and neutered "just pets" have gone to the JRTCA Nationals and come home champions. Requirements are minimal...you must own a Jack Russell Terrier, you must be a member of JRTCA (available at the trial site), and you must want to have fun with your terrier.

Terrier trials are about fun.

Classes offered at this trial will be Conformation, Racing, and Go To Ground. If you've attended a fun day, you've participated in Racing and Go To Ground already. If your dog can walk on a leash, you can enter conformation. If you would like to enter but are unsure what classes you can/should enter, email or call me or ask at the registration table at the trial. We'll gladly help you figure out which classes to enter and get you ready to enjoy your first terrier trial!

Each day is a new trial. We invite you to come watch the events on Saturday and see what terrier trials are about and then you can enter for Sunday. A brief description of the events offered follow.

Conformation classes are judged much like any other dog show. The winner is the terrier that most closely matches the breed standard. In addition to conformation and movement, the terrier is judged on temperament; as in all things having to do with Jack Russells, the best working terrier is being sought. JRTCA sanctioned conformation judges are required to have an in-depth, first-hand knowledge of terrier work, and understand the importance of the physical characteristics necessary for a terrier to be useful for the work he was bred to do.
There has been a great increase in the conformation showing of Jack Russells in recent years. Conformation exhibiting has been very effective in the U.S. in promoting correct conformation according to the breed standard, thereby improving the quality of the breeding stock in this country. However, while showing is beneficial to the breed in that respect, the JRTCA designs its trials to keep the working aspects of the terrier in the forefront.

Tips on Conformation Showing

Make your terrier comfortable on a leash and with strangers
The condition of your terrier plays an important role in how well your terrier will do in the conformation ring
When you are asked to walk your terrier across the ring, walk him. Set your sights on where you want to go and walk there, briskly. Don't have the leash strung up tightly.
Keep your attention on what the judge is doing. When the judge is busy, relax your terrier. When the judge is at the end of the individual examination, get your dog's attention and make sure he's standing alertly.
No matter what your terrier does when you are showing him, do not reprimand - this will get his tail down.
Make sure there is adequate space between your terrier and the ones on either side.
Be a good sport and congratulate those who beat you. If you're a winner, win with dignity.

Go To Ground:

Everything about the Jack Russell has fox hunting in mind....coloring, conformation, character, and intelligence. The body is compact, of totally balanced proportions, the shoulders clean, the legs straight, and most importantly, a small chest (easily spannable by average size hands at the widest part behind the shoulders). The Jack Russell must also be totally flexible, allowing him to maneuver underground. This conformation allows the terrier to follow his quarry down narrow earths. The fox is a good model for the Jack Russell-where the fox can go, so must the terrier. Although originally bred for fox hunting, the Jack Russell is a versatile working terrier to a variety of quarry including red and grey fox, raccoon and woodchuck.

The Go-To-Ground (GTG) trial event was designed to simulate and test a Jack Russell's ability to hunt and work underground. It is a matter of opinion as to whether a good Go-to-Ground terrier will make a good hunting terrier (or visa versa). It is the closest some terriers may ever get to any type of "work". Although it really is more or less a game for the terriers, it is a good training step towards the day your terrier may do real earthwork. It stimulates the natural instinct to do what they were bred for, to hunt!
General Rules

The terrier is placed in front of an artificial hole (the tunnel is usually made of wood and appears to be an opening to the earth). All four of the terrier's feet must be touching the ground. The GTG judge will instruct the handler to release the terrier when the handler and terrier are ready. The terrier will move through the tunnel as fast as it can. The end of the tunnel has a grate over the opening to keep the terrier from attacking the quarry - a rat in a cage. The GTG judge times the terrier from the moment it is released until it begins to "mark" the quarry (i.e., bark, whine, scratch, etc). Depending upon the class entered (novice, open, championship), the terrier must mark the quarry for a predetermined period of time (usually 30 seconds or a minute). If the terrier successfully marks the quarry, the time is recorded and the terrier is eligible for a ribbon. If the terrier is unsuccessful in marking the quarry, the time does not count and the terrier is disqualified.

GTG Trial Certificate

To obtain a Trial Certificate after scoring 100% in an Open class at a JRTCA sanctioned trial, the owner of the adult terrier shall submit a copy of the qualifying score sheet, along with a $20 filing fee, to the JRTCA office. The score sheet is good for the life of the dog and may be submitted with the registration application if the terrier is not already registered with the JRTCA.

Racing is perhaps the most exciting of all the terrier trial events. There are two types of races: flat and hurdles (also known as Steeplechase). A JRTCA sanctioned track must be minimum of 150 feet long (200+ feet is recommended), and is a straight course with a starting box at one end and a stack of straw or hay bales with a hole in the middle (the finish line) at the other. A lure (usually a piece of scented fur) is attached to a piece of string that is pulled along by a Lure machine. The dogs are muzzled for safety (theirs and the catchers). The first dog to cross the finish line (behind the bales at the entry to the catch pen) is the winner. That is not always the dog that was first as they entered the hole in the hay bales! Each race may be a series of heats, semis, and finals. A championship race is run in each division and is a competition between the winners of the flat and hurdle races. To qualify for the championships those dogs MUST have run in BOTH their flat and hurdle races.