Kent Patterson
Inducted: 2018

For over 3 decades, Kent Patterson has been an enthusiastic supporter of field trialing and the American Brittany, serving tirelessly in various roles at the National, Regional and local level. For 11 years he was a director for the East Central Region of the American Brittany Club. He served as the ABC National Field Trial dates coordinator, currently chairs the ABC Hall of Fame Committee for Dogs and is a member of the ABC Finance Committee. He has been the only ABC Tritronics/Garmin Shooting Dog Award Points Coordinator in its 11 year history and was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame in Grand Junction, TN. In May of 2017, he becomes only the 4th Purina Pro Plan Liaison for ABC.

Kent is a founding member of the Music City Brittany Club and its Dixieland Championship for which he has been the Field Trial Secretary for 19 years. He was a founding member and director for the Deep South Brittany Free-for-All Championship, a two series endurance event considered by breed stalwarts to be one of the most difficult championships to capture. His male, 5X CH One-N-Only, won the title in back-to-back years 2006 and 2007. At the national level, he has been on the ABC National All Age Field Trial Committee for 9 Championships.

A bird hunter for over 50 years, Kent’s passion is handling dogs, particularly big running all-age dogs and he is widely considered one of the most skilled amateur handlers in the country. Twice he has won the ABC National Amateur All Age Championship, in 2006 with Just Call Me Roy and in 2007 with his own dog Maxwell’s White Spirit. He took ABC National Amateur All Age Runner-Up titles with Maxwell’s Gunsmoke in 2008 and Piney Run Art in 2012. All told Kent has won 16 American Field Championships, from the Deep South’s red clay to the Missouri Breaks of South Dakota.

While Kent has hunted and trained his own dogs on wild birds in Kansas, Nebraska and the Dakotas, he’s also supported a number of professional trainers including Bob and Rob Rohner, Maurice Lindley, Gene Stewart, Frank Hanwright and Ben Lorenson.

Always willing to climb into the judicial saddle, his assignments have included the inaugural ABC National Derby Invitational, American Brittany Club Eastern All-Age Futurity, The PA Shooting Dog Championship, and various regional Brittany club trials in Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Ohio. He has accepted a judicial position in the fall of 2017 for two trials that qualify dogs for the National Championship in Grand Junction, TN, The Dominion Chicken Open All Age Championship at Mortlach, SK and the Tootsie Hurdle Championship in Blue Mountain, MS. Additionally, he will judge the Irish Setter National Championship at Booneville, AR in October 2017.

A skilled wordsmith, Kent has written a variety of articles, both biographical and fiction, for the American Brittany Magazine, American Field, and Pointing Dog Journal. His Patron Article honoring Jim and Janet Chase hangs in the Bird Dog Museum. He is a much sought after field trial reporter and was scribe for the ABC National Amateur All Age Championship in Booneville 5 times, the Deep South Brittany Free-for-All Championship all 10 years of its existence, and the Dixieland Championship 15 times. He will report the 2017 ABC National All Age Championship.

Unselfish is a word that best describes Kent.  His great sportsmanship, good cheer, and long time commitment to the Brittany at all levels makes him most deserving of induction into the Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame.