Eupora native Kent Patterson has been inducted into the American Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame.
Now of Franklin, Tennessee, he is the son of Shelia Patterson and the late Harpole Patterson of Eupora.
The induction ceremony was held Feb. 10 at the National Bird Dog Museum in Grand Junction, Tennessee.
For over three decades, 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 serves on the board of directors of the Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame in Grand Junction. In May of 2017, he became only the fourth Purina Pro Plan liaison for ABC.
Patterson 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 nine championships.
A bird hunter for over 50 years, Patterson’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 Maxwells White Spirit.
He took ABC National Amateur All Age Runner-Up titles with Maxwells Gunsmoke in 2008 and Piney Run Art in 2012. All told Patterson has won 16 American Field Championships, from the Deep South’s red clay to the Missouri Breaks of South Dakota.
While Patterson 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.
Always willing to climb in the judicial saddle, his assignments have included the inaugural ABC National Derby Invitational, American Brittany Club Eastern All-Age Futurity, the Pennsylvania Shooting Dog Championship and various regional Brittany club trials in six states. He accepted a judicial position last fall for two trials that qualify dogs for the national championship in Grand Junction. Additionally, he was a judge at the Irish Setter National Championship at Booneville, Arkansas, in October.
A skilled wordsmith, Patterson 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 five times, the Deep South Brittany Free-for-All Championship for all 10 years of its existence and the Dixieland Championship 15 times. He also reported the 2017 ABC National All Age Championship.
Unselfish is a word that best describes Patterson. His great sportsmanship, good cheer and longtime commitment to the Brittany at all levels makes him most deserving of induction into the Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame.
