“Field of Dreams” to Become A Reality
posted in General |Illinois Venue in Perry County Promises New Era for Field Trials in the Prairie State
Build it and they will come. That line from the Kevin Costner film “Field of Dreams” aptly describes what occurred September 14. Come they did to Perry County, Illinois, near Carbondale, where a revitalization of field trials in the Prairie State appears about to take place.
Visitors to the sprawling Pyramid State Park’s recently added Captain and Denmark reclaimed strip mines saw potential–4,200 acres of undulating prairie of the Captain site, and another 4,800 acres south of that acreage called the Denmark area.
It could be a high water mark in Illinois field trail history as a state senator, members of the Department of Natural Resources, officers of the Field Trial Clubs of Illinois and representatives of the pointing dog breeds came for a look. Nearly sixty of them toured the grounds on horseback and another 24 followed in a tractor-drawn wagon.
It began with the purchase of 16,000 plus acres from the Arch Mineral Corporation next to Pyramid State Park by the Illinois General Assembly with Governor George Ryan’s Illinois First monies (Senate Joint Resolution No. 29 which passed both the Senate and the House).
The purchase of this land will ensure a bright future for sporting dog events. A shoot-to-retrieve bird dog trial, a retriever event, a flushing dog trial, a beagle hunt test, a walking bird dog trial, and a championship horseback stake can occur on the new grounds. One will not interfere with the others.
Quality waterfowl hunting, deer hunting, bird watching, horseback trail riding and a quality upland hunting program can be enjoyed on the new Southern Illinois site, with an added plus of an excellent fishing program with numerous small ponds and larger lakes that dot the property.
According to Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Brent Manning, the primary use of the grounds will be “many different types of field trials for sporting dog competitions.”
When the IDNR completes its concept plan, six one-hour horseback field trial courses will be in place, thus creating a “field of dreams” for sporting dogs that have the potential to make the venue the finest in the nation. The new acreage added to Pyramid State Park make the park the largest in Illinois.
An exquisitely prepared dinner, hosted by Purina, at the Hunt Club, owned by Jill Cooke and Ron Doering in nearby Percy, had the attendees raving about Jill’s culinary prowess as the aroma of beef tenderloin permeated the Hunt Club lodge.
Earlier, after a hearty luncheon, visitors toured the grounds.
President of the Illinois Senate, James “Pate” Philip, at the young age of 72, put his foot in the stirrup, swung into the saddle, mounted on a dependable smooth horse provided by Jim Leitner, and rode the course.
Sen. Philip was the main sponsor of Senate Resolution 29 stating, “Resolved by the Senate of the Ninety-Second General Assembly of the State of Illinois, The House of Representatives concurring herein, that the Department of Natural Resources is strongly encouraged to develop the recently acquired Perry County area for horseback and other field trails, and to devote enough acreage on the Perry County area to develop six championship horseback field trial courses of sufficient area and quality to ensure field trials of the highest order can be contested.”
The resolution went on to support up-to-date habitat restoration and management practices to develop wild game and wild game bird populations to support these field trials, and to support the trials with sufficient facilities of quality and number, including stables, parking lots, dog kennels, club-house and other facilities, and that priority be given to field trial interest.
In the Illinois House of Representatives, Rep. William Black of Danville was the main sponsor, with Rep. Joel Brunsvold (Moline-Rock Island) and co-chair of the Legislative Sportsman’s Caucus added as a co-sponsor.
Borrowing the well known phrase from the movie “Field of Dream’ Sen. Philip was told, “if you build it they will come, ” meaning that the site will attract leading sporting dog championship events, and thereby bring a positive economic impact to Perry County of up to $1 million dollars for a ten-day event held on the grounds.
Southern Illinois is a favorable location for championship events, easily reached from neighboring Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, and Indiana. Already several championship stakes of national stature have expressed an interest in utilizing the new grounds–the National Red Setter Club, the AKC National Gun Dog Championship, the All-America Quail Championships, just to name a few.
Thanks to Senator Philip’s leadership and the support of Senators Weaver, Geo-Karis, Donahue, Watson, Dudyca, Karpiel, and Petka.
Thanks also the Rep. William Black for his leadership over the past 10 years and his unwavering support of sporting dog competitions, and to Rep. Jerry Mitchell and Rep. Joel Brunsvold for their joint sponsorship in the House of Representatives.
The efforts of many others cannot be overlooked — Mary Jo Trimble, American Brittany Club secretary; FTCI director Jim Leitner, trustee, Amateur Field Trial clubs of America, and FTCI director Dennis Spada; FTCI director and President of the National German Pointing Dog Championship Jim Batson; FTCI director Ray Trimble of the Illinois Brittany Championship, and IDNR Director Brent Manning, Kirby Cottrell, office director of Resource Conservation, for the IDNR, and from land’s division, Terry Musser of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources–all played a role.
Sen. Philip remarked, “This ‘field of dreams’ is truly exciting. I am very proud to be a part of it.”
It is indeed exciting. To borrow the title of Everett M. Skehan’s book, this “Fields of Dreams” under development at Pyramid State Park in Perry County will in time become Illinois’, if not the nation’s, finest sporting dogs’ “Fields of Glory.”
Joe Noe
This story appeared in the October 1992 issue of American Field