With true grit and Southern flair, the Teacup Team embraces a journey, training and competing with spaniels.
Story by Ann N. Yungmeyer, Photos by Christina Power-Agnew
On a cold winter morning in rural Georgia, a small group of bird dog enthusiasts practice their sport, perfecting their dog handling skills with spaniels that will find, flush and retrieve game birds in a field of tall grass and brush. Several women participants, unofficially known as the “Teacup Team,” take turns handling their dogs and advancing through the field with two gunners, while the rest of the group follows along to observe the exercise. Unfazed by the damp and frigid weather, the impassioned group is accustomed to hours of fieldwork with their trainer in preparation for amateur field trial competitions.
For more than a century, field trials and hunt tests have been popular for gun dog enthusiasts working with different breeds, including pointers, retrievers, and spaniels. Both events complement upland hunting and can enhance development of the gun dog. Joining growing numbers of women in the field, the Teacup ladies are a diverse group — ages 40-77 — who came together by chance at Craney Hill Kennel in Mitchell, Georgia, a training facility specializing in developing spaniels.
WHAT’S IN A WHIMSICAL NAME?
Craney Hill owners Todd Agnew and Christina Power-Agnew, originally from Connecticut, recalled how the group evolved with several Southern ladies who owned different breeds of flushing spaniels and sought more field knowledge and adventure.
“Thus began the training, the laughter, the teasing, thousands of questions, and the challenge,” says Christina. “Perhaps the Teacup name came from the post-training afternoon picnics under the shade trees.”
No doubt the ladies’ Southern hospitality emerged, as the habit of bringing a sandwich on training days grew into a more elaborate picnic spread.
Southern charm aside, the Teacups have found inspiration working with their devoted trainer, and vice versa.
As Todd says, “These women are perceptive, persistent, and have a sense of humor, which gives them a leg up in developing a relationship with their dog.
“They do try my patience,” he jests, “but I learn and gain perspective from them every time we work together.”
CONNECTING TO CANINES
Venturing into field trialing is not a first for these ladies, who hail from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky. Many had developed a love for working dogs through various longtime interests before segueing into training and
“We would make fun of Todd’s typical lunch of potato chips with onion dip,” recalls Teacup member Louise Stewart. “Then, we began bringing things to share — pimento cheese sandwiches, homemade slaw, orzo-spinach salad, mac and cheese. The best was when our friend Jeff brought barbecued boar.”
Flowered napkins and picnic food with a Southern twist made an impression on Todd, possibly inspiring the Teacup name, though it’s primarily meant to reflect the group’s zestful nature and ardent pursuits. In the same vein, some ladies occasionally wear long wool hunt skirts in the field.
Why, one might ask? “Just for fun,” Louise explains, “and kind of a nod to history and traditional British sporting attire.”
competing with English springer spaniels and English cocker spaniels. They hunt and train with pen-raised and wild game birds — typically pheasant, grouse, chukar, woodcock, or quail.
The spaniels’ keenly developed abilities and natural traits, along with stylish questing and flushing of the bird, are showcased in the field trial. These skills, along with nuanced handling by the dog handler, contribute to winning the blue ribbon.
“Training for field trial and hunt tests gives the dogs purpose that they love,” says Susan Willingham, who ran Welsh springer spaniels in hunt tests before training at Craney Hill. “They want boundaries and to know what is expected of them; you need to learn to focus intently and how to communicate to your dog what you expect.”
When it’s not working so harmoniously, trainer Todd reminds them, “Your dog is not with you. You want to anticipate what he’s doing and give him the opportunity to pattern according to the wind and let his instincts work to find the bird.”
CHALLENGE AND REWARD
The ladies explain the challenges of learning the nuances of dog handling: reading the terrain, giving clear and consistent direction, and being alert to when the dog is “birdy,” meaning on scent and nearing the flush. They describe the exercise as a lot to process at once, thinking on your feet, and being prepared for the unexpected. And that’s precisely the challenge they like.
The Teacups also acknowledge that working with hunting dogs is for the strong-hearted. Besides the time and financial commitment, the mental and physical energy with hours in the field will test your confidence and resilience, they say. In exploring the ideals and goals of working their dogs, they remember Agnew’s truism, “It’s not about the hunt; it’s all about the relationship with the dog.”
Over the last few years, the Teacups have traveled with Craney Hill for training and competitions in Maine, Michigan, Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Nebraska, and Missouri.
The team continues to evolve as new clients join training sessions and others branch off to train individually according to specific goals. Teacup training days are not limited to women; some of the husbands and other men who train at Craney Hill will often join a session for the value of learning from others’ experiences.
The Teacups see their quest as a journey open to opportunity, adventure, and expanding their human-to-canine connection in distinctive ways. They find reward in the camaraderie and share the thrill of seeing dogs living in their element, doing what the breed does best. The ladies pave the way for others to join them in discovering many facets of the sporting dog world. And they’re always ready to share a picnic basket.
