Tracy Hayes
North Carolina
Background
Tracy Hayes has lived a lifetime with gun dogs. His first two dogs were a prezzie from a family mate he got when he was 9 years old. Coming from a birddog family, his youth was chockers with pointing dogs, quail, grouse and pointing dog field trials. In his early twenties, after graduating from Virginia Tech, he snagged his first lab and it’s been a life-long love affair.
For nearly twenty years, agriculture was his job but retrievers were his obsession. In 1990, he saw a sign that said NAHRA hunt tests. He stopped and had a squiz at Charlie Jurney, Allen Pleasants and a few other hunt test trainers and his life was never the same. He co-founded Big Elkin Creek Waterfowl and Retrievers in 1993. Over the next several years, with a hand from Charlie Jurney, he picked up the art and skill of training retrievers. In the late nineties, he started training full-time and set up Quail Hill Farm Kennels—the rest is history.
At Quail Hill Farm Kennels, training hunting retrievers for the true hunter is top priority. With several acres to train on they almost never have to nick off the property to give their gun dogs top-notch training opportunities. They train almost exclusively for working gun dogs and HRC hunt tests with the top dogs participating in every HRC Grand. They're stoked about training owners to become ace handlers for their retrievers.
Other Senior Prostaff
Tony Nickerson
Tony's been involved with hunting dogs for the past 28 years. He first got into hounds and retrievers, and in more recent years he's been involved with the versatile hunting breeds, specifically the Wirehaired Pointing Griffon. On average, he goes bird hunting in the area between 30 and...
Nathan Fields
Nathan started coonhunting with his mates when he was 10. He began competition hunting when he was 14. He's been the President of Sun Valley Coon Club in Crittenden, Kentucky for 10 years. His accomplishments to date are over $31,000 career earnings in PKC. He's been to the...
Mitch Watson
Mitch is a highly experienced dog trainer with over 20 years in the industry. A former Police Dog Handler and ex-RSPCA Inspector specialising in animal cruelty investigations, he has dedicated more than a decade to domestic dog training. His expertise spans security dogs, assistance dogs, and therapy dogs, earning him recognition as a preferred trainer for numerous dog rescue organisations.
