About Us

The Rice Creek Board of Directors and
members welcome you to a truly unique dog
training club. Traditional field dog training
clubs are usually limited to one specific type
of hunting dog. Rice Creek is unique in that
in this club you will be exposed to
retrievers, spaniels and pointing dogs. Our
club strives to promote conservation by
using trained hunting dogs and to instill in
our members and their families a love of
our rich hunting heritage and true
stewardship of our natural resources.

Our club encourages its members to involve
their families in the our many activities that
you will find to be informative, entertaining
and fun. We strive and encourage all
members to promote that "family" feeling.

The club was started in 1985 by a small group of hunting dog enthusiasts, many of whom
came from the American Kennel Club obedience trials. The club was established to give
people who owned sporting breeds the opportunity to test their dogs against a standard
rather than having to compete against and have to beat every other dog in the event in order
to win. Originally named the Rice Creek Retriever Club, the first retriever test was held in
September 1986 and was among the first in the nation to hold an AKC licensed hunting test.
Shortly after the first retriever test, upon the advise of Bob Bartel, the senior AKC field
representative at that time, the club changed it's name to the Rice Creek Hunting Dog Club
and with Mr. Barthel's assistance asked for and received the approval to run all types of
hunting tests as they became available.

In 1987, the hunting tests for pointing breeds were approved by the AKC and Rice Creek
was one of the first clubs in the nation to host a licensed pointing dog test. Two years later
the rules for the spaniel tests were finally agreed upon and again, Rice Creek was among the
first clubs in the nation to host a licensed hunting test.

The Club numbers several "firsts" in the AKC hunting test program in its history. Two of the
first three champions of record in the nation, (a Chesapeake and a Golden Retriever) to earn
hunting test titles belonged to Rice Creek members. The first Master Hunter pointer in
Minnesota was a Rice Creek Brittany. The first Senior Hunter spaniels in the nation were
Rice Creek dogs, as well as the first Master Hunter spaniel in Minnesota.