As the air turns colder and the beards grow thicker, the hunters of Greene County are also getting a growing gleam in their eyes. ‘Tis almost the season for throwing on the orange and neon and hitting the hills and tree stands. Every year, a local club awaits hunting season, excited to show what they have been working on – the Waynesburg Beagle Club.
Established in the early 1900s, the club originally stood where the Waynesburg Sportsman Club is today. It was moved to its current spot in Jefferson in 1948 where it now boasts over a hundred acres. Forty of those acres serve as a safe, enclosed training area for beagles.
“Waynesburg Beagle Club’s aim is to develop accurate trailing Beagles and promote trials to test and condition hunting beagles,” says Curtis “Jay” Johnson, President of the organization. “Our mission is to promote the sport of beagling competitions.”
To promote the breed and owners, the club hosts competition trials for dogs and handlers to compete in. These trials involved simulated rabbit hunts where the dogs are scored on their ability to both find the rabbit and the speed and consistency of their tracking. These events attract handlers from all over to prove the talents of their hounds.
The Waynesburg Beagle Club is a private organization with a maximum of forty dues paying members currently. These members get to enjoy the running grounds of the property enclosed by a fence along with the various events held by the club during the year.
“We have competition events throughout the year. Some of the events are held under the Professional Kennel Club (PKC) rules and others held under United Kennel Club rules,” Johnson adds. “In both cases, the dogs receive points on how well they perform and at the end of the timed competition, the beagle with the highest point total is deemed the winner. This past year, the club hosted its first annual Terry Lemley Memorial Hunt which drew dog handlers from all over the county to Greene County.”
One of the favorite competitions of the members is also Field Trials. In it, the beagles are competing against one another to determine which dog is best on that given day. Despite the nature of the competitions, no rabbits are harmed during any of the Beagle competitions.
“The majority of beagle handlers and owners in our club enjoy listening to the wonderful sounds of a pack of beagle hounds as they pursue the wild cottontail, which they were bred to do,” Johnson says.
In the future, the club hopes to be the premiere home for competition beagle events in Greene County. They plan to continue promoting the breed and encouraging the sport of beagling to a new generation through hosting youth hunts and sponsoring scholarships to students in Greene County.
FMI on the Waynesburg Beagle Club, visit waynesburgbeagleclub.org. To learn more about beagling and UKC beagle programs, check out ukcdogs.com/beagle-about.
