Strupp’s dogs took top honors at the field trial, an endurance event on horseback designed to test the Dalmatian ability to “coach”, or follow the horses. The dog in the forefront, “Aberdeen’s Let’s Make A Deal”, earned the High in Trial honors at the national event.
A love of animals combined with the ability to train those animals leads to a winning combination every time. Peggy Ann Strupp, Crane, trains her Dalmatians for field trials, and in May, her two dogs won first and second places in their class at the Dalmatian Club of America’s National Show and Field Trials, held this year in Tulsa, OK from May 3-9.
Strupp’s two Dalmatians competed in a class of five judged obedience exercises and in a twelve and a half mile endurance test. Judges rated the dogs based on obedience and on conditioning. The judges are on horseback and so are the competitors, with the competitors’ dogs obeying commands as directed.
“There is a ‘hock’ class which is the same as ‘heel’ for those on foot,” comments Strupp. “Dogs walk in position beside the horse for 200 yards. The second exercise is a 200 yard ‘hock with distraction’, such as a person walking a dog on leash. The third exercise is ‘recall’ which is the same as ‘come’. Dogs are allowed to run free, and then must return to position by the horse on command. The fourth exercise is a ‘stay’ which the dog must sit for one minute. In the fifth exercise, the horse runs at a gallop for 100 yards and the dog must keep up. The fifth exercise is based on the days when Dalmatians ran beside horse drawn fire wagons.”
She adds, “Teaching a dog to stay when a person is on horseback is difficult for dogs, for some reason. I don’t know if it is the height or what, but I train my dogs inside by standing on a table and training them to stay.”
The second half of the field trial consists of a twelve and a half mile endurance ride, with a vet check for dogs at the start, middle, and end of the ride. “The vet awards the dog points based on physical health and often a dog wins because of the veterinarian’s points,” Strupp notes. “Conditioning is very important. Three dogs ended up with the same score in obedience, so the veterinarian’s scores decided the winner.”
She adds, “To prepare for these trials consists of conditioning as well as obedience. I follow a conditioning program with them and with my horses. We work up to four miles, then we go to six and eight miles, and then two weeks before the event we are up to twelve miles two times a week.”
Strupp’s interest in training Dalmatians for field trial work originated in her youth. “I always loved horses, and when I was a child, we couldn’t afford horses so I had Dalmatians,” she recalls. “I liked the looks of Dalmatians because they are pretty and they had a look to them that reminded me of horses. At that time I had no idea of the connection between Dalmatians and horses.”
Strupp owned Dalmatians for five years before she got a horse. She also discovered the unique connection between her chosen dogs and horses, and that sparked her interest in training Dalmatians for the job for which they had originally been bred. As well, the Dalmatian Club of America, after a hiatus of many years, revived in 1989, so Strupp began showing at the National Show. “I generally attend the national show every year,” Strupp says, “but there are also a few regional shows each year and sometimes I’ll attend one or two of them as well.”
Strupp finds training dogs, riding horses,and preparing for competition provides her with enormous satisfaction. “I love animals, I’ve always loved horses; Dalmatians fit well with horses,and I like training dogs,” Strupp concludes. “I also enjoy trail riding, so Dalmatians and horses make a great combination for me. The national event itself motivates me to do more riding than I would do normally. I get more use out of my horse, I get to train dogs, and I love it.”
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