Delmar Smith named Park Cities Quail 2016 T. Boone Pickens Lifetime Sportsman Award winner

Written by Park Cities Quail

Park Cities Quail is proud to honor Mr. Delmar Smith as the 2016 recipient of the T. Boone Pickens Lifetime Sportsman Award to be presented on March 3, 2016, during their 10th Annual Dinner and Auction at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas.

Delmar has devoted a lifetime to the sport of gun dogs and bird dogs as a breeder, trainer and judge. As a conservationist he was at the forefront of ecological and biological studies to create superior environments for the propagation of gamebirds. Those areas have since been developed into excellent field trial grounds throughout the mid- and southwestern United States.

Delmar grew up on a ranch in Big Cabin, Oklahoma where he spent his childhood riding horseback to and from school and working for local dog trainers. By the time Delmar was 13, he had saved enough money from cleaning dog pens to take a horse-training course. He applied the techniques learned in that course to create “The Delmar Smith Method”. It was this revolutionary way for training bird dogs that led him to become one of America’s most respected trainers producing two books and three videos.

Many of Delmar’s own students have become excellent trainers and field trial competitors and attribute their success to his tutelage. Outdoor writer Tom Davis said, while it’s likely that Delmar Smith has trained more bird dogs than anyone, ever, what’s not even remotely in dispute is that he’s trained more PEOPLE to train bird dogs than anyone. And he’s trained them to do it humanely and intelligently. His seminars are now instructed by his son, Rick Smith, and his nephew, Ronnie Smith.

Delmar has bred, trained, and handled bird dogs to numerous championships including five Brittany National Championships, five US Open Brittany Championships and two Brittany National Futurity. In fact, between Delmar, his sons Rick and Tom and his nephew Ronnie, they have won numerous International, National and US Open championships. Delmar also helped initiate the first AKC Shooting Dog Stakes, the Fleetwood Classic and the International Endurance Championship.

At 89 years of age, Delmar has not slowed down and still keeps a kennel of 75 dogs. He continues to be in demand as both a field trial judge and consultant which allows him to give back to the sport that has been so good to him. Delmar is a generous supporter of the Bird Dog Foundation and the Field Trial Hall of Fame where he was an inductee in 1998.

More information is available at parkcitiesquail.org.

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