The East Tennessee Retriever
Club, Inc, ("ETRC") is a "not for profit corporation" founded in
1985 by a group of dedicated Tennessee sportsmen. ETRC is
a licensed member club governed by the American Kennel Club, and is also a
member of the Master National and Master Amateur Retriever Clubs. The club is based
in the Knoxville, TN, area and draws most of its membership from
the East Tennessee region and the surrounding states of Georgia,
Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. ETRC conducts several
AKC Hunt Tests for Retrievers each year, usually in the spring and fall.
Back in 1985, the club was in
its infant stage, and things were different. Our name then was
"East Tennessee Amateur Retriever Club", and we ran both Field
Trials and Hunt Tests in our club events. The Club had to run
club trials and fun tests for 2 years before the AKC allowed us
to run an official Hunt Test. Of course with such a young club,
the club events were Puppy, Junior, and Senior events. Most of
the club events were held either at the Charlie Browder farm in
Sweetwater, TN, or the Chuck Atchley farm in Sevierville, TN,
which is still being used today. All of the early AKC tests were
held at the Browder farm. In 1987 we held our first AKC
sanctioned "A" Hunt Test, and during that same year we held a
joint club trial with the Chattanooga Retriever Club. With these
back to back events, our club learned much more about running
official events. Our proud day came in November when the ETRC
held its first AKC sanctioned Hunt Test. We had a small start,
with 61 Junior, 15 Senior, and 9 Master entries, but it was a
successful event and we were on our way!
In February of 1989, the East
Tennessee Amateur Retriever Club dropped the "Amateur", and
became the East Tennessee Retriever Club (ETRC). We also changed
our logo to the current logo, which was included on our May 5,
1989, newsletter for the first time. In 1992 the club joined the
Master National Retriever Club, which allowed passes earned by
dogs at ETRC’s AKC Master Hunter Tests to count towards
qualification for the Master National Retriever test held each
year by the Master National Retriever Club.
1993 proved to be a tense year
for the club because the Charlie Browder dairy farm was being
auctioned off and sold into tracts. The farm was auctioned off
in April, but with the help of one of our founding members, Jim
Holcomb, we were able to use enough of the property to hold our
final AKC Hunt Test at the Browder farm in May. The committee
assigned to search for new grounds located a new farm for Hunt
Tests and training, the Calvin Holt Farm, and the club conducted
its first Hunt Test on the new grounds in November of that same
year and continued there through 2006.
In March of 2000, we finally became a Member Club
of the American Kennel Club, which gave us voting privileges at
AKC meetings. A Delegate was elected to represent us at AKC
meetings and vote on behalf of the club and report upcoming
changes or recommendations to the club.
In 2007, we began a search for
new grounds on which to hold our training days and hunt tests.
We still needed a place to hold our hunt tests during the search
and secured Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in Birchwood, TN. for our
spring 2007 AKC Hunt Test. We have continued to hold our spring tests there
to the present time, and some of our fall tests as well.
We continued our search for new
grounds for training and hunt tests. We looked at several
locations and were granted permission from Mr. Richard Kinzalow
to use his 450-acre farm. The farm has large fields and
two large ponds. We held our AKC Hunt Tests at the Kinzalow Farm
in fall of 2007 and continued to hold the spring tests at
Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge. In 2010 we moved all of our AKC Hunt
Tests to Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge and continued to use the
Kinzalow Farm for Training for several more years.
In 2014 we gained permission from Roane
Regional and Industrial Park to use their undeveloped land for training.
This property was several hundred acres, and we were also able to use
the large pond next door that was owned by one of the businesses in the
industrial park. This arrangement continued until fall 2022.
For the last several years, we have been fortunate to
use the Lucky 7 Ranch in Sweetwater for our fall tests. This farm is almost
400 acres and has 19 ponds, including two technical ponds. We have also been able to
use Brian Caldwell's farm for smaller tests with only one or two test sites -- perfect
for midweek Master tests! We continue to have access to the Hiwassee Reserve for one
spring test, at least for the present time, and often use the Cory Smith and Lois Luthenauer
farms for smaller events.
What began as a group of 22
people sharing an interest in the sport has grown to a club with
around 50-60 members. As you can see, the East Tennessee Retriever
Club has come a long way since 1985, and we are still striving
to give the members of the club opportunities to advance
themselves and their dogs in our quest to achieve the Hunt Test
standard. With a little "southern hospitality", great weather,
really tall tales, and beautiful land to train and compete
on, the sky is the limit. IT
DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER
THAN THIS!
