The Spark
Some people chase trophies. I’ve spent my life chasing hunting dogs.
From Taylor County’s flatwoods to the storied plantations of the South and the windswept trial grounds up north, there’s nothing quite like watching a dog do exactly what God designed it to do. Field trialing elevates that instinct. It’s not just a sport, it’s a passion, a tradition and, for me, a lifelong addiction I’ve never wanted cured… though my wife,Erica, might feel otherwise.
The Competitive Tradition
The competitiveness of field trials rivals anything in sports. On the storied grounds of the plantations we represent, I’ve seen Type A personalities, backed by fortunes, operate with the precision of professional franchises.
Ted Turner, for instance, once spoke with Architectural Digest about the Georgia-Florida Field Trial. He said: “For 20 years we entered it and lost. The joke was that I’d already won the America’s Cup and the World Series. I just thought it’d be colorful to win the field trial, too. And last year I was there when we did with Tucker, a beautiful four-year-old English Setter, and I got a wonderful rush.”
Across the South, there are four great “Plantation Belts” – the Red Hills, Albany, Union Springs and the ACE Basin – which account for over 1.2 million acres of the finest bird dog grounds in America. Turner’s once 30,000-acre Avalon and 17,000-acre Nonami in Georgia embodied the “all-in” commitment. In Alabama, client Bud Moore’s Shell Creek comprised 4,000 acres tailored for trial training. I even had one client who flew his champion bird dog to competitions in a private jet.
I came from a different world. My first dog box was cobbled together from 2x4s – dubbed the “Elephant Box” by friends in Perry, Florida. In a town that invented the aluminum toolbox, my wooden contraption was an early reminder that the capitalistic system was leaving me behind. Every three-dollar quail I trained with was treated like a hundred-dollar bill, yet I loved every minute of it.
As a broke law school student, I once called the legendary Bob Wehle about getting on the waiting list for one of his Elhew Pointers.
The call ended shortly after he told me the price – $1,000. And that was thirty years ago.
The Modern Gold Standard
Wehle’s methods still hold up, but others have since raised the bar. Today, Sean Derrig and his Erin’s Covey Pointe line of dogs are as close to perfection as I’ve seen. Erin’s Perfect Storm recently won the National Championship at Ames Plantation.
We sold Derrig his original planta-tion and watched him turn it into one of the finest bird dog grounds in America. Like the New England Patriots of the early 2000s, he hasn’t just won – he’s defined what winning looks like. The difference is that he’s shared that success, generously giving his time, knowledge and dogs to others.
Just as God created the earth for us to inhabit, enjoy and share a relationship with Him, Derrig and other like-minded landowners have created their own “mini worlds” for enjoying all types of hunting dogs.
My First Steps
My own journey began in law school in Michigan. I missed watching dogs work, so I went to a summer trial just to see them run. I knew no one, and I had only one English pointer, Jake, who would later become our company’s logo.
Standing near a picnic table, I greeted some strangers in dusty chaps and clean whistles. As I walked away, one called out: “If you ever want to work some dogs, come by my kennel.”
I almost kept walking. Instead, I turned around. That decision changed my life. I miss a lot of opportunities God gives me, but I got this one right.
Soon I was working dogs, learning professional training techniques, and competing. That handler, Ed Hart, would later winter 40 dogs at Lick Skillet to train for the Continental at Livingston Place and other major trials – a dog man’s paradise.
Over the years, I’ve owned more than 20 dogs, sometimes a dozen at a time, and competed across the country. I eventually bred my best bitch to Elhew Fibber McGee at Pinebloom Plantation, and the pups were everything I’d hoped for. Today, my pointers carry Erin lineage.
I’ve never craved the trappings of status – country clubs, sports cars or big boats – but I can easily overspend on anything to do with bird dogs. In my ca-reer I’ve represented some very famous people – most recently Jake Paul, whose plantation purchase drew over a billion media impressions. I don’t get star-struck, but I will admit when I met Shell Creek Coin, the back-to-back National Champion in 2006 and 2007, I wasn’t leaving without a picture.
The Next Generation
Representing legacy properties means always thinking about the next generation. Society changes. The original “Yankees who created the Southern sport of quail hunting” are long gone. We recently listed Maytag Plantation, LB Maytag’s lake portion of his original 12,000-acre Sedgefields Plantation in Union Springs. Because of him, the town is known as the “Field Trial Capital of the World.” Will the next generation continue these traditions?
It seems that almost everyone I know hunts, but the reality is that only 1% of Floridians now buy a hunting license. Nationwide, it’s under 5%. And if someone doesn’t start as a youth, chances are they never will. How many of the 60% of four-year-olds who now have an iPad will grow up falling in love with the outdoors like we did?
The Firearm Industry Trade Association (NSSF) found that 90% of hunters were introduced by a family member or mentor. I serve on the National Board of Quail Forever/Pheasants Forever, and at every meeting someone raises the concern of R3 – Recruitment, Retention, and Reactivation. This is a huge storm on the horizon.
The type of hunting has also shifted. Trophy deer properties now often sell for more per acre than even wild quail plantations. Why? Because a generation ago, the mentors of today’s buyers weren’t talking about how many cov-eys they found – they were telling stories around the campfire about shooting big bucks. The young impressionable minds sitting there soaked it in. The key take-away was simple: true success meant one day owning a great deer place.
Closer to home, people like Chris Mathan, founder of the Youth Field Trial Alliance (YFTA), are making a stand to reverse the tide. Since 2008, she’s published Strideaway, an online field trial magazine. Her approach is practical – get kids started by running retired trial dogs and help them bypass the intimidating need to ride horseback. These sparks matter.
will trade bird dogs for screens, and the traditions we cherish could fade away.
Why It Really Matters
When I think back, I remember Jake, the dog who started it all, and that chance meetaing at a picnic table. I think of the people I’ve met, the friendships forged and the dogs that shaped my life. Running bird dogs has never been just about covey rises. It’s about stewardship, tradition and the bond between handler and dog.
The older I get, the more I see God’s fingerprints in all of it. The reason we have these dogs, and the little worlds we build for them, is for our enjoyment – for their companionship and the joy of watching them do what they were created to do.
Isn’t that the relationship God wants with us? Scripture says we were created by God for His pleasure – to have a relationship with Him, to walk faithfully and to glorify Him. And just
as a bird dog is happiest on point, we are most fulfilled when we are living out the purpose for which we were made.
The Bible states we don’t truly own any of this – not the land, not the dogs we train, not even the breath in our lungs. What we call “ours” is only on loan from the true Owner. Our calling is not ownership, but faithfulness. Maybe that’s why dog people are good people: they understand loyalty, trust and devotion to a loving Master.
As for me, I’ll keep running dogs and sharing God’s great outdoors for as long as He allows.
But I know, at the end of the day, that God also has expectations of me. He seeks a relationship with me just as I en-joy one with my favorite dogs.
Life is about walking in His fields, managing what He’s entrusted and living in a way that points – like a faithful bird dog – toward the glory of a loving Creator.
From murky farm ponds to pristine glacier-cut lakes and everything in between, Knox Daniels’ expertise stems from a lifelong fascination of water and the creatures that live in and around it. He recognizes and helps clients appreciate the value water features bring to a property. “My goal is to help buyers realize and sellers maximize the value different water bodies bring to a property, not only in a recreational sense, but also for social storm reasons.” After extensively traveling the country for collegiate BASS fishing tournaments, Knox graduated and worked for the Southeast’s finest fisheries and wildlife biologist, Greg Grimes. With Grimes’ company, AES, Knox managed many of the southeast’s finest private lake estate/impoundment properties, and learned the intricacies of upscale property management. Learning from Greg and other biologists, Knox honed in on the specific conditions and habitat needed for optimal gamefish growth in private lakes. He has also worked as a property manager on several thousand acres and for a commercial developer, facilitating the dirt work and builds of several apartment complexes, but his true passion has always been in the outdoors. “I’ve always had an insatiable fascination with ponds/lakes and am grateful to be able to help to place clients on the properties of their dreams and make their personal fisheries/wildlife goals reality with JKA.” – Knox Daniels
Jason has been assisting landowners for the last 28 years in Georgia and South Carolina obtain achievements the owners did not realize were possible. His degree in Biology from Georgia Southern stemmed from the desire to know how things in nature work. His plantation roots began at just 16 years old outside of Albany, GA and the last 20 years were spent in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His entire career has been spent developing a global approach to plantation management. That plan included sales. Sales is in Jason’s blood- his mom had a 45-year career as a real estate broker. After college, he chose to pursue his passion of making properties great. In 2011, Jason sold his first plantation. Since then, he has assisted buyers and sellers with over $20 million in sales while most of that time working as a full-time General Manager of a large Lowcountry plantation. Today, he is committed to using his unique skill set and experience to guide landowners through the many challenges of plantation ownership.
Bruce Ratliff is a retired elected official (Property Appraiser Taylor County). Bruce brings years of experience in ad valorem tax knowledge. His property tax background gives JKA Associates & clients a unique insight into the complicated tax process. Bruce held several positions in the Florida Association of Property Appraisers, including member of the Board of Directors, President, Vice-President and Secretary, and served on the Agricultural & Legislative Committees for the Association. The real estate business has been part of Bruce’s life since childhood. His mother, Shirley Ratliff owned Professional Realty of Perry, Florida and his father, Buster owned Ratliff Land Surveying which Bruce was General Manager of before his political career.
Hailing from a long line of outdoorsmen, Tim learned a great deal from his father and grandfather. He saw first-hand what it means to be a good land steward. He believes land is so much more than a place to hunt, fish, and grow timber or crops. “It’s an identity, a resting place, a safe haven and a way of life, said Tim.” Tim’s family ties to Alabama run deep. During his grandfather’s first term, Governor James was responsible for signing into law Alabama’s first state duck stamp which helped to ensure funding for the procurement, development, and preservation of wetlands for migratory waterfowl habitat. He also established Alabama’s lifetime hunting license, so it is no surprise that Tim is an avid outdoorsman with a keen eye as to how best to improve habitat for the greater good of its wildlife.
With Madison County roots, Lori grew up on her family farm at Pettis Springs along the historic Aucilla River. A love of the land was instilled in Lori very early on by her father who was a local farmer. Lori understands the importance of good land stewardship and has witnessed first-hand how her own father, a former 2-term member of the Florida House of Representatives whose district encompassed many rural counties of the Red Hills Plantation Region, with a little bit of sweat equity, so lovingly worked their own family land. These are core values she carries with her today, and nothing gives her more personal satisfaction than to represent some of the south’s best land stewards.
Cole’s dedication to land management lies in his family roots. As a fourth-generation timber expert, Cole’s earliest memories were spent with his father managing timber investments. With a degree in Food Resource Economics from the University of Florida, Cole is the epitome of an up-and-coming leader. He grew up with a hands-on approach to learning land management and conservation and has spent the last 15 years learning every angle of the real estate and forest industry. Cole is a member of the Florida Forestry Association, Red Hills Quail Forever, Southeastern Wood Producers Association and he uses this platform as an advocate for landowners and their land investments. His family has dedicated the past 60 years to providing landowners in North Florida and South Georgia with professional land management services focused on improving and protecting one’s forestland and wildlife investment. In fact, their family business, M.A. Rigoni, Inc., was one of the first to introduce whole tree chipping to the Red Hills Region.
As a landowner of his own family farm, Lick Skillet, along with family land that has been passed down and enjoyed together at Keaton Beach for 40 years, Jon knows what it means to be a steward of the last best places. As a third-generation land broker with more than 30 years of experience in advising landowners in this niche, Jon is known for his innate ability to harvest a land’s unique intrinsic value. Touting several notable sales under his belt, Jon personally closed Rock Creek/Molpus – 124,000 acres of premium timberland at $142,000,000 – which was known as the largest timberland land sale in the Southeast for eight years running. He is a co-founding member of LandLeader and achieved the real estate industry’s highest honor, “2022 National Broker of the Year – Recreational Land Sales,” by the Realtors® Land Institute.