Uncle Earl's Hog Dog Trials is an annual Hog Dog Baying Event held in the third weekend of March in

Winnfield Winnfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in 2010. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield.

Winn Parish Winn Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,313. Its seat is Winnfield. The parish was founded in 1852. It is last in alphabetical order of Louisiana's sixty-four parishes ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

at the Winn Parish Fair Grounds involving boars and various breeds of

bay dog A bay dog (or bailer, in Australian English) is a dog that is specially trained to find, chase, and then bay, or howl, at a safe distance from large animals during a hunt, such as during a wild boar hunt. Bay dogs chase and circle the boar, kee ...

s, including

Catahoula Leopard Dog The Catahoula Leopard Dog is an American dog breed named after Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. It became the state dog of Louisiana in 1979. It is recognized by the United Kennel Club under the name ''Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog'', while the Ame ...

Blackmouth Cur The Black Mouth Cur, also known as the Southern Cur, Southern Black Mouth Cur and the Yellow Black Mouth Cur, is a medium to large sized Dog breed, breed of Cur#American curs, cur-type dog from the United States. Originating in the south of the co ...

Blue Lacy The Lacy Dog or Blue Lacy Dog is a breed of working dog that originated in the State of Texas in the mid-19th century. The Lacy was first recognized in 2001 by the Texas Senate. In Senate Resolution No. 436, the 77th Legislature honored the Lacy ...

, and others.

History

Begun in 1994, the event was named for three-time Louisiana governor "Uncle" Earl Long, an avid stockman and

boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

hunter who was born in

in 1895. In 2010 a lawsuit over the show ownership resulted in the cancellation of the show for a year. In 2011 a new Corporation was formed and the Board of Directors, Uncle Earl's Hog Dog Trials, Inc. was selected among City of Winnfield Merchants and Citizens. The Board is responsible for overseeing the production contracts and the Youth Scholarship Fund for the Annual Baying Event. Full Boar Productions – www.fullboarproductions.com, was awarded the Production and Promotion Contracts until the year 2018. The 2018–2023 contractor for this event is Jake Loiacano.

About

In this particular event,

s are judged on their containment and control of the boar and their style of baying (howling). The better bay dogs will bay in a pattern that alerts the hunter and retains control of the boar with his demeanor and herding ability. If a boar runs from the dogs, they may nip the boar to make him stop; however, "catching" the stock is prohibited. Louisiana bans hog-catching but permits bay dog or herding events after the Louisiana

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals A Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) is a common name for non-profit animal welfare organizations around the world. The oldest SPCA organization is the RSPCA, which was founded in England in 1824. SPCA organizations operate i ...

worked on the law that exempted Uncle Earl's, and other baying and herding events. People attend Uncle Earl's from as far away as

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. In 2012, a ''Campfire Cookoff'' was added with celebrity judges including the Mayor of

, David Peavey and Kelly Lee from ''Camo Life TV'' (a television hunting show), and Brandy Watts of ''Hogs Gone Wild''.Cookoff
March 21, 2013.

Safety

Dogs are outfitted with Kevlar vests, chest armor, and extra-wide

collar Collar may refer to: Human neckwear *Clerical collar (informally ''dog collar''), a distinctive collar used by the clergy of some Christian religious denominations *Collar (clothing), the part of a garment that fastens around or frames the neck ...

s to protect them from any major injuries. The Stock is kept in excellent condition by licensed contractors and facilities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Uncle Earl's Hog Dog Trials Dog sports Louisiana culture Winn Parish, Louisiana Recurring events established in 1994 Festivals in Louisiana 1994 establishments in Louisiana