Pilot Of Ice Pond
March 2025

Greetings everyone!
While winter is waging on, in the long evenings, your best pal repawter, (me) has been doing some research into my ancestry!

The story of the English Springer Spaniel in the United States is not what you might expect. We are relatively new to the canine scene.
Although our Springer ancestors arrived here from England via Canada in 1913, we weren’t recognized as a breed for another decade. What?? Considering Springers are noted by name as early as 300 AD in Whales history, we are the new pals on the block in the States!

You may be wondering, “Pilot, why are you interested in all this oldy moldy history stuff?” Heres’ why- Hoomum collects old magazines from the 1930’s and 40’s.This year, she acquired a 1939 Country Life magazine and discovered a fascinating article about Springers and the American dog scene of the time! Interestingly, it all started on a tiny island right off the coast of Connecticut, my stomping ground! The first Springer field trials were held on Fishers Island.

Here, the English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association (ESSFTA) was founded by the island owners, the Henry L Ferguson family, paving the way for our 1926 breed acceptance by the American Kennel Club. Up until then, we were relatively unknown! The island remained a center of Springer development, training and field trial competitions, until 1948. The ESSFTA and AKC recognition propelled Springers to become one of the most popular breeds of the time!

Today, although the champion show Springer Freddie just won the 2025 Westminster sporting group, Springers aren’t even among the top 10 most popular dog breeds in the US! We are 26th. Imagine -Harrumph!

You can visit the Fishers Island Ferguson Museum to learn about our hound history, or for a lot less time and money you could visit the website at this link. Here you can even time travel and watch vintage field trial videos, when old timey ladies wore cloche hats!

If you find yourself in New London, Connecticut, you can take the Fishers Island ferry to the museum, but don’t miss the boat back to Connecticut. There are no hotels on the Island nor is there a bridge!

The Springer Spaniel remains a consummate gun dog in the US, in addition to being loyal and loving family members (me). Breeding overtime has not diminished our sporting abilities, and we love to be outside doing our Springer things whether as weekend gun dogs or as a recreational retriever like me.
Pilot