Our field trial brace are 30 minutes in duration, prior to which 5 birds (6 birds for the first brace) are released within the field.  The birds are pen raised bobwhite quail.  Two dogs run at the same time, each with their own handler, and a judge is assigned to each dog to observe and score the performance of the dog during the run.  Dogs locate birds, handlers flush and shoot the birds and dogs retrieve the downed birds.  Dogs also are able to back, or honor, another dog on point and are also judged on obedience and how well they cover the field, called Ground Coverage.  The judge uses standardized National rules to arrive at a score for the dog for the entire brace.  At the end of the trial the dogs with the highest score are ranked 1st, 2nd and 3rd for the trial and earn points that are tracked by the National Office.  When a dog acquires 18 points, 9 of which are first place points and has proven it will back it will earn a Champion designation which is permanently recorded by the National Organization.  A dog can earn multiple championships.  Virtually all of the Arizona Region trials are held on public lands, under permit from the respective government agencies, so all our dog handlers are required to walk a 30 minute brace with their dogs and our judges use horses or walk themselves.  This is just an outline but more information can be found at the NSTRA website, or get the Rule Book here.