I am supporting Hard Driving Bev’s nomination into the Hall of Fame because of her ability to consistently perform beyond the boundaries previously accepted as the limits of great grouse dog performance.
To me, dogs whose performances were simply unreachable by her competitors, change the game and change perspective, and thereby change expectations. This is the single purpose of field trials to improve the breed. Improving the breed is in essence improving the performance. We all know how difficult that is. Heck in horse racing, we accept limits for decades and decades and then comes Secretariat. He runs the Belmont in a time not thought possible before. Now it is the standard by which all others reach for, our expectations have changed. Our standard has risen, never again to fall back to what we previously accepted as the limitation of performance. The breed has been improved. It doesn’t happen often, in fact it is extraordinarily rare, and this to me is why Bev deserves to be honored.
Bev did that in performance. She changed the definition of a great performance in the grouse woods. That to me is her enduring contribution…unequaled performance. Not 5, not 10 not 100 championships equal the impact on the game that a dog can have if it simply performs beyond the capabilities of those who came previous and moves expectation from that point forward. Bev has set the current bar and it may be more than a lifetime to see it moved again.
I encourage you to support Hard Driving Bev.
Frank LaNasa
Isanti, Minnesota
Champion Hard Driving Bev 