About Ray Trimble

Raymond “Ray” Trimble, Jr.

May 28, 1926 – April 29, 2025

Ray Trimble stands as a towering figure in the world of Brittany field trials, and his career provides a fitting legacy for the “Ray Trimble Open Handler of the Year” award established by the American Brittany Club (ABC).

Early Life & Beginnings

Ray Trimble Jr. was born on May 28, 1926, in Sidell, Illinois. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Air Program aboard the aircraft carrier USS Randolph with Torpedo Squadron No. 20, flying Grumman Avengers off the carrier deck. After his military service, he began work as an aeronautical engineer at McDonnell-Douglas, where he contributed to the Heat Shield Project for spacecraft and the Patriot Missile Program. Though his professional career was in aviation and engineering, his true passion and lasting legacy were rooted in the world of pointing-breed field trials and the Brittany dog.

Field Trial Career & Brittany Legacy

Ray Trimble’s field trial career began in the mid-1950s, and he remained active for over five decades. His devotion encompassed the roles of handler, trainer, breeder, judge, club officer, and mentor to amateur field trialers.

He served as a long-time director of the American Brittany Club, Inc., and was a charter member of the Illinois Brittany Championship Association as well as co-founder of the Greater St. Louis Brittany Club.
Within the ABC and the broader pointing-breed community, he held roles including: National Field Trial Coordinator, 1st Vice-President of ABC, Purina Coordinator, Classics Chairman, and judge/marshall for many major events.
His competitive achievements include winning the National Open All-Age Brittany Championship (1963) with “Crab Orchard Duke,” and the National Amateur Brittany Championship (1986) with “Crab Orchard Jet.”
In subsequent years he campaigned the dog “Buddy’s Trucker Express,” earning five championships and five runner-up championships (including AKC FC/AFC titles).
Remarkably, even into his 90s, Ray remained an active competitor: in 2017, at age 90 ½, he won an American Field Amateur Championship; in 2021 at age 94 ½ he won an American Field Open Championship with his dog “Tuff.”

Honors & Recognition

Ray Trimble was inducted into the Brittany Field Trial Hall of Fame in 1993.
He was the second person ever to receive the American Kennel Club Lifetime Achievement Award and the first individual from a pointing breed to receive it.
He was honored by the Field Trial Clubs of Illinois with their Distinguished Service Award in 1998.
His name is permanently associated with the ABC Hall of Fame and he is widely respected as a “Living Legend” in the bird dog world.

Why the Open Handler Award Bears His Name

Ray Trimble exemplified the qualities that the ABC seeks to honor in the “Ray Trimble Open Handler of the Year” award: unwavering dedication to the Brittany breed, high standards of handling and training in open and all-age competitions, leadership within amateur trialing, and a spirit of service to the breed and its clubs. His career bridged both personal competitive excellence and a lifetime of volunteer leadership. In naming the award after him, ABC acknowledges his model as an amateur handler who achieved top performance while contributing to the broader Brittany community—a benchmark that every open handler should aspire to.

Legacy & Inspiration

Ray Trimble’s legacy lives on in the countless amateur handlers he mentored, the Brittany field trialers he inspired, and the organizational structures he helped build and sustain. For future recipients of the “Ray Trimble Open Handler of the Year” award, his name serves both as a tribute and a challenge: to perform at the highest competitive level, and to give back to the Brittany community.